Guinea pigs are large for rodents; the common pet breeds weigh between when full grown and measure between in length. Some livestock breeds weigh when full grown. Pet breeds live an average of four to five years, but may live as long as eight. According to the 2006 "Guinness World Records", the longest living guinea pig survived 14 years, 10.5 months. Most guinea pigs have fur, but one laboratory breed adopted by some pet owners, the skinny pig, is a mostly furless breed. Some breeds are longfur breeds such as the Peruvian, the Silkie, and the Texel. In the 1990s, a minority scientific opinion emerged proposing that caviomorphs, such as guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus, are not rodents and should be reclassified as a separate order of mammals (similar to lagomorphs).
Characteristics
Guinea pig
Guinea pig | Characteristics
Guinea pigs are large for rodents; the common pet breeds weigh between when full grown and measure between in length Most guinea pigs have fur, the skinny pig is a mostly furless breed They have varieties of hair and color composition. The most common varieties found in pet stores are the English shorthair (also known as the American), which have a short, smooth coat, and the Abyssinian, whose coat is ruffled with cowlicks, or rosettes. They have fur; the skinny pig, is a mostly furless breed, some are longfur breeds.
where do guinea pigs come from in the wild
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They originated in the Andes of South America
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how do they look like?
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This is a medium-sized guinea pig with an adult length of about and a weight of . The tail, at around 2.4 mm, is almost non-existent. The dorsal fur is dark olive-brown mixed with brown and black, and the underparts are a pale grey or yellowish-grey. Its karyotype has 2n = 64 and a reportedly variable FN of 116 or 128 for "C. a. aperea" and 128 for "C. a. pamparum".
Brazilian guinea pig | Description
The montane guinea pig is a medium-sized species, growing to a total length of . The colour varies in different parts of the range; in Peru, the dorsal fur is dark reddish-brown mixed with black, and the underparts are dark buffy-grey; in Chile, the dorsal surface is pale agouti brown with paler underparts; in Bolivia, the upper parts are agouti olive and the underparts creamy-white or white.
Montane guinea pig | Description
The "Cavia intermedia" is a rodent approximately 20–40 cm in length. These cavies lack sexual dimorphism, which differs from other cavies, because males are usually larger than females. Their cylindrical body shapes are in shades of brown or gray and are carried by short limbs. These guinea pigs have coarse, long fur and longer fur in the neck region, with ears having no fur. These guinea pigs, like most, have no external tail. Cavies have incisors that continuously grow and are naturally filed down by grazing habits.
Santa Catarina's guinea pig | Physical description
A large rodent, the greater guinea pig grows to a total length of and weight of for males and a total length of and weight of for females. The dorsal fur is dark agouti brown and the underparts are reddish brown. It is semiaquatic and has membranes joining the toes. Its karyotype has 2n = 64 and FN = 128.
Greater guinea pig | Description
The Peruvian has a long smooth coat all over its body, including a prominent "forelock" resulting from a portion of its coat on the head and the neck growing forward on the body.
List of guinea pig breeds | Peruvian
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig ("Cavia porcellus"), also known as cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus "Cavia". Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely biologically related to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy, such as "C. tschudii", and do not exist naturally in the wild. They were originally domesticated as livestock, for a source of meat, and continue to be consumed as food.
Guinea pig | Introduction
The montane guinea pig is native to the high Andes in South America. Its range extends from Peru southward to the Tarapacá Region of Chile and the Tucumán Province of Argentina. Its altitudinal range is above sea level. It lives in moist habitats with rocks and coarse vegetation, making runways through the foliage. In Argentina it lives in burrows with several entrances.
Montane guinea pig | Distribution and habitat
This small mammal is unusual in that it produces a small number of precocial offspring with a high survival rate when it might have been expected to produce large litters of altricial young.
Greater guinea pig | Behaviour
"C. porcellus" is not found naturally in the wild; it is likely descended from closely related species of cavies, such as "C. aperea", "C. fulgida", and "C. tschudii", which are still commonly found in various regions of South America. Studies from 2007–2010 applied molecular markers and studied the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, thereby revealing the ancestor to most likely be "Cavia tschudii". Some species of cavy identified in the 20th century, such as "C. anolaimae" and "C. guianae", may be domestic guinea pigs that have become feral by reintroduction into the wild. Wild cavies are found on grassy plains and occupy an ecological niche similar to that of cattle.
Guinea pig | Natural habitat
There is also a type of Guinea hog in South America.
Guinea hog | Introduction
Texel guinea pigs were originally bred in Britain. They are characterized by their long, curly coat and fur that is coarser, not so curly, and shorter around their faces.
List of guinea pig breeds | Texel
The Brazilian guinea pig has a wide distribution in South America at altitudes between above sea level. Its range extends from Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela to northern Argentina. Its typical habitat is open grassland and savannah.
Brazilian guinea pig | Distribution
They are social, living in the wild in small groups that consist of several females (sows), a male (boar), and the young (which, in a break with the preceding porcine nomenclature, are called "pups" not "piglets"). They move together in groups (herds) eating grass or other vegetation, and do not store food. While they do not burrow themselves or build nests, they frequently seek shelter in the burrows of other animals, as well as in crevices and tunnels formed by vegetation. They tend to be most active during dawn and dusk (crepuscular), when it is harder for predators to spot them.
Guinea pig | Natural habitat
This species is native to the coastal strip of land in eastern Uruguay and southeastern Brazil. Its typical habitat is moist grassland, marshes, the edges of woodland and small valleys.
Greater guinea pig | Distribution and habitat
How the animals came to be called "pigs" is not clear. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they spend a large amount of time eating. They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a 'pig pen', and were easily transported by ship to Europe. The animal's name alludes to pigs in many European languages. The German word for them is "Meerschweinchen", literally "little sea pig", in Polish they are called "świnka morska", in Hungarian as "tengerimalac", and in Russian as "морская свинка".
Guinea pig | Name
The Coronet resembles the Silkie with its smooth coat growing backwards over its body, but it has a crest on its forehead. As with the short-coated crested breeds, this crest should be symmetrical and distinct with a small centre and no sticking hairs.
List of guinea pig breeds | Coronet
A Teddy has a short, rough, very dense, springy coat that stands up all over the body. The hair typically grows to a moderate length and makes this breed resemble a soft toy more than any other. Another unique feature of Teddies in the US is the relatively long hair coating their bellies. The Teddy has a kinky, springy coat that is famous for its soft, cuddly quality, often compared to an old teddy bear. They come in Plush Coat and Harsh Coat; the plush-coated animals have a softer coat, while the harsh-coated ones have a coarser texture to their hair.
List of guinea pig breeds | Teddy
The scientific name of the common species is "Cavia porcellus", with "" being Latin for "little pig". "Cavia" is New Latin; it is derived from "cabiai", the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. "Cabiai" may be an adaptation of the Portuguese "çavia" (now "savia"), which is itself derived from the Tupi word "saujá", meaning rat. Guinea pigs are called "quwi" or "jaca" in Quechua and "cuy" or "cuyo" (plural "cuyes, cuyos") in the Spanish of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Breeders tend to use the more formal "cavy" to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far more commonly referred to by the more colloquial "guinea pig".
Guinea pig | Name
The montane guinea pig ("Cavia tschudii") is a species of caviid rodent found in the Andes in South America. The montane guinea pig is the likely ancestor of "Cavia porcellus", the domestic cavy or domestic guinea pig.
Montane guinea pig | Introduction
The name derives from the belief that the origins of the Guinea hog were from African Guinea, but its now thought that Guinea just implied small, like Guinea Cattle. Guinea Hogs and Guinea Cattle are both smaller breeds of domestic livestock. The true African Guinea hogs are a large, red breed with upright ears, bristly hair and long tails, suggesting genetic influence of the Nigerian black or Ashanti pig. They were brought to America on slave ships. Around 1804, Thomas Jefferson acquired some of these pigs, which had arrived from Africa via the Canary Isles. The original strain, although basically black, also had a hint of red and were consequently called "red Guineas"; that strain, well known at the beginning of the 19th century, is extinct.
Guinea hog | History
The Guinea hog, officially named American Guinea Hog, also called the pineywoods Guinea, Guinea forest hog, acorn eater, and yard pig, is a breed of domestic pig originating in the United States. Despite its name, the breed is not from the country of Guinea, though the foundation stock was thought to be derived from West Africa. Newer DNA studies point to European origin. It's believed the American Guinea Hog is related to the Improved Essex, a now extinct breed. The Guinea hog is a rare breed with a black coat, sturdy body, curly tail and upright ears. There are two types of Guinea hog in North America, small-boned and large-boned Guinea hogs, the latter having longer legs.
Guinea hog | Introduction
The Brazilian guinea pig ("Cavia aperea") (preá in Portuguese) is a guinea pig species found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. "Cavia aperea" has been successfully mated to the domestic guinea pig, "Cavia porcellus", though many females become infertile in successive generations. Brazilian guinea pigs are mainly diurnal animals and are narrower and longer than domesticated guinea pigs.
Brazilian guinea pig | Introduction
The Baldwin guinea pig is a breed developed from a spontaneous genetic mutation in Carol Miller's show-line of white crested golden agouti. Though born fully furred, Baldwin guinea pigs begin to lose their fur at two to five days of age, starting at the nose and leaving them almost entirely hairless by about two months of age. They retain whiskers and sometimes a few hairs on their feet. Baldwins are known for having skin of a rubbery texture, many wrinkles and large, droopy ears. They come in all colors and patterns that haired guinea pigs come in, such as Dutch, tortoiseshell, broken colors, Himalayan and selfs.
Baldwin guinea pig | Introduction
The Korean Native pig was reported to have glossy black hair, a dished face, a greatly protruded mouth, big eyes, straightly upright ears, round shoulders, a narrow rear back, a wide chest, long hips, well-balanced short legs and 10-12 teats (Taimatsu, 1917). Its major characteristics are high-propagating power, superior meat quality and strong adaption ability. (Yeo et al. 2000). Its growth rate and feed conversion ratio are lower than in imported breeds, but it yields meat of higher quality and adapts better to extensive management.
Korean Native pig | Characteristics
They have well-developed senses of hearing, smell, and touch.
Guinea pig | Behavior
The derivation of the breed's name is unknown, but does not connote an origin in the geographical region of Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia). The Abyssinian breed is known for their 'rosettes', which are cowlicks growing from the coat. Between the rosettes of the Abyssinian's hair are the ridges, worth 25 points by ARBA standard. The ridges between two rosettes should ideally stand rigidly straight, without breaking down onto either side even if pressed down lightly with the palm of a hand. There should be a collar ridge, back ridge, rump ridge, and ridges between every saddle, hip, and rump rosette.
List of guinea pig breeds | Abyssinian
The Abyssinian is set apart from other guinea pigs by its unique coat. The hair of an Abyssinian is approximately an inch and a half long and is marked with swirls of hair known as rosettes. Abyssinians must have even-numbered rosettes. On a show quality Abyssinian, there will be eight or ten distinct rosettes: one on each shoulder, two or four on the back, one on each hip, and two on the rump. The fur comes in many colors and patterns, including self, tortoiseshell, brindle, and part-color. However, it is difficult to breed an Abyssinian with ideal rosettes, and many pet-quality cavies have imperfect coats.
Abyssinian guinea pig | Characteristics
The guinea pig was first domesticated as early as 5000 BC for food by tribes in the Andean region of South America (the present-day southern part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), some thousands of years after the domestication of the South American camelids. Statues dating from "circa" 500 BC to 500 AD that depict guinea pigs have been unearthed in archaeological digs in Peru and Ecuador. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. From about 1200 AD to the Spanish conquest in 1532, the indigenous peoples used selective breeding to develop many varieties of domestic guinea pigs, which formed the basis for some of the modern domestic breeds.
Guinea pig | History
A guinea pig is a domestic rodent. Guinea pig may also refer to:
Guinea pig (disambiguation) | Introduction
The Celebes warty pig is a medium-sized pig, and quite variable in size and appearance. Although a number of subspecies have been recognised, it is now regarded as a monotypic taxon. It is the only pig species that has been domesticated apart from the wild boar; being semi-domesticated may have had an influence on the variability of its appearance. This pig has a head-and-body length of between and a long tail, with males generally being larger than females. The back is rounded and the legs short. The colour is greyish-black, sometimes tinged with red or yellow on the flanks. There are three pairs of facial warts and a fringe of pale bristles on the snout and more bristles on the cheeks.
Celebes warty pig | Description
The term agouti (, ) or common agouti designates several rodent species of the genus Dasyprocta. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced elsewhere in the West Indies. They are related to guinea pigs and look quite similar, but they are larger and have longer legs. The species vary considerably in colour, being brown, reddish, dull orange, greyish, or blackish, but typically with lighter underparts. Their bodies are covered with coarse hair, which is raised when alarmed. They weigh and are in length, with short, hairless tails.
Agouti | Introduction
Subsequent research using wider sampling restored the consensus among mammalian biologists regarding the current classification of rodents as monophyletic.
Guinea pig | Characteristics
Since the chance of getting a Baldwin is low, and because it is not possible to visually tell the difference between a haired guinea pig that does carry the gene and one that does not, this method of breeding is not recommended. Haired Baldwin carriers remain haired (looking like normal guinea pigs) their entire life.
Baldwin guinea pig | Unique traits
They are also good swimmers. Like many rodents, guinea pigs sometimes participate in social grooming, and they regularly self-groom. A milky-white substance is secreted from their eyes and rubbed into the hair during the grooming process. Groups of boars often chew each other's hair, but this is a method of establishing hierarchy within a group, rather than a social gesture. Dominance is also established through biting (especially of the ears), piloerection, aggressive noises, head thrusts, and leaping attacks. Non-sexual simulated mounting for dominance is also common among same-sex groups. Guinea pig eyesight is not as good as that of a human in terms of distance and color, but they have a wider angle of vision (about 340°) and see in partial color (dichromacy).
Guinea pig | Behavior
The Javan warty pig is black, with some rufous parts on the head and the belly. It has three pairs of facial warts; the largest pair is below the ears, the second under each eye, and the smallest pair above the upper canines. It has a nuchal and dorsal crest that gradually becomes shorter towards the tail. Its tail does not have a terminal tuft. Young are uniformly coloured. Facial warts vary in size and grow with age. Males reach a weight of about , whereas females weigh only about .
Javan warty pig | Characteristics
This derives from the Middle High German name "merswin". This originally meant "dolphin" and was used because of the animals' grunting sounds (which were thought to be similar).
Guinea pig | Name
The Skinny stands out for being a mostly hairless breed, with some short rough hair on the face and feet. Pups are born nearly hairless, unlike the Baldwin which loses its hair. The breed was developed from a hairless laboratory strain that was crossed with Teddies and other haired breeds: a form of outcrossing.
List of guinea pig breeds | Skinny
Guinea pigs (called "cuy", "cuye", or "curí") were originally domesticated for their meat in the Andes. Traditionally, the animal was reserved for ceremonial meals and as a delicacy by indigenous people in the Andean highlands, but since the 1960s, it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people. It continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands; it is also eaten in some areas of Ecuador (mainly in the Sierra) and in Colombia, exclusively in highland locations in the department of Nariño near the border with Ecuador.
Guinea pig | South America
Most domestic pigs have rather a bristled sparse hair covering on their skin, although woolly-coated breeds such as the Mangalitsa exist.
Domestic pig | Biology
Hairless guinea pigs are not significantly physiologically different than regular haired guinea pigs, although they need to eat more to maintain body heat. The optimal temperature range for a hairless guinea pig is , which is slightly higher than the optimal temperature range for the haired guinea pig. Their sensitive skin has very much the same appearance as human skin, but has the same needs as normal guinea pig skin. Exposed skin is vulnerable to sunburn, other injuries and fungal infections unless precautions are taken. Skinny pigs should be housed indoors, and they are usually kept with nesting materials such as a blanket or cloth bag for heat conservation.
Skinny pig | Unique traits
They are about long and stand at , with a tail of . They weigh . Their skin is dark brownish-black and the hair is dark. Piglets are born grayish-pink, becoming brown with yellow stripes along the body length. Their heads are sharply tapered and they have a slight crest of hair on their foreheads and on the back of their necks. Adult males have the upper canines visible on the sides of their mouths. They live for about eight years, becoming sexually mature at one to two years old. They breed seasonally before the monsoons giving birth to a litter of three to six after a gestation of 100 days.
Pygmy hog | Description and biology
Cavia guianae is a guinea pig species from South America. It is found in southern Venezuela, Guyana, and portions of northern Brazil. Some biologists believe it to be a feral offshoot of the domestic guinea pig, "Cavia porcellus"; others subsume it under the wild cavy, "Cavia aperea".
Cavia guianae | Introduction
Pacas are in length, excluding the short tail, weigh , and are the sixth-largest rodents in the world. Similar to guinea pigs, they have square heads, small ears, sides patterned with spots and stripes, and virtually invisible tails. With large hind limbs, small fore limbs, and cone-shaped bodies, pacas are similar in appearance to the deer-like, ungulate chevrotains, and like them have four to seven horizontal lines of blotches and stripes along their flanks. They have a heavy and robust appearance, though their legs are long and relatively tiny. Their small ears are set high on their heads. They have four toes on their fore feet and five on their hind feet (of which two are short and hardly touch the ground) and they have stout nails that resemble small hooves.
Paca | Description
Domesticated guinea pigs occur in many breeds, which have been developed since their introduction to Europe and North America. These varieties vary in hair and color composition. The most common varieties found in pet stores are the English shorthair (also known as the American), which have a short, smooth coat, and the Abyssinian, whose coat is ruffled with cowlicks, or rosettes. Also popular among breeders are the Peruvian and the Sheltie (or Silkie), both straight longhair breeds, and the Texel, a curly longhair. Grooming of guinea pigs is primarily accomplished using combs or brushes. Shorthair breeds are typically brushed weekly, while longhair breeds may require daily grooming.
Guinea pig | Appearance, coat and grooming
The shiny guinea pig ("Cavia fulgida") is a guinea pig species of southeastern South America. The rodent is endemic to Brazil and Argentina. It is native to the Atlantic Forest ecoregions.
Shiny guinea pig | Introduction
Guinea pigs are large for rodents; the common pet breeds weigh between when full grown and measure between in length. Some livestock breeds weigh when full grown. Pet breeds live an average of four to five years, but may live as long as eight. According to the 2006 "Guinness World Records", the longest living guinea pig survived 14 years, 10.5 months. Most guinea pigs have fur, but one laboratory breed adopted by some pet owners, the skinny pig, is a mostly furless breed. Some breeds are longfur breeds such as the Peruvian, the Silkie, and the Texel. In the 1990s, a minority scientific opinion emerged proposing that caviomorphs, such as guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus, are not rodents and should be reclassified as a separate order of mammals (similar to lagomorphs).
Guinea pig | Characteristics
The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.
List of mammals of Guinea | Order: <a href="Lagomorpha">Lagomorpha</a> (lagomorphs)
The Skinny pig or skinny is an almost hairless breed of guinea pig. Skinny pigs typically have hair on their muzzles, feet, and legs, but are hairless over the remainder of their bodies. Some of them have a thin covering of fuzzy hair on their backs as well. A healthy skinny has skin that is mostly smooth, with some wrinkling around the legs and neck. The body is full with no appearance of spine or ribs. Skinnies can come in a variety of skin colors and patterns, including "Dutch", "Brindle", and "Himalayan". The term "skinny" is used for hairless guinea pigs either because it colloquially refers to the exposed skin of the animal, or because it describes their thinner appearance due to their lack of hair.
Skinny pig | Introduction
A tan cavy is an otherwise solid black, with red ticking around the muzzle, around the eyes, in spots above the eyes, under the neck and the belly, and sparsely on the lower sides.
List of guinea pig breeds | Tan pattern
The animal may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted.
Guinea pig | History
Peruvian wild guinea pigs were first described by E. T. Bennett in 1835, who termed them "Cavia cutleri". Johann Jakob von Tschudi, in an 1845 publication, used the term "Cavia cutleri" to refer to what are now considered two separate entities - the first, Bennett's "Cavia cutleri", which was later (by Oldfield Thomas in 1917) identified as probably a differently pigmented version of "Cavia porcellus", and the second, a wild Peruvian guinea pig that was clearly different from the animal Bennett described. In 1867, Leopold Fitzinger renamed the latter guinea pig "Cavia tschudii".
Montane guinea pig | Taxonomy
The greater guinea pig is a herbivore. It is a solitary animal and has a complex network of tunnels and runways through the vegetation. The home range is variable and seems to be related to the animal's size, its sex, and the water level in the area. Females seem capable of breeding at any time of year but births predominate in spring and the early part of summer. Females may have up to three litters in one year. The gestation period is about 64 days and the litter size is very small (1 or 2 pups). The young are quite large when born and grow fast, and some females born in the spring themselves breed successfully when between 30 and 45 days old.
Greater guinea pig | Behaviour
The western tree hyrax is similar in appearance to a large guinea pig. It has a head-and-body length of between and a stumpy tail. The pelage is thick and coarse, with a few yellowish hairs scattered among the dark brown and blackish ones; pale individuals with cream-coloured coats have also been observed. Scattered long sensory hairs similar to whiskers are present in the coat. The snout is free from fur, the ears are small and rounded and sometimes tipped with white, and the chin bears a white spot. There is a dorsal scent gland up to long in the centre of the back, surrounded by a yellowish patch of fur.
Western tree hyrax | Description
Hairless guinea pigs are not significantly physiologically different than regular haired guinea pigs, although they need to eat more to maintain body heat. The optimal temperature range for a hairless guinea pig is , which is slightly higher than the optimal temperature range for the haired guinea pig. Their skin has a similar appearance to human skin, but has a more rubbery texture. Their skin is quite vulnerable to sunburn, other injuries and fungal infections unless precautions are taken. Baldwin guinea pigs should be housed indoors and they are usually kept with nesting materials such as a blanket, fleece bag or small plastic or wooden house for heat conservation.
Baldwin guinea pig | Unique traits
A tortoiseshell ("tortie" for short) cavy has patches of red and black. An ideal show tortoiseshell cavy has regular, well-defined patches of each colour on each side, and appears to have lengthwise "seams" on its back and belly. Diluted tortoiseshells are called broken colours, and diluted tortoiseshell-and-whites tricolours. They follow the same pattern ideal.
List of guinea pig breeds | Tortoiseshell pattern
A Himalayan cavy has a white body with coloured points (face, ears, feet). It is an acromelanic, i.e. temperature-responding colouration, and its degree of darkness depends on how cool or warm the cavy is kept in. Show Himalayans should have black or dark brown points with ruby, i.e. dark red, eyes. The darkest areas should be the face, paws, and the feet. A Himalayan cavy is born solid white, the points slowly gaining colour after a few weeks.
List of guinea pig breeds | Himalayan pattern
The average size of the breed is 100 kilograms by the time they reach one year old, having a "backfat thickness of 42 mm." When breeding, around 8 piglets are born in every litter. Its skin color consists of black patches on white to pinkish skin. Its teeth are coated with enamel, which is similar to human teeth.
Ba Xuyen | Description
These pigs are typically black, on rare occasions having white markings. They have long snouts that slowly converge downward, have erect, floppy ears, and short, shiny hair. Their face is similar to that of a wild boar’s. They typically reach a weight of , with males averaging and females . The sows are known as good mothers, having litters that average 5 to 6 piglets.
Mulefoot | Description
There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.
List of mammals of Guinea | Order: <a href="Carnivora">Carnivora</a> (carnivorans)
"Cavia aperea" is a herbivore and feeds on grasses and other herbs. It is diurnal, mainly emerging in the early morning to forage and again in the evening. It does not dig a burrow, but makes an intricate maze of surface tunnels that are wide. It has latrine areas beside the trackways where piles of bean-shaped droppings can be seen, as can piles of cut grass stems. Breeding takes place at any time of year but mostly in the austral summer. The gestation period is about 62 days and females can have five litters in a year. The number of young born averages two and ranges from one to five.
Brazilian guinea pig | Behaviour
The gestation period lasts from to , with an average of 63–68 days. Because of the long gestation period and the large size of the pups, pregnant females may become large and eggplant-shaped, although the change in size and shape varies depending upon the size of the litter. Litter size ranges from one to six, with three being the average; the largest recorded litter size is 17. The guinea pig mother only has two nipples, but she can readily raise the more average-sized litters of 2 to 4 pups. In smaller litters, difficulties may occur during labour due to oversized pups.
Guinea pig | Reproduction
The hyraxes are any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. About the size of a domestic cat they are well-furred, with rounded bodies and a stumpy tail. They are native to Africa and the Middle East.
List of mammals of Guinea | Order: <a href="Hyracoidea">Hyracoidea</a> (hyraxes)
This is a list of people from Guinea, a country in West Africa.
List of Guineans | Introduction
The crown and nape are topped by a short crest of dark bristles, while a dark mid-dorsal stripe extends from the crest towards the tufted tail. Young pigs have longitudinal stripes, but these fade as the piglets grow.
Celebes warty pig | Description
There are many breeds of guinea pig or cavy which have been developed since its domestication circa 5000 BCE. Breeds vary widely in appearance and purpose, ranging from show breeds with long, flowing hair to laboratory breeds being used as model organisms for science. From roughly 1200 to 1532 CE (the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire), selective breeding by indigenous South American people resulted in many landrace varieties of domestic guinea pigs, which form the basis for some formal modern breeds. Early Andean varieties were primarily kept as agricultural stock for food, and efforts at improving cavy breeds ("cuy") bred for food continue to the modern era, with entirely separate breeds that focus on size and disease resistance.
List of guinea pig breeds | Introduction
The small mammal is endemic to the small coastal island of Moleques do Sul Archipelago, located in the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. The archipelago formed about 8,000 years ago, having a total of three islands with a surface area of only . "Cavia intermedia" is phylogenetically comparable, and said to be a common ancestor of the species "Cavia magna", who also inhabited the island. The guinea pig's geographical distribution of only is one of the world's smallest for a mammal. The region is a part of Serra do Tabuleiro State Park where restrictions and protection of the species are not enforced.
Santa Catarina's guinea pig | Distribution
The southern tree hyrax has a guinea pig-like appearance. It has long, soft, grey-brown fur that covers the body, while the underside is paler. Hairs are lighter near their tips and the ears have a fringe of white hair. They weigh about 2.27 kg on average, and have an average length of 520 mm.
Southern tree hyrax | Description
The Large White is a big, white pig, with erect ears and a slightly dished face.
Large White pig | Characteristics
A Dutch cavy has a specific white pattern: a blaze on the face, a wide white band around the neck, chest, and the belly, including the front paws, and white tips on the hind feet. The pattern is essentially the same as the Dutch pattern in rabbits, and was named after it.
List of guinea pig breeds | Dutch pattern
The modern breed of skinny pig originated from a cross between haired guinea pigs and a hairless lab strain. The hairless strain that it is most likely related to was a spontaneous genetic mutation that was first identified at Montreal's Armand Frappier Institute in 1978, in a colony of Hartley lab guinea pigs. In 1982 they were sent to Charles River Laboratories to be bred for laboratory use and are commonly used in dermatology studies today. They are an outbred strain that has an intact thymus and standard immune system.
Skinny pig | Introduction
The Baldwin, like the Skinny, is a nearly hairless breed. However, Baldwins are born with a full coat, which sheds out with age until only a little hair remains on the feet (the Skinny also has hair on the face). The breed was developed from spontaneously mutated pups born to American Crested parents of a single breeder.
List of guinea pig breeds | Baldwin
A brindle cavy has intermixed hairs of both black and red series colours throughout their coats, with no ticking. An ideal show brindle appears uniformly coloured, with both series appearing evenly all over.
List of guinea pig breeds | Brindle
Brindle is an old variety in guinea pigs. They are difficult to breed to perfection, as the black and red hairs should intermingle evenly all over. Brindle guinea pigs' fur type is Abyssinian (rosetted).
Brindle | Guinea pigs
"Ticked" cavies have black series hairs with red series ticking, i.e. each individual hair has stripes of both a black and a red series colour. In case a ticked cavy also has the tortoiseshell pattern, the red series patches are uniformly coloured while the black series patch.
List of guinea pig breeds | Ticked
This was a large pig, larger than living species. Fossils of males of these species show that they had large lumps on their muzzle and widely flaring cheekbones. Their tusks were only of moderate size. It can be assumed that the ornaments were used as a mating display.
Nyanzachoerus | Description
These standards are best met by long-established, commonly bred breeds, as their breeders have had enough time and animals to effectively breed for these qualities. The coat colour ideal—good definition and thoroughness—is rarely met by breeds other than the smooth-coated ones, which have had well-established, separate breeding lines for different colours.
List of guinea pig breeds | Introduction
They have a bluish face and neck, though the nape is very pale greyish (almost white) in some subspecies and the throat is red in others.
Crested guineafowl | Intraspecific taxonomy
Baboon refers to the large-bodied primates with marked sexual dimorphism and having females and young that are dependent on males for protection. Guinean baboons have a red tone to their fur, and are sometimes referred to as the red baboon. They lack hair on their hindquarters, and their faces are black with yellow-brown sideburns. Females' rumps are pink in color and males have a mane of fur around their heads and shoulders. A characteristic feature of baboons is their long molars and broad incisors. The long canines are evidence of sexual dimorphism in baboon species. Their forelimbs and hindlimbs are nearly equal in length and their digits on their hands and feet are relatively short and stout, making it difficult for them to climb.
Guinea baboon | Physical description
It is also used in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. The animals are used for meat and are a culinary staple in the Andes Mountains, where they are known as "cuy". In the 1960s a modern breeding program was started in Peru that resulted in large breeds known as "cuy mejorados" ("improved cuy"). Marketers tried to increase consumption of the animal outside South America. Biological experimentation on domestic guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were used so frequently as model organisms in the 19th and 20th centuries that the epithet "guinea pig" came into use to describe a human test subject.
Guinea pig | Introduction
E. Castle and Sewall Wright made a number of contributions to this area of study, especially regarding coat color. In 2004, the U.S.'s National Human Genome Research Institute announced plans to sequence the genome of the domestic guinea pig.
Guinea pig | In scientific research
The Guinea baboon ("Papio papio") is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. Some (older) classifications list only two species in the genus "Papio", this one and the hamadryas baboon. In those classifications, all other "Papio" species are considered subspecies of "P. papio" and the species is called the savanna baboon. The Guinea baboon inhabits a small area in western Africa. Its range includes Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, southern Mauritania and western Mali. Its habitat includes dry forests, gallery forests, and adjoining bush savannas or steppes. It has reddish-brown hair, a hairless, dark-violet or black face with the typical dog-like muzzle, which is surrounded by a small mane, and a tail carried in a round arc.
Guinea baboon | Introduction
A Silkie, also called a Sheltie, has long, smooth coat that flows back over the body. A Silkie must never have any rosettes or any hair growing in a direction towards its face. Its coat should not have a part. When viewed from above, a Silkie and its coat forms a teardrop shape. The coat is generally accepted to have a somewhat longer sweep of hair in the rear.
List of guinea pig breeds | Silkie
The vulturine guineafowl is a large (61–71 cm) bird with a round body and small head. It has a longer wings, neck, legs and tail than other guineafowl. The adult has a bare blue face and black neck, and although all other guineafowl have unfeathered heads, this species looks particularly like a vulture because of the long bare neck and head. The slim neck projects from a cape of long, glossy, blue and white hackles. The breast is cobalt blue, and the rest of the body plumage is black, finely spangled with white. The wings are short and rounded, and the tail is longer than others in the family Numididae.
Vulturine guineafowl | Description
In his initial description of the species, Thomas noted that its fur was almost uniformly black.
Guadalcanal monkey-faced bat | Taxonomy and etymology
Cavia anolaimae is a guinea pig species from South America. It is found in Colombia near Bogotá. It is believed to be a feral offshoot of the domestic guinea pig, "Cavia porcellus", and is often treated as a synonym of "C. porcellus", but Zúñiga et al. (2002), based on morphologic characters, recognized them as different species. According to the molecular analysis of Dunnum and Salazar (2010) "C. anolaimae" is a subspecies of "Cavia aperea", C. aperea anolaimae, and a possible synonymous of "C. a. guianae" .
Cavia anolaimae | Introduction
The American should have a broad shoulder, Roman nose, and full crown, and the coat is to be short and silky. The coat is faulted for feathering, harshness, or being thin or long. Contestants are disqualified for ridges, rosettes, side whiskers, or a Satin sheen, though this should not be confused with the natural luster of some varieties. The ears are to be drooping but not fallen, and the eyes are to be bold and bright. The American is known for its sweet and docile personality, and is considered by many an excellent breed of cavy for new owners.
List of guinea pig breeds | American
The greater guinea pig ("Cavia magna") is a species of rodent found in the coastal strip of Brazil and Uruguay, where it lives in moist grassland and marshes.
Greater guinea pig | Introduction
There is only one type of guinea pig with a pointed coat. It is called the Himalayan
Point coloration | Guinea pigs
The Arapawa pig has reverted to a wild type that is quite hairy and has a mane. Compared with Auckland Island Pigs, another distinctive feral breed deriving from many generations of insular isolation, Arapawa pigs are larger, and have shorter noses and tails. Compared to non-feral domesticated pigs, however, they are smaller, with a slower growth rate. They are principally sandy or tan in colouration, often with black patches. The boars weigh and the sows They have long faces and snouts, with small, pricked ears; they do not have wattles. They have wide shoulders and boars have a heavy shield.
Arapawa pig | Description
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the even-toed ungulate family Suidae. Pigs include domestic pigs and their ancestor, the common Eurasian wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), along with other species. Pigs, like all suids, are native to the Eurasian and African continents, ranging from Europe to the Pacific islands. Suids other than the pig are the babirusa of Indonesia, the pygmy hog of Asia, the warthog of Africa, and another genus of pigs from Africa. The suids are a sister clade to peccaries. Juvenile pigs are known as piglets. Pigs are highly social and intelligent animals.
Pig | Introduction
The White Crested is similar to the American, but they have one white rosette on the forehead. The breed standards and ideals are nearly identical, with the exception that a White Crested cavy's crest should be completely of a color different from the rest of the animal. Most usually the crest is white, as necessitated by the ACBA standard. No other white hair should be present in the animal. By this standard, White Cresteds are not bred in colourations that have white anywhere on the body, such as Dutch, roan, and Dalmatian.
List of guinea pig breeds | White Crested
The shape of the head often resembles a giraffe, causing confusion between the two signs. The general body shape is that of a canine.
Set animal | Physical characteristics
The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the hedgehogs and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.
List of mammals of Guinea | Order: <a href="Erinaceomorpha">Erinaceomorpha</a> (hedgehogs and gymnures)
Choctaw hogs have two distinctive characteristics indicative of their ancestors brought from Spain. First, their toes are typically fused forming a single hoof like that of a mule. The mulefoot shares this trait for the same reason and the two breeds may come from common ancestral stock which was loosely selected and managed until the late 19th century. Secondly, many have fleshy wattles on each side of their necks. These hogs are black, sometimes with white markings, and at about 120 pounds, they are relatively small for a domestic pig. Feral descendants of Spanish pigs are much more common than non-feral ones, but the Choctaw is "a pure Spanish breed" and is distinct from the exact feral hog populations in the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge area, which are of mixed ancestry.
Choctaw hog | Description
Santa Catarina's guinea pig ("Cavia intermedia") or Moleques do Sul cavy is a rare guinea pig species of southeastern South America.
Santa Catarina's guinea pig | Introduction
ARBA faults for flatness of coat, crooked ridges, a short coat, and soft texture. Other hair disqualifications include a coat over 1.5 inches in length and a satin sheen (not to be confused by the natural luster of some varieties). Required head furnishings (5 points by ARBA standard) include a well formed mustache and an erect mane running down the head.
List of guinea pig breeds | Abyssinian
The minimum age at which the young adults can breed is thirty days.
Brazilian guinea pig | Behaviour
"List of mammals of Guinea"
Wildlife of Guinea | Mammals
The population appears to be centered in the highlands of New Guinea.
New Guinean quoll | Description
With the exception of domestic pigs in Timor and Papua New Guinea (which appear to be of Sulawesi warty pig stock), the wild boar is the ancestor of most pig breeds. Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BCE in the Near East in the Tigris Basin, being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BCE in Cyprus. Those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then.
Wild boar | Domestication