List of caviids

Capybara (Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris)

Caviidae is a family of mammals in the order Rodentia and part of the Caviomorpha parvorder. Members of this family are called caviids and include guinea pigs, cavies, maras, and capybaras. They are found in South America and the southeast tip of Central America, primarily in forests, shrublands, grasslands, and savannas, though some species can be found in wetlands or rocky areas. They range in size from Shipton's mountain cavy, at 19 cm (7 in), to the capybara, at 134 cm (53 in) plus a 2 cm (1 in) tail. Caviids are herbivores and eat a wide variety of vegetation, primarily grass and leaves. Almost no caviids have population estimates, though the Santa Catarina's guinea pig is categorized as critically endangered with a population of fewer than sixty mature adults.

The twenty-one extant species of Caviidae are divided into three subfamilies: Caviinae, containing fifteen species of guinea pigs and cavies in three genera; Dolichotinae, containing a single genus of two mara species; and Hydrochoerinae, containing four capybara and cavy species in two genera. A few extinct prehistoric caviid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries, the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions

IUCN Red List categories

Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (1 species)
EN	Endangered (0 species)
VU	Vulnerable (0 species)
NT	Near threatened (1 species)
LC	Least concern (13 species)
Other categories
DD	Data deficient (5 species)
NE	Not evaluated (1 species)

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the caviid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification

Caviidae is a family consisting of twenty-one species in six genera. These genera are divided between three subfamilies: Caviinae, containing guinea pigs and cavies; Dolichotinae, or the maras; and Hydrochoerinae, containing capybara and cavy species.

Family Caviidae

• Subfamily Caviinae
  • Genus Cavia (guinea pigs): seven species
  • Genus Galea (yellow-toothed cavies): five species
  • Genus Microcavia (mountain cavies): three species
• Subfamily Dolichotinae
  • Genus Dolichotis (maras): two species
• Subfamily Hydrochoerinae
  • Genus Hydrochoerus (capybaras): two species
  • Genus Kerodon (rock cavies): two species

Caviidae Caviinae   Galea Cavia Microcavia Dolichotinae   Dolichotis Hydrochoerinae  Hydrochoerus Kerodon

Caviids

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.

Subfamily Caviinae

Main article: Caviinae

Genus Cavia – Pallas, 1766 – seven species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Brazilian guinea pig	C. aperea Erxleben, 1777 Five subspecies C. a. aperea C. a. guianae C. a. hypoleuca C. a. pamparum C. a. rosida	Northern, central, and eastern South America	Size: 21–39 cm (8–15 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Savanna, grassland, and rocky areas Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	LC  Unknown
Greater guinea pig	C. magna Ximénez, 1980	Southern Brazil and Uruguay	Size: 22–34 cm (9–13 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Forest and grassland Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	LC  Unknown
Guinea pig	C. porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758)	Worldwide, primarily western South America	Size: 20–25 cm (8–10 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Domesticated; wild guinea pigs are found in grasslands Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	NE  36 million, excluding pets
Montane guinea pig	C. tschudii Fitzinger, 1867 Six subspecies C. t. arequipae C. t. festina C. t. osgoodi C. t. sodalis C. t. stolida C. t. tschudii	Western South America	Size: 22–27 cm (9–11 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Forest, grassland, and inland wetlands Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	LC  Unknown
Sacha guinea pig	C. patzelti Schliemann, 1982	Ecuador	Size: 28–29 cm (11 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Grassland Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	DD  Unknown
Santa Catarina's guinea pig	C. intermedia Cherem, Olimpio, & Trianón, 1999	Moleques do Sul Archipelago in southern Brazil	Size: 27–31 cm (11–12 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Grassland Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	CR  24–60
Shiny guinea pig	C. fulgida Wagler, 1831	Southeastern Brazil	Size: 22–27 cm (9–11 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Forest and grassland Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	LC  Unknown

Genus Galea – Meyen, 1832 – five species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Brazilian yellow-toothed cavy	G. flavidens Brandt, 1835	Central Brazil	Size: 20–23 cm (8–9 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Savanna and rocky areas Diet: Grass, forbs, and other vegetation	LC  Unknown
Common yellow-toothed cavy	G. musteloides Meyen, 1832 Five subspecies G. m. auceps G. m. demissa G. m. leucoblephara G. m. littoralis G. m. musteloides	Western South America	Size: Unknown, with no tail Habitat: Shrubland and grassland Diet: Grass, forbs, and other vegetation	DD  Unknown
Lowland yellow-toothed cavy	G. leucoblephara (Burmeister, 1861)	Southwestern South America	Size: 19–23 cm (7–9 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Grassland Diet: Grass, forbs, and other vegetation	LC  Unknown
Southern highland yellow-toothed cavy	G. comes Thomas, 1919	Western South America	Size: About 24 cm (9 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Shrubland Diet: Grass, forbs, and other vegetation	DD  Unknown
Spix's yellow-toothed cavy	G. spixii Wagler, 1831 Three subspecies G. s. palustris G. s. spixii G. s. wellsi	Eastern Brazil	Size: 22–23 cm (9 in), with no tail Habitat: Savanna and rocky areas Diet: Grass, forbs, and other vegetation	LC  Unknown

Genus Microcavia – Gervais & Ameghino, 1880 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Andean mountain cavy	M. niata (Thomas, 1898) Two subspecies M. n. niata M. n. pallidior	Western South America	Size: 19–20 cm (7–8 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Grassland and inland wetlands Diet: Leaves, as well as fruit	LC  Unknown
Shipton's mountain cavy	M. shiptoni (Thomas, 1925)	Northern Argentina	Size: About 19 cm (7 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Grassland and rocky areas Diet: Leaves, as well as fruit	LC  Unknown
Southern mountain cavy	M. australis (Geoffroy & d'Orbigny, 1833) Three subspecies M. a. australis M. a. maenas M. a. salinia	Southern South America	Size: Unknown, with no tail Habitat: Forest, savanna, and desert Diet: Leaves, as well as fruit	LC  Unknown

Subfamily Dolichotinae

Main article: Dolichotinae

Genus Dolichotis – Desmarest, 1820 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Chacoan mara	D. salinicola Burmeister, 1876	Western South America	Size: 42–48 cm (17–19 in) long, plus 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) tail Habitat: Savanna Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	LC  Unknown
Patagonian mara	D. patagonum (Zimmermann, 1780) Two subspecies D. p. centricola D. p. patagonum	Argentina	Size: 60–80 cm (24–31 in) long, plus 2–4 cm (1–2 in) tail Habitat: Forest, shrubland, and grassland Diet: Wide variety of vegetation	NT  Unknown

Subfamily Hydrochoerinae

Main article: Hydrochoerinae

Genus Hydrochoerus – Brisson, 1762 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Capybara	H. hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1766)	South America	Size: 107–134 cm (42–53 in) long, plus 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) tail Habitat: Forest, savanna, and inland wetlands Diet: Grass, as well as aquatic plants, grains, melons, and squashes	LC  Unknown
Lesser capybara	H. isthmius Goldman, 1912	Northwestern South America and Panama	Size: About 102 cm (40 in) long, plus 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) tail Habitat: Forest and inland wetlands Diet: Grass, as well as aquatic plants, grains, melons, and squashes	DD  Unknown

Genus Kerodon – F. Cuvier, 1825 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Acrobatic cavy	K. acrobata Moojen, Locks, & Langguth, 1997	Central Brazil	Size: About 38 cm (15 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Forest, savanna, and rocky areas Diet: Leaves and other tree vegetation	DD  Unknown
Rock cavy	K. rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)	Eastern Brazil	Size: About 30 cm (12 in) long, with no tail Habitat: Savanna and rocky areas Diet: Leaves, flowers, buds, bark and occasionally fruit	LC  Unknown

Sources

• Chernasky, Amy; Motis, Anna; Burgin, Connor, eds. (2023). All the Mammals of the World. Lynx Nature Books. ISBN 978-84-16728-66-4.
• Honeycutt, Rodney L. (2013). Capybara. Springer Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_3. ISBN 978-1-4614-3999-8.
• Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. 2 (6th ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8.
• Wagner, Joseph E.; Manning, Patrick J. (1976). The Biology of the Guinea Pig. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-730050-4.
• Woods, Charles A.; Kilpatrick, C. William (2005). Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World. Vol. 2 (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.