The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also known as the domestic guinea pig, cavy or domestic cavy ( KAY-vee), is a species of rodent. It belongs to the genus Cavia, family Caviidae, and its closest wild relatives include the montane guinea pig. Domestic guinea pigs typically weigh between 700 and 1,200 g (1.5 and 2.6 lb) and measure between 20 and 25 cm (8 and 10 in) in length; most breeds have fur, and they have long front teeth that grow continuously, leading the animals to chew regularly to wear them down. They are social animals, and are skittish in response to noise or danger, evincing a freeze or flight strategy. Guinea pigs have been raised by humans as a meat source, as pets, as laboratory test subjects, and for ceremonial use. When guinea pigs are kept by humans, studies indicate the importance of social housing, environmental enrichment (like hides and structures), constant access to hay, and adequate space for healthy stress levels and well-being. Veterinary guidance recommends keeping males and females separate when breeding is not intended. Originally, guinea pigs were domesticated as livestock for their meat, in the Andean region of South America, and they are still consumed there. In the Andes, guinea pigs are also used in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. In Western society, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a pet since its introduction to Europe and North America by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature and friendly responsiveness to handling and feeding have continued to make guinea pigs a popular choice of household pets. Organizations devoted to the competitive breeding and exhibition of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide. Through artificial selection, many specialized breeds with varying coat colors and textures have been selected by breeders. Animal testing on 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. Since that time, they have largely been replaced in laboratory testing by other rodents, such as mice and rats. However, they are still used in research, primarily as models to study human medical conditions.
History
Cavia 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. These closely related species are still commonly found in various regions of South America. Studies from 2007 to 2010 applying molecular markers, and morphometric studies on the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals revealed the ancestor to be most likely C. tschudii. Some species of cavy, identified in the 20th century as C. anolaimae and C. guianae, may be domestic guinea pigs that have become feral by reintroduction into the wild. Regionally known as cuy (a Spanish word derived from the Quechua quwi), 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. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. Early accounts from Spanish settlers state that guinea pigs were the preferred sacrificial animal of the Inca people native to Peru. These claims are supported by archaeological digs and transcribed Quechua mythology, providing evidence that sacrificial rituals involving guinea pigs served many purposes in society such as appeasing the gods, accompanying the dead, or reading the future.
From about 1200 to the Spanish conquest in 1532, the indigenous people used selective breeding to develop many varieties of domestic guinea pigs, forming the basis for some modern domestic breeds. They continue to be a food source in the region; many households in the Andean highlands raise the animal. In the early 1500s, Spanish, Dutch, and English traders took guinea pigs to Europe, where they quickly became popular as exotic pets among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest known written account of the guinea pig dates from 1547, in a description of the animal from Santo Domingo. Because cavies are not native to Hispaniola, the animal was believed to have been earlier introduced there by Spanish travelers. Zooarchaeological evidence indicates South American ceramic-making migrants likely introduced guinea pigs to the West Indies around 500 BC. It was present in the Ostionoid period on Puerto Rico, for example, long before the advent of the Spaniards. The guinea pig was first described in the West in 1554 by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner. Its binomial scientific name was first used by Erxleben in 1777; it is an amalgam of Pallas' generic designation (1766) and Linnaeus' specific conferral (1758). The earliest-known European illustration of a domestic guinea pig is a painting (artist unknown) in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, dated to 1580, which shows a girl in a typical Elizabethan dress holding a tortoise-shell guinea pig in her hands. She is flanked by her two brothers, one of whom holds a pet bird. The picture dates from the same period as the oldest recorded guinea pig remains in England, which are a partial cavy skeleton found at Hill Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in Essex, and dated to around 1575.
Nomenclature Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" or "domestic cavy" for the animal, but "guinea pig" is more commonly used in scientific and laboratory contexts.
Latin name The scientific name of the common species is Cavia porcellus, with porcellus being Latin for "little pig". Cavia is Neo-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.
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