NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rock Cavy
Kerodon rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Kerodon rupestris, Rock Cavvy, By Brian Gratwicke
The original uploader was Brian.gratwicke at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.5 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rock cavy or mocó (Kerodon rupestris) is a species of cavy that is endemic to eastern Brazil. It has also been introduced to the Atlantic island of Fernando de Noronha.
The rock cavy is called mocó in Brazilian Portuguese, and koriko pexerumen in the Xukuru language of Pernambuco, Brazil.
Wikipedia contributors, Rock cavy; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:43:02.495498+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kerodon rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
- Name authority
- (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
- Common name
- Rock Cavy
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Caviidae
- Genus
- Kerodon
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
- infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
- familyCaviidae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- subfamilyHydrochoerinae Gray, 1825
- genusKerodon F. Cuvier, 1825
- speciesKerodon rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Kerodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Acrobatic CavyKerodon acrobata Moojen, Locks & Langguth, 1997 | CaviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cavia rupestris Wied-Neuwied, 1820 Wied-Neuwied, 1820 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584718 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3R6DR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.