NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Brazilian Guinea Pig
Cavia aperea Erxleben, 1777
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Brazilian guinea pig (Cavia aperea) (preá in Portuguese) is a wild 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Brazilian guinea pig; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:35:03.002425+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cavia aperea Erxleben, 1777
- Name authority
- Erxleben, 1777
- Common name
- Brazilian Guinea Pig
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Caviidae
- Genus
- Cavia
- 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
- subfamilyCaviinae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- genusCavia Pallas, 1766
- speciesCavia aperea Erxleben, 1777
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cavia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Moleques do Sul Guinea PigCavia intermedia Cherem, Olimpio & Ximenez, 1999 | CaviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Domestic Guinea PigCavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CaviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Montane Guinea PigCavia tschudii Fitzinger, 1857 | CaviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=584710 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:RY7N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.