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Species
Cavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
There are 13 commonly recognized types or breeds of guinea pig. These include the American, American satin, Abyssinian, Abyssinian satin, Peruvian, Peruvian satin, silkie, silkie satin, teddy, teddy satin, texel, coronet and the white crested. Different breeds are often characterized by their hair color, hair texture, the degree of sheen of the pelage, and the color patterns of the pelage.
- Nash, H. 2010. "Guinea Pigs: Breeds and colors" (On-line). Accessed April 11, 2010 at http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=18+1800&aid=2838.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cavia_porcellus/ |
Guinea pigs can live up to 14 years in captivity, but have an average lifespan of 8 years. Reproductively active guinea pigs generally have shorter lifespans of about 3.5 years.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 14 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 8 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 5.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 10.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 14.8 years.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cavia_porcellus/ |
Maximum longevity: 12 years (captivity) Observations: One virgin animal reportedly lived 12 years in captivity (Kiklevich, J.V., pers. comm.).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes |
Source | http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cavia_porcellus |
Guinea pigs no longer exist in the wild, therefore, mating systems in natural environments are unknown. In domestic populations, mating is heavily influenced by humans. Both monogamous and polygamous systems occur, depending on how animals are housed. Prior to mating, males smell a potential mate's genital area and scent mark their mates with urine. Males are very protective of their mates, particularly when multiple males are housed with a single female.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Male guinea pigs reach sexual maturity at 56 to 70 days old and females reach sexual maturity at about 67 days. Female estrus occurs 3 to 4 times per year and lasts approximately 16 days. Mating and fertilization usually occur at night, within 20 hours of ovulation. Guinea pigs do not exhibit seasonal mating patterns in domestic populations. Once a female becomes pregnant, gestation lasts 59 to 72 days. The average age at first pregnancy is 175 days and average litter size is 3 pups. Lactation peaks at 5 to 8 days after parturition and weaning occurs 14 to 21 days after birth.
Breeding interval: Breed 3 to 4 times per year
Breeding season: Year round
Range number of offspring: 1 to 8.
Average number of offspring: 3.
Range gestation period: 59 to 72 days.
Average gestation period: 63 days.
Range weaning age: 14 to 21 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 30 to 134 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 67 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 56 to 70 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous ; post-partum estrous
Average birth mass: 85 g.
Average number of offspring: 3.8.
Female guinea pigs provide only limited care to their pups. When adult females reach postpartum estrus, they pay little attention to their offspring. Although decreased body weight can occur due to maternal neglect, pups can usually survive on their own without extended maternal care. Females nurse their young for a period of 14 to 21 days until weaning. In addition, mothers stimulate their pups urinary and anal glands by licking their genital regions. Little information is available concerning paternal care.
Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-independence (Provisioning: Female)
- Ballard, B., R. Cheek. 2003. Exotic animal medicine for the veterinary technician. Ames Iowa: Blackwell Publishing Professional.
- Banks, R. 1989. The Guinea Pig: biology, care, identification, nomenclature, breeding and genetics.. USAMRIID Seminar Series. Accessed February 02, 2010 at http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/guinea/guinpig.txt.
- Terril, L., D. Clemons. 1998. The Laboratory Guinea Pig. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC. Accessed February 02, 2010 at http://books.google.com/books?id=nR-mLSOQKp8C&pg=PA1&dq=Guinea+Pig+Sizes&lr=&cd=5#v=onepage&q=Guinea%20Pig%20Sizes&f=false.
- Vanderlip, S. 2003. The Guinea Pig Handbook. China: Barron's Education Series, Inc.. Accessed February 02, 2010 at http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=H1SJRafXBH4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=cavia+porcellus+territory&ots=Be08cUBHh4&sig=I-iFG-s5sZ5gWu6KAGVftcjZ_B4#v=onepage&q=cavia%20porcellus%20territory&f=false.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cavia_porcellus/ |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 3 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 5
Species With Barcodes: 1
The wild forms of the genus Cavia, which includes the domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), are endemic to South America, occurring over most of the continent, with the exception of Amazonia and the southern portions of Chile and Argentina. They are associated primarily with grasslands, although they also occur around forest edges and swamps. Guinea pigs have long been associated with humans. Remains have been identified in archeological excavations from Peru and Colombia dating to at least 9,000 years bp and evidence suggests that domesticated guinea pigs have existed for at least the last 4,500 to 7,000 years, having been bred for food and ritual uses. Domestic guinea pigs continue to be bred by humans for use as food, as pets, and as laboratory animals. (Dunnum and Salazar-Bravo 2009 and references therein)
Dunnum and Salazar-Bravo 2009 reviewed recent efforts to understand the origin of the domesticated guinea pig. A variety of wild cavy species have been proposed as the progenitor of the domesticated guinea pig based on data ranging from behavior to molecular phylogenetic analyses. In contrast to early suggestions that guinea pigs were the result of multiple domestication events, which would imply that the domestic stock today is derived from multiple species or races, recent work has indicated that C. porcellus is likely the result of a single original domestication event, with subsequent diversification: an initial ancient domestication from a wild species to the domestic pre-Columbian guinea pig, still bred today as the ‘criollo’ (creole) variety throughout the Andean countries; a second step involving European peoples, who took a few creole guinea pigs several hundred years ago and transformed them into the present-day laboratory/pet guinea pig; and a third step involving a modern selection regime of creole guinea pigs to produce an improved animal for meat production. (Spotorno et al. 2006 and references therein). Analysis of molecular data and mummified guinea pigs from archaeological sites suggests several possible stock sources for the original domestication. Most probable appears to be C. tschudii from southern Peru, where the oldest archeological site with guinea pig remains (Ayamachay) is located. A second candidate is C. a. anolaimae from the highlands near Bogota, Colombia, where there is an archaeological site of similar age (Tequendama). A third, perhaps less likely, source population is C. patzelti from the highlands of Chimborazo, Ecuador. Based on their analysis and interpretation of available evidence, Dunnum and Salazar-Bravo conclude that domesticated C. porcellus most likely are derived from populations of C. t. tschudii from the coastal region around Ica, Peru (Spotorno et al. 2006; Dunnum and Salazar-Bravo 2009 and references therein)
Wild Cavia aperea (often considered to be the wild ancestor of the domestic guinea pig--but see above) are born in a highly precocial state and mature early in life, shortly after weaning. Trillmich et al. (2006) investigated the effect of the presence of adults of the opposite sex on age of maturation in C. aperea and C. porcellus. The authors found that social circumstances strongly influenced female age at maturity in both species. Females in the company of adult males matured earlier than those growing up in the exclusive company of same-age females. Male presence halved the time from birth to maturity.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Shapiro, Leo, Shapiro, Leo, EOL Rapid Response Team |
Source | http://eolspecies.lifedesks.org/pages/74922 |
Guinea pigs are extinct in the wild and only live in captivity.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cavia_porcellus/ |
Guinea pig hair and dander can cause severe allergic reactions in some humans.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cavia_porcellus/ |
Endersby, Jim. "Cavia Porcellus: Mathematical Guinea Pigs." In A Guinea Pig's History of Biology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 209-250.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ann Downer-Hazell, Ann Downer-Hazell |
Source | No source database. |