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Domestic guinea pig - CAVIA PORCELLUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Guinea Pig": The "Guinea pig" is not a pig, and it is not from the African country of Guinea. "Guinea" is probably a corruption of the South American country named "Guiana." The species name "porcellus" ("little pig") above just makes this one of many animals whose common name is a misrepresentation of the animal. See also the aardvark, porpoise and porcupine.
Location: In labs and as pets around the world; as farm animals in Latin America.
Habitat: Terrestrial. In areas with dense vegetation.
Description: The coat varies a great deal in color: white, black, gray, and also spotted or dappled with white, yellow, and black. Like the wild guinea pig, from which the domestic form derives, it has a large head, large eyes, and round ears. And like the other species, its molar teeth are rootless and permanently growing. The front feet have four toes and the hind five. It can grow to over a foot long, with just a very small tail. It can weigh a pound and a half.
Behavior: The domestic guinea pig is widely used as a laboratory animal for various types of research, especially in the fields of medicine and pharmacology. A closely related wild guinea pig in the natural state is a nocturnal creature which feeds on all types of plants. It lives in groups of 5 to 10 individuals, and uses well-established paths in its search of food. In the domestic state this animal is extremely adaptable to any habitat.
Reproduction: The female has 2 nipples. Gestation lasts for 68 days and each litter has two to four young, which reach sexual maturity when they are two to three months old.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
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