Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
CAVIIDAE - CAVIES
Four species of medium to large, stout-bodied, open-country rodent. Four toes on the forefeet and three on the hindfeet. The tail is short or absent, in the field often not visible from below the pelage. Pelage is stiff with banded hairs giving a grizzled appearance. Molars are piriform with an open root, growing continuously through life.
Skull: Snout laterally flattened. Orbital processes poorly-developed or lacking. Thin palatine. Conspicuous bullae. Masetero Crest of mandible is well-developed and near parallel to alveoli forming a long fossa. Angular processes long and pointed.
Caviinae: Cavies (Guinea-pigs)
Two species with short legs, short ears and no tail. The radius is shorter than the humerus. The pads on the feet are naked.
Skull: Palatine ends in a U-shape parallel to the third molar.
Dolichotinae: Maras
A single, superficially rabbit-like species with long legs, long ears and a short tail. The radius is longer than the humerus. The pads on the feet are furred.
Skull: Palatine ends in a V-shape parallel to the second molar.
Hydrochoerinae: Capybara
A single aquatic species, the world´s largest rodent. Formerly classified in its own separate family Hydrochoeridae. Vestigial tail and short, rounded ears give impression of a giant guinea-pig. Nose and eyes located high on the head, allowing the animal to submerge most of the body whilst swimming. Upper lip with vertical cleft. Molars consist of transverse lamellae joined with cementum, the third molar being the longest. Males possess a bare glandular patch on the upper side of the snout and anal glands for territorial marking. Genitals are covered by an anal flap.
Skull: Massive, square. Long, thin para-occipital processes.
Click here to view the Caviidae Comparative Skull Gallery
REFERENCES
Diaz MM & Barquez RM 2002 - Los Mamíferos de Jujuy, Argentina - LOLA
Emmons LH & Feer F 1999 - Mamíferos de los Bosques Húmedos de América Tropical - FAN Bolivia
Opazo JC 2005 - A Molecular Timescale for Caviomorph Rodents (Mammalia: Histricognathi) - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: p932-937.
Redford K 1992 - Mammals of the Neotropics Vol 2: The Southern Cone Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - University of Chicago Press.
Rowe D, Honeycutt RL 2002 - Phylogenetic Relationships, Ecological Correlates and Molecular Evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia: Rodentia) - Molecular Biology and Evolution 22: p263-267.
