The
guinea pig (
Cavia porcellus), also called the
cavy or
domestic guinea pig, is a species of
rodent belonging to the family
Caviidae and the genus
Cavia. Despite their
common name, these animals are not in the
pig family, nor are they from
Guinea. They originated in the
Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and
hybridization suggested they are
domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as
Cavia aperea,
C. fulgida, or
C. tschudii and, therefore, do not exist naturally in the wild. Recent studies applying molecular markers, in addition to studying the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, revealed that the ancestor is most likely
Cavia tschudii.