| Caviinae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cavia porcellus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Caviidae |
| Subfamily: | Caviinae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 |
| Genera | |
†Cardiomys | |
Caviinae is a subfamily uniting all living members of the familyCaviidae with the exception of themaras,capybaras, andKerodon. The subfamily traditionally contained the guinea pig or cavy-like forms along with the cursorially adapted (running)Kerodon.Molecular results suggest the Caviinae as so defined would beparaphyletic andKerodon is more closely related to maras and capybaras than to other caviines.[1] This led Woods and Kilpatrick (2005) to uniteKerodon and capybaras into the subfamilyHydrochoerinae within the Caviidae. These studies also suggestMicrocavia andCavia are more closely related to one another than either is toGalea.
