[Gpdd] [MISC] <cavy relatives!!! Hooray!!! I'm a dork>

[Lauren Cordeiro]

Hey I'm having a wicked good time wasting all my time looking at pictures of guinea pig relatives!!!!!! 
Here are pictures of WILD GUINEA PIGS!!!! They are of the same Genus, Cavia, as domestic guinea pigs, but they are of a different Species, tschudii and aperea, respectively, than the domesticated guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

Cavia tschudii:
http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/images/img.mid.rodentia.caviidae.cavia.tschudii.3.gif
Cavia aperea:
http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/images/img.mid.rodentia.caviidae.cavia.aperea.5.gif 
  a.. There are eight species within the Cavia genus. (translation: there are eight species of cavies/guinea pigs.) http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/rodentia.caviidae.cavia.html
  b.. The domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, has been around for about 3,000 years, although, sadly, as a food source. It likely descended from one of the eight other species of guinea pigs.
  c.. In case you guys were like me and slept during biology, scientists waste their time classifying every single living thing (!) by several categories, grouping them by how they are related. It's called taxonomy or something. Here's the how the guinea pig pays taxes. Actually, a lot of people dispute the classification of guinea pigs, and even if they are rodents!!! Here is what the smithsonian says:
  1.. Kingdom: Animalia - because they're not plants or squishy microbe thingies
  2.. Phylum: Chordata - they have vertebraes or something, who cares, next.....
  3.. Class: Mammalia - they are warm and and have nipples, even the guys - why do guys have nipples????
  4.. Order: Rodentia - ok, this is disputed, but they have the cute little rodent eyes, like squirrels and such. I loooovvvveeee squirrels!!! And rats!!!!
  5.. Suborder: Hystricognathi - This puts them in the chinchilla/capybara/misc. category of rodents, as opposed to the straightforward rat/mouse/squirrel. A Western bias, if you ask me.
  6.. Family: Caviidae - the Patagonian Cavies also belong to this Family!!! (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/john_white/mara002.jpg/medium.jpg) There are also cute "Rock Cavies," (http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/images/img.mid.rodentia.caviidae.kerodon.rupestris.1.gif) "Mountain Cavies," (http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/images/img.mid.rodentia.caviidae.microcavia.australis.1.gif) and "Yellow-Toothed Cavies" (http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/rodentia/images/img.mid.rodentia.caviidae.galea.musteloides.1.gif) in this family, but, frankly, the good ole' cavy is the best-looking of the bunch.
  7.. Genus: Cavia - the guinea pigs
  8.. Species: porcellus - the domestic guinea pigs
  a.. The "scientific name" of an animal is its Genus followed by its Species. Our babes' scientific names are Cavia porcellus. I have no idea what my scientific name is. It's not important.
I know you could find all this boring information on your own if you actually cared by doing a quick search, but I decided to bring it to you because I'm a dork!!!
p.s. all of this stuff was obviously ripped off from some other source. What, do you think I made this stuff up? Wheeks and kisssess,
Lauren, Piglet and Pooh Bear