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Cavia aperea

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA RODENTIA CAVIIDAE

Scientific Name: Cavia aperea
Species Authority: Erxleben, 1777
Common Name/s:
English – Brazilian Guinea Pig
Taxonomic Notes: The taxonomic status of the whole Cavia aperea group needs to be revised (J. Dunnum and H. Zeballos pers. comm. 2006). This account includes Cavia aperea nana as a subspecies.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2008
Assessor/s: Dunnum, J., Zeballos, H., Vargas, J., Bernal, N., Brito, D., Queirolo, D. Pardinas, U. & D'Elia, G.
Reviewer/s: Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
This species is listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a threat category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: This species occurs in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, north Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay (Dunnum, 2003; Woods and Kilpatrick, 2005). There are no records from French Guiana (Voss et al., 2001). It is found from 400 to around 3,000 m asl (Alberico et al. 2000, J. Vargas pers. comm.). The presence of this species needs to be confirmed in lowland Peru (J. Dunnum, pers comm.).
Countries:
Native:
Argentina; Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Uruguay; Venezuela
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: In Venezuela and Bolivia it is common (Lord, 1999), population densities ranged from 12.5 to 38 per hectare (Asher et al., 2004). In Ecuador it is rare (Tirira, in prep.). It is only known from a single record in Peru and Ecuador. In Peru from Bahuaja Sonene National Park, in Ecuador from Alao, near Sangay National Park (Schliemann, 1981).
Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: This species primarily is associated with savannas and other open habitats (Voss et al., 2001). It is diurnal and crepuscular, living in burrows with many entrances and shared by several individuals (Lord, 1999). In the Bolivian Yungas it occurs in disturbed areas. Asher et al. (2004), investigated populations of single males with one to two females, these males had a home range 880 +/- 217 m² and females 549 +/- 218 m². Gestation time is ~62 days with 1-5 (average 2) pups per litter, with several litters per year and births generally occurring between September and April (Gonzalez, 2001).
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): There are no major threats to this species. Locally, the species is sometimes hunted for food.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: It is present in a number of protected areas throughout its range.
Citation: Dunnum, J., Zeballos, H., Vargas, J., Bernal, N., Brito, D., Queirolo, D. Pardinas, U. & D'Elia, G. 2008. Cavia aperea. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2013.
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