guinea pig
Two adult guinea pigs
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Caviidae
Genus:	Cavia
Species:	C. porcellus
Binomial name
Cavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Mus porcellus Cavia cobaya Cavia anolaimae Cavia cutleri Cavia leucopyga Cavia longipilis

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are a kind of rodent. They are not pigs and are not from Guinea. The reason for why this is the name is unclear. They are also called cavies. They are domesticated animals which originated in the Andes.

Studies on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are descendants of a closely related species of cavy. They do not occur naturally in the wild.