Caviids, members of Caviidae and also known as the cavy family, are a family of rodents native to South America. Caviids are found in habitats ranging from marshy, tropical floodplain to dry, rocky, high-altitude meadows. Some species live in open grasslands, others are found in semiarid grasslands, barren zones, or in the dry steppes and high mountains of Peru and Argentina.

Cavies have benefited humans for thousands of years. The domestic guinea pig, now found worldwide in captivity, has been bred for meat for more than three thousand years in South America. It is also utilized commonly for animal testing and is also used widely as a pet.

With the exception of the maras, which have a more lagomorph-like appearance, caviids have short, heavy bodies and large heads. Most have no visible tails. They range in size from small species that reach 22 cm in body length up to the capybara, the largest of all rodents at 106 to 134 cm in length.

Species

• capybara
• guinea_pig
• mara
• patagonian_mara

See also

• mammal
• rodent
• caviid