Chacoan mara the capybara, and guinea pigs. Chacoan maras are closely related to the other member of the genus "Dolichotis", the Patagonian mara. Maras are the fourth largest rodent in the world after the capybaras, beavers and porcupines . Though the mara may look like a rabbit, the rabbit is not actually a rodent and therefore not as closely related to the mara as one might expect. Chacoan mara The Chacoan mara, Dolichotis salinicola, is a relatively large South American rodent of the cavy family. They are a close relative of the better known Patagonian mara. The Chacoan mara lives in the
Guinea pig identified by the Institute Armand Frappier in 1978, and Charles River Laboratories has reproduced this breed for research since 1982. Cavy fanciers then began acquiring hairless breeds, and the pet hairless varieties are referred to as "skinny pigs". Guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig ("Cavia porcellus"), also known as cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus "Cavia". Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family Suidae, nor do they come from Guinea in Africa, and the origin of their name is still unclear;