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 in the 19th and 20th centuries that the epithet "guinea pig" came into use to describe a human test subject. Since that time, they have been largely replaced by other rodents such as mice and rats. However, they are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy (like humans, they must get vitamin C), and pregnancy complications. The scientific name of the common species is "Cavia porcellus", with "" being Latin for "little pig". "Cavia" is New Latin; it is derived from "cabiai", the animal's name in the language of the