Montane guinea pig Montane guinea pig The montane guinea pig, "Cavia tschudii", a type of rodent, is a guinea pig species from the Andes in South America. The montane guinea pig is the likely ancestor of "Cavia porcellus", the cavy or domestic guinea pig. Peruvian wild guinea pigs were first described by E. T. Bennett in 1835, who termed them "Cavia cutleri". Johann Jakob von Tschudi, in an 1845 publication, used the term "Cavia cutleri" to refer to what are now considered two separate entities - the first, Bennett's "Cavia cutleri", which was later (by Oldfield Thomas in 1917) identified as probably a
Muenster yellow-toothed cavy social play with their offspring and groom them rather than being aggressive. When mothers of this species and their pups are put into a strange environment, the presence of the mothers mitigates increases in blood cortisol levels in their pups; however, this is not observed when the pups are moved together with other mothers that are not their own. "G. monasteriensis" is both sexually and socially monogamous. Both males and females of "G. monasteriensis" defend their territories and care for their pups. Muenster yellow-toothed cavy The Muenster yellow-toothed cavy (Galea monasteriensis) is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae.