Cavy publications on diversity and domestication

Domestication, diversity and dissemination

• Kruska, D.C.T. and Steffen, K. 2013. Comparative allometric investigations on the skulls of wild cavies (Cavia aperea) versus domesticated guinea pigs (C. aperea f. porcellus) with comments on the domestication of this species. Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 78 (3):178-186.
• Kruska, D.C.T. 2014. Comparative quantitative investigations on brains of wild cavies (Cavia aperea) and guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus). A contribution to size changes of CNS structures due to domestication. Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 79 (4):230-239.
• Rosenfeld, S. 2014. Guinea pig: Domestication. In: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, USA. pp. 3172-3175.

Genetics and breeding

• Herman, P. 2013. Cavy genetics. ACBA Guide book. American Cavy Breeders Association (ACBA), USA; link
• Mayoh, B., Neesam, S. and Warren, N. 2008. Cavy genetics: An Exploration. British Cavy Council (BCC), UK. 22 pp.; link

Molecular studies

• Aviles, D., Landi, V., Delgado, J.V., Vega-Pla, J.L. and Martinez, A. 2015. Isolation and characterisation of a dinucleotide microsatellite set for a parentage and biodiversity study in domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). Italian Journal of Animal Science 14(4):615-620. (URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4081/ijas.2015.3960?scroll=top&needAccess=true)
• Aviles-Esquivel, D.F., Martínez, A.M., Landi, V., Álvarez, L.A., Stemmer, A., Gómez-Urviola, N. and Delgado, J.V. 2018. Genetic characterization of South America domestic guinea pig using molecular markers. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 21(1):1-10. (URL: [[1]])
• Broad Institute. 2010. Guinea pig genome project. Broad Institute, Cambridge MA, USA [cited 2011 Apr 19]; available at: [[2]].
• Burgos-Paz, W., Rosero-Galindo, C., Cárdenas-Henao, H. and Solarte-Portilla, C. 2007. Estudio de la diversidad genética de tres poblaciones de Cavia porcellus Lin. (Rodentia: caviidae) mediante el marcador molecular RAPD. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias 20(4):584. [Conference abstract]
• Burgos-Paz, W., Cerón-Muñoz, M. and Solarte-Portilla, C. 2011. Genetic diversity and population structure of the Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus, Rodentia, caviidae) in Colombia. Genetics and Molecular Biology 34 (4):711-718. [cited 2011 Nov 30], available at: [[3]].
• Campos, H.A. and Ruiz-García, M. 2008. Genética poblacional de cobayas de Colombia, Cavia spp. (Rodentia: Caviidae) con marcadores moleculares RAPD. Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol.) 56(3):1481-1501. [PDF]
• Díaz, M., Falconí-Salas, P., Falconí, C., Rueda, D., Manjunatha, B., Kundapur, R.R. and Ravi, M. 2016. Study of molecular relations between three lines of Cavia porcellus (Guinea pigs) Peru, andina and inti of el prado farm, university of the armed forces–espe, Ecuador. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 8 (3):6 pp. (online)
• Dunnum, J.L. and Salazar-Bravo, J. 2010. Molecular systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Cavia (Rodentia: Caviidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 48(4):376-388.
• Kanitz, R. 2009. Diversidade genética em espécies do gênero Cavia (Rodentia, Mammalia) e a história evolutiva do raro preá de moleques do sul. MSc thesis, Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 60 pp. [cited 2010 Dec 09], available at: [http:tede.pucrs.br/tde_arquivos/23/TDE-2009-04-17T081816Z-1839/Publico/411103.pdf| http:tede.pucrs.br/tde_arquivos/23/TDE-2009-04-17T081816Z-1839/Publico/411103.pdf.]
• Kanitz, R., Trillmich, F. and Bonatto, S.L. 2009. Characterization of new microsatellite loci for the South-American rodents Cavia aperea and C. magna. Conservation Genetics Resources 1(1):47-50.
• Solarte-Portilla, C., Cárdenas-Henao H., Rosero-Galindo, C. and Burgos-Paz, W. 2007. Caracterización molecular de tres líneas de Cavia porcellus mediante la aplicación de AFLP. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias 20(1):49-58. [PDF]
• Spotorno, A.E., Valladares, J.P., Marín, J.C. and Zeballos, H. 2004. Molecular diversity among domestic guinea-pigs (Cavia porcellus) and their close phylogenetic relationship with the Andean wild species Cavia tschudii. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 77:243-250.
• Spotorno, A.E., Marín, J.C., Manríquez, G., Valladares, J.P., Rico, E. and Rivas, C. 2006. Ancient and modern steps during domestication of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus L.). Journal of Zoology 270:57-62.
• Spotorno, A.E., Manríquez, G., Fernández L., A., Marín, J.C., González, F. and Wheeler, J. 2007. Domestication of guinea pigs from a southern Peru-northern Chile wild species and their middle pre-Columbian mummies. In: Kelt, D.A., Lessa, E.P., Salazar-Bravo, J. and Patton, J.L. (eds.). The Quintessential Naturalist: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Oliver P. Pearson. University of California Publications in Zoology 134:367-388. (URL: http://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/122660)
• Trillmich, F., Kraus, C., Künkele, J., Asher, M., Clara, M., Dekomien, G., Epplen, J.T., Saralegui, A. and Sachser, N. 2004. Species-level differentiation of two cryptic species pairs of wild cavies, genera Cavia and Galea, with a discussion of the relationship between social systems and phylogeny in the Caviinae. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82:516-524.

Dispersal to the Caribbean

• Fitzpatrick, S.M. 2015. The Pre-Columbian Caribbean: Colonization, population dispersal, and island adaptations. PaleoAmerica 1(4):305-331.
• Fitzpatrick, S.M. and Keegan, W.F. 2007. Human impacts and adaptations in the Caribbean Islands: An historical ecology approach. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 98:29-45.
• LeFebvre, M.J. and deFrance, S.D. 2014. Guinea pigs in the Pre-Columbian West Indies. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 9(1):16-44.
• Kimura, B.K., LeFebvre, M.J., deFrance, S.D., Knodel, H.I., Turner, M.S., Fitzsimmons, N.S., Fitzpatrick, S.M. and Mulligan, C.J. 2016. Origin of pre-Columbian guinea pigs from Caribbean archeological sites revealed through genetic analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 5:442-452. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289251416_Origin_of_Pre-Columbian_Guinea_Pigs_from_Caribbean_Archeological_Sites_Revealed_through_Genetic_Analysis
• Lord, E.J. 2017. To the Caribbean and beyond: Complete mitogenomes of ancient Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) as a proxy for interaction in the late Ceramic Age. Master of Science Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. (URL: [[4]])
• Lord, E., Collins, C., LeFebvre, M.J. and Matisoo-Smith, E. 2018. Complete mitogenomes of ancient Caribbean Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 17:678-688. (open access; URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X1730562X)
• Newsom, L.A. and Wing, E.S. 2004. On land and sea: Native American uses of biological resources in the West Indies. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, USA. Online available at Project MUSE.

Last update: 10 May 2018

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