#0339 · 🦊 mammals

Brazilian Guinea Pig

🇳🇱 Braziliaanse Cavia ·Cavia aperea

LCleast concern 🦊 Mammals 📍 outside Europe

7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Cláudio Dias Timm · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
2. © Fernando Sessegolo · CC0
3. © José Carlos Merino Mombach · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Gustavo Fernando Durán · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
5. © Gustavo Fernando Durán · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
6. © eindeli · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Gabriel Celedon · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The Brazilian guinea pig ( Cavia aperea ) ( preá in Portuguese) is a guinea pig species found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 4,722iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
4,722 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 (249 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Brazilian Guinea Pig
Nederlands: Braziliaanse Cavia
scientific name: Cavia aperea
class: Mammalia
order: Rodentia
family: Caviidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
sightings in NL: 0
sightings worldwide: 4,722
GBIF records in NL: 20
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1777 by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Caviidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 43813, Wikidata Q679706, GBIF 5219704, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.