The genus Kerodon contains two species of South American rock cavies related to capybaras.

Characteristics

Adults weigh about 800 grams. Gestation period is 76-77 days with 1-3 young born to females. Metabolic rate is 0.45 ml-O₂/(g h) (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2003). It is found in rocky habitat in arid regions.

Behavior

Like their relatives, the capybara and the maras, members of the genus Kerodon are highly social (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2003). Kerodon, like its relative the capybara, is polygynous with males forming harems.

Classification

Traditionally the genus Kerodon has been considered a member of the subfamily Caviinae along with the guinea pigs and other cavies. Molecular results have consistently suggested that Kerodon is most closely related to the capybara, and that the two evolved from within the Caviidae (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2002). This led Woods and Kilpatrick (2005) to unite the two into the subfamily Hydrochoerinae within the Caviidae. Using a molecular clock approach, Opazo (2005) suggested that Kerodon diverged from Hydrochoerus (the capybara) in the late Middle Miocene.

Species

• Genus Kerodon
• Kerodon acrobata - Climbing Cavy
• Kerodon rupestris - Rock Cavy

References

• Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
• Opazo, J. C. 2005. A molecular timescale for Caviomorph rodents (Mammalia, Hystricognathi). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37:932-937.
• Rowe, D. L. and R. L. Honeycutt. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships, ecological correlates, and molecular evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19:263-277.
• Woods, C. A. and C. W. Kilpatrick. 2005. Infraorder Hystricognathi. Pp 1538-1600 in Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds.). Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.