Cavia cobaya; Print; The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus); also known as cavy or domestic cavy; is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name; guinea pigs are not native to Guinea; nor are they biologically related to pigs; and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America; and studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as C. tschudii; and therefore do not exist naturally in the wild.; 1700-1880