Caviidae Fischer de Waldheim 1817

Caviidae Fischer de Waldheim 1817, Mem. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscow, 5: 372.

Genera: 6 genera with 18 species in 3 subfamilies:

Subfamily Caviinae Fischer de Waldheim 1817

Genus Cavia Pallas 1766 (6 species with 12 subspecies)

Genus Galea Meyen 1832 (3 species with 8 subspecies)

Genus Microcavia H. Gervais and Ameghino 1880 (3 species with 5 subspecies)

Subfamily Dolichotinae Pocock 1922

Genus Dolichotis Desmarest 1820 (2 species with 2 subspecies)

Subfamily Hydrochoerinae Gray 1825

Genus Hydrochoeris Brisson 1762 (2 species)

Genus Kerodon F. Cuvier 1825 (2 species)

Discussion: Name often accredited to Gray, 1821. The Hydrochoerids were included as a subfamily by Tate (1935) and Ellerman (1940) but others (McKenna and Bell, 1997; Miller and Gidley, 1918; Pocock, 1922 a; Woods, 1993) have recognized them as a distinct family. Molecular data (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2002) clearly support the inclusion of Hydrochoeris within the Caviidae . Placed in the superfamily Cavioidea by Woods (1982) and McKenna and Bell (1997).