Are guinea pigs really rodents?

[Curtis Clark]

At 09:13 AM 10/13/99 -0700, Ken Kinman wrote:
>The "pig" part is apparently from piglike
>sounds they make when frightened (I've never had one so
>don't know from personal experience).

It's more of a whistle, and seems to be used for social communication as
well (individuals kept as pets seldom whistle - AFAIK - but colonies kept
as lab animals can be very noisy.

What "non-rodent" is more closely related to rats, mice, and squirrels than
guinea pigs are? (That's what polyphyletic implies.)

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