Kewel.... The reason they are Called Guinea Pigs is through the Dutch traders. they were so cute the brought them home and sold them as pets for a Guinea... and they do have a grunting squeek... like a pig.
But they do have different properties from other rodents. They cannot manufacture vitimine C in their digestive system... Just like US. they have to eat C in their veggies in order to get the right amount. Probably their similarities to our physiology is why they were used for experiments on drugs.
deb
I watched a nature show a couple of years ago that was about the worlds rodents. It is amazing how many of the there are in the world and the size of them from very small to fairly large. They have adapted to a lot of different conditions and climates too.