Rock cavy
Kerodon rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
The rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) is a species in the family Caviidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 800 g to 875.5 g and live up to 11 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the rock cavy
- Weight
- 800 g – 875.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 11 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 12.9 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 75.9 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.52src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At dawn and dusk (crepuscular)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the rock cavy live?
Not recorded
What is the rock cavy?
The rock cavy or mocó (Kerodon rupestris) is a species of cavy that is endemic to eastern Brazil. It has also been introduced to the Atlantic island of Fernando de Noronha.
The rock cavy is called mocó in Brazilian Portuguese, and koriko pexerumen in the Xukuru language of Pernambuco, Brazil.
From the Wikipedia article “Rock cavy” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_cavy&oldid=1374486469), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rock cavy endangered?
The rock cavy is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rock cavy classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCaviidae
- genusKerodon
- SpeciesKerodon rupestris (Wied-Neuwied, 1820)
Synonyms Cavia rupestris
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- MocoEnglish
- قبيعة الصخورArabic
- كابياء الصخورArabic
- moko skalníCzech
- BergmeerschweinchenGerman
- kalliomarsuFinnish
- MocoItalian
- Cavia delle rocceItalian
- モコJapanese
- 모코Korean
- 바위캐비Korean
- KlippemarsvinNorwegian Bokmål
- RotscaviaDutch
- moko skalnyPolish
- MocóPortuguese
- МокоRussian
- Скальная свинкаRussian
Relatives of the rock cavy
Other species in the same genus Kerodon.
Acrobatic cavy
Kerodon acrobata
CompareRock cavy vs Acrobatic cavy
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the rock cavy?
An adult rock cavy weighs 800 g – 875.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the rock cavy endangered?
The rock cavy is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the rock cavy live?
The rock cavy has a recorded lifespan of 11 years.
How long is the rock cavy pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 75.9 days.
What kind of animal is the rock cavy?
The rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) belongs to the family Caviidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-cavy
“Rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-cavy.
@misc{rock_cavy_2026,
title = {Rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-cavy},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}