Muenster yellow-toothed cavy

The Muenster yellow-toothed cavy (Galea monasteriensis) is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae. It is known only from one location in Valle Hermoso in the Bolivian Andes, at an elevation of 2557 m.[1] Specimens from this location were shipped to Muenster, Germany in 1997 for laboratory research, where the species was recognized and described.[1] Galea monasteriensis was recognized on the basis of morphological, behavioral, and reproductive differences from related species. However, its habits in the wild have not been studied.[1]

Muenster yellow-toothed cavy
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Caviidae
Genus:	Galea
Species:	G. monasteriensis
Binomial name
Galea monasteriensis Solmsdorff, Kock, Hohoff & Sachser, 2004

Since 2016, the IUCN has regarded this population as a subspecies of the common yellow-toothed cavy, i.e. as Galea musteloides ssp. monasteriensis.[1]

Unlike the common yellow-toothed cavy and Spix's yellow-toothed cavy, Muenster yellow-toothed cavy males engage in social play with their offspring and groom them rather than being aggressive. When mothers of this species and their pups are put into a strange environment, the presence of the mothers mitigates increases in blood cortisol levels in their pups; however, this is not observed when the pups are moved together with other mothers that are not their own.[2] G. monasteriensis is both sexually and socially monogamous. Both males and females of G. monasteriensis defend their territories and care for their pups.[3]