Ca.vi.i.bac.te'ri.um. N.L. fem. n. Cavia generic Latin name for the guinea pig Cavia porcellus; N.L. neut. n. bacterium rod; N.L. neut. n. Caviibacterium a bacterium isolated from a guinea pig.

Proteobacteria / Gammaproteobacteria / Pasteurellales / Pasteurellaceae / Caviibacterium

The genus Caviibacterium was established based on the characterization of 14 strains mainly from guinea pigs. The taxon was previously classified as Bisgaard taxon 5 on the basis of phenotypic characteristics. The genus currently presents as a typical member of the family Pasteurellaceae with respect to cultural characteristics and colony morphologies, which are small, regular, and circular with smooth and shiny appearance and a white‐gray tinge. The taxon formed a monophyletic group based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison and partial rpoB sequence analysis compared to the other genera of the family. The genus possesses the phenotypic characteristics of the members of Pasteurellaceae. Published data on DNA–DNA hybridization showed a high degree of genotypic relationship between the strains of Caviibacterium, and the genus consists of only one species Caviibacterium pharyngocola. With the exception of Avibacterium, two or more phenotypic characters separate Caviibacterium from the other genera of the family Pasteurellaceae. The type species is Caviibacterium pharyngocola.

DNA G + C content (mol%): For strains 3.3 and 10.3, 42.1 and 40.0, respectively (Tm) (Bisgaard et al., 1983). The G + C content of the type strain 7.3T of Caviibacterium pharyngocola was 43.4 mol% established by whole‐genomic sequencing (Adhikary et al., 2018).

Type species: Caviibacterium pharyngocola Adhikary et al. 2018VP.