[5]: 606 The American Guinea Hog is a rare breed with a black coat, sturdy body, curly tail and upright ears.

[7] The true African Guinea hogs are a large, red breed with upright ears, bristly hair and long tails, suggesting genetic influence of the Nigerian black or Ashanti pig.

These pigs were popular with subsistence farmers, not only through their ability to forage for themselves, but also because their habit of eating snakes made the farmyard safe for children and livestock.

However, that there is a relationship is shown by the occasional birth of a reddish pig to the normally bluish-black American Guinea parents.

The Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo for a number of years was home to several guinea hogs.