Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into between four and eight genera. Within this family, the genus Sus includes the domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus, and many species of wild pig from Europe to the Pacific. Other genera include babirusas and warthogs. All suids, or swine, are native to the Old World, ranging across Afro-Eurasia.

The earliest fossil suids date from the Oligocene epoch in Asia, and their descendants reached Europe during the Miocene. Several fossil species are known and show adaptations to a wide range of different diets, from strict herbivory to possible carrion-eating (in Tetraconodontinae).

Physical characteristics

Suids belong to the order Artiodactyla, and are generally regarded as the living members of that order most similar to the ancestral form. Unlike most other members of the order, they have four hooves on each foot, although they walk only on the middle two digits, with the others staying clear of the ground. They also have a simple stomach, rather than the more complex ruminant stomach found in most other artiodactyl families.

They are small to medium animals, varying in size from 58 to 66cm (23 to 26in) in length, and 6 to 9kg (13 to 20lb) in weight in the case of the pygmy hog, to 130–210cm (4.3–6.9ft) and 100–275kg (220–606lb) in the giant forest hog. They have large heads and short necks, with relatively small eyes and prominent ears. Their heads have a distinctive snout, ending in a disc-shaped nose. Suids typically have a bristly coat, and a short tail ending in a tassle.[citation needed] The males possess a corkscrew-shaped penis, which fits into a similarly shaped groove in the female's cervix.

Suids have a well-developed sense of hearing, and are vocal animals, communicating with a series of grunts, squeals, and similar sounds. They also have an acute sense of smell. Many species are omnivorous, eating grass, leaves, roots, insects, worms, and even frogs or mice. Other species are more selective and purely herbivorous.

Their teeth reflect their diet, and suids retain the upper incisors, which are lost in most other artiodactyls. The canine teeth are enlarged to form prominent tusks, used for rooting in moist earth or undergrowth, and in fighting. They have only a short diastema. The number of teeth varies between species, but the general dental formula is: 1–3.1.2–4.3030.1.020.3.

Behavior and reproduction

Wild boar feeding on carcass in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Suids are intelligent and adaptable animals. Adult females (sows) and their young travel in a group (sounder; see List of animal names), while adult males (boars) are either solitary, or travel in small bachelor groups. Males generally are not territorial, and come into conflict only during the mating season.

Litter size varies between one and twelve, depending on the species. The mother prepares a grass nest or similar den, which the young leave after about ten days. Suids are weaned at around three months, and become sexually mature at 18 months. In practice, however, male suids are unlikely to gain access to sows in the wild until they have reached their full physical size, at around four years of age. In all species, the male is significantly larger than the female, and possesses more prominent tusks.

Classification

Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus)
Chleuastochoerus fossil skull

The following 18 extant species of suid are currently recognised:

ImageGenusLiving species
Sus – pigsSus ahoenobarbus – Palawan bearded pig Sus barbatus – Bornean bearded pig Sus cebifrons – Visayan warty pig Sus celebensis – Sulawesi warty pig Sus oliveri – Mindoro warty pig Sus philippensis – Philippine warty pig Sus scrofa – wild boar Sus scrofa domesticus – domestic pig (sometimes treated as a full species, S. domestica) Sus verrucosus – Javan warty pig
PorculaPorcula salvania – pygmy hog
HylochoerusHylochoerus meinertzhageni – giant forest hog
PotamochoerusPotamochoerus larvatus – bushpig Potamochoerus porcus – red river hog
Phacochoerus – warthogPhacochoerus africanus – common warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus – desert warthog
Babyrousa – babirusaBabyrousa babyrussa – Moluccan babirusa Babyrousa bolabatuensis – Bola Batu babirusa Babyrousa celebensis – North Sulawesi babirusa Babyrousa togeanensis – Togian babirusa

Phylogeny

Cladogram of Suidae. Mikko's Phylogeny Archive (Based is McKenna & Bell, 1997, Liu, 2003 и Harris & Liu, 2007):

? † Mabokopithecus † Hemichoerus † Paradoxodonides † Cainochoerus †Hyotheriinae † Chleuastochoerus † Dubiotherium † Sinapriculus † Hyotherium †Listriodontinae † Listriodon † Lopholistriodon † Eurolistriodon † Bunolistriodon †Kubanochoerinae † Nguruwe ? † Kenyasus † Libycochoerus † Megalochoerus † Kubanochoerus † Miochoerus †Tetraconodontinae † Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus †Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
? † Mabokopithecus
† Hemichoerus
† Paradoxodonides
† Cainochoerus
†Hyotheriinae † Chleuastochoerus † Dubiotherium † Sinapriculus † Hyotherium †Listriodontinae † Listriodon † Lopholistriodon † Eurolistriodon † Bunolistriodon †Kubanochoerinae † Nguruwe ? † Kenyasus † Libycochoerus † Megalochoerus † Kubanochoerus † Miochoerus †Tetraconodontinae † Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus †Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
†Hyotheriinae† Chleuastochoerus † Dubiotherium † Sinapriculus † Hyotherium
† Chleuastochoerus
† Dubiotherium
† Sinapriculus
† Hyotherium
†Listriodontinae † Listriodon † Lopholistriodon † Eurolistriodon † Bunolistriodon †Kubanochoerinae † Nguruwe ? † Kenyasus † Libycochoerus † Megalochoerus † Kubanochoerus † Miochoerus †Tetraconodontinae † Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus †Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
†Listriodontinae † Listriodon † Lopholistriodon † Eurolistriodon † Bunolistriodon †Kubanochoerinae † Nguruwe ? † Kenyasus † Libycochoerus † Megalochoerus † Kubanochoerus
†Listriodontinae† Listriodon † Lopholistriodon † Eurolistriodon † Bunolistriodon
† Listriodon
† Lopholistriodon
† Eurolistriodon
† Bunolistriodon
†Kubanochoerinae† Nguruwe ? † Kenyasus † Libycochoerus † Megalochoerus † Kubanochoerus
† Nguruwe
? † Kenyasus
† Libycochoerus
† Megalochoerus
† Kubanochoerus
† Miochoerus †Tetraconodontinae † Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus †Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
† Miochoerus
†Tetraconodontinae † Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus †Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
†Tetraconodontinae† Conohyus † Tetraconodon † Parachleuastochoerus † Lophochoerus † Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus
† Conohyus
† Tetraconodon
† Parachleuastochoerus
† Lophochoerus
† Sivachoerus † Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus
† Sivachoerus
† Nyanzachoerus † Notochoerus
† Nyanzachoerus
† Notochoerus
†Namachoerinae † Namachoerus Suinae Suini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
†Namachoerinae† Namachoerus
SuinaeSuini † Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
Suini† Korynochoerus † Hippopotamodon † Eumaiochoerus † Microstonyx Sussensu lato Sus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys
† Korynochoerus
† Hippopotamodon
† Eumaiochoerus
† Microstonyx
Sussensu latoSus sensu stricto Porcula ? Dasychoerus ? Euhys
Sus sensu stricto
Porcula
? Dasychoerus
? Euhys
Potamochoerini ? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus †Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
Potamochoerini? † Celebochoerus ? † Propotamochoerus † "Kolpochoerus" afarensis Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus
? † Celebochoerus
? † Propotamochoerus
† "Kolpochoerus" afarensis
Potamochoerus † Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus
Potamochoerus
† Kolpochoerus Hylochoerus
† Kolpochoerus
Hylochoerus
†Hippohyini † Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
†Hippohyini† Sivahyus † Hippohyus ? † Sinohyus
† Sivahyus
† Hippohyus
? † Sinohyus
Babyrousini Babyrousa Phacochoerini † Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
BabyrousiniBabyrousa
Phacochoerini† Potamochoeroides † Metridiochoerus Phacochoerus
† Potamochoeroides
† Metridiochoerus
Phacochoerus

External links

Data related toSuidaeat Wikispecies Media related toSuidaeat Wikimedia Commons