Suidae

Wild Boar ( Sus scrofa)

• Sus
• Hirscheber ( Babyrousa )
• Warthogs ( phacochoerus )
• Giant Forest Hog ( Hylochoerus )
• Bush pigs ( Potamochoerus )

The Real or Old World pigs ( Suidae ) are a mammalian family of the order Artiodactyla ( Artiodactyla ). The New World peccaries or peccaries do not belong to this group, but form a separate family. The pig family includes about 20 species in five genera, including the only living representative of the wild boar in Europe, which is the root form of the domestic pig.

Features

Real pigs are medium-sized mammals that are characterized by a compact, barrel-shaped body shape. The skin is rough and sparsely provided with short, bristle-like hairs. The fur color varies from reddish brown to gray to black. The head fuselage lengths range from 50 to 190 inches, which must be added a 3 to 45 centimeters long tail comes. The weight varies between 6 and 12 kg at the dwarf wild boar up to 350 kg for the heaviest species.

Characteristic of the head are the cone- shaped, elongated skulls, tusks and trunk. This ends in a bare trunk disc which is located around the circular lug openings. The trunk is supported by a bone or cartilage ( trunk leg, Os rostral ) which sits the Zwischenkieferbein. The eyes are located far above the head and small ears narrow and pointed, and sometimes tufted. Within the dentition, the protruding canine teeth, called tusks are, the most obvious indicator, but more pronounced in the males than in the females.

Both the canine teeth of the upper and the lower jaw are rootless and thus permanently increasing. They project a circular upward and outward, through a constant rubbing together they are kept sharp. Most impressively, these canines are among the deer Bern - where the upper tusks grow even through the trunk - and the warthog, where they can be 60 inches long. The upper incisors are small and partially reduced, the lower are elongated and nearly horizontal. The dental formula of the Real pigs I is 1-3/3 C 1/ 1 P 2-4/2-4 M 3/3, for a total they have 34 to 44 teeth. The head is adapted to burrowing in the ground, some species have also warty protuberances on the face.

Real Pigs have four toes on each foot. The first toe is missing always, the third and fourth are enlarged equipped with hooves and carry all the weight. The second and fifth toe, called dew claws lie further up the foot and do not touch the ground usually. The forearm and lower leg bones are always separated.

Distribution and habitat

The natural range of the Real Pigs includes Eurasia and Africa. The greatest species richness prevails here in Southeast Asia, where in the Philippines and Indonesia is home to a not yet finally clarified number of ways. Real pigs prefer forests and wooded areas such as savannas, but too dry regions, they avoid usually.

The domestic pig as a pet has been introduced worldwide, feral populations can now be found in North and South America, Australia and numerous islands.

Way of life

Real pigs are primarily nocturnal, especially where they are disturbed by humans. As Sleeps serve them thick vegetation, self-dug, often disguised with plants caves, natural caves or abandoned burrows of other animals. They are usually found in the vicinity of water, many species take mud baths to cleanse the skin and get rid of parasites. Pigs can run fast and swim well, but in the case of threat they can be aggressive fighters who attack their predators with their tusks.

Real pigs usually live together in groups, often form such groups of one or more females together with their offspring, while adult males live solitary. The territorial behavior in many species is not very pronounced.

Food

Real Pigs are omnivores usually. Take both plant food such as roots, tubers, fruits and leaves as well as animal food such as insects, worms, small vertebrates and carrion to himself. Many species dig with the snout or the tusks on the search for food in the soil.

Reproduction

In many species there is between the males to struggle for the privilege of mating, they are guided by massive headbutts or by fighting with the tusks. The gestation period is usually three to five months, the litter size depending on the type between one and eight. In most species (except Bern deer and hogs ), the young animals have a characteristic stripe dress, which serves to camouflage. Pigs are precocial and are usually weaned after a few weeks.

Swine and human

Especially for their meat, many species are hunted pigs, wild boar for this purpose has also been domesticated at an early stage. This process may have happened 8500 years ago, so they are among the earliest known animals. Some other species such as pigs Sulawesi warty, bush pig or Hirscheber also be kept for this purpose, but mostly in semi- wild form.

Due to hunting and loss of habitat, some species have become rare. Among the most threatened species include the dwarf wild boar and the Visayan Warty Pig, both of which are listed by the IUCN as " critically endangered " ( critically endangered ); some Pustelschweinarten are so far known only from skull remains, so that nothing definite can be said about their exposure.

System

Outer systematics

In the classical system, the rights pigs together with the peccaries or peccaries and hippos the subordination of the pig -like or non-ruminants ( Suina ) within the Artiodactyla. In the phylogenetic systematics must also whales that have evolved from hippo -like ancestors, are included in this group. This comes in the following cladogram expressed:

Pig -like ( Suina, True pigs and peccaries )

Ruminants ( ruminant )

Whales ( Cetacea)

Hippos ( Hippopotamidae )

Calluses Ohler ( Tylopoda, today represented only by the camels )

Inside systematics

The pigs are divided into five genera with about 20 species:

• The genus Sus includes about 10 species, including the wild boar, the boar and the dwarf beard and warty pigs.
• The giant forest hog is the only member of the genus Hylochoerus and is the largest living of pig.
• The Warthogs ( phacochoerus ) include two living species in Africa, the ( Actual ) warthog and the desert warthog.
• The Hirscheber or babirusas ( Babyrousa ) the island of Sulawesi and offshore islands are characterized by the growth of the trunk tusks.