Tayassuidae
Tayassuidae (Tayassuids) consists of two native New world suids given below:
- Collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu)
- White lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)
Suids
The suidae (suids) has two sub-genera in India. The Sus-the wild boar and Porcula-the Pigmy hog. The old world wild swine includes the wild boar (Sus scrofa) which was native to Asia and Europe.
In India, wild pigs are seen through out the country in the forests. These are the prolific breeders. The body is stocky and barrel like with the motile snout that is truncated terminally and has a disk like cartilage in the tips.
For rooting and turning the soil of surface, the snout is useful and the animals are having a thick layer of subcutaneous adipose tissues which is a characteristic feature of these animals.
Wild swine of North America
- Feral pigs
- European wild swine
- Native populations of collared peccaries
Wild swine of Africa
- Giant forest pig ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni)
- Bush pig (Potamochoerus porcus)
- Wart hog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)
Note
In Java and Borneo, babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) are seen.
Pigmy Hog
Pigmy Hog animals are seen in small herds of 5 to 20. It is the world’s smallest pig. These animals live in forested tracts of Sikkim and Assam. They are also present in Nepal and Bhutan.
These animals are thought to be extinct once. The habitat preference of this species is similar to wild pigs and the two species are closely related to each other.
