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1 July 2015 Potamochoerus porcus (Artiodactyla: Suidae)
David M. Leslie, Brent A. Huffman
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Abstract

Potamochoerus porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a monotypic suid commonly known as the red river hog. It is 1 of 2 species in the genus Potamochoerus and among the smallest and most plesiomorphic (ancestral) of the 8 African suids. This is the brightest colored wild pig species and is identified by its rufous coat and white dorsal crest; spectacled black-and-white facemask; and elongated, leaf-shaped ears that end in terminally drooping tufts of hair. P. porcus lives in damp forests throughout the rainforest belt of western and central Africa; it never ranges far from thick vegetative cover, soft soils, and water. Although P. porcus is commonly harvested for subsistence and urban bushmeat markets, it is considered of “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

© 2015 American Society of Mammalogists
David M. Leslie and Brent A. Huffman "Potamochoerus porcus (Artiodactyla: Suidae)," Mammalian Species 47(919), 15-31, (1 July 2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/mspecies/sev002
Published: 1 July 2015
KEYWORDS
African rainforest
Afrotropical suid
bushmeat
gregarious pig
red river hog
suid
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