Metridiochoerus
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene
Jaw of M. hopwoodi at National Museum of Natural History
M. andrewsi (centre) compared to a living Desert warthog (left) and Notochoerus eulius (right)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Subfamily: Suinae
Genus: †Metridiochoerus
Hopwood, 1926
Type species
†Metridiochoerus andrewsi
Hopwood, 1926
Species
  • M. andrewsi
  • M. compactus
  • M. hopwoodi
  • M. jacksoni
  • M. meadowsi
  • M. modestus

Metridiochoerus is an extinct genus of swine known from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Africa. It is also known as the giant warthog.

Chronology

The oldest specimen dates to around 3.4 million years ago from the Usno Formation in Ethiopia.[1] It probably evolved from a recent immigrant from Eurasia, which has been suggested to be the European "Postpotamochoerus" provincialis.[2] The youngest remains of the genus date to the Late Pleistocene in southern Africa (Zimababwe, and possibly South Africa).[3]

Description

Restoration

Metridiochoerus was a large animal, 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length, resembling a giant warthog. It had two large pairs of tusks which were pointed sideways and curved upwards.[4] The teeth, especially the third molars, become increasingly high crowned (hypsodont) in later species.[1]

Biology

The various species are usually thought to have been grazers,[3] though this has been questioned for the earliest low crowned species.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c White, Tim D.; Howell, F. Clark; Gilbert, Henry (January 2006). "The earliest Metridiochoerus (Artiodactyla: Suidae) from the Usno Formation, Ethiopia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 61 (2): 75–79. doi:10.1080/00359190609519955. ISSN 0035-919X.
  2. ^ M. Pickford ‘Locomotion, diet, body weight, origin and geochronology of Metridiochoerus andrewsi from the Gondolin Karst Deposits, Hauteng, South Africa’ Ann. Ditsong Natl. Mus. Nat. Hist., 3 (1) (2013), pp. 33-47
  3. ^ a b Faith, J. Tyler (January 2014). "Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa". Earth-Science Reviews. 128: 105–121. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.10.009.
  4. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 269. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.


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