Collared peccary

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Collared Peccary
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Collared peccary

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2][note 1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Tayassuidae
Genus: Dicotyles
Cuvier, 1816
Species:
D. tajacu
Binomial name
Dicotyles tajacu
Synonyms

Pecari tajacu
Sus tajacu Linnaeus, 1758
Muknalia minima Stinnesbeck et al, 2017

The collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Dicotyles. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno, taitetu, or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family. The species is also known as the musk hog. In Trinidad, it is colloquially known as quenk.[3]

Taxonomy

Although somewhat related to true Old World pigs, and frequently referred to as a pig, this species and the other peccaries are no longer classified in the pig family,

IUCN still places them in the genus Pecari.[1]

Description

Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History

The collared peccary stands around 510–610 mm (20–24 in) tall at the shoulder and is about 1.0–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) long. It weighs between 16 and 27 kg (35 and 60 lb).

dental formula is: 2/3,1/1,3/3,3/3.[7] The collared peccary has small tusks that point toward the ground when the animal is upright. It has slender legs with a robust or stocky body. The tail is often hidden in the coarse fur of the peccary.[8]

Range and habitat

The collared peccary is widespread throughout much of the tropical and subtropical

Due to the lack of fossil material or even specimens from archeological sites, it was assumed that javelinas only recently crossed into the US from further south by way of Mexico, being previously excluded from the region by competition with the now-extinct flat-headed peccary (Platygonus compressus) and long-nosed peccary (Mylohyus nasutus). The first records of the species in its US range are from 18th-century Jesuit missions, and no evidence of remains is known from sites prior to 1700.[12] However, in 2009, a fossil jaw of this species was described from Florida, proving that at some point in the late Pleistocene the species had already inhabited part of the Southern US and coexisted with the other two peccary species.[13] The spread of javelinas throughout the Southwest may have been due to the overgrazing of native grasslands by livestock, leading to their replacement by cacti and mesquite, which are more desirable habitat for javelinas.[12]

Diet

Collared peccaries are often classified as herbivores. They normally feed on

fungi,[14] and insects.[3] However, they will also eat eggs, snakes, fish, frogs,[14] lizards, dead birds, and rodents if the opportunity presents itself.[15] Despite all this supplementary diet, the main dietary components of this species are agaves and prickly pears.[14] In areas inhabited by humans, they also consume cultivated crops and ornamental plants, such as tulip bulbs.[10][11]

Predators

The main predators of the collared peccary are cougars (Puma concolor), Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi), coyotes (Canis latrans), jaguars (Panthera onca), and bobcats (Lynx rufus).[16]

Behavior

Collared peccaries are

diurnal creatures that live in groups of up to 50 individuals, averaging between six and nine animals. They sleep in burrows (often under bushes or larger systems of tree roots), but sometimes can be found in caves, abandoned mines, old desert tunnels, or among logs, felled trees and abandoned timber.[8]
However, collared peccaries are not completely diurnal. In central Arizona, they are often more active at night, and less so in the heat of the daytime.

Although they usually ignore humans, they will react if they feel threatened. They defend themselves with their tusks. A collared peccary can release a strong musk or give a sharp bark if it is alarmed.

Shipibos
) sometimes raise and tame juvenile collared peccaries, if they are encountered.

Peccary will also rub their scent onto rocks and tree stumps to mark their territory, and rub the scent on each other to help with identification.[15]

The "giant peccary"

The giant peccary (described as Pecari maximus) was a purported fourth species of

IUCN the same year.[1]

The reported range of the giant peccary encompasses the south-central

Tapajós Rivers and northern Bolivia.[22] It is restricted to terra firme forest, which is forest that does not flood annually. Unlike other peccaries in its range, the giant peccary was reported to mainly occur in pairs or small family groups.[17]

According to its original description, the giant peccary is larger, longer-legged, and proportionally smaller-headed than the only other member of the genus, the collared peccary.

In 2011, a review noted that the measurements provided in the initial description were within those generally recognized for the collared peccary, and the behaviors supposedly unique to the giant peccary are also known from the collared peccary.

infraspecific variations (both individual and locality-based) are known in the morphology of the collared peccary.[1]

Gallery

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Excluding the populations of Mexico and the United States of America.

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 18 February 2022. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c "Tayassu tajacu (Collared Peccary or Quenk)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  4. S2CID 222846767
    .
  5. ^ "Dicotyles tajacu (Linnaeus, 1758)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  6. ^ "Collared Peccary: Javelina ~ Tayaussa ~ Musk Hog". Digital West Media Inc. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  7. .
  8. ^ .
  9. ^ "A un año de su liberación, los pecaríes ya se adaptaron y tienen cría". ecos.la (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  10. ^ a b Friederici, Peter (August–September 1998). "Winners and Losers". National Wildlife Magazine. 36 (5). National Wildlife Federation.
  11. ^ ]
  12. ^ a b Taylor, Rick; Synatzske, David R. (2008). The Javelina in Texas (PDF). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
  13. ^ Hulbert, Richard C.; Morgan, Gary S.; Kerner, Andreas (January 2009). "Collared peccary (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Tayassuidae, Pecari) from the late Pleistocene of Florida". Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology, and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne: 543–555 – via ResearchGate.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Ingmarsson, Lisa. "Pecari tajacu (collared peccary)". Animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Animal Fact Sheet: Collared Peccary or Javelina". Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  16. ^ Ingmarsson, Lisa. "Pecari tajacu (collared peccary)". Animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  17. ^ a b c Roosmalen, M.G.M.; Frenz, L.; Hooft, W.F. van; Iongh, H.H. de; Leirs, H. 2007. A New Species of Living Peccary (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) from the Brazilian Amazon. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 55(2): 105–112.
  18. ^ a b Gongora, J., Taber, A., Keuroghlian, A., Altrichter, M., Bodmer, R.E., Mayor, P., Moran, C., Damayanti, C.S., González S. (2007). Re-examining the evidence for a ‘new’ peccary species, Pecari maximus, from the Brazilian Amazon. Newsletter of the Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos Specialist Group of the IUCN/SSC. 7(2): 19–26.
  19. ^ Trials of a Primatologist. Archived 2009-10-14 at the Portuguese Web Archive, Smithsonianmag.com. accessed March 15, 2008
  20. ^ Gongora, J. (2008). "Pecari maximus". Retrieved 25 November 2008.[dead link]
  21. ^ a b Gongora, J., Biondo, C., Cooper, J.D., Taber, A., Keuroghlian, A., Altrichter, M., Ferreira do Nascimento, F., Chong, A.Y., Miyaki, C.Y., Bodmer, R., Mayor, P. and González, S. (2011). Revisiting the species status of Pecari maximus van Roosmalen et al., 2007 (Mammalia) from the Brazilian Amazon. Bonn Zoological Bulletin 60(1): 95-101.
  22. ^ Moravec, J., & Böhme, W. (2009). Second Find of the Recently Discovered Amazonian Giant Peccary, Pecari maximus (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) van Roosmalen et al., 2007: First Record from Bolivia Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 56(1-2): 49-54.

External links