Red river hog
Red river hog | |
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Male at Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich, Germany | |
Female with juvenile at Amneville Zoo in Amnéville, France | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Suidae |
Genus: | Potamochoerus |
Species: | P. porcus
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Binomial name | |
Potamochoerus porcus | |
Synonyms | |
Sus porcus Linnaeus, 1758 |
The red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus) or bushpig (a name also used for
Description
The red river hog has striking orange to reddish-brown fur, with black legs and a tufted white stripe along the spine. Adults have white markings around the eyes and on the cheeks and jaws; the rest of the muzzle and face are a contrasting black. The fur on the jaw and the flanks is longer than that on the body, with the males having especially prominent facial whiskers. Unlike other species of pig native to tropical Africa, the entire body is covered in hair, with no bare skin visible.[3]
Adults weigh 45 to 115 kg (99 to 254 lb) and stand 55 to 80 cm (22 to 31 in) tall, with a length of 100 to 145 cm (39 to 57 in).[2] The thin tail is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) long[2] and ends in a tuft of black hair. The ears are also long and thin, ending in tufts of white or black hair that may each 12 cm (4.7 in) in length. Boars are somewhat larger than sows, and have distinct conical protuberances on either side of the snout and rather small, sharp tusks. The facial protuberances are bony and probably protect the boar's facial tendons during head-to-head combat with other males.[3]
Red river hogs have a
Distribution and habitat
The red river hog lives in
Behaviour
Red river hogs are often active during the day, but are primarily
They communicate almost continuously with grunts and squeals with a repertoire that can signal alarm, distress, or passive contact.[2]
The species is
Reproduction
Red river hogs breed seasonally, so that the young are born between the end of the dry season in February and the midpoint of the rainy season in July.
The mother constructs a nest from dead leaves and dry grass before giving birth to a litter of up to six piglets, with three to four being most common.[3] The piglets weigh 650 to 900 g (23 to 32 oz) at birth, and are initially dark brown with yellowish stripes and spots. They are weaned after about four months, and develop the plain reddish adult coat by about six months; the dark facial markings do not appear until they reach adulthood at about two years of age. They probably live for about fifteen years in the wild.[3]
References
- .
- ^ ISBN 0-12-408355-2
- ^ .
- .
- .
- JSTOR 5217.
- .
- ^ "Potamochoerus porcus (Red river hog)". Animal Diversity Web.
- PMID 15876499.