Platygonus

Platygonus Temporal range: Pliocene to Holocene, 5–0.011Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Platygonus compressus reconstruction at Harvard University
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Tayassuidae
Genus:	Platygonus Le Conte, 1848
Species[1]
P. bicalcaratus P. brachirostris P. compressus (type) P. intermedius P. oregonensis P. pearcei P. vetus

Platygonus ("flat head" in reference to the straight shape of the forehead)^[2] is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs (10.3 million to 11,000 years ago), existing for about 10.289 million years.^[1]

Platygonus was a gregarious animal and, like modern peccaries, possibly traveled in herds. It ranged from southern Canada to Mexico and from California to Pennsylvania. Stratigraphically, it occurs throughout the Pleistocene (Calabrian), and as early as the Blancan in the Gelasian of the Pliocene. The most recent credible date obtained for its remains is about 11,000 BP.^[3]

Taxonomy

Platygonus was named by Leconte (1848). It was assigned to Tayassuidae by Le Conte (1848), Hoare et al. (1964) and Carroll (1988).

Morphology

Restoration

Platygonus compressus skull in The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Platygonus was larger than modern peccaries, at around 1 m (3.3 ft) in body length, and had long legs, allowing it to run well. It also had a pig-like snout and long, carnivore-like tusks which were probably used to fend off predators.^[4] It had a complex digestive system, similar to that of a modern ruminant.

Body mass

Four specimens were examined by M. Mendoza for body mass, with the following estimations on weight:^[5]

• Specimen 1: 133.1 kg (290 lb)
• Specimen 2: 162 kg (360 lb)
• Specimen 3: 131 kg (290 lb)
• Specimen 4: 116.6 kg (260 lb)

Notes

References