Cape warthog
| Cape warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Eutheria |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Subfamily: | Phacochoerinae |
| Genus: | Phacochoerus |
| Species: | P. aethiopicus |
| Subspecies: | P. a. aethiopicus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Phacochoerus aethiopicus aethiopicus | |
The Cape warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus aethiopicus) is an extinct pig that had originally resided in South Africa. The Cape warthog is quite distinguishable from other hogs, yet it has similar properties to that of a desert warthog. Some common differences between the Cape warthog and the extant warthog, P. africanus, include:
- The skull is smaller, but broader
- The frontal area of the zygomatic arch is thickened by internal sinuses and is swollen into a round hollow knob in front of the jugal-squamosal suture (in P. africanus, the zygomatic arch may be robust, but it is not thickened, and there is no knob).
- There are never incisors in P. aethiopicus, yet a regular warthog has two incisors in the upper jaw and six in the lower.
- In the Cape warthog, the large third molars are different from those of P. africanus because no roots would be formed by the time all the enamel columns have gone into wear.
- A typical warthog has two spherical pits in the back of the skull, and the Cape warthog has them too, but they are many times larger.