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An Ultimate Ungulate Fact Sheet: Discover the ungulates of the world!
 Potamochoerus larvatus
 Bush pig

Taxonomy | Description | Reproduction | Ecology | Behavior | Distribution | Conservation | Remarks | Literature

Taxonomy
Classification
 

Kingdom :
Phylum :
Class :
Order :
Suborder :
Family :
Tribe :
Genus :

Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Cetartiodactyla
Suiformes
Suidae
Potamochoerini
Potamochoerus

Potamochoerus larvatus [F. Cuvier, 1822].
Citation: Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 8:447.
Type locality: Madagascar (no precise locality).

The taxonomic record (above) is taken from Wilson and Reeder (1993).

africanus (larvatus) arrhenii (larvatus) choeropotamus (larvatus) congicus (larvatus) cottoni (larvatus) daemonis (larvatus) edwardsi (larvatus) hassama (larvatus) hova (larvatus) intermedius (larvatus) johnstoni (larvatus) keniae (larvatus) koiropotamus (larvatus) madagascariensis (larvatus) maschona (larvatus) nyasae (larvatus) somaliensis (larvatus)

Click on the pictures above for a larger view of the photographs

General Characteristics

scientific measurements.

Reported measurements for bush pig (Potamochoerus larvatus)

Source                   Adult Weight   Head & Body Length    Shoulder Height     Tail Length 

Coat long, interspersed with elongated bristles (Lydekker, 1915).

Skin frequently visible between individual hairs (Lydekker, 1915).

General color variable (Lydekker, 1915).

Often grey or blackish, also reddish brown (Lydekker, 1915).

Rufous color, where present, is most pervasive on back, not sides (Lydekker, 1915).

Tail with black tuft (Lydekker, 1915).

Well-developed dorsal crest, running from the ears to the rump (Lydekker, 1915).

Mane bristles generally dark with conspicuous white tips (Lydekker, 1915).

Ears black externally (Lydekker, 1915).

Forehead greyish (Lydekker, 1915).

Broad balckish ring around muzzle between the rostrum and tubersoities (Lydekker, 1915).

Facial tuberosities strongly developed in mature males (Lydekker, 1915).

Ontogeny and Reproduction

O & R

Ecology

Ecology

Behavior

Behavior

Distribution

Distribution

Countries: (IUCN, 2006).

Range Map (Redrawn from Vercammen et al., 1993)

Conservation Status

Status

Remarks

Remarks

Local names ()
[]
 
French
()
 
German
()
 
Spanish
()
Literature Cited
Lydekker, R.  1915.  Catalogue of the Ungulate Mammals in the British Museum of Natural History,  Volume IV.  London: the Order of the Trustees of the British Museum.

Vercammen, P., A. H. W. Seydack, and W. L. R. Oliver.  1993.  The bush pigs (Potamochoerus porcus and P. larvatus).  In Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos: Status Survey and Action Plan.  Edited by W. L. R. Oliver.   Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.  pp. 93-101.  Available online at http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/pphsg/Contents.htm

Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder [editors]. 1993. Mammal Species of the World (Second Edition). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.  Available online at http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/

Additional Resources

IEA (Institute of Applied Ecology) 1998.  Potamochoerus larvatus.  In African Mammals Databank - A Databank for the Conservation and Management of the African Mammals.  Bruxelles: European Commission Directorate. Available online at http://gorilla.bio.uniroma1.it/amd/amd325b.html

*African swine fever virus infection of the bushpig (Potamochoerus porcus) and its significance in the epidemiology of the disease

Anderson, E.C.1; Hutchings, G.H.2; Mukarati, N.3; Wilkinson, P.J.

Veterinary Microbiology, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 1-15, April 1998

*Importance, cause and effect of bushmeat hunting in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania: Implications for community based wildlife management

Nielsen, MR

Biological Conservation [Biol. Conserv.]. Vol. 128, no. 4, pp. 509-516. Apr 2006.

*Jenkins, RKB, Roettcher, K, Corti, G

The influence of stand age on wildlife habitat use in exotic Teak tree Tectona grandis plantations

BIODIVERS CONSERV 12 (5): 975-990 MAY 2003

Power, R. J.

Prey selection of lions Panthera leo in a small, enclosed reserve.

Koedoe 45 (2): 67-75 2002

*Lemurs and the regeneration of dry deciduous forest in Madagascar

Ganzhorn, JU; Fietz, J; Rakotovao, E; Schwab, D; Zinner, D

Conservation Biology, 13 (4) pp. 794-804, 1999

*Gippoliti, Spartaco, Amori, Giovanni

Anthropochorous wild mammal taxa and conservation lists

Conservation Biology 16 (4): 1162-1164 August, 2002

*Nummelin, M.  1990.  Relative habitat use of duikers, bush pigs, and elephants in virgin and selectively logged areas of Kebale Forest, Uganda.  Tropical Zoology; 3: 111-120.

Roger F, Ratovonjato J, Vola P, Uilenberg G

Ornithodoros porcinus ticks, bushpigs, and African swine fever in Madagascar

EXPERIMENTAL AND APPLIED ACAROLOGY 25 (3): 263-269 2001

SEYDACK, AHW, BIGALKE, RC

NUTRITIONAL ECOLOGY AND LIFE-HISTORY TACTICS IN THE BUSHPIG (POTAMOCHOERUS-PORCUS) - DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE MODEL

OECOLOGIA 90 (1): 102-112 APR 1992

Seydack, A. H. W. 1983. Age assessment of the bushpig (Potamochoerus porcus Linn. 1758) in the Southern Cape. (Unpubl.) M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Stellenbosch: 196 pp.

Seydack, A. H. W. 1991. Monographie des Buschschweines (Potamochoerus porcus). Bongo, Berlin 18: 85-102.

Seydack, A. W. H. 1990. Ecology of the bushpig (Potamochoerus porcus Linn. 1758) in the Cape Province, South Africa. (Unpubl.) Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Stellenbosch: 728 pp.

NUMMELIN M

RELATIVE HABITAT USE OF DUIKERS BUSH PIGS AND ELEPHANTS IN VIRGIN AND SELECTIVELY LOGGED AREAS OF THE KIBALE FOREST UGANDA

Tropical Zoology 3 (2): 111-120 1990

MELTON D A, COOPER S M, WHITTINGTON A E

THE DIET OF BUSH PIGS IN A SUGAR-CANE AGROECOSYSTEM

South African Journal of Wildlife Research 19 (1): 48-51 1989

COOPER S M, MELTON D A

THE BUSHPIG AS A PROBLEM ANIMAL IN SUGAR CANE

South African Journal of Wildlife Research 18 (4): 149-153 1988

Walker, P. L. 1986. Bushpig distribution and control in Natal. Lammergeyer 36: 40-45.

*JONES M A

SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE DIET OF BUSHPIG POTAMOCHOERUS-PORCUS IN THE MATOPOS NATIONAL PARK SOUTH AFRICA

South African Journal of Wildlife Research 14 (4): 97-100 1984

GHIGLIERI MP, BUTYNSKI TM, STRUHSAKER TT, LELAND L, WALLIS SJ, WASER P

BUSH PIG POTAMOCHOERUS-PORCUS POLYCHROMATISM AND ECOLOGY IN KIBALE FOREST UGANDA

African Journal of Ecology 20 (4): 231-236 1982

* Diet, Feeding and Habitat Utilization by Bushpigs Potamochoerus porcus Linnaeus.

Breytenbach, GJ; Skinner, JD

South African Journal of Wildlife Research [S. AFR. J. WILDL. RES.]. Vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-7. 1982.

*SKINNER J D, BREYTENBACH G J, MABERLY C T A

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF THE BUSH PIG POTAMOCHOERUS-PORCUS IN THE NORTHERN TRANSVAAL SOUTH AFRICA

South African Journal of Wildlife Research 6 (2): 123-128 1976

SCOTCHER J S B

DIURNAL FEEDING BY BUSHPIG

Lammergeyer 19 : 33-34 1973

* Sowls, L. K. and Phelps, R. J. 1968. Observations on the African bushpig, Potamochoerus porcus Linn. in Rhodesia. Zoologica 53 (3): 75-84.

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