Peccaries (alsojavelinas orskunk pigs) arepig-likeungulates of the familyTayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughoutCentral andSouth America,Trinidad in theCaribbean, and in thesouthwestern area ofNorth America. Peccaries usually measure between 90 and 130 cm (2 ft 11 in and 4 ft 3 in) in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs about 20 to 40 kg (44 to 88 lb). They represent the closest relatives of the familySuidae, which contains pigs and relatives. Together Tayassuidae and Suidae are grouped in the suborderSuina within the orderArtiodactyla (even-toed ungulates).
Peccaries are social creatures that live in herds. They areomnivores and eat roots, grubs, and a variety of other foods. They can identify each other by their strong odors. A group of peccaries that travel and live together is called a squadron. A squadron of peccaries averages between six and nine members.[1]
They are often confused[2] withferal domestic pigs, commonly known as "razorback" hogs in many parts of the United States,[3] when the two occur in the wild in similarranges.
TheMaya kept herds of peccaries, using them in rituals and for food.[4] They are kept as pets in many countries in addition to being raised onfarms as a source of food.[5]
The wordpeccary is derived from theCarib wordpakira orpaquira.[6]
InPortuguese, a peccary is calledpecari,porco-do-mato,queixada,tajaçu, among other names likeCateto orCaititu. InSpanish, it is calledjavelina,jabalí (a word also used to describewild boar),sajino, orpecarí. The wordjavelina derives from the Spanish word for "wild boar".[7] InFrench Guiana andSuriname, the animal is calledpakira.
The scientific name Tayassuidae derives from the same source as thePortuguesetajaçu.[8]
Skulls ofwild boar (left) andwhite-lipped peccary (right): Note how the upper canines of the peccary point downwards.
A peccary is a medium-sized animal, with a strong resemblance to apig. Like a pig, it has asnout ending in acartilaginous disc and eyes that are small relative to its head. Also like a pig, it uses only the middle two digits for walking, although, unlike pigs, the other toes may be altogether absent. Itsstomach is notruminating. Though it has three chambers, it is more complex than those of pigs.[9] Peccaries areforegut fermenters (pigs arehindgut fermenters).[10] This foregut fermentation, similar to but separately evolved from a ruminant, is an example ofconvergent evolution.
Peccaries are omnivores and will eat insects, grubs, and occasionally small animals, although their preferred foods consist of roots,grasses, seeds, fruit,[9] andcacti—particularlyprickly pear.[11] Pigs and peccaries can be differentiated by a number of characteristic, including tails and ear shape. The ears of pigs are large and upright and often pointed while the ears of peccaries are small and rounded. Pigs also have tasseled tails, but peccaries' tails are small and discreet.[12]
The most noticeable difference between pigs and peccaries is the shape of the canine teeth, ortusks. In European pigs, the tusks are long and curve around on themselves, whereas in peccaries, the tusks are short and straight and interlock with each other, prohibiting side-to-side movement of the jaw. The jaws and tusks of peccaries are adapted for crushing hard seeds and slicing into plant roots,[9][12] and they also use their tusks to defend against predators. Thedental formula for peccaries is:2.1.3.33.1.3.3
By rubbing the tusks together, they can make a chattering noise that warns potentialpredators to stay away.
Peccaries aresocial animals, often formingherds. Over 100 individuals have been recorded for a single herd of white-lipped peccaries, butcollared andChacoan peccaries usually form smaller groups. Such social behavior seems to have been the situation inextinct peccaries as well. Thegiant peccary (Pecari maximus) of Brazil appears to be less social, primarily living in pairs.[13] Peccaries rely on their social structure to defend territory, protect against predators, regulate temperature, and interact with other members of the species.[14]
Peccaries havescent glands below each eye and another on their backs, though these are believed to berudimentary inP. maximus. Theyuse the scent to mark herd territories, which range from 30 to 280 hectares (75 to 700 acres). They also mark other herd members with these scent glands by rubbing one against another. The pungent odor allows peccaries to recognize other members of their herd, despite theirmyopic vision. The odor is strong enough to be detected by humans, which earns the peccary the nickname of "skunk pig".
Thecollared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) or "musk hog", referring to the animal's scent glands, occurs from theSouthwestern United States intoSouth America and the island of Trinidad. The coat consists of wiry peppered black, gray, and brown hair with a lighter colored "collar" circling the shoulders. They bear young year-round, but most often between November and March, with the average litter size consisting of two to three offspring. They are found in many habitats, from aridscrublands to humid tropicalrain forests. The collared peccary is well-adapted to habitat disturbed by humans, merely requiring sufficient cover. They can befound in cities and agricultural land throughout their range.
Notable populations exist in thesuburbs ofPhoenix andTucson, Arizona, where they feed onornamental plants and othercultivated vegetation.[15][16] There are also urban populations as far north asSedona, Arizona, where they have been known to fill a niche similar toraccoons and other urban scavengers.[17] In Arizona they are often called by their Spanish name "javelinas". Collared peccaries are generally found in bands of 8 to 15 animals of various ages. They defend themselves if they feel threatened, but otherwise tend to ignore humans.
A second species, thewhite-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), is mainly found in rainforests of Central and South America, but also known from a wide range of otherhabitats such as dry forests, grasslands,mangrove,cerrado, and dryxerophytic areas.[18] The two main threats to their survival are deforestation and hunting.
The third species, theChacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri). It is found in the dryshrub habitat orChaco ofParaguay,Bolivia, andArgentina. The Chacoan peccary has the distinction of having been first described based on fossils and was originally thought to be an extinct species. In 1975, the animal was discovered in theChaco region of Paraguay. The species was well known to the native people.
A fourth as yet unconfirmed species, thegiant peccary (Dicotyles maximus), was described from theBrazilian Amazon and north Bolivia[19] by Dutch biologistMarc van Roosmalen. Though relatively recently discovered, it has been known to the localTupi people ascaitetu munde, which means "great peccary which lives in pairs".[20][21] Thought to be the largest extant peccary, it can grow to 1.2 m (4 ft) in length. Itspelage is completely dark gray, with no collars whatsoever. Unlike other peccaries, it lives in pairs, or with one or two offspring. However, the scientific evidence for considering it as a species separate from the collared peccary has later been questioned,[22][23] leading theIUCN to treat it as asynonym.[24]
During theLate Pleistocene, two extinct peccaries,Mylohyus andPlatygonus, were widespread across North America (and in the case ofPlatygonus, South America), but became extinct at the end of thePleistocene around 12,000 years ago following the arrival of humans.[25]
Although some taxa from theOld World like the European MioceneTaucanamo have been suggested to be members of Tayussidae, their assignation to the group is equivocal, with a 2017phylogenetic analysis recoveringTaucanamo outside theclade containing suids and peccaries. The oldestunambiguous fossils of peccaries are from the EarlyMiocene of North America, with the North American Eocene-Oligocene genusPerchoerus, also often considered an early peccary, recovered outside the clade containing peccaries and suids.[27]
Although common in South America today, peccaries did not reach there until about three million years ago during theGreat American Interchange, when theIsthmus of Panama formed, connecting North America and South America. At that time, many North American animals—including peccaries,llamas andtapirs—entered South America, while some South American species, such as theground sloths andopossums, migrated north.[28] Several species of peccary across the generaPlatygonus andMylohyus remained in North America until theirextinction following the colonization of the continent by humans viaBeringia at the end of the Pleistocene. Today, 2 of the 3 species are relegated to theNeotropical realm, but the collared peccary ranges into northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Peccaries bear a familial resemblance to true pigs due to their common ancestry, and are in the same suborder as swine (Suina). They have been present in South America since prehistoric times.[29] The earliest scientific description of peccaries in the New World is inBrazil in 1547 and referred to them as "wild pigs".[30]
It has been documented that peccaries were tamed, penned, and raised for food and ritual purposes in the Yucatán, Panama, the southern Caribbean, and Colombia at the time of theConquest.[31] Archaeological remains of peccaries have been found in Mesoamerica from the Preclassic (or Formative) period up until immediately before Spanish contact.[32] Specifically, peccary remains have been found at Early Formative Olmec civilization sites.[33]
The peccary is not readily suitable for modern captive breeding, lacking suitable characteristics for intensive or semi-intensive systems. Peccaries require a higher age before they are able to give birth (parturition) and have a tendency towardsinfanticide.[34]
Recently established Brazilian boar populations are not to be confused with long-established populations of feral domestic pigs, which have existed mainly in thePantanal for more than 100 years, along with native peccaries. The demographic dynamics of the interaction between feral pig populations and those of the two native species of peccaries (collared peccary andwhite-lipped peccary) is obscure and is still being studied. The existence of feral pigs could somewhat easejaguar predation on peccary populations, as jaguars show a preference forhunting pigs when they are available.[35]
^Donkin, R.A. (1985). "The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World".Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.75 (5): 3.doi:10.2307/1006340.JSTOR1006340.
^Donkin, R.A. (1985). "The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World".Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.75 (5): 30,35–39.doi:10.2307/1006340.JSTOR1006340.
^Donkin, R.A. (1985). "The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World".Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.75 (5): 29.doi:10.2307/1006340.JSTOR1006340.
