Kubanochoerus
| Kubanochoerus | |
|---|---|
| Mounted skeleton of Kubanochoerus at the Beijing Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Tribe: | †Kubanochoerini |
| Genus: | †Kubanochoerus Gabunia 1955 |
| Species | |
Kubanochoerus is an extinct genus of large, long-legged suid artiodactyl mammal from the Miocene of Eurasia and Africa.[2]
Taxonomy
The genera Libycochoerus and Megalochoerus were once assigned to Kubanochoerus but are now considered distinct based on dental and minor cranial details.[3]
The putative paraceratheriid genus Caucasotherium, described from the Caucasus on the basis of a bone fragment with four incisors, is actually a synonym of the Middle Miocene Kubanochoerus gigas.[4]
Description
The largest species, the aptly named K. gigas, grew to be around 1 metre (3.3 ft) at the shoulder, and probably weighed up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) in life.[5] The heads of these pigs were unmistakable, with small eyebrow horns, and a large horn emanating from the forehead of the males. It is speculated that the males used their forehead horns for jousting with each other.
References
- ^ Hou & Deng, 2019
- ^ Hou, Sukuan; Zhang, Yuan (2023). "A biostratigraphic and palaeoecological study of Late Cenozoic kubanochoeres from the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province, China". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 623. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111633.
- ^ Bishop LC (2010) Suoidea. In: Werdelin L, Sanders WJ, editors. Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 821–842.
- ^ PICKFORD, M., GABUNIA, L., MEIN, P., MORALES, J. & AZANZA, B. 2000. The Middle Miocene Mammalian site of Belometchetskaya, North Caucasus: an important biostratigraphic link between Europe and China. - Géobios 33 (2): 257-267, Lyon.
- ^ Teeth: Kubanochoerus gigas lii (GUAN). tesorosnaturales.es
Bibliography
- Hou, Su-Kuan; Deng, Tao (2019), "A new species of Kubanochoerus (Suidae, Artiodactyla) from the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province, China", Vertebrata PalAsiatica, in press
External links
- Kubanochoerus in the Paleobiology Database
- Kubanochoerus photo-reconstruction by paleoartist Roman Uchytel