Giant peccary

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Giant peccary
Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Artiodactyla (Artiodactyla)
Subordination : Pig-like (Suina)
Family : Umbilical pigs (Tayassuidae)
Genre : Pecari
Type : Giant peccary
Scientific name
Pecari maximus
M. Roosmalen , Frenz , Van Hooft , de Iongh & Leirs , 2007

The giant pekari ( Pecari maximus ) is a representative of the umbilical pigs living in the Brazilian Amazon . In addition to the collar peccary ( Pecari tajacu ) it is the only member of the genus of the collar peccari ( Pecari ).

It was discovered in 2000 by the Dutch zoologist Marc van Roosmalen , who also described it for the first time in 2007.

features

The giant peccary reaches a shoulder height of 85 cm and a body length of 127 cm. The ears are about 13 cm long, the skull is about 261 mm in length, while the jaw of the giant peccary is about 182 mm long. A tail is only present as a rudiment. The soft, pink snout of the giant peccary measures 5.3 × 4.0 cm. The body weight could not yet be determined exactly, but it ranges between 40 and 50 kg. With these dimensions, the giant peccary is the largest of all known living New World pigs, but its physique - especially compared to the collar peccary - is more graceful: the legs are longer and thinner in relation to the body, the head, however, is smaller, as is the muzzle and ears.

The fur of the animals, which consists of thin bristles, is brown with dirty-white flecks. A black mane on the back runs along the spine from the ears to the tail. The giant peccary, like the collar peccary, has an approximately 35 cm long collar over the shoulders and chest, but this is only faintly drawn and is even missing entirely in some animals. The bristles of the dorsal mane are 10.5–12.0 cm long, those of the collar 3.6–4.3 cm.

habitat

The giant pekari inhabits river areas of the tropical rainforest . It is a good swimmer and well adapted to life on the water.

distribution

The assumed distribution area of ​​the giant peccary lies in the area of ​​the rivers Amazonas (northern border), Rio Madeira (eastern border), Rio Tapajós (western border) and Rio Guaporé (southern border). The north-western area of ​​this area is excluded from this, where open savannah and floodplain landscapes predominate. It is unclear whether a sighting of the Rio Xapurí can also be assigned to the giant pekari. The American woodworker John C. Yungjohann, who lived there between 1906 and 1919, described in his book White Gold a peccary whose behavior and appearance coincide with those of the giant peccary.

Way of life

Social behavior

Unlike the closely related Collared Peccary , the Giant Peccary does not live in large packs of several hundred animals. Rather, the animals move in pairs, together with one or two newborns. Van Roosmalen suspects that the giant peccary has abandoned typical territorial behavior such as rank fights, pack life and the marking of the habitat in the course of its development history. This could explain why the specimens examined so far lacked the typical strong peccary smell. The relatively inconspicuous way of life, combined with the rather small-scale distribution area, could also be a reason why the giant pekari remained undiscovered for so long.

nutrition

The giant peccary feeds on seeds and windfalls that it finds on the ground. Here, too, it differs from the collar and whitebeard peccarii ( Tayassu pecari ), with which it shares its distribution area: They dig in the ground for roots, truffles and sprouts, which is reflected in their more robust snout shape.

Systematics

According to van Roosmalen, the relationships between the giant peccary are as follows:

 Umbilical pigs (Tayassuidae) 


Whitebeard pecari ( Tayassu pecari )


   

Chaco peccary ( Catagonus wagneri )



 Peccaries ( Pecari ) 

Collared pekari ( Pecari tajacu )


   

Giant pekari ( Pecari maximus )




Existence and endangerment

Nothing is known about the population size of the giant peccary, so it is difficult to assess the threat to this species. However, since this umbilical pig is dependent on a certain type of habitat, van Roosmalen sees a certain risk for the giant pekari. Above all, the ongoing clearing of the rainforest, combined with the hunting of peccaries, represent a danger. An additional vulnerability arises from the fact that the giant peccary does not seek protection in packs and is therefore the only peccary to be hunted with dogs. The IUCN does not list the giant pekari as its own species.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marc van Roosmalen et al. a .: A New Species of Living Peccary (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) from the Brazilian Amazon. In: Bonn zoological contributions. Vol. 55, No. 2 (July), Bonn 2007. pp. 105-109. ISSN  0006-7172
  2. ↑ a b c Roosmalen, 2007, p. 112.
  3. ↑ Roosmalen, 2007, pp. 110-112.
  4. ↑ Roosmalen, 2007, p. 109.
  5. ↑ Roosmalen, 2007, p. 111.
  6. ↑ Pecari tajacu in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Listed by: J. Gongora et al., 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2012.

literature

Web links