Kolpochoerus is an extinct genus of the pig family Suidae related to the modern-day genera Hylochoerus, Phacochoerus, and Potamochoerus. It is believed that most of them inhabited African forests, as opposed to the bushpig and red river hog that inhabit open brush and savannas. There are currently eleven recognized species.
Species
In taxonomic order:
Palaeoecology
Based on dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of its fossils from Kanapoi and Hadar, K. afarensis had a broad, unspecialised diet that included foods that were hard and brittle as well as underground foods such as roots and tubers. DMTA of Kolpochoerus fossils from the Shungura Formation suggests that the genus had a preference for young, minimally abrasive grasses.
References
- Thomas, P. 1884. Recherches stratigraphiques et paléontologiques sur quelques formations dâÂÂeau douce de lâÂÂAlgérie. Mémoires de la Société géologique de France, 3ème série, 3, 1âÂÂ50. ISSN 0078-8554 Palaeont. afr. (December 2004) 40: 69âÂÂ83 83
- New skulls of Kolpochoerus phacochoeroides (Suidae: Mammalia) from the late Pliocene of Ahl al Oughlam, Morocco Denis Geraads UPR 2147 du CNRS, 44 rue de lâÂÂAmiral Mouchez, 75014 PARIS, France Received 10 August 2004. Accepted 20 December 2004.
- Haile-Selassie, Y.; Simpson, S.W. 2013: A new species of Kolpochoerus (Mammalia: Suidae) from the Pliocene of Central Afar, Ethiopia: Its taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships. Journal of mammalian evolution, 20(2): 115âÂÂ127. doi: 10.1007/s10914-012-9207-0 reference page