Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a
suborder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
of
omnivorous, non-
ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the
domestic pig and
peccaries. A member of this
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
is known as a suine. Suina includes the family
Suidae
Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into ...
, termed suids, known in English as pigs or swine, as well as the family
Tayassuidae, termed tayassuids or peccaries. Suines are largely native to Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, with the exception of the
wild boar, which is additionally native to Europe and Asia and introduced to North America and Australasia, including widespread use in farming of the
domestic pig subspecies. Suines range in size from the 55 cm (22 in) long
pygmy hog to the 210 cm (83 in) long
giant forest hog, and are primarily found in forest, shrubland, and grassland
biomes, though some can be found in deserts, wetlands, or coastal regions. Most species do not have population estimates, though approximately two billion domestic pigs are used in farming, while several species are considered endangered or critically endangered with populations as low as 100. One species,
Heude's pig, is considered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature to have gone extinct in the 20th century.
Classification
Suina's placement within
Artiodactyla can be represented in the following
cladogram:
[(see e.g. Fig S10)]
The suborder Suina consists of 21
extant
Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...
species in nine genera. These are split between the
Suidae
Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into ...
family, containing 18 species belonging to 6 genera, and the
Tayassuidae family, containing 3 species in 3 genera. This does not include
hybrid species such as
boar–pig hybrids or extinct prehistoric species. Additionally, one species,
Heude's pig, went extinct in the 20th century.
* Family
Suidae
Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into ...
(Pigs)
** Genus ''
Babyrousa'': four species
** Genus ''
Hylochoerus'': one species
** Genus ''
Phacochoerus'': two species
** Genus ''
Porcula
The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is the rarest species of pig in the world today, and is the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. It is also the smallest species of pig in the world, with its piglets being small enough to fit in one's pock ...
'': one species
** Genus ''
Potamochoerus'': two species
** Genus ''
Sus'': nine species
* Family
Tayassuidae (Peccaries)
** Genus ''
Catagonus'': one species
** Genus ''
Dicotyles'': one species
** Genus ''
Tayassu'': one species
References
{{Authority control
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Mammal suborders
Artiofabula