Restoration of the genus Porcula

摘要: The pygmy hog Porcula salvania synonym Sus salvanius (Hodgson 1847) is one of the world’s most endangered mammals (Anon., 1985; Oliver & Deb Roy, 1993). Pygmy hogs differ from members of the genus Sus in the extreme reduction in body, ears and tail size, the presence of only three pairs of mammae, relatively short medial false hooves, and snout disc perpendicular to axis of head. There is an absence or warts or gonial whorls. Body shape is more ‘streamlined’than in other pigs; in adults tapering from relatively longer hind quarters to smaller forequarters. Adult dentition in pygmy hog is similar to Sus spp.Hodgson (1847) first described the species as Porcula salvania and the sole member of the genus. He argued that the pygmy hog was a genus separate from Sus and other Suid genera based on external character differences, especially skull and dental features. This classification was adopted by Pilgrim (1926) and later by Ghosh (1988). However, morphological disparities were subsequently interpreted as ‘superficial’and a consequence of body size miniaturization, leading to the widespread acceptance of the pygmy hog as a Sus (Corbett and Hill, 1980; Groves and Grubb, 1993; Nowak, 1999). More specifically, Garson (1883), Corbet and Hill (1980), Oliver (1980) and Groves (1981) concluded that the various dental and other features described by Hodgson were based on the immaturity of the holotype, or were insufficient to merit generic distinction from other members of the Genus Sus. Following Groves and Grubb (1993), the pygmy hog was included among the non-warty pigs in the Sus, and later by Groves (2001) in one of …