Suidae

Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals commonly called "pigs", hogs, or boars. In addition to numerous fossil species, up to sixteen extant species are currently recognized, classified into between four and eight genera. The family includes the domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus, in addition to numerous species of wild pig, such as the babirusa Babyrousa babyrussa and the warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus. All suids, or swine, are native to the Old World, ranging from Asia and its islands, to Europe, and Africa.

The earliest fossil suids date from the Oligocene epoch of Asia, and their descendants reached Europe during the Miocene. Several fossil species are known, and show adaptations to a wide range of different diets, from strict herbivory to possible carrion-eating (in Tetraconodon).

Physical characteristics

Suids belong to the order Artiodactyla, and are generally regarded as the living members of that order most similar to the ancestral form. Unlike most other members of the order, they have four toes on each foot, although they walk only on the middle two digits, with the others staying clear of the ground. They also have a simple stomach, rather than the more complex, ruminant, stomach found in most other artiodactyl families.