PIGS 281 



Wart-Hogs 



Phacochoerus 



Phacochoerus G. Cuvier, 1817, Reg. Anim., I, p. 236; type P. cethiopicus of 

 the Cape region. 



The wart-hogs are highly specialized members of the 

 pig family and differ strikingly from such typical members 

 as the wild boar and the bush pig. The two pairs of large 

 warts on the face and the enlarged upwardly curved canine 

 teeth at once distinguish them from all other genera. The 

 warts are dermal structures and receive no bony or muscular 

 support, but are made up of a solid accumulation of gristle 

 or cartilaginous material. Upon the cheek there occurs a 

 long, ridge-like fold extending toward the angle of the 

 mouth upon which grow the conspicuous horizontally di- 

 rected white whiskers. This structure Is sometimes con- 

 sidered a wart and has given rise to the statement that 

 three pairs of warts are present. The upper canines turn 

 upward In a great semicircle and only the lower side of their 

 bases comes In contact with the lower canines to form a 

 cutting surface. The latter teeth are long and slender, 

 triangular In shape with sharp edges, and are very formi- 

 dable weapons, In marked contrast to the blunt upper ca- 

 nines, which are quite useless for defence on account of their 

 turned-in points and circular shape. The cheek-teeth also 

 show decided peculiarity, their surfaces being flat without 

 transverse ridges and composed of a number of rounded 

 tubercles of enamel and dentine Irregularly arranged, which, 

 when worn, give the surface of the tooth the appearance of 

 a cluster of Islands of enamel held together by cement. 

 The last molar attains enormous development In age, when 

 it occupies three-fourths of the tooth row and In extreme 

 age becomes the only functional tooth. The head of the 

 wart-hog Is enormously enlarged, the skull of a fully adult 

 male being quite equal in size to that of a giant forest 

 pig, an animal having a bulk of body quite twice that of 

 the wart-hog. The body Is round and barrel-shaped, sup- 

 ported on short legs and quite nude In general appearance. 

 The hair covering consists of a long, thin mane of coarse hair 

 from the nape to the middle of the back, where it is broken 



