The collared peccary ( Dicotyles tajacu) is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Peccary found in North America, Central America, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Dicotyles. They are commonly referred to as javelina , saíno, taitetu, or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family. The species is also known as the musk hog. In Trinidad, it is colloquially known as quenk.
Taxonomy
Although somewhat related to true Old World pigs, and frequently referred to as a pig, this species and the other peccaries are no longer classified in the pig family,
Suidae. Although formerly classified in the genus
Pecari, studies in 2020 placed them in the genus
Dicotyles, based on an unequivocal type-species selection; these studies have been accepted by the American Society of Mammalogists.
Currently, the
IUCN still places them in the genus
Pecari.
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Description
The collared peccary stands around tall at the shoulder and is about long. It weighs between .
Range and habitat
The collared peccary is widespread throughout much of the tropical and subtropical Americas, ranging from the Southwestern United States to northern Argentina. They were reintroduced to Uruguay in 2017, after 100 years of Local extinction there.
Fossil record
Due to the lack of fossil material or even specimens from archeological sites, it was assumed that javelinas only recently crossed into the US from further south by way of Mexico, being previously excluded from the region by competition with the now-extinct flat-headed peccary ( Platygonus compressus) and long-nosed peccary ( Mylohyus nasutus). The first records of the species in its US range are from 18th-century Jesuit missions, and no evidence of remains is known from sites prior to 1700.
Diet
Collared peccaries are often classified as herbivores. They normally feed on cactus, mesquite beans, fruits, berries, seeds, roots, , , , grasses, other green vegetation, fungi, and insects.
Predators
The main predators of the collared peccary are ( Puma concolor), Mexican wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi), ( Canis latrans), ( Panthera onca), and ( Lynx rufus).
Behavior
Collared peccaries are Diurnal animal creatures that live in groups of up to 50 individuals, averaging between six and nine animals. They sleep in burrows (often under bushes or larger systems of tree roots), but sometimes can be found in caves, abandoned mines, old desert tunnels, or among logs, felled trees and abandoned timber.
Although they usually ignore humans, they will react if they feel threatened. They defend themselves with their tusks. A collared peccary can release a strong musk or give a sharp bark if it is alarmed.
Peccary will also rub their scent onto rocks and tree stumps to mark their territory, and rub the scent on each other to help with identification.
The "giant peccary"
The giant peccary (described as Pecari maximus) was a purported fourth species of peccary, first reported to have been seen in Brazil in 2000 by Dutch naturalist Marc van Roosmalen. In 2003 German natural history filmmaker Lothar Frenz filmed a group and gathered a skull which later served as the Biological type (INPA4272). It had been known locally as caitetú-mundè, which Roosmalen et al. state the locals claimed was Old Tupi and meant "the collared peccary that is bigger and goes in pairs", as opposed to caitetú-de-bando, "the collared peccary that goes in herds". It was formally described in 2007,[Roosmalen, M.G.M.; Frenz, L.; Hooft, W.F. van; Iongh, H.H. de; Leirs, H. 2007. A New Species of Living Peccary (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) from the Brazilian Amazon. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 55(2): 105–112.] but the scientific evidence for its species status was quickly questioned,[Gongora, J., Taber, A., Keuroghlian, A., Altrichter, M., Bodmer, R.E., Mayor, P., Moran, C., Damayanti, C.S., González S. (2007). Re-examining the evidence for a ‘new’ peccary species, Pecari maximus , from the Brazilian Amazon. Newsletter of the Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos Specialist Group of the IUCN/SSC. 7(2): 19–26.][ Trials of a Primatologist. , Smithsonianmag.com. accessed March 15, 2008] which also was one of the reasons for its initial evaluation as data deficient by IUCN in 2008.[Gongora, J., Biondo, C., Cooper, J.D., Taber, A., Keuroghlian, A., Altrichter, M., Ferreira do Nascimento, F., Chong, A.Y., Miyaki, C.Y., Bodmer, R., Mayor, P. and González, S. (2011). Revisiting the species status of Pecari maximus van Roosmalen et al., 2007 (Mammalia) from the Brazilian Amazon. Bonn Zoological Bulletin 60(1): 95-101.] which was followed by the IUCN the same year.[
]
The reported range of the giant peccary encompasses the south-central Amazon between the Madeira River and the Tapajós Rivers and northern Bolivia.[Moravec, J., & Böhme, W. (2009). Second Find of the Recently Discovered Amazonian Giant Peccary, Pecari maximus (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) van Roosmalen et al., 2007: First Record from Bolivia . Bonner zoologische Beiträge 56(1-2): 49-54.] It is restricted to terra firme forest, which is forest that does not flood annually. Unlike other peccaries in its range, the giant peccary was reported to mainly occur in pairs or small family groups.
According to its original description, the giant peccary is larger, longer-legged, and proportionally smaller-headed than the only other member of the genus, the collared peccary.[
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In 2011, a review noted that the measurements provided in the initial description were within those generally recognized for the collared peccary, and the behaviors supposedly unique to the giant peccary are also known from the collared peccary.[
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Gallery
File:Collared peccaries as seen by a fixed camera in Scottsdale, Arizona.webm|A herd seen by a fixed camera in Scottsdale, Arizona
File:Running Javelina.jpg|Running collared peccary at Big Bend National Park
File:Mother javelina and baby.jpg|Mother and juvenile in Arizona
File:Ancestral Pueblo, Roosevelt black on white javelina effigy canteen, 1250-1300 CE, Heard Museum.JPG|A Pueblo drinking vessel
File:Ogrličasti pekari u Zagrebu.jpg|A herd of collared peccaries in Zagreb Zoo
Explanatory notes
External links
