Kubanochoerus
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kubanochoerus is an extinct genus of large, long-legged suid artiodactyl mammal from the Miocene of Eurasia and Africa.[2]
| Kubanochoerus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mounted skeleton of Kubanochoerus at the Beijing Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Tribe: | †Kubanochoerini |
| Genus: | †Kubanochoerus Gabunia 1955 |
| Species | |
Taxonomy
The genera Libycochoerus and Megalochoerus were once assigned to Kubanochoerus but are now considered distinct based on dental and minor cranial details.[3]
The putative paraceratheriid genus Caucasotherium, described from the Caucasus on the basis of a bone fragment with four incisors, is actually a synonym of the Middle Miocene Kubanochoerus gigas.[4]
Description
The largest species, the aptly named K. gigas, grew to be around 1 metre (3.3 ft) at the shoulder, and probably weighed up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) in life.[5] The heads of these pigs were unmistakable, with small eyebrow horns, and a large horn emanating from the forehead of the males. It is speculated that the males used their forehead horns for jousting with each other.
