Metridiochoerus
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metridiochoerus is an extinct genus of swine known from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Africa. It is also known as the giant warthog.
| Metridiochoerus Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| |
| Jaw of M. hopwoodi at National Museum of Natural History | |
 | |
| M. andrewsi (centre) compared to a living Desert warthog (left) and Notochoerus eulius (right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Subfamily: | Suinae |
| Genus: | †Metridiochoerus Hopwood, 1926 |
| Type species | |
| †Metridiochoerus andrewsi Hopwood, 1926 | |
| Species | |
| |
Chronology
The oldest specimen dates to around 3.4 million years ago from the Usno Formation in Ethiopia.[1] It probably evolved from a recent immigrant from Eurasia, which has been suggested to be the European "Postpotamochoerus" provincialis.[2] The youngest remains of the genus date to the Late Pleistocene in southern Africa (Zimababwe, and possibly South Africa).[3]
