Wild pigs of the Philippines
The Philippines (Filipino: Baboy Ramo or Baboy Damo) has four endemic species of wild pigs. This makes the Philippines unique in having arguably the largest number of endemic wild pigs (Genus Sus).[1][2] Two separate populations of unstudied wild pig species have been reported on the islands of Tawi-Tawi (near Sabah, Malaysia),[3] and Tablas (in the central Philippines).[4]
Unlike its Southeast Asian neighbors, the Philippines does not have a native population (or endemic subspecies) of the widely distributed Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa).
Hybridization with domestic pigs Sus domesticus are becoming rampant.
Endemic Philippine wild pig species
- Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons)
- Philippine warty pig (Sus philippensis)
- Mindoro warty pig (Oliver's warty pig) (Sus oliveri) (often listed as a subspecies of the Philippine warty pig, S. p. oliveri)
- Palawan bearded pig (Sus ahoenobarbus) (often listed as a subspecies of the Bornean bearded pig, Sus barbatus ahoenobarbus)
The Philippines is also home to the Bornean bearded pig, which can be found at the Tawi-Tawi province at the tip of the Sulu Archipelago. The species is widely ranging in Borneo.
References
- ^ Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos Status Survey and Action Plan, Chapter 5.6, Philippine Warty Pigs (1993)
- ^ http://www.fmnh.org/Philippine_Mammals/index.html
- ^ Lucchini, V., Meijaard, E., Diong, C. H., Groves, C. P. & Randi, E. 2005. New phylogenetic perspectives among species of South-east Asian wild pig (Sus sp.) based on mtDNA sequences and morphometric data. Journal of Zoology 266, 25-35.
- ^ Asian Wild Pig News, Asian Wild Pig Research and Conservation Group, Vol. 2 (1) (January 2002).
External links
- [1] last accessed 23 June 2011.
