Perchoerus is an extinct genus of suine from the Eocene and Oligocene of North America. Three species are known.[1][2] While often considered to be a peccary, other studies have recovered it to be a basal suine outside of either peccaries or Suidae.[3] The oldest known species of Perchoerus is P. minor, which was only the size of a house cat. It is known from skull and tooth material.
The later P. nanus of the Orellan grew larger and is known from a skull and lower jaw. The latest and largest species was P. probus of the Oligocene (32-30 mya). It was much larger (about as big as living peccaries) and known from more remains than the other species.[1][4]
Palaeoecology
Low δ13C values from the teeth of P. probus suggest that it was an inhabitant of dense riparian habitats.[5]
References
^ abcProthero, Donald R. (2021). THE SYSTEMATICS OF NORTH AMERICAN PECCARIES (MAMMALIA: ARTIODACTYLA: TAYASSUIDAE) By · 2021. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. pp. 6–8.
^Prothero, Donald R. (2009). "THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PECCARIES". Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin. 65: 509–542.
^Prothero, Donald R.; Williams, Mary Persis (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals. Princeton University Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN9781400884452.