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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
peccaries
(plural), peccary (singular) |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Tayassuidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Three
Genera (Catagonus, Pecari, and Tayassu)
encompassing three species |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Coat
is coarse and bristled, with a pronounced mane of
longer hairs running along the middorsal region
from crown to hindquarters. Body form is quite pig-like
with longer, slimmer legs. Additionally, the snout
is more elongate than that of a domestic pig. |
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| SIZE: |
Head
and body length = 750-1,112 mm (2.5-3.6 ft)
Tail length = 15-102 mm (0.6-4.0 in)
Shoulder height = 440-690 mm (17.3-27.2 in) |
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| WEIGHT: |
14-50
kg (30.9-110.2 lb); depending on species |
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| DIET: |
Seeds,
roots, cacti, carrion, invertebrates, small vertebrates,
berries, and fruits - depending on species |
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| GESTATION: |
145-162
days, depending on species |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
1-2
years |
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| RANGE: |
Southwestern
United States to central Argentina |
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| HABITAT: |
Semi-arid
thorn forest, steppe, desert scrub, arid woodland,
rainforest, savannah, and chaco - depending on species |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Catagonus
is classified as Endangered |
| CITES |
Appendix
I; Pecari and Tayassu are listed on
Appendix II |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Peccaries
are highly social animals - often scent-marking
one another as well as physical territory. |
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| 2. |
When
feeling threatened, Pecari will clash its
canine teeth together as a warning. |
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| 3. |
Pecari
has been recorded sprinting up to 35 km/hr. |
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| 4. |
Pecari's
sense of smell is so good that it is capable of
detecting bulbs 5-8 cm below the soil's surface. |
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| 5. |
Pecari,
if wounded or threatened, may attack as entire herd.
The herd can consist of up to 50 members. |
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| 6. |
Tayassu
may form herds of several hundred individuals. |
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| All
species are hunted for subsistence, commecial, and/or
sport purposes. Two species are additionally targeted
for the commercial value of their hide. Perhaps
the greatest threat to peccaries, however, is the
clearing and fragmentation of the habitats in which
they reside. |
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| Nowak,
Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World - Volume
I (Sixth Edition) |
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