''Listriodon'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of pig-like animals that lived in

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Description

''Listriodon''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

were generally small in size. In morphology, they show many similarities with

peccaries Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccari ...

rather than modern pigs. The lophodont teeth of ''Listriodon'' indicate that it was mostly, if not strictly, herbivorous. Peculiarly, their teeth resemble those of perissodactyls such as horses more than they do that of

ruminants Ruminants are herbivorous grazing or browsing artiodactyls belonging to the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principa ...

. This was the case because unlike ruminants (and much like perissodactyls), pigs lack a complex four-chambered stomach and therefore had to rely on their teeth to break down grasses and herbs.

Species

Many species of ''Listriodon'' have been named over the years, to the point that the genus became a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by e ...

. Over the years, many species have been moved into new genera, such as ''

Kubanochoerus ''Kubanochoerus'' is an extinct genus of large, long-legged suidae, suid artiodactyl mammal from the Miocene of Eurasia and Africa. Taxonomy The genera ''Libycochoerus'' and ''Megalochoerus'' were once assigned to ''Kubanochoerus'' but are no ...

'', '' Bunolistriodon'' and '' Lopholistriodon''. Some species were found to be synonymous with others, such as ''Listriodon theobaldi'' and ''Listriodon pentapotamiae'' representing different genders of a single species. Prothero (2021) lists four valid species: *''Listriodon splendens'' *''Listriodon pentapotamiae'' *''Listriodon raetamanensis'' *''Listriodon bartuensis''

Species now placed in ''Bunolistriodon''

*''Listriodon akatikubas'' *''Listriodon guptai'' *''Listriodon intermedius'' *''Listriodon latidens'' *''Listriodon lockharti'' *''Listriodon meidamon''

Species now placed in ''Lopholistriodon''

*''Listriodon juba''

Species now placed in ''Kubanochoerus''

*''Listriodon robustus''

Species synonymous with ''L. splendens''

*''Listriodon aragoniensis'' *''Listriodon mongoliensis'' *''Listriodon lishanensis'' *''Listriodon xinanensis''

Species synonymous with ''L. pentapotamiae''

*''Listriodon theobaldi''

Palaeoecology

Multiproxy isotopic analysis of the tooth enamel of ''L. splendens'' consisting of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O_CO3, and δ¹³C suggests that although it was primarily a browser, it consumed significant quantities of fruit and at times also fed on grass. Analysis of ''L''. cf. ''L. splendens'' and ''L''. aff. ''L. latidens'' suggests that the former was a more specialised

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

than the latter.

External links

Listriodon
at Fossilworks

References

Prehistoric Suidae Miocene Artiodactyla Fossil taxa described in 1846 Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera Miocene mammals of Europe Miocene mammals of Asia {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub