''Catagonus stenocephalus'' is an extinct species of

peccary 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 ...

that lived in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

during the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...

. Fossils have been found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. It is commonly known as the narrow-headed peccary due to its long and markedly convex rostrum.

Taxonomy

The narrow-headed peccary was originally described as ''Dicotyles stenocephalus'' by Lund in 1838 from fossil remains found in Brazilian caves. It was subsequently included under ''

Catagonus ''Catagonus'' is a genus of peccaries that contains the living Chacoan peccary, C. wagneri, and several extinct species. The genus has always been restricted to South America. Taxonomy ''Catagonus'' is notable in that the type species, '' C. metr ...

'' when formally published in 1880. In 1930, it was included in the genus ''

Platygonus ''Platygonus'' ("flat head" in reference to the straight shape of the forehead) is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North and South America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs (10.3 millio ...

'' by Rusconi, which created the subgenus ''Brasiliochoerus'' to designate it. In 1981, Paula Couto elevated ''Brasiliochoerus'' to genus level. However, in later years some authors pointed out the similarity between ''Brasiliochoerus'' and ''Catagonus'', and subsequently the narrow-headed peccary has been included in the genus ''Catagonus''. In 2017, a study on the classification of the

Tayassuidae 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 ...

suggested that the narrow-headed peccary was distinct from other species of ''Catagonus'', and ''Brasiliochoerus'' should be elevated back to genus level. This study is controversial, as it also suggests that the living

Chacoan peccary The Chacoan peccary or ''tagua'' (''Catagonus wagneri'' or ''Parachoerus wagneri'') is the last extant species of the genus ''Catagonus''; it is a peccary found in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. Approximately 3,000 remain i ...

be moved to the genus ''Parachoerus'', with ''Catagonus'' restricted to the extinct '' C. metropolitanus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108101749 Peccaries Prehistoric Artiodactyla Pleistocene Artiodactyla Pleistocene extinctions Prehistoric mammals of South America Pleistocene mammals of South America Fossil taxa described in 1880