The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Pleistocene Flat-headed Peccary Skull

''Platygonus compressus'', the flat-headed peccary, 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 ...

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

species from the Tayassuidae family that lived in North and South America during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

. It was first described in 1848 by John L. Leconte.

Description

The flat-headed peccary was about 75 cm (29.5 in) in shoulderheight and about 30 kg (66.1 lb) in weight. Other sources have estimated it to be similar in size to the

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

. Sizes differ between the places they have been found. Fossil skulls suggest a small brain, but a good sense of smell and sight. It has been suggested that the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nas ...

provided filtration for cold, dry and dusty air. ''Platygonus compressus'' had elongated limbs, a short

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

, broad and erect

thoracic vertebrae In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebra (anatomy), vertebrae of intermediate size between the ce ...

and a large scapula. Therefore it has been suggested that this species may have been fleeter on foot than modern peccary species. Otherwise they probably appeared very similar to their closest living relative, the Chacoan peccary. Genetic analysis conducted in 2017 indicates that the flat-headed peccary is a sister-taxon to a clade comprising extant peccary species, and divergence date estimates suggest that, if extant peccary diversification occurred in South America, then their common ancestor must have dispersed from North America to South America well before the establishment of the Isthmus of Panama, roughly three million years ago.

Distribution and habitat

The flat-headed peccary was widespread throughout North America. Fossils have been found from what is now New York to California, Wisconsin to Mexico and further south in South America. An Individual has even been found as far north as the Yukon. ''Platygonus compressus'' lived in a great variety of habitats and had a wide environmental climate tolerance. This species was known to have roamed North American boreal forests and

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

s in South America. Remains of the flat-headed peccary, along with Paleo-Indian artifacts and the remains of the giant short-faced bear, stag-moose, and the giant beaver were found in the Sheriden Cave in Wyandot County, Ohio. At Megenity Peccary Cave in Indiana, remains of over 650 individual flat-headed peccaries have been found. Of the Indiana site, a paleontologist noted:

“So the question is then: did they live here? Or did they all have a misfortune and die here? It’s a little of both, but it’s mainly that they probably inhabited this cave and rock shelter for most of that time period.”Timmons, Jeanne (July 7, 2015) "From the Depths of an Indiana Cave: A Fossil Treasure Trove," (https://mostlymammoths.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/from-the-depths-of-an-indiana-cave-a-fossil-treasure-trove/)

At Bat Cave in Missouri 98 individuals have been found together. Caves could possibly have been used for protection from extreme weather.

Ecology

Flat-headed peccarys are often found in small groups up to 12 individuals. It is likely that ''Platygonus compressus'' lived in varying herd numbers from 2-100, as well as modern peccary species. It is believed to have been an open forest browser. Fossil teeth show adaptation for coarser vegetation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2174499 Pleistocene mammals of North America