Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

, non-

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

artiodactyl Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other t ...

mammals that includes the domestic pig and

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 ...

. A member of this

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

is known as a suine. Suina includes the family

Suidae Suidae is a family (biology), family of Even-toed ungulate, artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 Extant taxon, extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domes ...

, termed suids, known in English as pigs or swine, as well as the family

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 ...

, termed tayassuids or peccaries. Suines are largely native to Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, with the exception of 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 ...

, which is additionally native to Europe and Asia and introduced to North America and Australasia, including widespread use in farming of the

domestic pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

subspecies. Suines range in size from the 55 cm (22 in) long

pygmy hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is a very small and endangered species of pig and the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. Endemic to India, the pygmy hog is a suid native of the alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas, at ...

to the 210 cm (83 in) long

giant forest hog The giant forest hog (''Hylochoerus meinertzhageni''), the only member of its genus (''Hylochoerus''), is native to wooded habitats in Africa and is one of the largest wild members of the pig family, Suidae, along with a few subspecies of the wi ...

, and are primarily found in forest, shrubland, and grassland

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s, though some can be found in deserts, wetlands, or coastal regions. Most species do not have population estimates, though approximately two billion domestic pigs are used in farming, while several species are considered endangered or critically endangered with populations as low as 100. One species,

Heude's pig 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 ...

, is considered by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

to have gone extinct in the 20th century.

Classification

Suina's placement within

Artiodactyla Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order (biology), order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof ...

can be represented in the following

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

:(see e.g. Fig S10) The suborder Suina consists of 21

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

species in nine genera. These are split between the

family, containing 18 species belonging to 6 genera, and the

family, containing 3 species in 3 genera. This does not include

hybrid species Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was tho ...

such as

boar–pig hybrid Boar–pig hybrid is a hybridized offspring of a cross between the Eurasian wild boar (''Sus scrofa scrofa'') and any domestic pig (''Sus scrofa domesticus''). Feral hybrids exist throughout Eurasia, the Americas, Australia, and in other places w ...

s or extinct prehistoric species. Additionally, one species,

, went extinct in the 20th century. * Family

(Pigs) ** Genus ''

Babyrousa The babirusas, also called deer-pigs (), are a genus, ''Babyrousa'', in the swine family found in the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru. All members of this genus were considered part of a single species until 2002, the bab ...

'': four species ** Genus '' Hylochoerus'': one species ** Genus ''

Phacochoerus ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

'': two species ** Genus ''

Porcula The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is a very small and endangered species of pig and the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. Endemic to India, the pygmy hog is a suid native of the alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas, at ...

'': one species ** Genus ''

Potamochoerus ''Potamochoerus'' (from - ''potamo-choîros'', meaning "river pig") is a genus in the pig family (Suidae). The two species are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, although the bushpig, possibly due to introduction by humans, also occurs in Madag ...

'': two species ** Genus '' Sus'': nine species * Family

(Peccaries) ** Genus ''

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 ...

'': one species ** Genus ''

Dicotyles The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly ref ...

'': one species ** Genus ''

Tayassu The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance t ...

'': one species

References

{{Authority control Taxa named by John Edward Gray Mammal suborders Artiofabula