Biology:Catagonus

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Short description: Genus of mammals

Catagonus
Temporal range: Pliocene – Recent
Catagonus wagneri closeup.jpg
Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri)
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Tayassuidae
Genus: Catagonus
Ameghino, 1904[1]
Species
Synonyms
  • Brasiliochoerus
  • Parachoerus

Catagonus is a genus of peccaries that contains the living Chacoan peccary and several extinct species. The genus has always been restricted to South America.

Taxonomy

Catagonus is notable in that the type species, C. metropolitanus, is extinct; the living Chacoan peccary was first described in 1930 from subfossil remains, and only found alive by scientists in 1972 (an example of a Lazarus taxon).[2]

A 2017 study on the phylogenetic systematics of Tayassuidae species suggests that Catagonus should only contain C. metropolitanus. The extinct narrow-headed peccary (C. stenocephalus) should be moved into Brasiliochoerus, while the Chacoan peccary, C. bonaerensis and C. carlesi should be placed in Parachoerus.[3] If this is accepted, then Catagonus becomes an extinct genus once more.

References

  1. "Catagonus". http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=42423. 
  2. Wetzel, Ralph M. (1975). "Catagonus, an "Extinct" Peccary, Alive in Paraguay". Science 189 (4200): 379-381. doi:10.1126/science.189.4200.379. 
  3. Parisi-Dutra, R. (2017). "Phylogenetic Systematics of Peccaries (Tayassuidae: Artiodactyla) and a Classification of South American Tayassuids". Journal of Mammalian Evolution 24: 345–358. 

Wikidata ☰ Q836112 entry