Suid Species Research Articles

Distinctive differences in long terminal repeat sequences between γ1 endogenous retroviruses of African and Eurasian suid species

Diversity of long terminal repeats (LTRs) from γ1 endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) was analysed by DNA sequencing in 10 species of the family Suidae (suids, pigs and hogs). Phylogenetic analysis separated LTR sequences into two groups which correlated approximately with either the previously described cluster I and III, or the clusters II, IV and V. Interestingly, a specific LTR exhibiting a novel molecular rearrangement was identified exclusively within African host species when compared to LTRs previously reported from known ERVs in the domestic pig (Sus scrofa). Furthermore, other sections of LTRs appear to be unique to African suids as suggested by phylogenetic analysis. These differences between African and Eurasian ERV lineages show that these ERVs belong to different viral sub-populations, implying coevolution of endogenous viral sequences with their host species and providing no evidence of transfer of viral sequences between African and Eurasian suids.

Prevalence of porcine circoviruses in Transylvanian wild boars, detected by real-time PCR — short communication

Porcine circoviruses (PCV) are widespread in domestic pigs worldwide and there is growing information about the presence of PCV in other suid species. Based on serological studies with sera of wild boars, it was established that PCV1 was present in these animals and antibodies specific to PCV2 were also detected in wild boars living in captivity or in sylvatic areas, both with or without clinical signs of PMWS. Studies including PCV2 genome or antigen detection confirmed the previous findings. This is the first report about the presence of PCV in Transylvanian wild boar populations. Four hundred and sixty-nine samples were collected and grouped according to geographic origin, tested for the presence of PCV DNA using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay, and 13.52% of the animals proved to be positive for one or in three cases both of the PCV genotypes. PCV2 was detected in all of the PCV-positive samples.

Palaeoecology of late Early Miocene fauna in the Namib based on 13C/ 12C and 18O/ 16O ratios of tooth enamel and ratite eggshell carbonate

We explored the stable light isotope ecology of a sample of extinct Namibian mammals from the early Miocene, a period when conditions are believed to have been relatively warm and moist. Where possible we compared isotope values of mammalian tooth enamel (Rhinocerotidae, Suidae, Climacoceratidae, Pliohyracidae, Gomphotheriidae and Deinotheriidae) with those of eggshells of a co-existing Aepyornithoid (19–20 Ma). In general, the isotopic values of tooth enamel in all mammalian fauna, including likely mixed feeders/grazers, are consistent with C 3 diets as expected for this period, and the ratite eggshells are consistently enriched in both 13C and 18O compared to the mammals. High eggshell carbon and oxygen isotope values at the sites of Grillental and Elisabethfeld suggest that ratite birds occupied a dry niche that possibly included CAM plants, while results for Langental suggest moister, cooler conditions. Arrisdrift (ca. 17–17.5 Ma) mammalian tooth enamel values overlap those of the 19–20 Ma sites. The dataset for Arrisdrift reveals distinctive patterning between species. In particular the two suid species differ significantly in δ 18O and δ 13C, suggesting distinct ecological niches consistent with predictions from their dental morphology. On the other hand, two distinct data populations for one species of Prohyrax may suggest different environmental conditions during the period in which the site formed.

The large-mammal fauna from the Kibish Formation

The Kibish faunal remains are useful for reconstructing the habitat of the earliest documented Homo sapiens and for understanding the community within which early modern humans existed. A diverse assemblage of large mammals, including many species of bovids, suids, and equids, has been recovered from the Kibish Formation. There are no extinct large mammals represented in the fossil assemblage, and the overall taxonomic composition of the fossil fauna is similar to the modern-day wildlife community living near the Omo River. The fossil faunal assemblage shows a paucity of arboreal primates, and carnivore species are rare. However, the faunal sample includes possible Cephalophus (duiker) remains and Hylochoerus meinertzhageni (giant forest hog), taxa that are extremely rare in the African fossil record, and both indicate more closed habitats. Comparative analyses of the Kibish faunal remains using the ecological-diversity approach document close associations with edaphic grassland and woodland vegetation types. These vegetation forms are similar to current habitats surrounding the Omo River.

SUSPECTED CERVICAL SPINAL CORD VASCULAR ANOMALY IN AN AFRICAN WARTHOG (PHACOCHOERUS AFRICANUS)

Vascular myelopathies of the spinal cord have not been described in Suidae, and are a rare finding in companion animals. An 8.5-yr female African warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) presented with an acute onset of tetraparesis. Based on neurologic findings, a cervical spinal cord lesion between C7-T2 was suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed severe intramedullary hemorrhage with suspected abnormal vessels in the spinal cord at the level of the seventh cervical vertebrae. The acute onset of clinical signs and rapid deterioration of neurological status precluded surgical managements. A vascular anomaly was suspected on gross pathology and histology. Immunohistochemistry identified the lesion as a spontaneous intramedullary hematoma. Spontaneous intramedullary hematomyelia should be considered as a differential for acute onset of paresis in suid species.

Cross-species Comparison of Ectopic Bone Formation in Biphasic Calcium Phosphate (BCP) and Hydroxyapatite (HA) Scaffolds

Material-induced bone formation reported in canine, bovid, suid, and primate species does not often occur in lagomorph or rodent models. In this study, we test biphasic calcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite- induced bone formation in subcutaneous pockets of mice and intramuscular pockets in rats, rabbits, and dogs. All scaffolds are of similar size, and all animals were sacrificed at 90 days post-implantation. In dogs (N = 8), all implants showed bone formation with significantly more bone formed in biphasic calcium phosphates (30 +/- 6%, N = 8) as compared to hydroxyapatite (14 +/- 5%, N = 8) (p = 0.003). Hydroxyapatite implants did not induce bone formation in mice, rats, or rabbits. Biphasic calcium phosphate induced bone in 6 of 8 scaffolds implanted in 4 rabbits and 3 of 16 scaffolds implanted in 16 mice, whereas it did not induce bone formation in any of the 8 rats. The results presented herein suggest that the incidence of material-induced bone formation varies with animal species and is related to the implant material used.

Novel herpesviruses of Suidae: indicators for a second genogroup of artiodactyl gammaherpesviruses.

Five novel herpesviruses were identified in suid species from Africa (common warthog, Phacochoerus africanus) and South-East Asia (bearded pig, Sus barbatus; babirusa, Babyrousa babyrussa) by detection and analysis of their DNA polymerase genes. Three of the novel species, P. africanus cytomegalovirus 1, P. africanus lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 (PafrLHV-1) and S. barbatus lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 (SbarLHV-1), were closely related to known beta- (porcine cytomegalovirus) and gammaherpesviruses [porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus (PLHV) 1 and 3] of domestic pigs. In contrast, two novel species, S. barbatus rhadinovirus 1 (SbarRHV-1) and Babyrousa babyrussa rhadinovirus 1 (BbabRHV-1), were more closely related to a ruminant gammaherpesvirus, bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4), than to the porcine gammaherpesviruses PLHV-1, -2, -3, PafrLHV-1 and SbarLHV-1. SbarRHV-1, BbabRHV-1 and BoHV-4 were therefore tentatively assigned to a novel genogroup of artiodactyl gammaherpesviruses. This latter genogroup may also contain an as yet undiscovered gammaherpesvirus of domestic pigs, thereby adding a concern to their use in xenotransplantation.

Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan

The thick (>4000 m) coarsening-upward terrestrial Neogene sequence of the Sulaiman Range (Middle Indus Basin, central Pakistan) is the western extension of the Siwalik outcrop belt of the Sub-Himalayas. The near-shore to terrestrial sedimentation in the Sulaiman Range, represented by the Chitarwata Formation, began by the late Oligocene to basal Miocene when the main Himalayan foreland was primarily a non-depositional region. The fluvial system of channel–floodplain deposits was fully established in the late early Miocene, marking the beginning of the Vihowa Formation. There is a sudden increase in the proportion of sandstones to mudstones, and change in the geometry of the sandbodies, at the conformable contact of the Vihowa with the overlying Litra Formation. The trend of coarsening and increased complexity of sandbodies with more conglomerate interbeds continued upward from the Litra to the Chaudhwan Formation, which in the upper reaches becomes a conglomerate-dominant sequence. Our mammalian faunal collections from the Vihowa and Litra formations, though small, are definitive, providing a temporal framework for interpreting the Sulaiman depositional regimes in the context of Himalayan orogeny. The Vihowa and Litra mammalian faunas are strikingly similar to the Middle to Late Miocene Siwalik faunas from the Potwar Plateau. Fauna from the lower Vihowa records diversification in the small boselaphine bovid Eotragus around 17 Ma. The three-toed hipparionine horses appear in the lower Litra Formation, giving a Late Miocene age to those strata. The middle Litra Formation has entirely different species of bovids, suids, and giraffids suggesting a more open country habitat. Similar community restructuring with substantial faunal turnover occurred about 7.5–7.0 Ma on the Potwar Plateau. The Chaudhwan Formation is probably of Pliocene age. Paleocurrent data suggest a southerly flowing river system, which perhaps was part of a much larger river system, analogous to the modern Indus River, draining southwestern Himalayas since Miocene. The Chitarwata through Chaudhwan sequence in the Sulaiman Range contains an almost continuous terrestrial record of the Neogene, perhaps more complete than anywhere else in the Himalayan foreland.

Dietary adaptations of extant and Neogene African suids

AbstractPlio‐Pleistocene suid assemblages of sub‐Saharan Africa seem to have been derived from the immigration of Asian tetraconodontines during the late Miocene and of Asian suines in the mid Pliocene. Lineages of both subfamilies display evolutionary changes that decrease the length of the premolar row and increase the length, height and complexity of the molars. Such changes have proved useful for estimating the relative ages of the sites from which suid fossils have been retrieved. They have also been used for interpreting the probable habitat and as evidence of environmental change through time. Isotopic analyses of tooth enamel from extant suid species generally confirm field observations of their dietary preferences. Similar analyses of suid dental enamel from Neogene localities of eastern Africa provide information that partly supports previous interpretations of the diets of extinct suid species. The increase in size and complexity of nyanzachoere teeth reflects their exploitation of C4 vegetation, although the nyanzachoeres did not acquire their grazing habits until after contemporary perissodactyls and proboscideans had become dedicated C4 grazers. In contrast to earlier interpretations, kolpochoeres and metridiochoeres were already dedicated grazers by the time they became significant components of the East African biota. Like their living counterparts, the warthogs and forest hogs, metridiochoeres were less water‐dependent than kolpochoeres.

Middle and Late Pleistocene Wild Boar Remains from Locality 1 of Ube Kosan Quarry in Yamaguchi Prefecture and from the Kannondo Cave Site in Hiroshima Prefecture, Western Japan.

A systematic description is given to a Middle Pleistocene remain (M3) from Locality 1 of Ube Kosan Quarry, and three Late Pleistocene remains (frontal bone, I2 and P4) from the Kannondo cave site. These remains are important to elucidate morphological characters of wild boars inhabited the mainland of Japan during the Pleistocene, because wild boar remains dated certainly as the Pleistocene are quite limited in Japan. The remains are compared with the living and Quaternary fossil suid species known from East Asia. The morphological characters of the remains are mostly coincident with those of Sus scrofa, an extant species now widely distributed in Eurasia, but the exact identification is left pending owing to the insufficiency of the morphological data of the fossil species as well as the poor preservation of the present remains. The remains are therefore assigned to S. cf. scrofa. As regards the size of the remains, the M3 is larger than that of S. scrofa leucomystax, an extant subspecies of S. scrofa now distributed in Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu, but is approximately as large as those of S. scrofa from other Middle Pleistocene localities. The other three remains are approximately as large as S. s. leucomystax. On the basis of the present study as well as the data so far obtained, it is inferred that the wild boar of S. scrofa or its allied form already inhabited Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu in the middle Middle Pleistocene, and then decreased toward the Late Pleistocene. From the late Late Pleistocene to Holocene, it increased drastically, and became a dominant artiodactyl in the Holocene fauna of Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu.

A new listriodont suid,Bunolistriodon meidamonsp. nov., from the middle Miocene of Anatolia

ABSTRACT The early middle Miocene (MN 6; ca. 15 Ma) locality of Pasalar in western Anatolia (Turkey) has produced a large and well studied collection of land mammals, including hominoid primates. We confirm the co-occurrence of two species of listriodont suids at this locality, and describe one of them as Bunolistriodon meidamon sp. nov. The other species is referred to Listriodon splendens. B. meidamon is characterised by extreme widening of the central incisors, large size of the male upper canines, labiolingually compressed (“meidamonic”) lower male canines, and narrow cheek teeth. These synapomorphies define a clade comprising at least B. latidens and B. meidamon, which are thus separated from the plesiomorphic species complex of listriodonts lacking lophed molars (Listriodon, Lopholistriodon) or cranial appendages (the “horned” kubanochoeres).

Variability in Long Bone Marrow Yields of East African Ungulates and its Zooarchaeological Implications

We document variability in the gross energetic yield and skeletal distribution of long bone marrow in 27 East African ungulates, representing eight species of bovids, equids and suids. Body size explains much of the variability in marrow wet weights among and within bovid species, but locomotor adaptations and marrow cavity structure are also important, especially in explaining the lower absolute marrow yields of suid (warthog) and equid (zebra) long bones. When expressed in terms of actual kilocalorie content, variability in the absolute yield and skeletal distribution of marrow is increased among adults by fat-depletion attendant upon nutritional stress, and among subadults by incomplete fat deposition. Long bone marrow yields of sheep and caribou (Binford, Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology, 1978; New York: Academic Press), upon which most economic analyses of zooarchaeological assemblages are based, are not representative of the variability seen in East African ungulates. Application of individual bovid Kcal models to Bunn's ( Journal of Human Evolution, 1986; 15, 673-690) data on long bone abundances at two Bed I archaeological sites from Olduvai Gorge suggests that hominids selectively broke those bones with higher energy yields from marrow. This application is also used to discuss problems in economic analyses of zooarchaeological assemblages, particularly the need to construct utility indices that are sensitive to the tremendous variability in economic anatomy, but not so specific as to go beyond the resolution of zooarchaeological data.

New Facial Glands in Domestic Pig and Warthog

Sebaceous scent glands, located in the upper lip beside the tusks, are reported in two species of suids. A preorbital gland similar to the tusk gland is also described in the warthog. Tusk-gland secretion is employed for scent-marking objects and could contribute to salivary pheromones emitted during sexual and agonistic encounters when boars champ and gnash their tusks.

Suid evolution and correlation of African hominid localities: an alternative taxonomy.

New phylogenies were recently proposed by White and Harris, who recognized 7 genera and 16 species of fossil and extant suids from sub-Saharan Africa. This scheme is regarded here as oversimplified and an alternative is suggested, in which 9 genera and 21 species are recognized. The taxonomic and phylogenetic differences do not have any significant effect on the stratigraphic interpretations offered by White and Harris.