HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
 1
|
| Suina | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Families | ||||||||||
|
Suidae |
The suborder Suina (also known as Suiformes) contains perhaps the earliest and most archaic even-toed ungulates.
Contents |
There are only three families alive today:
The oreodonts of the possibly-ancestral family Oreodontidae (best known for the genus Oreodon, a.k.a. Merycoidodon) are now extinct. Sometimes called "ruminating hogs," they were pig-like, cud-chewing plant-eaters with tusk-like canine teeth, short faces, and four-toed hooves. Although some scholars place them within the suborder Suina, others put them in their own suborder, named Oreodonta. The extinct Entelodonts are often regarded as members of the Suina as well.
Hippopotamus were once thought to be part of the Suina, but recent data suggested that they are more related to the Cetaceans. However, it is possible that the whales and hippos form an evolutionary branch off the Suina, making them distant relatives (see Hippopotamus#Taxonomy and origins). And, if this is true, then the cetacean families would be part of the Suina:
However, it is more likely that the cetacean families are not part of the Suina.[citation needed]
These prehistoric artiodactyls were very common amid the dry grasslands of North and Central America throughout much of the Cenozoic era. Their teeth are often found as fossils amid the Oreodon beds in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
The primordial oreodonts appeared 48 million years ago (m.y.a.) during the Eocene epoch of the Paleogene period, but became extinct 4 m.y.a. during the early Pliocene epoch of the Neogene period. It is not known whether they were ancestral to the living genera of Suina.
Suinas have long sharp cannie teeth
The anatomy of the Suina is different compared to other even-toed ungulates. For example, they have teeth, which allows for chewing food. In contrast, other even-toed ungulates such as goats and deer, have teeth only on the bottom. This doesn\'t let them chew very well, so they have to swallow it and regurgitate the food to allow rumination.
Most even-toed ungulates have a four-chambered stomach. The Suina do not have a four-chambered stomach. Instead they have a simple kind of stomach that evolved to allow an omnivorous diet.
Boar skeleton
Hippopotamus skeleton
Along with that, most of them have toes instead of hoofs. Some, like hippos, have four-toes at front and three on the back. While other even-toed ungulates have cloven feet. Also the leg structure is different from other even-toed. While most even-toed ungulates , and some Suina, have long slender legs, the Suina don\'t. They have short, stubby legs, and yet are capable of speed. A good example is that of the hippo.
See also in Evolution of cetaceans and Hippopotamus#Evolution
The origins of these animals, have also played a big role for the Cetacean and other even-toed ungulates as well. Also their evolution is relatively well known, due to the large fossils being plentiful. But when the cetaceans came, there was a debate.
Diacodexis and Pakicetus
Around 63 million years ago, a genet-like creature evolved. This creature didn\'t look like the ancestor of Cetartiodactyla. The animal climbed into the trees and hunted at night like a genet. Chriacus was the name. This animal was the ancestor of two species in 9 million years (or 54 million years ago). Diacodexis and Pakicetus. These two species were the earliest members of their family. As millions of years passed, these went their separate ways. Pakicetus evolved into more stream-lined and advanced animals able to hold their breath for a very long time. Some would lose their teeth and have baleen. Pakicetus evolved into the Cetacean group.As for Diacodexis, it evoled into the Suina group. The early members of the Suina were more like Diacodexis. Later they evolved into the oreodonts. Then the anthracotheres branch broke up and some evolved into the hippos. Then the peccaries branch came and evolved in the Americas. Another branch broke off and it was the other even-toed ungulates. Then millions of years went by, the entelodonts and the true pigs branch came in the Old World.
| Extant Artiodactyla families by suborder | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Mammalia · Infraclass: Eutheria · Superorder: Laurasiatheria | |
| Ruminantia | Antilocapridae · Bovidae · Cervidae · Giraffidae · Moschidae · Tragulidae |
| Suina | Hippopotamidae · Suidae · Tayassuidae |
| Tylopoda | Camelidae |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
