I've just spent an enjoyable couple of hours unpacking a crate of trophies from my '08 Zambian hunt. One of the first things out of the box was the bleached skull of a warthog. It immediately went up on top of the gun safe beside the skull of my Namibian warthog. The first thing I noticed was that the skull of the Zambian wh was at least 1/3 larger than the Namibian boar. I figured it was just a case of better feed in northern Zambia. The Namibian wh also had some old leopard wounds on its head and jaw, some of which had never healed properly. I figured these things would explain the significant size difference. Then I noticed that the Namibian boar had 6 teeth in front of the molars of the lower jaw and the Zambian boar had only 4. I suppose this variation is within the normal range of differences found in a species, but it made me wonder if they were possibly different sub-species (which I hadn't heard of). Any thoughts?

Dean

Maki- that's reason #1 why so many great hunters become great naturalists!
If no one knows the answer to your question, start applying for research grants!

Dean,

I don't have the answer to your question, but I just want to say good for you for noticing the difference! I agree with ChetNC - your interest in this shows that you are both a hunter and a naturalist, and that is a great combination. There are probably a lot of hunters out there who would have those skulls on top of their safe for 20 years and not notice or think about the difference. I hope someone here can tell you if these are different sub-species, because my interest is now also piqued.

Glen

When I was hunting in Chete, I remember that all the warthogs were red! Of course, anyone who has ever hunted in Chete knows that there is lots and lots of red dirt and red rocks. The warthogs were red from rolling in the red dirt. We got to talking about the "red warthogs" when we were out hunting and back in camp at night. "Saw some more red warthogs while we were out today". When I left, one of the guys who was still in camp said "I sure would like to shoot one of those red warthogs before I leave."

Well, in true internet fashion, I asked first and researched later. The mamals of Africa guide I have says there are 4 subspecies of warthog plus a desert warthog. No maps showing the distribution of the warthog subspecies were given, but from the description of the ranges at least some biologists would say the Zambian and Namibia wh are of a different subspecies. Judging from my sample size of 2, there seems to be more justification for defining at least 2 of the wh subspecies than there is for a number of antelope subspecies.

Maybe there is a room for some field research defining the distribution of the subspecies. I figure a couple of field seasons collecting specimens from across the continent and visiting taxidermists and skinning sheds to increase the sample size of the study.

Cheers,
Dean

Don't forget those "red warthogs". They are very rare.

Dean,

The differences in warthogs could be more dependent on enviroment than what subspecies they might be. Warthogs are very water dependent and vulnerable to predators. On two recent safaris in Mozambique I was absolutely amazed at the amount and body size of warthogs I saw plus the incredible trophy quality. Both these areas had lots of water, few predatos and sandy soil.

Mark

Some authors divide them into two species. On that classification, P. africanus is the Common (or Northern) Warthog and P. aethiopicus is the Desert Warthog, also known as the Cape or Somali Warthog.


Subspecies

Nolan Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus africanus)– Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan

Eritrean Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus aeliani)– Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia

Central African Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus massaicus)– Kenya, Tanzania

Southern Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus sundevallii)– Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
The differences in warthogs could be more dependent on enviroment than what subspecies they might be.

Mark,

I certainly agree wrt size. What got me wondering was the different number of incisors in the lower jaw.

I might just have to try to get me an NSERC grant to collect a full range of specimens. Tj's post above leaves some vital scientific mysteries unresolved. Is the warthog in northern Zambia P.a. massaicus or P.A. sundevallii? What varieties do they have in Angola and Moz? I had a prof in university who got an NSERC grant to study dinosaur turds (no uhh.. joke, I have some in my reloading room.) so why couldn't I get funding to collect a set of samples from say western Tanzania to central Namibia? .

BTW, thanks for the help with the trophies this week Mark.

Dean

Dean,

Glad that all worked out. loosing a sitatunga to beaurocratic bulging would be a disaster.

When you get that grant we can organize a hog hunt extraordinaire.

Mark