North Sulawesi babirusa

Species of mammal

North Sulawesi babirusa

Adult male
Female at Opel Zoo

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]

CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Order:  | Artiodactyla
Family:  | Suidae
Genus:  | Babyrousa
Species:  |

B. celebensis

Binomial name
Babyrousa celebensis

Deninger, 1909

The North Sulawesi babirusa (Babyrousa celebensis) is a pig-like animal native to Sulawesi and some nearby islands (Lembeh, Buton and Muna) in Indonesia.[3] It has two pairs of large tusks composed of enlarged canine teeth. The upper canines penetrate the top of the snout, curving back toward the forehead. The North Sulawesi babirusa is threatened from hunting and deforestation.[1]

The common and scientific names are various transcriptions of its local name, which literally translated means "pig-deer" (from Indonesian babi, "pig" + rusa, "deer"[4] – see also Javan rusa) in reference to the huge tusks of the male suggestive of a deer's antlers.

## Classification

[edit]

Together with the other members of the genus Babyrousa, the North Sulawesi babirusa has usually been considered a subspecies of a widespread Babyrousa babyrussa, but recent work suggests that there may be several species, differentiable on the basis of geography, body size, amount of body hair, and the shape of the upper canine tooth of the male. Following the split, the "true" Babyrousa babyrussa is restricted to Buru and the Sula Islands.[5]

Most experts agree that babirusas are part of the pig family, and are one of the oldest living members of the family, representing a subfamily, Babyrousinae, that branched off from the warthog branch of the pig family (Subfamily Phacochoerini) during the Oligocene or early Miocene.

## Appearance

[edit]

Head of B. celebensis in Berlin zoo

The North Sulawesi babirusa has a head-and-body length of 85–110 cm (33–43 in) and weighs up to 100 kg (220 lb).[6] It is virtually hairless (easily revealing its greyish skin), and the tail-tuft is also nearly hairless. In males, the relatively long and thick upper canines are strongly curved.[5][6] They emerge through the roof of the snout, while the long lower canines emerge through the side of the mouth. The upper canines can grow backwards in a curve until they penetrate the skull of the male babirusa.[7]

Skull of adult male

In females, the canines are far shorter and typically do not protrude. In comparison, the Buru babirusa has relatively long, thick body hair, a well-developed tail-tuft, and relatively short and slender upper canines in males, while the Togian babirusa is larger, has a relatively well-developed tail-tuft, and the upper canines of the male are "short, slender, rotated forwards, and always converge".[5][6][8]

## Habitat

[edit]

Its habitat is the underbrush of tropical forests and canebrakes, and the shores of rivers and lakes. Its mostly-hairless, mottled-grey-and-brown hide provide it with a degree of camouflage. The North Sulawesi Babirusa is known for its two pairs of tusks; both its upper and its lower pairs of canine teeth are greatly enlarged, and curve up and back towards the head. The upper canines of the male are so curved and enlarged that they emerge through the flesh, by way of holes, to pass through the top of the snout.

Females and young both lack obvious "tusks". Skeleton of a North Sulawesi babirusa (Museum of Osteology)

This species is protected by Indonesian law but is threatened by illegal hunting.[9]

## Captivity

[edit]

A feeding male at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Florida

In captivity, the species is very inbred.[citation needed] The Bronx Zoo has an excellent breeding record for this animal, but it has also been bred at several other zoos such as St. Louis Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Marwell Wildlife, Audubon Zoo and Chester Zoo.

In 2006, a male North Sulawesi Babirusa and a female domestic pig were accidentally allowed to interbreed in the Copenhagen Zoo. The offspring were five hybrid piglets, two of whom died from injuries received from their mother; the remaining three (two males and one female) were found to be infertile.[10][11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Leus, K.; Macdonald, A.; Burton, J.; Rejeki, I. (2016). "Babyrousa celebensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136446A44142964. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T136446A44142964.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. ^ Grubb, P. (2005). "Order Artiodactyla". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 637\. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
4. ^ "Babirusa | Definition of Babirusa by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
5. ^ a b c Meijaard, E. and Groves, C. P. (2002). Upgrading three subspecies of Babirusa (Babyrousa sp.) to full species level. IUCN/SSC Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos Specialist Group (PPHSG) Newsletter 2(2): 33-39.
6. ^ a b c Meijaard, E., J. P. d'Huart, and W. L. R. Oliver (2011). Babirusa (Babyrousa). Pp. 274–276 in: Wilson, D. E., and R. A. Mittermeier, eds. (2011). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 2, Hoofed Mammals. ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4
7. ^ Naish, Darren (2010-03-08). "Babirusas can get impaled by their own teeth: that most sought-after of objects does exist! (babirusas, part VIII) – Tetrapod Zoology". Scienceblogs.com. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
8. ^ Nash, D. (February 23, 2010). The many babirusa species (babirusas, part VI). Archived 2012-05-06 at the Wayback Machine Scienceblogs. Accessed May 1, 2012
9. ^ Clayton, L. M.; Milner-Gulland, E. J.; Sinaga, D. W.; Mustari, A. H. (2001). "Effects of a Proposed Ex Situ Conservation Program on In Situ Conservation of the Babirusa, an Endangered Suid". Conservation Biology. 14 (2): 382–385\. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99123.x. S2CID 84039892.382-385&rft.date=2001&rft_id=info:doi/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99123.x&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:84039892#id-name=S2CID&rft.aulast=Clayton&rft.aufirst=L.+M.&rft.au=Milner-Gulland,+E.+J.&rft.au=Sinaga,+D.+W.&rft.au=Mustari,+A.+H.&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1523-1739.2000.99123.x&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:North+Sulawesi+babirusa" class="Z3988">
10. ^ Thomsen, P. D.; Schauser, K.; Bertelsen, M. F.; Vejlsted, M.; Grøndahl, C.; Christensen, K. (2011). "Meiotic Studies in Infertile Domestic Pig-Babirusa Hybrids". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 132 (1–2): 124–128\. doi:10.1159/000320421. PMID 20924163. S2CID 19659979.1–2&rft.pages=124-128&rft.date=2011&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:19659979#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/20924163&rft_id=info:doi/10.1159/000320421&rft.aulast=Thomsen&rft.aufirst=P.+D.&rft.au=Schauser,+K.&rft.au=Bertelsen,+M.+F.&rft.au=Vejlsted,+M.&rft.au=Grøndahl,+C.&rft.au=Christensen,+K.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:North+Sulawesi+babirusa" class="Z3988">
11. ^ Allen, A.; Ryan, H.; Davis, B. W.; King, C.; Frantz, L.; Barnett, R.; Linderholm, A.; Loog, L.; Haile, J.; Lebrasseur, O.; White, M.; Kitchener, A. C.; Murphy, W. J.; Larson, G. (2018). "Predicting the viability of archaic human hybrids using a mitochondrial proxy". bioRxiv 10.1101/289892.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Babyrousa celebensis.

Wikispecies has information related to Babyrousa celebensis.

* http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Babirusa.asp
* http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/08/many-babirusa-species-laissez-faire.html
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3493161.stm

* v
* t
* e

Extant Artiodactyla species

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Chordata
* Class: Mammalia
* Infraclass: Eutheria
* Superorder: Laurasiatheria

Suborder Ruminantia

| Antilocapridae|

| Antilocapra|

* Pronghorn (A. americana)

|

Giraffidae|

| Okapia|

* Okapi (O. johnstoni)

|

Giraffa|

* Northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis)
* Southern giraffe (G. giraffa)
* Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata)
* Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi)

Moschidae|

| Moschus|

* Anhui musk deer (M. anhuiensis)
* Dwarf musk deer (M. berezovskii)
* Alpine musk deer (M. chrysogaster)
* Kashmir musk deer (M. cupreus)
* Black musk deer (M. fuscus)
* Himalayan musk deer (M. leucogaster)
* Siberian musk deer (M. moschiferus)

|

Tragulidae|

| Hyemoschus|

* Water chevrotain (H. aquaticus)

|

Moschiola|

* Indian spotted chevrotain (M. indica)
* Yellow-striped chevrotain (M. kathygre)
* Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (M. meminna)

Tragulus|

* Java mouse-deer (T. javanicus)
* Lesser mouse-deer (T. kanchil)
* Greater mouse-deer (T. napu)
* Philippine mouse-deer (T. nigricans)
* Vietnam mouse-deer (T. versicolor)
* Williamson's mouse-deer (T. williamsoni)

Cervidae|

Large family listed below

Bovidae|

Large family listed below

Family Cervidae

| Cervinae|

| Muntiacus|

* Bornean yellow muntjac (M. atherodes)
* Hairy-fronted muntjac (M. crinifrons)
* Fea's muntjac (M. feae)
* Gongshan muntjac (M. gongshanensis)
* Sumatran muntjac (M. montanus)
* Southern red muntjac (M. muntjak)
* Pu Hoat muntjac (M. puhoatensis)
* Leaf muntjac (M. putaoensis)
* Reeves's muntjac (M. reevesi)
* Roosevelt's muntjac (M. rooseveltorum)
* Truong Son muntjac (M. truongsonensis)
* Northern red muntjac (M. vaginalis)
* Giant muntjac (M. vuquangensis)

|

Elaphodus|

* Tufted deer (E. cephalophus)

Dama|

* European fallow deer (D. dama)
* Persian fallow deer (D. mesopotamica)

Axis|

* Chital (A. axis)
* Calamian deer (A. calamianensis)
* Bawean deer (A. kuhlii)
* Hog deer (A. porcinus)

Rucervus|

* Barasingha (R. duvaucelii)
* Eld's deer (R. eldii)

Elaphurus|

* Père David's deer (E. davidianus)

Rusa|

* Visayan spotted deer (R. alfredi)
* Philippine sambar (R. mariannus)
* Rusa deer (R. timorensis)
* Sambar (R. unicolor)

Cervus|

* Thorold's deer (C. albirostris)
* Red deer (C. elaphus)
* Elk (C. canadensis)
* Central Asian red deer (C. hanglu)
* Sika deer (C. nippon)

Capreolinae|

| Alces|

* Moose (A. alces)

|

Hydropotes|

* Water deer (H. inermis)

Capreolus|

* European roe deer (C. capreolus)
* Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus)

Rangifer|

* Reindeer (R. tarandus)

Hippocamelus|

* Taruca (H. antisensis)
* South Andean deer (H. bisulcus)

Mazama|

* Red brocket (M. americana)
* Small red brocket (M. bororo)
* Merida brocket (M. bricenii)
* Dwarf brocket (M. chunyi)
* Gray brocket (M. gouazoubira)
* Pygmy brocket (M. nana)
* Amazonian brown brocket (M. nemorivaga)
* Little red brocket (M. rufina)
* Central American red brocket (M. temama)

Ozotoceros|

* Pampas deer (O. bezoarticus)

Blastocerus|

* Marsh deer (B. dichotomus)

Pudu|

* Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)?
* Southern pudu (P. pudu)

Pudella?|

* Peruvian Yungas pudu (P. carlae)
* Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)

Odocoileus|

* Mule deer (O. hemionus)
* Yucatan brown brocket (O. pandora)
* White-tailed deer (O. virginianus)

Family Bovidae

| Hippotraginae|

| Hippotragus|

* Roan antelope (H. equinus)
* Sable antelope (H. niger)

|

Oryx|

* East African oryx (O. beisa)
* Scimitar oryx (O. dammah)
* Gemsbok (O. gazella)
* Arabian oryx (O. leucoryx)

Addax|

* Addax (A. nasomaculatus)

Reduncinae|

| Kobus|

* Waterbuck (K. ellipsiprymnus)
* Kob (K. kob)
* Lechwe (K. leche)
* Nile lechwe (K. megaceros)
* Puku (K. vardonii)

|

Redunca|

* Southern reedbuck (R. arundinum)
* Mountain reedbuck (R. fulvorufula)
* Bohor reedbuck (R. redunca)

Aepycerotinae|

| Aepyceros|

* Impala (A. melampus)

|

Peleinae|

| Pelea|

* Grey rhebok (P. capreolus)

|

Alcelaphinae|

| Beatragus|

* Hirola (B. hunteri)

|

Damaliscus|

* Common tsessebe (D. lunatus)
* Bontebok (D. pygargus)

Alcelaphus|

* Hartebeest (A. buselaphus)

Connochaetes|

* Black wildebeest (C. gnou)
* Blue wildebeest (C. taurinus)

Pantholopinae|

| Pantholops|

* Tibetan antelope (P. hodgsonii)

|

Caprinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Bovinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Antilopinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Family Bovidae (subfamily Caprinae)

| Ammotragus|

* Barbary sheep (A. lervia)

|

Arabitragus|

* Arabian tahr (A. jayakari)

Budorcas|

* Takin (B. taxicolor)

Capra|

* Wild goat (C. aegagrus)
* West Caucasian tur (C. caucasia)
* East Caucasian tur (C. cylindricornis)
* Markhor (C. falconeri)
* Domestic goat (C. hircus)
* Alpine ibex (C. ibex)
* Nubian ibex (C. nubiana)
* Iberian ibex (C. pyrenaica)
* Siberian ibex (C. sibirica)
* Walia ibex (C. walie)

Capricornis|

* Japanese serow (C. crispus)
* Red serow (C. rubidus)
* Mainland serow (C. sumatraensis)
* Taiwan serow (C. swinhoei)

Hemitragus|

* Himalayan tahr (H. jemlahicus)

Naemorhedus|

* Red goral (N. baileyi)
* Long-tailed goral (N. caudatus)
* Himalayan goral (N. goral)
* Chinese goral (N. griseus)

Oreamnos|

* Mountain goat (O. americanus)

Ovibos|

* Muskox (O. moschatus)

Nilgiritragus|

* Nilgiri tahr (N. hylocrius)

Ovis|

* Argali (O. ammon)
* Domestic sheep (O. aries)
* Bighorn sheep (O. canadensis)
* Dall sheep (O. dalli)
* Mouflon (O. gmelini)
* Snow sheep (O. nivicola)
* Urial (O. vignei)

Pseudois|

* Bharal (P. nayaur)

Rupicapra|

* Pyrenean chamois (R. pyrenaica)
* Chamois (R. rupicapra)

Family Bovidae (subfamily Bovinae)

| Boselaphini|

| Tetracerus|

* Four-horned antelope (T. quadricornis)

|

Boselaphus|

* Nilgai (B. tragocamelus)

Bovini|

| Bubalus|

* Wild water buffalo (B. arnee)
* Domestic water buffalo (B. bubalis)
* Lowland anoa (B. depressicornis)
* Tamaraw (B. mindorensis)
* Mountain anoa (B. quarlesi)

|

Bos|

* American bison (B. bison)
* European bison (B. bonasus)
* Bali cattle (B. domesticus)
* Gayal (B. frontalis)
* Gaur (B. gaurus)
* Domestic yak (B. grunniens)
* Zebu (B. indicus)
* Banteng (B. javanicus)
* Wild yak (B. mutus)
* Cattle (B. taurus)

Pseudoryx|

* Saola (P. nghetinhensis)

Syncerus|

* African buffalo (S. caffer)

Tragelaphini|

| Tragelaphus
(including kudus)|

* Nyala (T. angasii)
* Mountain nyala (T. buxtoni)
* Bongo (T. eurycerus)
* Lesser kudu (T. imberbis)
* Harnessed bushbuck (T. scriptus)
* Sitatunga (T. spekeii)
* Greater kudu (T. strepsiceros)
* Cape bushbuck (T. sylvaticus)

|

Taurotragus|

* Giant eland (T. derbianus)
* Common eland (T. oryx)

Family Bovidae (subfamily Antilopinae)

| Antilopini|

| Ammodorcas|

* Dibatag (A. clarkei)

|

Antidorcas|

* Springbok (A. marsupialis)

Antilope|

* Blackbuck (A. cervicapra)

Eudorcas|

* Mongalla gazelle (E. albonotata)
* Red-fronted gazelle (E. rufifrons)
* Thomson's gazelle (E. thomsonii)
* Heuglin's gazelle (E. tilonura)

Gazella|

* Chinkara (G. bennettii)
* Cuvier's gazelle (G. cuvieri)
* Dorcas gazelle (G. dorcas)
* Erlanger's gazelle (G. erlangeri)
* Mountain gazelle (G. gazella)
* Rhim gazelle (G. leptoceros)
* Speke's gazelle (G. spekei)
* Goitered gazelle (G. subgutturosa)

Litocranius|

* Gerenuk (L. walleri)

Nanger|

* Dama gazelle (N. dama)
* Grant's gazelle (N. granti)
* Bright's gazelle (N. notatus)
* Peter's gazelle (N. petersii)
* Soemmerring's gazelle (N. soemmerringii)

Procapra|

* Mongolian gazelle (P. gutturosa)
* Goa (P. picticaudata)
* Przewalski's gazelle (P. przewalskii)

Saigini|

| Saiga|

* Saiga antelope (S. tatarica)

|

Neotragini|

| Dorcatragus|

* Beira (D. megalotis)

|

Madoqua|

* Günther's dik-dik (M. guentheri)
* Kirk's dik-dik (M. kirkii)
* Silver dik-dik (M. piacentinii)
* Salt's dik-dik (M. saltiana)

Neotragus|

* Royal antelope (N. pygmaeus)

Nesotragus|

* Bates' pygmy antelope (N. batesi)
* Suni (N. moschatus)

Oreotragus|

* Klipspringer (O. oreotragus)

Ourebia|

* Oribi (O. ourebi)

Raphicerus|

* Steenbok (R. campestris)
* Cape grysbok (R. melanotis)
* Sharpe's grysbok (R. sharpei)

Cephalophini|

| Cephalophus|

* Aders's duiker (C. adersi)
* Brooke's duiker (C. brookei)
* Peters' duiker (C. callipygus)
* White-legged duiker (C. crusalbum)
* Bay duiker (C. dorsalis)
* Harvey's duiker (C. harveyi)
* Jentink's duiker (C. jentinki)
* White-bellied duiker (C. leucogaster)
* Red forest duiker (C. natalensis)
* Black duiker (C. niger)
* Black-fronted duiker (C. nigrifrons)
* Ogilby's duiker (C. ogilbyi)
* Ruwenzori duiker (C. rubidis)
* Red-flanked duiker (C. rufilatus)
* Yellow-backed duiker (C. silvicultor)
* Abbott's duiker (C. spadix)
* Weyns's duiker (C. weynsi)
* Zebra duiker (C. zebra)

|

Philantomba|

* Blue duiker (P. monticola)
* Maxwell's duiker (P. maxwellii)
* Walter's duiker (P. walteri)

Sylvicapra|

* Common duiker (S. grimmia)

Suborder Suina

| Suidae|

| Babyrousa|

* Buru babirusa (B. babyrussa)
* North Sulawesi babirusa (B. celebensis)
* Togian babirusa (B. togeanensis)

|

Hylochoerus|

* Giant forest hog (H. meinertzhageni)

Phacochoerus|

* Desert warthog (P. aethiopicus)
* Common warthog (P. africanus)

Porcula|

* Pygmy hog (P. salvania)

Potamochoerus|

* Bushpig (P. larvatus)
* Red river hog (P. porcus)

Sus|

* Palawan bearded pig (S. ahoenobarbus)
* Bornean bearded pig (S. barbatus)
* Visayan warty pig (S. cebifrons)
* Celebes warty pig (S. celebensis)
* Domestic pig (S. domesticus)
* Flores warty pig (S. heureni)
* Oliver's warty pig (S. oliveri)
* Philippine warty pig (S. philippensis)
* Wild boar (S. scrofa)
* Timor warty pig (S. timoriensis)
* Javan warty pig (S. verrucosus)

Tayassuidae|

| Tayassu|

* White-lipped peccary (T. pecari)

|

Catagonus|

* Chacoan peccary (C. wagneri)

Dicotyles|

* Collared peccary (D. tajacu)

Suborder Tylopoda

| Camelidae|

| Lama|

* Llama (L. glama)
* Guanaco (L. guanicoe)
* Alpaca (L. pacos)
* Vicuña (L. vicugna)

|

Camelus|

* Domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus)
* Dromedary/Arabian camel (C. dromedarius)
* Wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus)

Suborder Whippomorpha

| Hippopotamidae|

| Hippopotamus|

* Hippopotamus (H. amphibius)

|

Choeropsis|

* Pygmy hippopotamus (C. liberiensis)

Cetacea|

* see Cetacea

Taxon identifiers

Babyrousa celebensis|

* Wikidata: Q1934992
* Wikispecies: Babyrousa celebensis
* ADW: Babyrousa_celebensis
* CoL: K6M3
* EoL: 4445606
* GBIF: 4262912
* iNaturalist: 74099
* ITIS: 898187
* IUCN: 136446
* MDD: 1006362
* MSW: 14200011
* NCBI: 1303000
* Observation.org: 200382
* Open Tree of Life: 3611403
* Species+: 7226
* Xeno-canto: Babyrousa-celebensis

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