The Barbary wild boar (Sus scrofa algira) is a smaller subspecies of wild boar native to North Africa including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.[1][2][3] It is a prey animal for past and present predators of the Atlas Mountains, such as striped hyenas, Atlas bears, African leopards and Barbary lions.

Barbary wild boar
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Sus
Species:
Subspecies:
S. s. algira
Trinomial name
Sus scrofa algira
Loche, 1867
Synonyms
Species synonymy
  • Sus scrofa barbarus (Sclater, 1860)
  • Sus scrofa sahariensis (Heim de Balzac, 1937)

Genetically, it is closely related to European wild boars.[4] It is speculated to have arrived in North Africa from Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar either naturally or through anthropogenic means sometime during the Late Pleistocene when the distance between the two landmasses was shorter, islands were present in between, and ocean currents were calmer.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Barbary Wild Boar". www.wild-about-you.com. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  2. ^ "Barbary Wild Boar | Big Game Hunting Records - Safari Club International Online Record Book". www.scirecordbook.org. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  3. ^ "Mammal Species of the World - Browse: scrofa". www.departments.bucknell.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  4. ^ Soria-Boix, Carmen; Donat, Pilar; Urios, Vicente (25 July 2017). "Contacts in the last 90,000 years over the Strait of Gibraltar evidenced by genetic analysis of wild boar (Sus scrofa)". PLOS ONE. 12 (7): e0181929. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181929. hdl:10251/102282. PMID 28742834. Retrieved 27 May 2024.