Potamochoerus larvatus Male Skull Replica measures 14.5 inches. Potamochoerus larvatus Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen.
The African Bushpig or Potamochoerus larvatus is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduced populations are also present in Madagascar.
There have also been unverified reports of their presence on the Comoro island of Mayotte. Bushpigs are mainly nocturnal. There are several subspecies.
Potamochoerus larvatus stand from 26 to 39 inches at the shoulder and mature boars can reach a weight of 330 lb., although 130 to 180 lb. is more common. Sows are 99 to 154 lb. They resemble the domestic pig, and can be identified by their pointed, tufted ears and face mask.
Potamochoerus larvatus vary in hair color and skin color over their range, southern koiropotamus and nyasae populations are dark reddish, sometimes almost black. The coat colour darkens with age.
Their heads have a ‘face mask’ with a contrasting pattern of blackish to dark brown and white to dark grey markings, or may sometimes be completely whitish.The ears have tassels of long hairs. Their very sharp tusks are fairly short and inconspicuous. Unlike warthogs, bushpigs run with their long and thin tails down.
Older Potamochoerus larvatus males develop two warts on their snout. Piglets are born with pale yellowish longitudinal stripes on a dark brown background; these soon disappear and the coat becomes reddish brown, with a black and white dorsal crest in both sexes. Their mane bristles when the animal becomes agitated.
Distributed over a wide range, the African Bushpig or Potamochoerus larvatus occurs from Ethiopia and Somalia to eastern and southern DR Congo and southwards to Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. It also occurs on Madagascar and possibly the Comoros archipelago.
It is not known how it reached these islands, but it was probably taken there by humans, possibly after a period of domestication. Numerous hybrids with normal pigs have also been reported.
Potamochoerus larvatus will range up to 4 km from their hide in a night to feed. They are omnivorous and their diet can include roots, crops, succulent plants, water sedges, rotten wood, insects, small reptiles, eggs, nestlings and carrion.
Tubers, bulbs and fruit are the most important food. Eggs and nestlings are also a favorite. Both fresh and very rotten carrion is eaten. Small young antelope are stalked and consumed. A behavior observed in Uganda is to follow a troop of monkeys or baboons in the trees above to feed on the falling fruit and peels.
