Platygonus

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Platygonus compressus Harvard.jpg

| image_caption = Platygonus compressus skeleton at Harvard University

| fossil_range = Late Miocene-Late Pleistocene
~{{fossil range|10.3|0.011}}

| taxon = Platygonus

| authority = LeConte 1848

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

| type_species = †Platygonus compressus

| type_species_authority = LeConte 1848

| synonyms =

Euchoerus {{small|Leidy 1853}}
Hyops {{small|LeConte 1848}}
Protochoerus {{small|LeConte 1848}}
Selenogonus {{small|Stirton 1947}}

}}

Platygonus ("flat head" in reference to the straight shape of the forehead){{Cite web |title=Peccary |publisher=Idaho Museum of Natural History |url=http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/parks/hagerman/text/peccany.htm |date=November 2002 |access-date=1 July 2013}} is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccaries of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North and South America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs (10.3 million to 11,000 years ago), existing for about {{Mya|10.3-0.011|million years}}. P. compressus stood {{convert|2.5|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall.{{Cite journal|last1=Perry|first1=Tahlia|last2=van Loenen|first2=Ayla L.|last3=Heiniger|first3=Holly|last4=Lee|first4=Carol|last5=Gongora|first5=Jaime|last6=Cooper|first6=Alan|last7=Mitchell|first7=Kieren J.|date=July 2017|title=Ancient DNA analysis of the extinct North American flat-headed peccary (Platygonus compressus)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=112|pages=258–267|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.03.024|issn=1095-9513|pmid=28363818|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017MolPE.112..258P }}{{Cite web|title=Flat-headed Peccary {{!}} Explore the Ice Age Midwest|url=http://iceage.museum.state.il.us/mammals/flat-headed-peccary-0|access-date=2021-08-10|website=iceage.museum.state.il.us}}

Taxonomy

While long thought to be the sister-lineage to the Chacoan peccary based on morphological similarities, a 2017 ancient DNA study which recovered mitochondrial DNA from Platygonus found that all living peccaries are more closely related to each other than they are to Platygonus. The estimated divergence between Platygonus and all living peccaries was placed in the Miocene, around 22 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=Tahlia |last2=van Loenen |first2=Ayla L. |last3=Heiniger |first3=Holly |last4=Lee |first4=Carol |last5=Gongora |first5=Jaime |last6=Cooper |first6=Alan |last7=Mitchell |first7=Kieren J. |date=July 2017 |title=Ancient DNA analysis of the extinct North American flat-headed peccary (Platygonus compressus) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=112 |pages=258–267 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.03.024|pmid=28363818 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017MolPE.112..258P }}

Description

File:Platygonus by Knight.jpg]]

Most Platygonus species were similar in size to modern peccaries especially giant peccary, at around {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} in body length, and had long legs, allowing them to run well. They also had a pig-like snout and long tusks which were probably used to fend off predators.{{Harvnb|Palmer|1999|p=269}}

Ecology

Like modern peccaries, Platygonus is thought to have lived in herds. Their remains are particularly abundant in caves, suggesting that they regularly used them. A study on the population structure of a population of P. compressus from Bat Cave, Missouri found that they had a similar demographic structure to modern peccaries, dominated by young adults, with a progressive attenuation of older adults due to predation and old-age, up to a maximum age of around 10 years.{{Cite journal |last1=Woodruff |first1=Aaron L. |last2=Schubert |first2=Blaine W. |date=2019-07-04 |title=Seasonal denning behavior and population dynamics of the late Pleistocene peccary Platygonus compressus (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) from Bat Cave, Missouri |journal=PeerJ |language=en |volume=7 |pages=e7161 |doi=10.7717/peerj.7161 |pmid=31308997 |pmc=6612422 |s2cid=196610507 |issn=2167-8359|doi-access=free }} Platygonus is thought to have consumed tough foliage like leaves and grass.{{Cite journal |last1=Bradham |first1=Jennifer L. |last2=DeSantis |first2=Larisa R.G. |last3=Jorge |first3=Maria Luisa S.P. |last4=Keuroghlian |first4=Alexine |date=June 2018 |title=Dietary variability of extinct tayassuids and modern white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari ) as inferred from dental microwear and stable isotope analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018217309392 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=499 |pages=93–101 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.020|bibcode=2018PPP...499...93B |s2cid=134099913 |url-access=subscription }}

Distribution

During the Late Pleistocene, Platygonus was most common in Eastern North America, with records in the Great Plains and western North America being more sparse.{{Cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Kurt M. |last2=Hill |first2=Matthew G. |date=November 2020 |title=Synthesis and assessment of the flat-headed peccary record in North America |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379120305631 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=248 |pages=106601 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106601|bibcode=2020QSRv..24806601W |s2cid=224865922 |url-access=subscription }} In South America, Platygonus ranged from Colombia to Argentina.{{Cite journal |last1=Gasparini |first1=Germán M. |last2=Moreno-Mancilla |first2=Oscar F. |last3=Cómbita |first3=José L. |date=2021-03-29 |title=Selenogonus narinoensis Stirton, 1947 (Tayassuidae, Cetartiodactyla, Mammalia): taxonomic status and paleobiogeographic implications |url=https://fr.copernicus.org/articles/24/65/2021/ |journal=Fossil Record |language=en |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=65–75 |doi=10.5194/fr-24-65-2021 |s2cid=233421048 |issn=2193-0074|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021FossR..24...65G |hdl=11336/164845 |hdl-access=free }}{{clearleft}}

Taxonomy

File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Pleistocene Flat-headed Peccary Skull.jpg]]

Platygonus was named by John Lawrence LeConte in 1848 for fossils found in Pleistocene karst deposits in Illinois, which are now preserved in the Academy of National Sciences in Philadelphia.

The following species of Platygonus have been described:{{Paleodb|42437|Platygonus|access-date=2017-10-17}}

P. bicalcaratus (nomen dubium)
P. brachirostris
P. chapadmalensis
P. cinctus
P. compressus (type)
P. kraglievichi
P. marplatensis
P. narinoensis
P. oregonensis
P. pearcei
P. pollenae
P. scagliae
P. setiger
P. striatus
P. texanus
P. vetus

Fossil localities

Fossils of Platygonus have been found in:

;Miocene

Sheep Creek Formation, Nebraska

;Chapadmalalan

Chapadmalal Formation, Argentina

;Hemphillian

Beecher Island, Colorado
Edson Beds, Kansas
Rancho Viejo Beds, Mexico
Devil's Nest Airstrip, Ogallala Group, Nebraska
McKay and Rattlesnake Formations, Oregon
Miami Quarry, Texas

;Blancan

Gila Conglomerate and St. David Formation, Arizona
Palm Spring and San Diego Formations, California
Tamiami Formation, Florida
Glenns Ferry Formations, Idaho
Ballard, Rexroad and Crooked Creek Formations, Kansas
Rancho Viejo Beds, Mexico
Tequixquiac, Mexico
Panaca Formation, Nevada
Camp Rice Formation, New Mexico
Blanco and Love Formations, Texas
Ringold Formation, Washington

;Plio-Pleistocene

Cocha Verde, Taminango, Colombia[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=133585 Cocha Verde] at Fossilworks.org

;Pleistocene

Tarija Formation, Bolivia
Palm Spring and Turlock Lake Formations, California
Bermont and Wicomico Formations, Florida
Yarbrough Cave, Georgia
American Falls Lake Bed E Formation, Idaho
Galena, Illinois (type locality)[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=87059 Galena] at Fossilworks.org
Harrodsburg Crevice, Indiana
Turin Pit, Iowa
Kingsdown and Crooked Creek Formations, Kansas
Welch Cave, Kentucky
Cumberland Bone Cave and Bushey Cavern, Maryland
Tacubaya Formation, Mexico
Geddes Lake barrow pit, Michigan
Little Beaver Cave, Jacob's Cave, and Zoo Cave, Missouri
Sappa Formation, Nebraska
Dry Cave, New Mexico
Sheriden Cave, Ohio
Holloman Gravel Pit, Oklahoma
Fossil Lake, Oregon
Hanover Quarry and Platygonus vetus type locality, Pennsylvania
Hot Springs Mammoth Site, South Dakota
Laubach Cave, Seymour, Tule and Shuler Formations, Texas
Early's Cave, Gardner's Cave, New Quarry Cave, Vickers Cave, Ruffners Cave, Virginia
Hamilton Cave, Trout Cave, Poorfarm Cave, Patton Cave, West Virginia
Wellsch Valley, Saskatchewan
Old Crow Flats, Yukon[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237172027_Pleistocene_peccary_Platygonus_compressus_Le_Conte_from_Yukon_Territory_Canada] at ResearchGate.org

References

= Bibliography =

{{Cite book

| last = Fiedal | first = Stuart | editor-last = Haynes | editor-first = Gary

| contribution = Sudden Deaths: The Chronology of Terminal Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction

| title = American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene

| year = 2009 | pages = 21–37 | publisher = Springer

| doi = 10.1007/978-1-4020-8793-6_2 | isbn = 978-1-4020-8792-9 | series = Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology }}

{{Cite book

| editor-last = Palmer | editor-first = D.

| title = The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals

| year = 1999 | publisher = Marshall Editions | location = London

| isbn = 978-1-84028-152-1 }}

Platygonus

Taxonomy

Description

Ecology

Distribution

Taxonomy

Fossil localities

References

= Bibliography =

Further reading