sus (genus)

The Online Etymology Dictionary provides anecdotal evidence as well as linguistic, saying that the term derives

probably from Old English {{Lang|ang|*picg}}, found in compounds, ultimate origin unknown. Originally "young pig" (the word for adults was swine). Apparently related to Low German {{Lang|de|bigge}}, Dutch {{Lang|nl|big}} ("but the phonology is difficult" -- OED). ... Another Old English word for "pig" was {{Lang|ang|fearh}}, related to {{Lang|ang|furh}} "furrow," from PIE *perk- "dig, furrow" (source also of Latin {{Lang|la|porc-us}} "pig," see pork). "This reflects a widespread IE tendency to name animals from typical attributes or activities" [Roger Lass]. Synonyms grunter, oinker are from sailors' and fishermen's euphemistic avoidance of uttering the word pig at sea, a superstition perhaps based on the fate of the Gadarene swine, who drowned.{{cite web |title=Pig |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/pig |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}

The Online Etymology Dictionary also traces the evolution of sow, the term for a female pig, through various historical languages:

Old English {{Lang|ang|sugu}}, {{Lang|ang|su}} "female of the swine," from Proto-Germanic *su- (cognates: Old Saxon, Old High German su, German {{Lang|de|Sau}}, Dutch {{Lang|nl|zeug}}, Old Norse {{Lang|non|syr}}), from PIE root *su- (cognates: Sanskrit {{Transliteration|sa|sukarah}} "wild boar, swine;" Avestan hu "wild boar;" Greek hys "swine;" Latin {{Lang|nl|sus}} "swine", {{Lang|nl|suinus}} "pertaining to swine"; Old Church Slavonic {{Lang|cu|svinija}} "swine;" Lettish sivens "young pig;" Welsh {{Lang|cy|hucc}}, Irish {{Lang|ga|suig}} "swine; Old Irish {{Lang|sga|socc}} "snout, plowshare"), possibly imitative of pig noise; note that Sanskrit sukharah means "maker of (the sound) su".{{Cite web |title=Sow |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/sow |access-date=4 December 2015 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}

An adjectival form is porcine. Another adjectival form (technically for the subfamily rather than genus name) is suine (comparable to bovine, canine, etc.); for the family, it is suid (as with bovid, canid).{{Cite web |title=Porcine |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/porcine |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}

File:Domestic pig skull (Sus domesticus).jpg)]]

A typical pig has a large head with a long snout that is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and by a disk of cartilage at the tip.{{cite web|last=Wickline|first=Kristin|date=2014|title=Sus scrofa|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sus_scrofa.html|publisher=Animal Diversity Web}} The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food and is a very acute sense organ. Each foot has four hooves with the two larger central toes bearing most of the weight, and the outer two also being used in soft ground.{{cite web|author=Kim Lockhart|title=American Wild Game / Feral Pigs / Hogs / Pigs / Wild Boar|url=http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.shooting-hunting-hogs.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823025758/http://gunnersden.com/index.htm.shooting-hunting-hogs.html|archive-date=23 August 2018|access-date=3 December 2018|work=Gunners Den}}

The dental formula of adult pigs is {{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.4.3|lower=3.1.4.3}}, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing. In the male, the canine teeth form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by constantly being ground against each other.

Occasionally, captive mother pigs may savage their own piglets, often if they become severely stressed.{{cite web|url=http://www.prairieswine.com/pdf/185.pdf|title=Savaging of piglets: A puzzle of maternal behaviour|author=Harris, M., Bergeron, R., Li1, Y. and Gonyou, H.|year=2001|access-date=July 31, 2013}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Some attacks on newborn piglets are non-fatal. Others may kill the piglets and sometimes, the mother may eat them. An estimated 50% of piglet fatalities are due to the mother attacking, or unintentionally crushing, the newborn pre-weaned animals.{{Cite web|last=Lay| first=Dr. Donald C. Jr. |title=MANAGEMENT TIPS TO REDUCE PRE-WEANING MORTALITY|url=http://mark.asci.ncsu.edu/NCPorkConf/2002/lay.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820205736/http://mark.asci.ncsu.edu/NCPorkConf/2002/lay.htm|archive-date=20 August 2007|publisher=North Carolina Pork Conference|via=Wayback Machine}}

With around 1 billion individuals alive at any time, the domestic pig is one of the most numerous large mammals on the planet.

The ancestor of the domestic pig is the wild boar, which is one of the most numerous and widespread large mammals. Its many subspecies are native to all but the harshest climates of continental Eurasia and its islands and Africa as well, from Ireland and India to Japan and north to Siberia.

Long isolated from other pigs on the many islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, pigs have evolved into many different species, including wild boar, bearded pigs, and warty pigs. Humans have introduced pigs into Australia, North and South America, and numerous islands, either accidentally as escaped domestic pigs which have gone feral, or as wild boar.

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) can take advantage of any forage resources. Therefore, they can live in virtually any productive habitat that can provide enough water to sustain large mammals such as pigs. Pigs are famously fecund; when well-fed, a sow can birth twelve or more piglets in her annual litter. If there is increased foraging by wild boars in certain areas, they can cause a nutritional shortage which can cause the pig population to decrease. If the nutritional state returns to normal, the pig population will most likely rise due to the pigs' naturally-increased reproduction rate.{{Cite web|last1=Mayer|first1=John J.|last2=Brisbin| first2=I. Lehr Jr. |date=2009|title=Wild Pigs Biology, Damage, Control Techniques and Management|url=https://fp.auburn.edu/sfws/ditchkoff/PDF%20publications/Food%20Habits%20Chapter%20-%20Wild%20Pig%20Book.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328055143/https://fp.auburn.edu/sfws/ditchkoff/PDF%20publications/Food%20Habits%20Chapter%20-%20Wild%20Pig%20Book.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2014|publisher=Auburn University|location=Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina}}

Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume both plants and animals. In the wild, they are foragers, searching through their habitat for food (which, for pigs, often includes digging with their snouts). Wild pigs eat roots, tubers, leaves, fruits, mushrooms, and flowers, in addition to some insects (especially insect grubs) and fish. Pigs are famously fond of truffle mushrooms, which grow underground; pigs find them by scent and unearth them with their snouts. In Europe, trained "truffle pigs" find these valuable fungi for humans. Pigs do not hunt, but will readily eat carrion, eggs, and other animal foods that they can find. As livestock, pigs were once fed all manner of mixed household food scraps (called "slops"), but on large modern farms are now fed mostly corn and soybean meal{{Cite news|title=Diet and Nutrition on Modern Pig Farms|language=en-US|work=|publisher=Pork Cares|url=http://www.porkcares.org/our-practices/day-to-day-animal-health-on-pig-farms/diet-and-nutrition-on-modern-pig-farms/|url-status=dead|access-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002191925/http://www.porkcares.org/our-practices/day-to-day-animal-health-on-pig-farms/diet-and-nutrition-on-modern-pig-farms/|archive-date=2 October 2017}} with a mixture of vitamins and minerals added. Traditionally, pigs were raised on dairy farms and fed any excess milk and the whey left over from cheese and butter making. Pigs brought so much extra income to these farms that they earned the nickname "mortgage lifters".{{cite web|last=Hurt|first=Chris|date=29 November 2004|title=WILL HOGS RECLAIM "MORTGAGE LIFTER" STATUS?|url=http://www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/marketing/weekly/html/112904.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812210419/http://www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/marketing/weekly/html/112904.html|archive-date=12 August 2013|access-date=17 June 2013|work=Farmdoc|publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign}} Older pigs will consume three to five gallons of water per day.{{cite web|last=Almond|first=Glen W.|title=How Much Water Do Pigs Need?|url=http://www.ncsu.edu/project/swine_extension/healthyhogs/book1995/almond.htm|publisher=North Carolina State University|publication-place=Raleigh, North Carolina}} When kept as pets, the optimal healthy diet consists mainly of a balanced diet of raw vegetables, although some may give their pigs commercial mini pig pellet feed.{{Cite web|title=Mini Pig Nutrition|url=https://americanminipigassociation.com/mini-pig-education/mini-pig-nutrition/|access-date=|website=|date=18 September 2014 |publisher=American Mini Pig Association}}

{{Further|Pig farming}}

Most pigs today are domesticated pigs raised for meat (known as pork). Miniature breeds are commonly kept as pets. Because of their foraging abilities and excellent sense of smell, people in many European countries use them to find truffles. Both wild and feral pigs are commonly hunted.

Apart from meat, pig skin is turned into leather, and their hairs are used to make brushes. The relatively short, stiff, coarse pig hairs are called bristles, and were once so commonly used in paintbrushes that in 1946 the Australian Government launched Operation Pig Bristle. In May 1946, in response to a shortage of pig bristles for paintbrushes to paint houses in the post-World War II construction boom, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flew in 28 short tons of pig bristles from China, their only commercially available source at the time.{{Cite news|date=29 May 1946|title=PIG BRISTLES FOR PAINT BRUSHES|page=4|work=Townsville Daily Bulletin|publisher=Trove|location=Queensland|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62886442|access-date=15 April 2016}}

{{Main|Domestic pig#In human medical applications}}

Human skin is very similar to pig skin, therefore many preclinical studies employ pig skin.{{cite web|last=Herron|first=Alan J.|date=5 December 2009|others=American College of Veterinary Pathologists|title=Pigs as Dermatologic Models of Human Skin Disease|url=http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/acvp/2009/Herron.pdf?LA=1|access-date=27 January 2018|website=Ivis|publisher=DVM Center for Comparative Medicine and Department of Pathology Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas|quote=pig skin has been shown to be the most similar to human skin. Pig skin is structurally similar to human epidermal thickness and dermal-epidermal thickness ratios. Pigs and humans have similar hair follicle and blood vessel patterns in the skin. Biochemically pigs contain dermal collagen and elastic content that is more similar to humans than other laboratory animals. Finally pigs have similar physical and molecular responses to various growth factors.}}{{cite web|last1=Liu|first1=J.|last2=Kim|first2=D.|last3=Brown|first3=L.|last4=Madsen|first4=T.|last5=Bouchard|first5=G.F.|title=Comparison of Human, Porcine and Rodent Wound Healing With New Miniature Swine Study Data|url=http://www.sinclairresearch.com/assets/25_Wound-Healing-AALAS-2009.pdf|access-date=27 January 2018|website=|publisher=Sinclair Research|quote=Pig skin is anatomically, physiologically, biochemically and immunologically similar to human skin, and the skin is ‘fixed skin’ like humans and unlike rodents or rabbits.|archive-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127084036/http://www.sinclairresearch.com/assets/25_Wound-Healing-AALAS-2009.pdf|url-status=dead}} In addition to providing use in biomedical research and for drug testing,{{cite journal|last1=Swindle|first1=M. M.|last2=Makin|first2=A.|last3=Herron|first3=A. J.|last4=Clubb|first4=F. J.|last5=Frazier|first5=K. S.|year=2012|title=Swine as Models in Biomedical Research and Toxicology Testing|journal=Veterinary Pathology|volume=49|issue=2|pages=344–356|doi=10.1177/0300985811402846|pmid=21441112|doi-access=| issn=0300-9858 }} genetic advances in human healthcare have provided a pathway for domestic pigs to become xenotransplantation candidates for humans.{{cite news|last1=Jeffery|first1=Simon|date=3 January 2002|title=Pig to Human transplants|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jan/03/qanda.simonjeffery}}

{{listen |filename=Mudchute pig 2.ogg |title=Pig 'oink' |description=Oink! }}

File:Pig hand skeleton.jpg

The genus Sus is currently thought to contain nine living species. Several extinct species (†) are known from fossils.

{{Species table |genus=Sus |authority-name= Linnaeus|authority-year= 1758 |species-count=nine|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Palawan bearded pig|binomial=Sus ahoenobarbus

|image=File:Coron - Calauit Wild Pig.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Huet|authority-year= 1888|authority-not-original=

|range= Philippines

|range-image=File:Range Sus ahoenobarbus.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= NT

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Bornean bearded pig|binomial=Sus barbatus

|image=File:Bartschwein Sus barbatus Tierpark Hellabrunn-6.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Müller |authority-year= 1838|authority-not-original=

|range= Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula

|range-image=File:Range Sus barbatus.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= VU

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on

|S. b. barbatus (the nominate subspecies)

|S. b. oi (western bearded pig)

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Visayan warty pig|binomial=Sus cebifrons

|image=File:Visayas-Pustelschwein Sus cebifrons negrinus Tierpark Hellabrunn-1.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Heude |authority-year= 1888|authority-not-original=

|range= Philippines (Cebu, Negros, Panay, Masbate, Guimaras, and Siquijor)

|range-image=File:Sus cebifrons range map.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= CR

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on

|Cebu warty pig (Sus cebifrons cebifrons) (believed to be extinct)

|Negros warty pig (Sus cebifrons negrinus).

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Celebes warty pig or Sulawesi warty pig|binomial=Sus celebensis

|image= |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Müller & Schlegel |authority-year= 1843|authority-not-original=

|range= Sulawesi in Indonesia

|range-image=

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on

|Sus celebensis celebensis

|Sus celebensis floresianus

|Sus celebensis timoriensis

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Domestic pig|binomial=Sus domesticus (sometimes considered subspecies of S. scrofa)

|image=File:Standing piglet at golden hour in Don Det Laos.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Erxleben |authority-year= 1777|authority-not-original=

|range= Domesticated

|range-image=

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=''

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Oliver's warty pig or Mindoro warty pig|binomial=Sus oliveri

|image= |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Groves |authority-year= 1997|authority-not-original=

|range= Philippines

|range-image=File:Range Sus oliveri.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= VU

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Philippine warty pig|binomial=Sus philippensis

|image=File:Philippine warty pig (Sus philippensis) in Philippine Eagle Center, Davao, Philippines.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Nehring|authority-year= 1886|authority-not-original=

|range= Philippines

|range-image=File:Range Sus philippensis.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= VU

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on

| S. p. philippensis (from Luzon and nearby islands)

| S. p. mindanensis (from Samar, Leyte, and other islands near Mindanao)

| S. p. oliveri (from Mindoro)

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Wild boar|binomial=Sus scrofa

|image=File:Sus scrofa cristatus.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year= 1758|authority-not-original=

|range= North Africa and much of Eurasia; from the British Isles to Korea and the Sunda Islands.

|range-image=File:Sus scrofa range map.jpg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Fifteen subspecies |bullets=on

|S. s. scrofa

|S. s. algira

|S. s. attila

|S. s. cristatus

|S. s. davidi

|S. s. leucomystax

|S. s. libycus

|S. s. majori

|S. s. meridionalis

|S. s. moupinensis

|S. s. nigripes

|S. s. riukiuanus

|S. s. sibiricus

|S. s. taivanus

|S. s. ussuricus

|S. s. vittatus

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Javan warty pig|binomial=Sus verrucosus

|image=File:Sus verrucosus in PCBA.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Boie |authority-year= 1832|authority-not-original=

|range= Indonesia

|range-image=File:Sus verrucosus range map.jpg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= EN

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/end}}

• The pygmy hog, formerly Sus salvanius, is now placed in the monotypic genus Porcula.{{cite journal |last1=Funk |first1=Stephan M. |last2=Verma |first2=Sunil Kumar |last3=Larson |first3=Greger |last4=Prasad |first4=Kasturi |last5=Singh |first5=Lalji |last6=Narayan |first6=Goutam |last7=Fa |first7=Julia E. |title=The pygmy hog is a unique genus: 19th century taxonomists got it right first time round |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=November 2007 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=427–436 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.08.007 |pmid=17905601 |bibcode=2007MolPE..45..427F }}
• The Red river hog, formerly Sus porcus, is now placed in the genus Potamochoerus.

• †Sus australis Han, 1987 – Early Pleistocene of China
• †Sus bijiashanensis Han et al., 1975 – Early Pleistocene of China
• †Sus falconeri – Pleistocene of the Siwalik region, India
• †Sus houi Qi et al., 1999 – Pleistocene of China
• †Sus hysudricus Falconer and Cautley 1847 – Pliocene of India
• †Sus jiaoshanensis Zhao, 1980 – Early Pleistocene of China
• †Sus liuchengensis Han, 1987 – Early Pleistocene of China
• †Sus lydekkeri Zdansky, 1928 – Pleistocene of China
• †Sus officinalis Koenigswald, 1933 – Middle Pleistocene of China
• †Sus peii Han, 1987 – Early Pleistocene of China
• †Sus subtriquetra Xue, 1981
• †Sus strozzi Forsyth Major, 1881{{Snd}}Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Europe
• †Sus xiaozhu Han et al., 1975 – Early Pleistocene of China

{{Main|Domestic pig}}

Pigs have been domesticated since ancient times in the Old World. Pigs were domesticated on each end of Eurasia, and possibly several times.{{cite journal |last1=Price |first1=Max |last2=Hongo |first2=Hitomi |title=The archaeology of pig domestication in Eurasia |journal=Journal of Archaeological Research |date=2020 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=557–615|doi=10.1007/s10814-019-09142-9 |hdl=1721.1/128524 |s2cid=214309500 |hdl-access=free }} It is now thought that pigs were attracted to human settlements for the food scraps, and that the process of domestication began as a commensal relationship.{{cite journal |last1=Zeder |first1=Melinda |title=The Domestication of Animals |journal=Journal of Anthropological Research |date=2021 |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=161–190|doi=10.3998/jar.0521004.0068.201 |s2cid=85348232 }} Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BP in the Near East in the Tigris Basin,{{cite journal|last1=Rosenberg|first1=M|last2=Nesbitt|first2=R|last3=Redding|first3=RW|last4=Peasnall|first4=BL|year=1998|title=Hallan Cemi, pig husbandry, and post-Pleistocene adaptations along the Taurus-Zagros Arc (Turkey)".|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1998_num_24_1_4667|journal=Paléorient|volume=24|issue=1|pages=25–41|doi=10.3406/paleo.1998.4667|s2cid=85302206|via=Persée}} Çayönü, Cafer Höyük, Nevalı Çori.{{Cite journal|last1=Ottoni|first1=C.|last2=Girdland Flink|first2=L.|last3=Evin|first3=A.|last4=Geörg|first4=C.|last5=De Cupere|first5=B.|last6=Van Neer|first6=W.|last7=Bartosiewicz|first7=L.|last8=Linderholm|first8=A.|last9=Barnett|first9=R.|last10=Peters|first10=J.|last11=Decorte|first11=R.|display-authors=29|date=22 November 2012|title=Pig domestication and human-mediated dispersal in western Eurasia revealed through ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|publication-date=April 2013|volume=30|issue=4|pages=824–832|doi=10.1093/molbev/mss261|pmc=3603306|pmid=23180578|first26=M.|last24=Hongo|first24=H.|last25=Perez-Enciso|first25=M.|last26=Rasmussen|first27=L.|last27=Frantz|first30=M.|last28=Megens|first28=H. J.|first23=R.|first29=R.|last30=Groenen|last29=Crooijmans|last22=Brock|last23=Pinhasi|first16=O.|last12=Waelkens|first12=M.|last13=Vanderheyden|first13=N.|last14=Ricaut|first14=F. X.|last15=Çakırlar|last16=Cevik|last17=Hoelzel|first22=F.|first17=A. R.|last18=Mashkour|first18=M.|last19=Mohaseb Karimlu|first19=A. F.|last20=SheikhiSeno|first20=S.|last21=Daujat|first21=J.|first15=C.}} Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BP in Cyprus that must have been introduced from the mainland which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then.{{cite journal|last1=Vigne|first1=JD|last2=Zazzo|first2=A|last3=Saliège|first3=JF|last4=Poplin|first4=F|last5=Guilaine|first5=J|last6=Simmons|first6=A|date=18 August 2009|title=Pre-Neolithic wild boar management and introduction to Cyprus more than 11,400 years ago|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=106|issue=38|pages=16135–16138|bibcode=2009PNAS..10616135V|doi=10.1073/pnas.0905015106|pmc=2752532|pmid=19706455|doi-access=free}}

Pigs were also domesticated in China, potentially more than once.{{cite journal|last1=Giuffra|first1=E|last2=Kijas|first2=J. M.|last3=Amarger|first3=V|last4=Carlborg|first4=O|last5=Jeon|first5=J. T.|last6=Andersson|first6=L|date=April 2000|title=The origin of the domestic pig: independent domestication and subsequent introgression|url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1461048&blobtype=pdf|journal=Genetics|volume=154|issue=4|pages=1785–91|doi=10.1093/genetics/154.4.1785|pmc=1461048|pmid=10747069|via=National Center for Biotechnology Information|access-date=2009-09-23|archive-date=2020-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728101949/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1461048/pdf/10747069.pdf|url-status=dead}} In some parts of China pigs were kept in pens from early times, separating them from wild populations and allowing farmers to create breeds that were fatter and bred more quickly.{{cite journal |last1=Lander |first1=Brian |last2=Schneider |first2=Mindi |last3=Brunson |first3=Katherine |title=A history of pigs in China: From curious omnivores to industrial pork |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=2020 |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=865–889|doi=10.1017/S0021911820000054 |s2cid=225700922 |url=https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/567921 |url-access=subscription }} Early Modern Europeans brought these breeds back home and crossed them with their own pigs, which was the origins of most modern pig breeds.{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=Sam |title=From Globalized Pig Breeds to Capitalist Pigs: A Study in Animal Cultures and Evolutionary History |journal=Environmental History |date=2011 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=94–120|doi=10.1093/envhis/emq143 }}

In India, pigs have been domesticated for a long time mostly in Goa and some rural areas for pig toilets. This practice also occurred in China. Though ecologically logical as well as economical, pig toilets are waning in popularity as use of septic tanks and/or sewerage systems is increasing in rural areas.

Hernando de Soto and other early Spanish explorers brought pigs to southeastern North America from Europe. As in medieval Europe, pigs are valued on certain oceanic islands for their self-sufficiency, which allows them to be turned loose, although the practice does have drawbacks (see environmental impact).

The domestic pig (Sus domesticus) is usually given the scientific name Sus scrofa domesticus, although some taxonomists, including the American Society of Mammalogists, call it S. domesticus, reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar. It was domesticated approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. The upper canines form sharp distinctive tusks that curve outward and upward. Compared to other artiodactyles, their head is relatively long, pointed, and free of warts. Their head and body length ranges from {{convert|0.9|to|1.8|m|in|abbr=on}} and they can weigh between {{convert|50|and|350|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

In November 2012, scientists managed to sequence the genome of the domestic pig. The similarities between the pig and human genomes mean that the new data may have wide applications in the study and treatment of human genetic diseases.{{cite web|last=Hsu|first=Christine|date=14 November 2012|title=Scientists Sequence Entire Pig Genome in Breakthrough That Could Combat Human Disease|url=https://www.medicaldaily.com/scientists-sequence-entire-pig-genome-breakthrough-could-combat-human-disease-243520|website=Medical Daily|publisher=IBT Media}}{{Cite news|last=|first=|agency=Press Trust of India|date=15 November 2012|title=Scientists decode the pig genome|work=Business Standard|location=London|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/scientists-decode-the-pig-genome-112111500300_1.html|access-date=}}{{cite journal|last1=Groenen|first1=Martien A. M.|last2=Archibald|first2=Alan L.|last3=Uenishi|first3=Hirohide|last4=Tuggle|first4=Christopher K.|last5=Takeuchi|first5=Yasuhiro|last6=Rothschild|first6=Max F.|last7=Rogel-Gaillard|first7=Claire|last8=Park|first8=Chankyu|last9=Milan|first9=Denis|last10=Megens|first10=Hendrik-Jan|last11=Li|first11=Shengting|display-authors=29|year=2012|title=Analyses of pig genomes provide insight into porcine demography and evolution|journal=Nature|volume=491|issue=7424|pages=393–8|bibcode=2012Natur.491..393G|doi=10.1038/nature11622|pmc=3566564|pmid=23151582|first14=Laurent A. F.|first28=Mirte|first25=Frank|last26=Blomberg|first26=Jonas|last27=Bolund|first27=Lars|last28=Bosse|last29=Botti|first24=Daniel|first29=Sara|last30=Bujie|first30=Zhan|first13=Heebal|last13=Kim|first12=Denis M.|last12=Larkin|last25=Blecha|last24=Berman|last14=Frantz|last19=Anthon|first15=Mario|last16=Ahn|first16=Hyeonju|last17=Aken|first17=Bronwen L.|last18=Anselmo|first18=Anna|first19=Christian|first23=Christian|last20=Auvil|first20=Loretta|last21=Badaoui|first21=Bouabid|last22=Beattie|first22=Craig W.|last23=Bendixen|last15=Caccamo}}

In August 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their process of domestication. The process of domestication was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms. The study found that the assumption of reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe where they crossed with wild boar. A model that fitted the data included admixture with a now extinct ghost population of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of selection at DNA loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same process may also apply to other domesticated animals.{{cite journal|author=Frantz|first1=Lauren A F|last2=Schraiber|first2=Joshua G|last3=Madsen|first3=Ole|last4=Megens|first4=Hendrik-Jan|last5=Cagan|first5=Alex|last6=Bosse|first6=Mirte|last7=Paudel|first7=Yogesh|last8=Crooijmans|first8=Richard P M A|last9=Larson|first9=Greger|last10=Groenen|first10=Martien A M|date=31 August 2015|title=Evidence of long-term gene flow and selection during domestication from analyses of Eurasian wild and domestic pig genomes|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3394|journal=Nature Genetics|volume=47|issue=10|pages=1141–8|doi=10.1038/ng.3394|pmid=26323058|s2cid=205350534|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Pennisi|first=Elizabeth|author-link=Elizabeth Pennisi|date=31 August 2015|title=The taming of the pig took some wild turns|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/taming-pig-took-some-wild-turns|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901193514/http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2015/08/taming-pig-took-some-wild-turns|archive-date=1 September 2015|journal=Science Magazine|doi=10.1126/science.aad1692|url-access=subscription}}

{{main|Pigs in culture}}

Pigs have been important in culture across the world since Neolithic times. They appear in art, literature, and religion. In Asia the wild boar is one of 12 animal images comprising the Chinese zodiac, while in Europe the boar represents a standard charge in heraldry. In Islam and Judaism pigs and those who handle them are viewed negatively, and the consumption of pork is forbidden.Qur'an 2:173, 5:3, 6:145, and 16:115.{{Bibleverse||Leviticus|11:3–8|HE}} Pigs are alluded to in animal epithets and proverbs.{{cite book|author=Horwitz, Richard P.|title=Hog Ties: Pigs, Manure, and Mortality in American Culture|date=2002|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=0816641838|page=23}}{{cite news |title=Fine Swine |date=2 February 2001 |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4259823/Fine-swine.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4259823/Fine-swine.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}

The pig has been celebrated throughout Europe since ancient times in its carnivals, the name coming from the Italian carne levare, the lifting of meat.{{cite journal|last=Komins|first=Benton Jay|year=2001|title=Western Culture and the Ambiguous Legacies of the Pig|url=https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol3/iss4/6/|journal=Comparative Literature and Culture|publisher=Purdue University|volume=3|issue=4|doi=10.7771/1481-4374.1137|issn=1481-4374|doi-access=free}}

Pigs have been brought into literature for varying reasons, ranging from the pleasures of eating, as in Charles Lamb's A Dissertation upon Roast Pig, to William Golding's Lord of the Flies (with the fat character "Piggy"), where the rotting boar's head on a stick represents Beelzebub, "lord of the flies" being the direct translation of the Hebrew {{Lang|he|בעל זבוב}}, and George Orwell's allegorical novel Animal Farm, where the central characters, representing Soviet leaders, are all pigs.{{cite news |last1=Mullan |first1=John |author-link1=John Mullan (academic) |title=Ten of the best pigs in literature |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/aug/21/ten-best-pigs-in-literature |work=The Guardian |date=21 August 2010}}{{cite web|last=Bragg|first=Melvyn|author-link=Melvyn Bragg|title=Topics - Pigs in literature|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/topics/Pigs_in_literature|access-date=1 January 2020|publisher=BBC Radio 4|quote=Animal Farm ... Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ... The Mabinogion ... The Odyssey ... (In Our Time)}}{{cite book|last1=Sillar|first1=Frederick Cameron|title=The symbolic pig: An anthology of pigs in literature and art|date=1961|publisher=Oliver & Boyd}}

Image:Wild Pig KSC02pd0873.jpgs) in Florida]]

{{main|Environmental impacts of pig farming}}

Domestic pigs that have escaped from urban areas or were allowed to forage in the wild, and in some cases wild boars which were introduced as prey for hunting, have given rise to large populations of feral pigs in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and other areas where pigs are not native. Accidental or deliberate releases of pigs into countries or environments where they are an alien species have caused extensive environmental change. Their omnivorous diet, aggressive behaviour, and their feeding method of rooting in the ground all combine to severely alter ecosystems unused to pigs. Pigs will even eat small animals and destroy nests of ground nesting birds. The Invasive Species Specialist Group lists feral pigs on the list of the world's 100 worst invasive species and says:

{{cite web|date=2016|title=Species profile: Sus scrofa|url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=73&fr=1&sts=sss|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324110039/https://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=73|archive-date=24 March 2016|work=Invasive Species Specialist Group|publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature}}

{{Blockquote|Feral pigs like other introduced mammals are major drivers of extinction and ecosystem change. They have been introduced into many parts of the world, and will damage crops and home gardens as well as potentially spreading disease. They uproot large areas of land, eliminating native vegetation and spreading weeds. This results in habitat alteration, a change in plant succession and composition and a decrease in native fauna dependent on the original habitat.}}

{{See also|Swine influenza}}

Because of their biological similarities, pigs can harbour a range of parasites and diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Examples of such zoonoses include trichinosis, Taenia solium, cysticercosis, and brucellosis. Pigs also host large concentrations of parasitic ascarid worms in their digestive tracts.{{cite web|title=Managing disease and welfare in swine|url=http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/|url-status=dead|work=The Pig Site|access-date=2009-03-12|archive-date=2018-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903150914/http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/}}

Some strains of influenza are endemic in pigs, the most significant of which are H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2, the first of which has caused several outbreaks among humans, including the Spanish flu, 1977 Russian flu pandemic, and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Pigs also can acquire human influenza.{{Cite web|date=19 August 2014|title=What People Who Raise Pigs Need To Know About Influenza (Flu)|url=https://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/people-raise-pigs-flu.htm|access-date=4 March 2021|website=|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|language=en-us}}

{{Portal|Animals}}

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Babirusa
• Bushpig
• Domestic pig
• Entelodont
• Feral pig
• Fetal pig
• Hog-baiting
• List of fictional pigs
• List of pigs
• Miniature pig
• Peccary
• Pig Beach
• Pig Olympics
• Red river hog
• Truffle hog
• Vietnamese Pot-bellied
• Wild boar

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/genome/guide/pig/ Pig genome resources]
• [https://breeds.okstate.edu/swine/ Swine breeds, with pictures]

{{Artiodactyla|S.}}

{{Suina|Su.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q10798}}

Category:Coprophagous animals

Category:Mammals described in 1758

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Mammal genera