Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon

Family Suidæ — The Hogs

These have incisors in both jaws, which vary in number, the lower ones slanting forward. Their canines are very large and directed outwards and upwards in a curve, grinding against each other to a sharp edge and fine point. Their metacarpal bones are four in number, and are all distinct, in which respect they differ from the peccaries, in which the central metacarpals and metatarsals are fused into a solid bone. The hogs have a prolonged snout, flexible at the end, with a firm cartilaginous tip, with which they are enabled to plough up the ground in search of roots. They have also a very keen sense of smell. The normal dentition of the true hogs is as follows:—

Inc., 6/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 4—4/4—4; molars, 3—3/3—3 = 44.

Dentition of Wild Boar.

The hogs, unlike other pachyderms, are noted for their fecundity.