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Phacochoerus Aethiopicus and Common Warthog Phacochoerus Africanus in the Horn of Africa

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Phacochoerus Aethiopicus and Common Warthog Phacochoerus Africanus in the Horn of Africa BIOGEOGRAPHY AND CONSERVATION OF DESERT WARTHOG PHACOCHOERUS AETHIOPICUS AND COMMON WARTHOG PHACOCHOERUS AFRICANUS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA Yvonne A. de Jong1, Jean-Pierre d’Huart², Thomas M. Butynski1 1Lolldaiga Hills Research Programme & Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program, Nanyuki (Kenya), [email protected] & [email protected] 2 Conservation Consultancy Services sprl, Hamme-Mille (Belgium), [email protected] Introduction Results Two species of warthog Phacochoerus F. Cuvier, 1826 are currently recognized: desert warthog (DWH) DWH occurs east of the Eastern Rift Valley (Rift), except in NE Ethiopia and NW Somalia where present on the Phacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766) and common warthog (CWH) Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, floor of the Rift. Known ‘Extent of Occurrence’ of DWH is ca. 330,000 km² (15% of the land surface of Ethiopia, 1788). Phenotypically and genetically distinct, they belong to two deeply divergent monophyletic lineages that Somalia, Kenya). Known ‘Extent of Occurrence’ of CWH is ca. 705,400 km² (30% of the land surface of these originated during the early Pliocene (ca. 4.5 mya; Randi et al. 2002, d'Huart & Grubb 2005). three countries). There are seven documented, widespread, areas of sympatry between DWH and CWH (total ca. 19,700 km²). DWH occurs 0–1,690 m asl, but is most common <1,000 m asl. Altitudinal range of CWH is 0–3,500 m asl. DWH is not reported where mean annual rainfall is <100 mm (most records 200–800 mm), whereas CWH survives in areas with 50 mm mean annual rainfall. Table. Known environmental limits of desert warthog and common warthog in the Horn of Africa. (De Jong et al. in prep.). Species Altitude Mean annual Mean annual Minimum Number of (m asl) rainfall (mm) temperature (°C) temperature (°C) ecoregions Common 0–3,500 50–1,700 5–35 -15 13 warthog Desert warthog 0–1,690 100–850 20–32 11 7 Adult male desert warthog • Ear tips bent backwards in all ages of both sexes. DWH is confined to xeric environments (typically bushland on sandy/rocky soil), and appears to require a Adult male common warthog • Adult male with a hook-shaped wart under constant source of drinking water. Although CWH lives in a wide range of habitats (typically where drinking water • Ear tips erect in all ages of both sexes. each eye. is always available in woodland/bushland/grassland mosaics on alluvial soil), including sub-desert where drinking • Adult male with a cone-shaped wart under each • Hind quarters relatively slender in adults. water is sometimes absent for several months. In the HoA, DWH is present in seven ecoregions and CWH is eye. present in 13 ecoregions, six of which are shared with DWH. DWH occurs mainly in the ‘Somali Acacia- • Hind quarters relatively well-muscled in adults. Commiphora Deciduous Bushlands and Thickets Ecoregion’. Adult female desert warthog, Samburu National Reserve, central Kenya. Photographs of DWH and CWH are published on the Photographic Map available at: http://wildsolutions.nl/photomaps/phacochoerus/ Conclusions The environmental limits (altitude, rainfall, temperature) for DWH are much narrower than for CWH. As such, the geographic range of DWH in the HoA is considerably smaller than for CWH. The Rift appears to be a geographical barrier for DWH over all but the northern-most part of its range where the Rift is lowest (i.e., enters the Red Sea). The high altitudes of the Rift Escarpment are probably to be too cold and wet for DWH. DWH appears less adaptable than CWH, which is relatively ubiquitous, eurytopic and resilient. Skull lower side Skull lower side Mandible Conservation Top: common warthog Top: desert warthog Top: desert warthog Both DWH and CWH are listed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (De Jong et Bottom: desert warthog Bottom: common warthog Bottom: common warthog al. 2016a, b). Although the abundance and geographic ranges of DWH and CWH are in decline, both species remain widespread and locally abundant, and both have a high reproductive rate. DWH and CWH are, Note the thickened zygomatic Note the lack of upper incisors in Note: Lower incisors absent or however, absent within large parts of their geographic ranges. Main threats are human-caused habitat arches and larger ‘sphenoidal pits’ desert warthog. rudimentary in desert warthog. degradation, loss and fragmentation, competition with livestock for food and water, hunting by humans, and in desert warthog. Typically three pairs of lower disease. The driver of these threats is the rapidly growing human population in the HoA (doubles every 20–25 incisors in common warthog. years). DWH is present in at least 12 protected areas. CWH is present in numerous protected areas in the HoA. Biogeography While CWH is distributed throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and relatively well-studied, the distribution, Literature abundance, ecology, behaviour, and conservation status of DWH remain poorly known. The Horn of Africa (i.e., De Jong, Y.A., Butynski, T.M. & d'Huart, J.-P. 2016a. Phacochoerus aethiopicus. The IUCN Red List of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya; HoA) supports three of the four subspecies of CWH. DWH is endemic Threatened Species 2016. Website: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41767/0. to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. De Jong, Y.A., Cumming, D., d'Huart, J.-P. & Butynski, T.M. 2016b. Phacochoerus africanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. Website: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41768/0. De Jong, Y.A., d'Huart, J.P. & Butynski, T.M. In prep. Biogeography of the desert warthog Phacochoerus Methods aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766) and common warthog Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788) in the Horn of Africa. Spatial data were collected during field surveys in Kenya, from literature, museum collections, and colleagues, d’Huart, J.-P. & Grubb, P. 2005. A photographic guide to the differences between the common warthog naturalists, local experts, and online resources. Locality records are stored in a Microsoft Excel database (Phacochoerus africanus) and the desert warthog (Ph. aethiopicus). Suiform Soundings 5(2): 4–8. ('WarthogBase'). As of May 2018, WarthogBase held 205 entries of CWH (6 from Djibouti; Eritrea 9; Ethiopia 50; Randi, E., d’Huart, J.-P., Lucchini, V. & Aman, R. 2002. Evidence of two genetically deeply divergent species Kenya 133; Somalia 7), 188 entries of DWH (Ethiopia 7; Kenya 136; Somalia 45) and 50 entries of unidentified of warthog Phacochoerus africanus and P. aethiopicus (Artiodactyla: Suiformes) in East Africa. Mammalian warthog species. Biology 67: 91–96. ‘Extent of Occurrence’ of desert warthog and common warthog in the Horn Distribution of desert warthog and common warthog in the Horn of Africa Distribution of desert warthog and common warthog in the Horn of of Africa (De Jong et al. in prep.). relative to altitude above sea level (De Jong et al. in prep.). Africa relative to mean annual rainfall (De Jong et al. in prep.)..
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