NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Desert Warthog
Phacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Desert Warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus, Tsavo National Park, Kenya.
jeanpaulboerekamps · CC0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) is a mammalian, artiodactyl-ungulate species of the pig and swine family (Suidae) native to the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. Two subspecies have been named: the Cape warthog (P. a. aethiopicus), which became extinct around 1865, had once inhabited South Africa, while the extant Somali warthog (P. a. delamerei) is largely found in Kenya and Somalia, some areas of Ethiopia, and potentially still inhabits parts of Djibouti and Eritrea.
Wikipedia contributors, Desert warthog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:39:13.847057+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1766)
- Common name
- Desert Warthog
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Suidae
- Genus
- Phacochoerus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
- familySuidae Gray, 1821
- genusPhacochoerus F. Cuvier, 1826
- speciesPhacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phacochoerus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Common Wart-hogPhacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788) | SuidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Aper aethiopicus Pallas, 1766 Pallas, 1766 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625007 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4FKFS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.