| Listriodon Temporal range: Miocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skull (IVPP V8285) of L. splendens, Paleozoological Museum of China | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Subfamily: | † Listriodontinae |
| Tribe: | † Listriodontini |
| Genus: | † Listriodon von Meyer, 1846 |
| Type species | |
| †Listriodon splendens von Meyer, 1846 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Listriodon is an extinct genus of pig-like animals that lived in Eurasia during the Miocene.
Listriodon species were generally small in size. In morphology, they show many similarities with peccaries rather than modern pigs. [1]
The lophodont teeth of Listriodon indicate that it was mostly, if not strictly, herbivorous. Peculiarly, their teeth resemble those of perissodactyls such as horses more than they do that of ruminants. This was the case because unlike ruminants (and much like perissodactyls), pigs lack a complex four-chambered stomach and therefore had to rely on their teeth to break down grasses and herbs. [2]
Many species of Listriodon have been named over the years, to the point that the genus became a wastebasket taxon. Over the years, many species have been moved into new genera, such as Kubanochoerus , Bunolistriodon [3] and Lopholistriodon . Some species were found to be synonymous with others, such as Listriodon theobaldi and Listriodon pentapotamiae representing different genders of a single species. [4]
Prothero (2021) lists four valid species: [5]
Multiproxy isotopic analysis of the tooth enamel of L. splendens consisting of 87Sr/86Sr, δ18OCO3, and δ13C suggests that although it was primarily a browser, it consumed significant quantities of fruit and at times also fed on grass. [8] Analysis of L. cf. L. splendens and L. aff. L. latidens suggests that the former was a more specialised folivore than the latter. [9]
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