Babyrousa bolabatuensis

The Bola Batu babirusa[1] (Babyrousa bolabatuensis) is a species of babirusa from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It was first described in 1950 as a subspecies of Babyrousa babyrussa, then the only recognized species of babirusa, and raised to species rank by Colin Groves and Erik Meijaard in 2002.[2] At present the Bola Batu babirusa is only known for certain from subfossil remains from the southern arm of Sulawesi.[2] Based on a single skull from central Sulawesi it has been suggested that babirusas from this part of Sulawesi represent an extant population of the Bola Batu babirusa,[3] and this was followed in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World.[1] However, the most recent major review also found similarities between the central Sulawesi specimen and the Togian babirusa, leading them to conclude that it represents an undescribed taxon and that the taxonomic position of central Sulawesi babirusas only can be determined through additional specimens.[4] Subfossil remains from the south-western arm of Sulawesi, where now likely extinct, have been classified as Bola Batu babirusas,[2] but these were considered unclassifiable in 2002, as were extant populations from the eastern arm of Sulawesi and Buton due to the lack of specimens.[5] Due to these uncertainties, the IUCN Red List provisionally synonymized B. bolabatuensis under the northern Sulawesi species, B. celebensis, pending clarification of the taxonomy of Sulawesi babirusas.[6]

Babyrousa bolabatuensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Babyrousa
Species:
B. bolabatuensis
Binomial name
Babyrousa bolabatuensis
Hooijer, 1950

References
  1. Grubb, 2005, p. 637
  2. Meijaard and Groves, 2002, p. 33
  3. Groves, 1980, p. 44
  4. Meijaard and Groves, 2002, p. 37–38
  5. Meijaard and Groves, 2002, p. 38
  6. Macdonald et al., 2008

Literature cited
  • Groves, C. 1980. Notes on the systematics of Babyrousa (Artiodactyla, Suidae). Zoologische Mededelingen 55:29–46.
  • Grubb, P. 2005. Order Artiodactyla. Pp. 637–722 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0
  • Macdonald, A.A., Burton, J. and Leus, K. 2008. Babyrousa bolabatuensis. In IUCN. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on January 19, 2010.
  • Meijaard, E. & Groves, C. 2002. Upgrading three subspecies of babirusa (Babyrousa sp.) to full species level. Asian Wild Pig News 2(2):33–39.


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