Description.
The oldest known species of
Perchoerus is
P. minor, which was only the size of a house
cat. It is known from skull and tooth material. The later
P. nanus of the
Orellan grew larger and is known from a skull and lower jaw. The latest and largest species was
P. probus of the Oligocene (32-30 mya). It was much larger (about as big as living peccaries) and known from more remains than the other species. The
molars of
Perchoerus are quadrituberculate and lack any of the accessory cuspules present in modern peccaries. The feet bore 4 functional
digits and had free
metacarpals. The bones in the
forearm were separate. == Palaeoecology ==