The Fossil Suidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Ternifine (Tighenif) Algeria

The locality at Tighenif (Ternifine, Palikao) Algeria, rose to prominence in the 1950’s due to the discovery of early hominid remains (Atlanthropus mauritanicus) associated with Acheulean artefacts. There has been debate about the age of the deposits, but recent views are that, on biostratigraphic evidence, they lie somewhere in the interval between 0.8 and 0.7 Ma, an estimate somewhat younger than that envisaged by the excavators of the site during the 1950’s. Some of the mammalian groups from Ternifine have been published in detail, but the Suidae have not, even though they appear to have played a rôle in the initial determination of the age of the deposits. Early identification of the suids from the site classified them in Notochoerus or Afrochoerus, but this was changed to Metridiochoerus compactus during the 1970’s, a listing that has been repeated until recently. This paper describes the suid fossils from Tighenif in detail, based on an extensive and informative collection of fossils housed in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, and concludes that all of it belongs to Metridiochoerus andrewsi and that it corresponds best with material from the upper parts of Olduvai Bed II, ca 1.4±0.3 Ma. It’s feeding ecology is investigated.