Class: MAMMALIA

Order: ARTIODACTYLA

Family: SUIDAE

Genus: BABYROUSA

This genus of pig was traditionally believed to be of a single species, Babyrousa babyrussa, and a few sub-species. In 2002, analysis taken out on skulls of babirusa indicated that the species can be split into four species in all – the Moluccan babirusa [B. babyrussa], the Sulawesi Babirusa [B. celebensis], the Togian Babirusa [B. togeansis], and the Bola-Batu Babirusa [B. bolabatuensis], which is known only from fossilized remains, and thus is believed to be extinct. Of the genera contained within the pig family, the Babirusa is believed to be the most evolutionarily distinct – perhaps diverging from the rest of the pig family some 13 million years ago. The name ‘babirusa’ comes from Malay words ‘babi’ and ‘rusa’ – the two together translating to ‘deer-pig’, in reference to the large tusks possessed by the boars. The three living species of babirusa are known to inhabit seven islands of Indonesia in all – four of which are tiny islands of the Gulf of Tomini [Una-Una. Togean Island, Walea Kepulauan, and Pulau Malenge, the latter of which is less than 10 kilometres across], as well as three comparatively larger islands – Ujung Pandang, Taliabu and Buru. The fossil record of the babirusa is not comprehensive as to the animal’s natural history, though fossils have been found around the same location the animal lives today.