Chapter 23: Chacoan peccary Catagonus wagneri (Rusconi, 1930)247
Taxonomy
Although there is debate on the position of the Chacoan peccary
within the Family based on morphological and DNA data, these
lines of evidence recognize this as a separate species (Chapter 1
in this book). Morphological analyses suggest that this species is
more closely related to the collared peccary (Wright 1998), while
other studies have proposed that the Chacoan peccary repre-
sents a separate group from the other extant species (Wetzel
et al. 1975). However, evidence of mitochondrial and nuclear
DNA puts the white-lipped peccary as its closest living rela-
tive. From the cytogenetic perspective, there are also contrast-
ing hypotheses of the position of the Chacoan peccary (Todd
1985; Benirschke & Kumamoto 1989). What is certain is that
this species contains a distinct chromosome number (2n = 20)
in relation to the other extant species. The genus of the Chacoan
peccary has recently been recommended to be updated from
Catagonus to Parachoerus to better reflect the evolutionary rela-
tionship with extinct related forms (Parisi et al. 2016). However,
the evolutionary relationships with the other extant species
remain the same based on DNA as that described by Gongora
et al. (Chapter 1 in this book).
Subspecies and Distribution
Subspecies
There are no known subspecies of Catagonus wagneri (Mayer &
Brandt 1982).Distribution
The Chacoan peccary is endemic to the South American Gran
Chaco, an alluvial plain formed by erosional material from the
Andes Mountains, covering parts of northern Argentina, western
Paraguay, and south-eastern Bolivia (Sowls 1984; Redford &
Eisenberg 1992; Taber 1993; Figure 23.1 and Figure 23.6).
There is no accurate information on the total area inhabited by
the species. Its original range is estimated to have covered no
more than 140,000 km^2 (Sowls 1984). Currently, the species
inhabits western Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, in the provinces of
Tarija, Santa Cruz, and Chuquisaca, and northern Argentina in
the provinces of Chaco, Formosa, Salta and Santiago del Estero
(Taber 1991b; Maffei et al. 2008; Altrichter et al. 2016). A recent
study indicates that the distribution of the species in Argentina
may extend to northern Cordoba (Torres et al. 2016).Figure 23.1 Chacoan peccary distribution (source: IUCN 2008, Red List of Threatened Species). (A simplified black and white version of this figure will appear in some
formats. For the colour version, please refer to the plate section.)
.02512:46:08