I was actually reading somewhere that DNA tests on the specimen in those photo came to the conclusion that it was a melanistic Red river hog, I actually kind of had a sneaking suspicion that this was the case all along, I based my theory off of looking at the morphology of this animal
About Potamochoerus porcus at one time having recognized subspecies, now that I think about it I remember reading that somewhere, it didnt ring a bell until you clarified that with me, thanks threeple61
One thing for sure is that Bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) is a polytypic species, as far as I know, there are 6 recognized subspecies, those being
Potamochoerus larvatus edwardsi
White faced bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus hassama)
But Potamochoerus larvatus and Potamochoerus porcus are not the only recognized species in the genus Potamochoerus, there is one other species and that is Potamochoerus magnus, they were described by science in 2008, but they lived during the Late Pliocene until the Early Pleistocene in Europe (2.6 - 1.5 million years ago)
There is quite some debate on whether these subspecies are valid at all and the Malagasy subspecies most certainly is not, as this species was most likely introduced to the island by humans....
San Diego Zoo kept the southern bush pig for many years, they seem to be phenotypically quite different from some other taxa, but I don't know much more.
