Description
Domestic pigs typically have a large head with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and a disk of cartilage at the tip. The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food and is a very acute sense organ. There are four hoofed toes on each foot, with the two larger central toes bearing most of the weight, but the outer two also being used in soft ground. The dental formula of adult pigs is, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing. In the male the canine teeth can form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by constantly being ground against each other.
Most domestic pigs have rather sparse hair covering on their skin, although woolly coated breeds, such as the Mangalitsa, are raised.
Pigs possess both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, although the latter appear limited to the snout and dorsal nasal areas. However, pigs, like other "hairless" mammals (e.g. elephants, rhinos, and mole-rats), do not use thermal sweat glands in cooling. Pigs are also less able than many other mammals at losing heat from wet mucus membranes in the mouth during panting. Their thermoneutral zone is 16 to 22°C. At temperatures above this, pigs lose heat by wallowing in mud or water, although it has been suggested wallowing may serve other functions such as a sunscreen, ecto-parasite control and scent-marking.
Read more about this topic: Domestic Pigs
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