Domestic Pigs

Additional Animal Information Wild Animals Types of Pigs Pictures of Farm Animals

Pigs are a genus (Sus) of animals in the Suidae family family characterized by round, flat noses and short legs.

Ten Sus species can be found throughout the world, mostly in Asian regions. Typically they divide between warty and non-warty species, each of which share similar head and jaw structures.

Pigs have been domesticated for thousands of years and most breeds of domestic pigs originate from the Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa). Today scores of domestic pig breeds exist.

The bottom picture shows a potbelly pig, a smaller domestic pig, originally bred in Vietnam.

© 2003 Patricia A. Michaels