Miranda Armour-Chelu *, Nardos Fessaha **& Raymond L. Bernor **
* Department of Paleobiology, MRC NHB, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington,
** College of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology,
Howard University, Washington
Abstract - Tooth emergence and wear in two suid taxa from the late Miocene locality of Rudabánya are described. The sequence of tooth emergence in the sample referred to Propotamochoerus palaeochoerus follows the pattern found in extant Sus scrofa. Analyses of the age structure of the Rudabánya Propotamochoerus palaeochoerus population shows relatively high rates of juvenile mortality, and is similar to those rates found in extant Sus scrofa. Propotamochoerus palaeochoerus is one of the most abundant elements of the Rudabánya fauna suggesting that the lake margin was an optimum habitat for this taxon. The high frequency of juvenile remains also indicates that taphonomically, this was a proximal community for this taxon.