Chacoan peccary

[ chah-koh-uhn pek-uh-ree ]

noun

, plural Cha·co·an pec·ca·ries, (especially collectively) Cha·co·an pec·ca·ry.

1. the largest of the peccary species ( Catagonus wagneri ), the only living member of the genus Catagonus, found in the hot, dry Gran Chaco region of South America, differing from other peccaries with its longer tail, snout, and ears: first identified by fossils in the 1930s and believed to be extinct, it was found in the 1970s to be living and is now listed as an endangered species owing to habitat loss and herd fragmentation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chacoan peccary¹

First recorded in 1970–75;  (Gran) Chaco ( def ) + -an ( def ) + peccary ( def ); species name Catagonus wagneri was coined in 1930 by Carlos Rusconi (1898–1969), Argentinian paleontologist, who discovered the fossils