Distribution of the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and the desertwarthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) in the Horn of Africa

The Somali warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus delamerei, is the surviving re lative of the Cape warthog, P. a. aethiopicus, which formerly inhabited Cap e Province but became extinct in the last century. It is only recently that these two subspecies of Phacochoerus aethiopicus have been restored to the status of a species-the 'desert warthog'-distinct from the common warthog, P, africanus (Grubb, 1985; Grubb & Oliver, 1991; Grubb, 1993). Mitochondri al DNA analysis has recently confirmed that the common and desert warthogs are two different and widely divergent species (Randi et al., unpublished). This preliminary study maps their distribution in the Horn of Africa, and discusses the significance of ecological barriers that limit these distribu tions. One hundred and thirty-three skulls from 64 different localities in five countries-mostly from museum collections-were identified. New material was obtained from the field and reliable literature data were also recorde d. Locality records suggest that the optimal habitats of desert warthog are low altitude arid lands. The two species may overlap locally in northern S omalia, northern and eastern Kenya and southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, but the desert warthog's precise range is still not accurately established and basic data about its conservation status, ecology and behaviour are st ill very poor.