Although the suid genus Kolpochoerus is well known from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa, the evolutionary history of one of its constituent species, K. majus, remained obscure until substantial fossil evidence accumulated during the last 20 years, largely from sites in Ethiopia. Here, we describe Kolpochoerus phillipi sp. nov., based on a fairly complete skull and the remains of additional individuals from ~2.5 Ma deposits at Matabaietu, in the Middle Awash study area of Ethiopia. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, we suggest that K. phillipi sp. nov. belongs to a clade of “bunolophodont suines” including K. majus and the extant giant forest hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni. Within this clade, K. phillipi sp. nov. likely represents a potential ancestor of K. majus, based on its morphology and stratigraphic position.

Key words: Mammalia, Suinae, Kolpochoerus, Hylochoerus, Potamochoerus, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Middle Awash, Ethiopia.

Antoine Souron [antoine.souron@berkeley.edu], Institut de Paléoprimatologie, Paléontologie Humaine: Évolution et Paléoenvironnements (UMR 7262), CNRS & Université de Poitiers, Bât. B 35–6, rue Michel Brunet, 86022 Poitiers Cedex, France and Human Evolution Research Center, The University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA; Jean-Renaud Boisserie [jean.renaud.boisserie@univ-poitiers.fr], Institut de Paléoprimatologie, Paléontologie Humaine: Évolution et Paléoenvironnements (UMR 7262), CNRS & Université de Poitiers, Bât. B 35–6, rue Michel Brunet, 86022 Poitiers Cedex, France and Centre Français des Études Éthiopiennes (USR 3137), CNRS & Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Ambassade de France en Éthiopie, P.O. Box 5554, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Tim D. White [timwhite@berkeley.edu], Human Evolution Research Center and Department of Integrative Biology, The University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.