science

Suina

Suina is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Suina rather than just read about it. In short: Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine.

Key takeaways

Suina belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Suina to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Suina from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in English as pigs or swine, as well as the family Tayassuidae, termed tayassuids or peccaries. Suines are largely native to Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, with the exception of the wild boar, which is additionally native to Europe and Asia and introduced to North America and Australasia, including widespread use in farming of the domestic pig subspecies. Suines range in size from the 55 cm (22 in) long pygmy hog to the 210 cm (83 in) long giant forest hog, and are primarily found in forest, shrubland, and grassland biomes, though some can be found in deserts, wetlands, or coastal regions. Most species do not have population estimates, though approximately two billion domestic pigs are used in farming, while several species are considered endangered or critically endangered with populations as low as 100. One disputed species, Heude's pig, is considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to have gone extinct in the 20th century.

Classification

Suina's placement within Artiodactyla can be represented in the following cladogram:

The suborder Suina consists of 21 extant species in nine genera. These are split between the Suidae family, containing 18 species belonging to 6 genera, and the Tayassuidae family, containing 3 species in 3 genera. This does not include hybrid species such as boar–pig hybrids or extinct prehistoric species. Additionally, one species, Heude's pig, went extinct in the 20th century.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Suina

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Suina claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Suina before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Suina ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Suina

In research: Suina appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Suina in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Suina is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Artiofabula, Mammal suborders, Suina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Suina outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Suina in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Suina means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Suina out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Suina in simple terms?

Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine.

Why does Suina matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Suina?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Suina.