babirusa

or bab·i·rous·sa, bab·i·rus·sa

[ bab-uh-roo-suh, bah-buh- ]

noun

1. an East Indian swine, Babyrousa babyrussa, the male of which has upper canine teeth growing upward through the roof of the mouth and curving toward the eyes, and lower canine teeth growing upward outside the upper jaw.

babirusa

/ ˌbɑːbɪˈruːsə /

noun

1. a wild pig, Babyrousa babyrussa , inhabiting marshy forests in Indonesia. It has an almost hairless wrinkled skin and enormous curved canine teeth

Word History and Origins

Origin of babirusa¹

1690–1700; < Malay, equivalent to babi pig + rusa deer

Word History and Origins

Origin of babirusa¹

C17: from Malay, from bābī hog + rūsa deer

Example Sentences

Those include the dwarf cuscus, a large-eyed marsupial; the anoa, a midget buffalo; the Sulawesi crested black macaque, locally known as yaki; and the babirusa, or deer-pig, which is renowned for its large tusks.

From New York Times

The researchers who announced the recent discovery previously described a 35,000-year-old cave painting of a babirusa, or pig deer, there.

From Scientific American

For the babirusa, the most recent common ancestor for all specimens was found to be at 2.49m years ago.

From The Guardian

The study focused on 14 cave paintings: 12 human hand stencils and two naturalistic animal depictions, one showing an animal called a babirusa, or "pig-deer," and the other showing what probably is a pig.

From Reuters

A painting of an animal known as a pig deer, of the species babirusa, was determined to be at least 35,400 years old.

From New York Times