The family Tayassuidae is made up of the three species of peccary found from the southwestern United States to Argentina. Although they may appear somewhat pig-like externally, it is the two lateral hooves that do not touch the ground as well as their complex stomach that differentiate them from the true pigs of the old world.
Peccaries also have an over-sized head and are covered with long stiff hairs.
Peccaries may run in packs and males use their sharp tusks to fight off many predators. Artiodactyla skulls come in many shapes and forms. Those found in Old World pigs are large and massive with large upper canines that grow outward and backwards forming tusks. The skull of the New World equivalent of a pig, the peccary, is small and more delicate. Its canines grow downward and meet with the lower canines to form precision scissors.