An artists reconstruction of an Entelodon
Entelodonts are an extinct family of pig-like omnivores of the forests and plains of North America, although they were more common in western regions than the east, and Eurasia from the late Eocene to middle Miocene epochs (37.2–15.97 million years ago), existing for about 21.23 million years.
Description[]
Entelodonts are an extinct group of rather pig-like omnivorous mammals with bulky bodies, slender legs, and long muzzles. The largest entelodont known by the complete skeleton was the North American Daeodon shoshonensis standing up to 2.1 m (6.9 ft) tall at the shoulder. Eurasian Paraentelodon intermedium, known mostly by the teeth and jaws, was similar in size to the Daeodon.
Entelodonts had full sets of teeth, including large canines, heavy incisors, pointed premolars, and relatively simple flat molars. These features suggest an omnivorous diet similar to that of modern pigs. In larger species, a bison-like spinal hump supported the weight of the heavy head. The length and proportions of their leg bones are consistent with other hoofed animals that run well on open ground but are not built for high speed. Like many artiodactyls, they had cloven hooves, with two toes touching the ground, and the remaining two being vestigial.
Enteledonts had huge heads, with bony expansions of the cheekbones and bony bosses on the jaws. Some of these may have been attachment points for powerful jaw muscles, but in some species the growths were larger in some adult specimens than others. Based on the common pattern in artiodactyls, the individuals with the larger ornaments are assumed to be males, and these features may have protected the eyes and throat in combat between males that involved biting or jaw-wrestling. Enteledonts could open their mouths unusually wide. This anatomy has been related to hunting or carrion-feeding, but modern hippos, a related group with the same adaptation, are aggressive herbivores that open their jaws up to 150 degrees and display enlarged canines in order to intimidate rivals. Males engage in head-to-head "yawning" and jaw-wrestling contests, while females attack by approaching from the side and slamming their head into the opponent's body. Both facial and ribcage injuries have been attributed to intraspecies aggression in Archaeotherium.
Despite their nickname 'Killer Pigs" they are more closely related to cetaceans and hippos rather than pigs however they shared some physical features more similar to pigs than to cetaceans such as having hooves on their feet and having a similar snout to pigs when compared to cetaceans like whales.