| Entelodontidae | |
|---|---|
 Entelodon restoration from Charles R. Knight | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Artiodactyla |
| Family | †Entelodontidae |
Entelodonts, sometimes nicknamed hell pigs or terminator pigs, are an extinct family of pig-like omnivores endemic to forests and plains of North America, Europe, and Asia from the middle Eocene to early Miocene epochs (37.2—16.3 mya), existing for approximately 20.9 million years.
Characteristics[]
Entelodonts are an extinct group of rather pig-like omnivorous mammals with bulky bodies but short, slender legs, and long muzzles. The largest were the North American Daeodon shoshonensis, and the Eurasian Paraentelodon intermedium, standing up to 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) tall at-shoulder, with brains the size of an orange.Entelodonts had a full set of teeth, including large canines, heavy incisors, and relatively simple, yet powerful, molars. These features suggest an omnivorous diet, similar to that of modern pigs. Like many other artiodactyls, they had cloven hooves, with two toes touching the ground, and the remaining two being vestigial.The most distinguishing characteristic of the animals, however, would have been the heavy, bony lumps on either side of their heads which are similar to a warthog's. Some of these may have been attachment points for powerful jaw muscles, but some were larger in males, suggesting that they may also have had a role in competition for mates.
Paleobiology[]
Entelodonts lived in the forests and plains where they were the apex predators of North America's Early Miocene and Oligocene, consuming carrion and live animals and rounding off their diet with plants and tubers. They would have hunted large animals, like the cow-sized artiodactyl Eporeodon major and the sheep-sized cameloid Poebrotherium wilsoni, dispatching them with a bite from their jaws. Some fossil remains of these other animals have been found with the bite marks of entelodonts on them. Like modern day pigs, they were omnivores, eating both meat and plants, but their adaptations show a bias towards live prey and carrion. They were most likely opportunists, mainly eating live animals, but not sneering at carrion and roots and tubers in times of drought. Some entelodonts even exhibited cacheing behavior, as an Archaeotherium's cache has been discovered, made up of the remains of several early camels.
Genera[]
Genus Antillodaeodon A. californicum Genus Archaeotherium Genus Brachyhyops B. viensis B. wyomingensis Genus Cypretherium C. coarctatum Genus Daeodon D. shoshonensis Genus Entelodon E. magnus E. ronzonii E. aymardi E. verdeaui E. deguilhemi E. antiquus E. dirus E. gobiensis Genus Eoentelodon Genus Paraentelodon Genus Proentelodon
