Entelodont

Entelodontidae is an extinct family of pig-like artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) that inhabited the Northern Hemisphere (Asia, Europe, and North America) from the late Eocene to the early Miocene epochs, about 38 to 15 million years ago. Their large heads, low snouts, narrow gait, and proposed omnivorous diet inspires comparisons to suids (true pigs) and tayassuids (peccaries), and historically they have been considered closely related to these families purely on a morphological basis. However, studies which combine morphological and molecular (genetic) data on artiodactyls instead suggest that entelodonts are cetancodontamorphs, more closely related to hippos and cetaceans through their resemblance to Pakicetus, than to basal pigs like Kubanochoerus and other ungulates.

==Description== Entelodonts could get quite large, and in many cases are the largest mammals in their respective ecosystems. The largest entelodont known from a complete skeleton was Daeodon, a North American entelodont that could reach an estimated weight of 750 kg (1650 pounds), and a height up to tall at the shoulder. Paraentelodon intermedium, a Eurasian species known mostly by the teeth and jaws, was similar in size to Daeodon.