Paraentelodon

Name: Paraentelodon ‭(‬Near perfect tooth‭)‬.
Phonetic: Pa-ra-en-tel-o-don.
Named By: Gabunia‭ ‬-‭ ‬1964.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Artiodactyla,‭ ‬Entelodontidae.
Species: P.‭ ‬macrognathus.
Diet: Omnivore‭?
Size: Around‭ ‬2‭ ‬meters tall.
Known locations: Asia.
Time period: Oligocene through to Burdigalian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Several specimens.

       Although not‭ ‬especially one of the most well-known of the entelodonts,‭ ‬Paraentelodon is one of the largest known genera being comparable to Entelodon and Daeodon in size.‭ ‬Paraentelodon appears in Asia as the earlier Entelodon began to decline and continues to be largest currently known genus of entelodont in Asia in the early stages of the Miocene.‭ ‬Daeodon also seems to have held a similar ecological niche‭ ‬as Paraentelodon during the early Miocene,‭ ‬but is so far only known from North America.
       The exact diets of entelodonts have always been subjects of debate for palaeontologists because although they may have been capable of eating plants,‭ ‬the larger ones such as Paraentelodon may have used their large size to either kill other animals or intimidate other predators into giving up their kills.‭

Further reading
- The Evolution of Artiodactyls. - The Johns Hopkins University Press. - Donald R. Prothero & Scott E. Foss - 2007.

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