Millions of years ago, before big cats ruled the plains, entelodonts were some of the biggest meat eaters on Earth. As ugly as they were mean, these pig-like brutes were as tall as an adult human and their heads measured up to three feet long. Their huge, bone-crushing jaws enabled them to eat every part of a meal-including the bones.
Hey Big Mouth! An entelodont could open its jaws wide enough to fit another entelodont's head inside its mouth-which it often did! Its tusk-like canine teeth were strong enough to pierce a rival's skull.
Bone Head: Entelodonts had bony growths on their faces, which supported the muscles that held the beast's huge mouth open. Some experts think these growths also protected the sensitive areas of the creature's face when it tangled with other entelodonts.
The Mean, the Bad and the Ugly[]
The teeth in this entelodont skull are badly chipped and broken, which suggests they were used to crush bones.
Fossil evidence seems to show that the only animals tough enough to regularly take on an entelodont were other entelodonts! Skulls with deep puncture marks prove that entelodonts often fought among themselves-either over food or for mates. The animals would snap at each other, with the winner clamping its mouth and enormous teeth over the loser's snout. Although the resulting wounds-including broken eye sockets and punctured cheekbones-were often deep and bloody, they were rarely fatal.
The Crusher: Even though entelodonts were big, mean and strong, experts don't believe they were hunters. Entelodonts were most likely scavengers and used their crushing back teeth to pulverize the bones of prey and eat the marrow inside.
Speed Demons: Entelodonts had fairly long legs and could probably reach speeds of up to 30 mph in short bursts. It's doubtful that these animals would have run over long distances, though.
Tertiary Period[]
Entelodonts lived 40 to 20 million years ago from the late Eocene to early Miocene Epochs.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- The knowledge card says Entelodonts. The trading card says Entelodont.
- The entelodont is featured in Man & Beast on Monster Mania 65.
- The main heading on the back, "The Mean, The Bad, and the Ugly", is a reference to the 1996 movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.