''Eoentelodon'' is a small, primitive

entelodont Entelodontidae is an extinct family of pig-like artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) which inhabited the Northern Hemisphere (Asia, Europe, and North America) from the late Eocene to the early Miocene epochs, about 38-19 million years ago. Their ...

, assigned as such by Carroll (1998), from the Middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It was a very small entelodont, about the size of a modern

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

, and was slightly smaller than its

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n counterpart, '' Brachyhyops''. ''Eoentelodon'' was synonymized subjectively with ''Brachyhyops'' by Lucas and Emry (2004). However, in 2007, I. Vislobokova determined that ''Eoentelodon'' was not only distinct from ''Brachyhyops'', but more closely related to '' Proentelodon'', another primitive

entelodon ''Entelodon'' (meaning 'complete teeth', from Ancient Greek ''entelēs'' 'complete' and ''odōn'' 'tooth', referring to its "complete" eutherian dentition), formerly called ''Elotherium'', is an extinct genus of entelodont artiodactyl endemic ...

t found in slightly older Middle

strata of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

References

Entelodonts Eocene Artiodactyla Fossils of China Fossil taxa described in 1988 Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub