''Paraentelodon'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

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 ...

from the Late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

.PaleoBiology Database: ''Paraentelodon'', basic info
/ref> The fossils of the type species ''P. intermedium'' were found in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

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 ...

. An indeterminate species represents in

Bugti Hills Bugti Hills are a range of hills in eastern Balochistan, Pakistan. It includes the tribal tract called Bugti country. 30 million years ago the Haplorrhinies: '' Bugtipithecus inexpectans'', '' Phileosimias kamali'' and '' Phileosimias brahuioru ...

which is the late Oligocene of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

.G. Métais, P.-O. Antoine, L. Marivaux, J.-L. Welcomme, and S. Ducrocq. 2003
New artiodactyl ruminant mammal from the late Oligocene of Pakistan
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 48(3):375-382

Discovery and naming

''Paraentelodon'' was named by L. K. Gabunia in 1964 basing on molars and

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

that were found in Oligocene sites of Benara, Georgia (

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

at the time of discovery). It was assigned to Entelodontidae by Carroll (1988). In 1996 Lucas and Emry found ''Neoentelodon'' to be synonymous with ''Paraentelodon''. Although Gabunia did not explain the etymology, the name ''Paraentelodon'' is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''para''/παρα "beside" or "near", ἐντελής entelēs "complete" or "perfect" and ὀδών odōn "tooth".

Description and relationship

One of the largest entelodonts, it had much more massive

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

than those of ''

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 ...

''. The alleged indeterminate ''Paraentelodon'' species may be "''Elodon transsilvanicus''" (Kretzoi, 1941) from the

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

or a close relative, based on similar knolls on their

molars The molars or molar teeth are large, flat tooth, teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammal, mammals. They are used primarily to comminution, grind food during mastication, chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, '' ...

. In spite of this, ''Paraentelodon'' had more common features with Asian and

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and 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 America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

entelodonts. It was similar in size and form to the giant entelodont ''

Daeodon ''Daeodon'' is an extinct genus of entelodont even-toed ungulates that inhabited North America about 29 to 15.97 million years ago from the early Oligocene to late early Miocene. The type species is ''Daeodon shoshonensis'', described from a ve ...

'' from the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of North America. The structure of their teeth is visibly similar, but ''Paraentelodon'' has larger

premolars The premolars, also called premolar teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant in the permanent set of teeth, making eight premolars total in the mout ...

, less reduction of a posterior group of third knolls, a smaller collar of

cheek teeth Cheek teeth or postcanines comprise the molar and premolar teeth in mammals. Cheek teeth are multicuspidate (having many folds or tubercles). Mammals have multicuspidate molars (three in placentals, four in marsupials, in each jaw quadrant) and ...

, and other differing features. Some researchers suggest that it was either ancestral to, or shared an ancestor with ''Daeodon'' during a late Oligocene Beringian immigration. As with other entelodonts, it was an omnivore with large teeth that enabled it to crush

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

and dig for

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

like its North American relatives.

Paleoenvironment

In late Oligocene deposits of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, ''Paraentelodon sp.'' was found in the same crust as the giant rhinocerotoid '' Paraceratherium bugtiense'' and the anthracothere '' Anthracotherium bugtiense''. The fauna of this locality also includes the

bovid The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...

−like ruminant '' Palaeohypsodontus zinensis''. The presence of these animals indicate an open forested habitat. The jaws of ''Paraentelodon'' were found in the early Miocene Jiaozigou locality of China where a tusk of a ''

Gomphotherium ''Gomphotherium'' (; "nail beast" for its double set of straight tusks) is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean from the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the most diverse genus of gompothere, with over a dozen valid sp ...

''-like proboscidean was also present.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7134505 Entelodonts Oligocene Artiodactyla Miocene Artiodactyla Cenozoic mammals of Asia Fossil taxa described in 1964 Monotypic prehistoric Artiodactyla genera