entelodont vertebra

Hard to imagine a giant hog as a top predator.

Hard to imagine a giant hog as a top predator.

You'd have to define "top predator" for me. Is a hippo a "top predator"?

Even this huge Daeodon had to contend with the real top predators of its time - the amphicyonid bear-dogs which might weigh 400+ pounds. The increase in size of entelodonts over time is an argument that they were under pressure from predators.

Entelodonts were omnivores, probably scavengers of carrion (plus, an occasional unlucky newborn). The evidence from the teeth indicates they grubbed for roots - there is typically a polished wear facet across the low-inside of the lower canines. This is interpreted as wear from hooking and pulling up gritty roots with these teeth.

Entelodont habitus probably was much like that of the European wild boar. . . Omnivorous, formidable when grown, yet sometimes vulnerable to large carnivores (wolves in that case).

One answer to the question "What did entelodonts eat?" is "Anything they pleased!" A better answer is "Anything they pleased that they could find which wasn't trying to catch them!"

You'd have to define "top predator" for me. Is a hippo a "top predator"?

Even this huge Daeodon had to contend with the real top predators of its time - the amphicyonid bear-dogs which might weigh 400+ pounds. The increase in size of entelodonts over time is an argument that they were under pressure from predators.

Entelodonts were omnivores, probably scavengers of carrion (plus, an occasional unlucky newborn). The evidence from the teeth indicates they grubbed for roots - there is typically a polished wear facet across the low-inside of the lower canines. This is interpreted as wear from hooking and pulling up gritty roots with these teeth.

Entelodont habitus probably was much like that of the European wild boar. . . Omnivorous, formidable when grown, yet sometimes vulnerable to large carnivores (wolves in that case).

One answer to the question "What did entelodonts eat?" is "Anything they pleased!" A better answer is "Anything they pleased that they could find which wasn't trying to catch them!"

And entelodonts were more closely related to whales than pigs, from what I've heard.