<h1>Phobia Pig: A giant prehistoric giant "pig" that ran rampant in North America for 10 million years</h1>
This year is the Year of the Pig, the zodiac wheel has been rounded, and finally the second master brother is in charge. In fact, the pigs on the earth today are really much more shabby and pitiful than the prehistoric pigs, and before the emergence of humans, there were many ancient giant pigs on the earth. In addition to the ancient giant pigs, there are also some terrifying creatures that look like pigs but are not pigs, and the pig is one of the representatives.
<h1> Scary big fangs
</h1>
The discovery of the pig can be traced back to the 1870s, when the United States, which had just ended its civil war, began another "war," the Bone Wars. Two famous paleontologists, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, competed to discover and name the fossils, such as Stegosaurus, Thundersaurus, Toothless Pterodactylosaurus, Neptune and other famous paleontology.
Picture note: The name of the pig with the phobia is popular science, the picture comes from the network
In 1878, Based on the newly discovered giant skull, Kop named a prehistoric mammal, the Daeodon, whose genus name comes from the Greek words "δαίος" (meaning "terrible, frightening") and "οδον" (meaning "teeth"), meaning "terrible teeth", because of the huge scary canine teeth preserved in the fossils. Due to the fragmentation of the fossils found, Popular Science believes that the phobia pig belongs to the odd-hoofed animal and is closely related to the Menodus.
Image note: Moon Thunder Beast Restoration, picture from the network
In the 20th century, paleontologists discovered more complete fossils of phobia, proving that they belonged to the family Entelodontidae (formerly known as the Giant Pig Family). At this point, we have finally determined the position of the pig in the classification.
<h1>Horror behemoths</h1>
Image note: Comparison of the skeleton of the phobia pig with the size of humans, the picture comes from the Network
Illustration: Skeletal line diagram of humans and phobia pigs, picture from the Internet
The jawed pig is tall, reaching a height of 1.8 meters on its shoulders alone, which is taller than most adults. The pycnogenous pig is about 3 meters long and weighs more than 1 ton, and from its size, the phobia pig is as large as the North American bison, the largest terrestrial mammal living in North America today.
Picture note: The skull of the pig with a vicious face, the picture comes from the Internet
The pig is not only large, but also has a large head, with a length of 0.9 meters, which is almost equal to one-third of its body length. The head of the pig is quite ugly and vicious, giving the impression of being subjected to radiation mutation. From the bones, the skull of the pig is thick and the jaw is quite thick and strong. In the large mouth of the pig with different shapes and functions, there are teeth with different shapes and functions, of which a pair of canine teeth growing in front are the most conspicuous, thick and sharp, plus the root of the tooth is longer than the human hand! The name of the pig comes from the scary canine teeth in its mouth.
Image note: Restoration of a pig with a phobia, picture from the Internet
There are very prominent cheekbones under the eyes of the pig with phobias, which work to attach muscle groups and produce a strong bite force. Paleontologists speculate that the jawed pig has a large bite force and is able to bite bones.
Image note: The skeleton of the phobia pig, picture from the internet
The neck behind the head of the pig is thick and short, the body is very strong, and the bulge on the shoulder is the highest point of the whole body, which is formed by the elongated dorsal spine. The broad-backed pig gradually lowers towards the hips, and finally a small tail. Beneath the body of the pig is the long, powerful limbs. Like pigs, pigs with phobias also have two hooves on their feet, indicating that they are good at running.
From the appearance point of view, the phobia pig is tall and fierce, giving people a strong sense of fear with a strong oppressive nature.
Illustration: A restoration of the phobia pig, picture from the network
<h1>Miocene villains</h1>
The phobia pig lived in North America 29 to 19 million years ago in the Miocene, and its survival time was as long as 10 million years, which is enough to prove its strong survivability!
Picture note: North America in the Miocene, in the middle is the phobia pig, the picture comes from the Internet
The hideous-looking head and the huge scary canine teeth seem to be typical of carnivores. In fact, the phobia pig is an omnivore, and it is an omnivore that no one refuses. Paleontologists believe that the main food of the pig is plants, and they will eat the roots and fruits of plants. In addition to eating plants, pighoppers also often open meat, not only actively hunting other animals, but also robbing other carnivores of their booty, and even eating carrion.
Picture note: Dinosaur pig hunting rhinoceros, picture from the internet
Photo note: Flocks of phobia-jawed pigs rob other predators of food, image from the Internet
Small groups of phobia-jawed pigs roamed the plains of Mesocene North America, and with their huge size and ugly appearance, they were always able to scare away other predators and eat ready-made meat. Sometimes, in order to compete for prey, the pig will fight its own kind, and paleontologists have found bite marks left by the teeth of the same kind on their fossils.
It is this vicious habit of robbing and robbing and the style of the big stomach king who does not refuse to come, so that the pig can survive for so long. As an unprofessional "carnivore", the phobia pig stands above the top predator of its living ecosystem.
<h1>Not a "giant pig"</h1>
As mentioned at the beginning, the phobia pig is like a pig but not a pig, and although it belongs to the same family as the pig family, it is closer to hippos and cetaceans in the even ungulates. It is precisely because the pig is not a real pig, so it also has the alias of the phobia, the phoblast and the fierce-toothed pig, of which the fierce-toothed pig is the most reasonable, which not only indicates the original meaning of the scientific name, but also leaves aside the relationship with the pig. The name Phobia pig is even more famous, so it has become a widely used Chinese name.
Photo note: The Miocene scene is restored, and the two fighting predators on the right are canine bears, the picture comes from the Internet
Image note: The huge skeleton of the inuyasha bear, the picture comes from the network
How did the phobia pig that ran rampant in North America 10 million years ago become extinct? Some paleontologists believe that 19 million years ago, the amphicyoninae entered the Americas from Eurasia, and this professional killer with a dog-like head and a lion-like body caused a lot of pressure on the phobia pig, and eventually the phobia pig all disappeared.
Although the phobia pig was eventually replaced by a new carnivorous beast, this big guy is really a very terrifying existence in the history of mammalian evolution!
Resources:
1.Cope, E. D. (1878). "On some characters of the Miocene fauna of Oregon". Paleontological Bulletin. 30: 1–16.
2.Brown, R. W. (1954). Composition of scientific words: A manual of methods and a lexicon of materials for the practice of logotechnics. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-0874740011.
3.Sinclair, W. J. (1905). "New and imperfectly known rodents and ungulates from the John Day Series". Bull. Dept. Geology, Univ. California. 4: 132–134.
4.Foss, S. E.; Fremd, T. (1998). "A survey of the species of Entelodonts (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) of the John Day Basin, Oregon". Dakoterra. 5: 63–72.
Image / Network (Intrusion and Deletion)
Text / Paleontological Exploration (Jiang Hong)
Typography / Paleontological exploration