THE FIRST JUVENILE ENTELODONT TEETH FROM EASTERN NORTH AMERICA, (AFF. DAEODON), FROM THE MILLER SITE IN FLORIDA

Entelodonts are among the most charismatic of extinct mammals. Here we document two incisors from a juvenile entelodont of the Lower Miocene Hemingfordian (He1) in Dixie County, Florida. As the first juvenile example of the group (aff. Daeodon) reported from eastern North America, these fossils add an important dimension to the entelodont presence in the region. Previously, an adult jaw and a near complete adult skeleton along with a few isolated teeth and bones were known from Miocene Florida.

Once classified nearer to pigs and their relatives, entelodonts are now thought to be more closely related to hippos and whales. The diet of the entelodonts is still unclear. They may have been omnivorous scavengers, likely using their muscular jaws and formidable dentition to crack the bones of a carcass, and perhaps engaging in the direct hunting of live prey.