Entelodonts: Facts About Giant Killer 'Pigs' By Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor

Dinohyus hollandi was a species of entelodont, of hell pig.

Credit: Carioca | Creative Commons

Entelodont is a name given to any member of the extinct scientific family Entelodontidae. These large, primitive animals are also known as hell pigs. However, they are not related to modern pigs; rather, they are closer on the evolutionary tree to hippos and whales.  

Habitat

Entelodonts were among the earliest of the pig-like lineages, known from the early to middle Eocene (c. 50 million years ago), according to Kenneth T. Wilkins, associate dean for sciences at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. 

Entelodontidae first appeared in Mongolia, then spread across Asia, Europe and North America. They eventually became extinct between 19 million and 16 million years ago, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. 

In North America, the hell pigs seemed to prefer floodplains as their home of choice. Woodlands where also preferred by hell pigs of many types.

Size 

Even small hell pigs were quite large. The smallest of the hell pigs grew to around 330 pounds (50 kilograms), while the largest grew to around about 2,000 lbs (900 kg).

One of the better-known entelodonts was Archaeotherium, which were common in western North America. These were large animals, several times the size of modern pigs, with the skull reaching near more than 3 feet (1 meter) long. "The dentition suggests they were effective bone-crushers. These surely were fierce, imposing animals . . . hence, the common name 'hell pig,'" said Wilkins.

Many hell pigs had heads that were massive when compared to their bodies. Another example is the Dinohyus. Its head was 35 to 45 percent of its total length, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. 

Habits

Large scars, up to 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) deep, found on the remains of hell pigs suggests that they fought with their own kind. Research also suggest that one hell pig would even put another's head in its mouth during a fight, according to BBC Nature. The hell pigs had boney areas on their faces that protected their nose and eyes during these types of attacks. 

Diet

Though it would be easy to assume that such a fierce creature with large tusks and imposing body size were carnivorous predators, the hell pig's teeth say differently. More than likely, they were omnivores, eating plant life as well as meat.

The front teeth where large and pointed, perfect for ripping flesh from bone. The back teeth were flat, which is perfect for crushing plant material. Fruits, leaves and seeds, as well as other animals and eggs were probably all part of the hell pig's diet.

It may not have even been a killer. Some believe that hell pigs may have been scavengers, letting other animals make the kills. Once the prey was dead, the hell pig may have intimidated the predator and taken its prey, according to National Geographic.

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Why Humans Don't Have More Neanderthal Genes By Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor

Credit: hywards/Shutterstock.com

Neanderthals and modern humans interbred long ago, but evolution has purged many of our caveman relative's genes from modern human genomes, a new study finds.

Neanderthals were the closest extinct relatives of modern humans. Previous research suggested that modern humans migrating out of Africa encountered and interbred with Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago.

"We know that the ancestors of modern Europeans and Asians mated with Neanderthals, and as a result, the modern-day descendants of those people have some small amount of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes," said study lead author Ivan Juric, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Davis. [In Photos: Neanderthal Burials Uncovered]

Findings published in 2014 suggested that the hybrid descendants of such interbreeding might have benefited from some of these Neanderthal genes. For instance, Neanderthal mutations may help modern European immune systems dampen inflammation.

However, nowadays, Neanderthal genetic material makes up only about 1.5 to 2.1 percent of the genomes of people outside Africa, according to the draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome published in 2010. That means some of this genetic material was lost over time. To better understand why this evolutionary purge occurred, Juric and his colleagues examined where Neanderthal DNA was found in the modern human genome.

If offspring of modern humans and Neanderthals had Neanderthal DNA segments that possessed some so-called deleterious alleles — that is, harmful genetic variants — "then they'd be less likely to have kids, and so less likely to pass on those Neanderthal segments to future generations," Juric told Live Science.

In this way, the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection ensures that "over time, Neanderthal segments containing deleterious alleles get removed from populations faster than Neanderthal segments not containing deleterious variants," Juric said.

Previous research found that there is less Neanderthal DNA in regions close to genes than in the relatively inactive regions between genes. This suggests that natural selection weeded out Neanderthal variants of those genes, Juric said.

Juric and his colleagues developed a computer model that simulated the effects of natural selection on the distance between segments of Neanderthal DNA and modern human genes. Given the amount of time that has passed between interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans and the amounts and locations of Neanderthal DNA now found in the modern human genome, their findings suggest that many Neanderthal gene variants that entered the modern human genome after Neanderthals and modern humans interbred were "weakly deleterious" — that is, "they are being slowly removed by natural selection," Juric said.

The researchers suggested that many mildly negative gene variants, or alleles, were able to persist in Neanderthals because Neanderthals had much smaller populations than modern humans. However, when these gene variants made their way into modern humans, modern humans' larger populations — and thus bigger gene pools — were better at winnowing out these deleterious alleles.

"I find it fascinating to think that if the Neanderthals had reached larger population sizes in Europe, or if modern human populations had grown slower, some of us today would probably carry a lot more Neanderthal ancestry in our genome," Juric said in a statement.

Future research could investigate which genetic variants from extinct relatives of modern humans were weeded out of the modern human genomes. "I would love to know which exact Neanderthal alleles were selected against," Juric said. "Once we know more about the genes involved, we can ask what those genes do and what traits they are involved with in modern humans. Then, we might be able to make some guesses about the traits of those early human-Neanderthal hybrids."

The scientists detailed their findingsonline Nov. 8 in the journal PLOS Genetics.

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Continental Cup: England humiliates Eaglets 8-1

 

 

 Nigeria’s U17 team, Golden Eaglets on Wednesday lost 8 -1 to England in their opening match at the U19 Suwon Continental Cup at Suwon Sport Complex.
England took the lead in the 19th minute with a header by Taylor Moore and a minute later Adam Armstrong ghosted through the Nigerian defence for the second goal.
Thereafter, the Eaglets defence caved under waves of attack as Dominic Solanke and Armstrong added two goals in the 25th and 28th minute.
Abdulrasaq Yusuf pulled a goal back for Nigeria with a well –taking shot in the midst of legs in the 35th to keep scores 4-1 in the first stanza.
At the beginning of the second half, England continued where they left off in the first period with two quick goals through Callum Connolly and Patrick Roberts in the 46th and 49th minute respectively.
Armstrong got the first hat trick of the tournament in the 70th minute and Roberts his second within minutes to spare to push England on top of the table on better goal difference after hosts Korea beat Iran on Tuesday.
Nigeria and Iran will slug it out while Korea will tackle England in the next round of matches at the same venue on Thursday.

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You should remain Africa’s best, Osinbajo tells Falcons

 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Super Falcons of Nigeria should sustain their dedication and commitment to the Nigerian cause as they prepare to extend their record of dominating Africa in women football.
Osinbajo, who was at the Falcons training on Tuesday evening, reminded the Falcons of their exemplary role as role models of women in the country and encouraged them to keep at what they know best.
“Let me first and foremost say I am honoured to be standing in front of champions. We’ve always won,” he said.
“And I think that’s just awesome, that’s just incredible. There’s no reason at all why we can’t be the best time and time again.
“And I think you all have demonstrated clearly that a Nigerian team that is well trained, committed and dedicated can repeat great performance every time.
“So, we are all looking forward to another excellent performance from you all. Also looking forward to a greater commitment, greater performance and we just know that you are going to do well.
Osinbajo extended  his appreciation to the ladies for inspiring Nigerian women.
“I want to thank you for the inspiration you are giving to young women out there. People also recognize that football can be a very modern way of commitment to your country.
“There’s so much that you can look at in the country that will give you so much inspiration but you have been a great inspiration by just repeatedly doing so well.
“So, on behalf of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, I will like to first thank you and congratulate you for doing so well.
“I look forward to hearing great things about you in Cameroon and to wish you very well in your tournament in Cameroon.”
Seven–time African champions Super Falcons will play Ghana, Mali and Kenya in the group phase at the 10th Women African Cup of Nations taking place November 19 to December 3, 2016.

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