Taxonomy and biochronological significance ofParaentelodon, a giant entelodont (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Oligocene of Eurasia

ABSTRACT Paraentelodon Gabuniya, 1964 (=Neoentelodon Aubekerova, 1969) is a giant entelodont known from the Georgian Republic, Kazakstan, and Gansu, People's Republic of China. The genus is distinguished by the following autapomorphies: Il/il much smaller than I2/i2, which are slightly smaller than I3/i3; single, large, flange-like dentary tubercle under p2; p2 very large and larger than p4; and upper molars (especially M2) with well-developed paraconules and metaconules. The few known specimens of Paraentelodon represent a single species, P. intermedium Gabuniya, 1964 (=N. dzhungaricus Aubekerova, 1969; =P. macrognathus Qiu, Xie and Yan, 1990). All Paraentelodon localities appear to be of late Oligocene age, not early Miocene as some previous workers have claimed.