Archaeotherium
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Archaeotherium (meaning 'ancient beast' in latin) is an extinct genus of mammal found in North Dakota. It is related to pigs and has a skull that can grow to be 40 cm long. They existed in the forests of North America, Europe and Asia, 25 million - 50 million years ago.
Archaeotherium looked similar to the live warthog. It also grew to lengths of about 4ft. It mostly ate roots and tubers, but with its powerful jaws and teeth Archaeotherium could also eat carrion, like modern day pigs. Their strong neck muscles suggest that these animals spent most of their time rooting and grubbing in the ground. Palentologists say that these animals have a keen sense of smell. They probably died out when great grasslands began to spread.
The were first discovered by Joseph Leidy in 1850.
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