Entelodon (Mojö Fun)

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Despite their appearance and popular designation as “Hell” or “terminator” pigs the group scientifically knows as the entelodontidae are now thought to have been more closely related to whales and hippopotamuses. Regardless of their taxonomic affinity there is no denying the superficial resemblance the entelodonts have to pigs, and one has to wonder if they had a similar temperament to pigs and hippopotamuses as well. If so, these would have no doubt been terrifying beasts. The largest genus in the group, Daeodon, was capable of reaching 6’ tall at the shoulder and possessed a 3’ long skull! Entelodontids roamed North America and Eurasia between 37 and 16 million years ago. Much like modern brown bears the entelodonts were both hunters and opportunistic omnivores and scavengers.

Despite their imposing size and gnarly appearance the entelodonts are a neglected group of animals in our hobby. Few companies have mass produced these beasts for the toy market. The company AAA is notable for their model of the genus Entelodon which is now hard to find but for a long time was the only toy you could get of an entelodont. Luckily the last few years has seen a steady increase in the production of prehistoric mammal toys. CollectA released a large and well-crafted Daeodon last year and in 2013 Mojö Fun released an Entelodon alongside several other prehistoric mammals.

The genus Entelodon was not the largest in the family but at a height of 4.4’ at the shoulder and with a skull measuring 2’ long it was still an animal you wouldn’t want to brawl with. It lived in Europe and northern China between 37-33 million years ago. The Mojö Entelodon measures 5” long and stands 3” tall at the shoulder. In pose this is a static model with all fours planted firmly on the ground and the head looking forward, tilted down with mouth open in a snarl. Really though this is the only major complaint I have about this model.

All the anatomical hallmarks of the Entelodon are faithfully reproduced here. The robust neck, high bison-like shoulders, hooved feet, and most importantly for an Entelodon, the head. The pig-like attributes are easy to see, especially when looking at the diversified dentition within the open mouth and the warthog-like head. Bony tubercles adorn the lower jaw and wide bony protuberances jut out from the cheeks. These tubercles were probably used for display and fighting amongst each other. Although the model is accurately hooved it possesses four digits on each limb, all being used to inaccurately support the weight of the animal. Entelodonts only had two weight supporting digits per limb with the others only being vestigial. CollectA would make the same mistake on their Daeodon but oddly enough AAA got it right on theirs with only two digits per limb.

The detail work is really nice here. Overall the model is sculpted with a short coat of hair on a gray-blue body. A brown mane of hair is sculpted from the head towards the mid-torso with the hair sculpted going every which way giving the model a disheveled appearance. The ears are tattered looking and the facial musculature seems to suggest this animal is letting out a snarl. This is an animal with attitude and he’s seen his share of combat. And he is indeed a he, just turn over the model and you’ll see for yourself. The eyes and nose are painted with a glossy black finish giving them a life-like wet appearance. The teeth are white, inside of the mouth pink, and hooves and tail tuft black.

I highly recommend this model to those with an interest in odd prehistoric animals and mammals in particular. It’s reasonably accurate and well sculpted. A more interesting posture would have been appreciated but in a market mostly devoid of these unique animals one can’t be too picky. This is a newer model, having only been released in 2013 so it’s still easy enough to find and typically less than $10 USD.