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Description

Trulops
Scientific name: Trulops monoceros
Other Names: Rhino-pig
Ancestor: Feral hog
Diet: Grass, roots, tubers
Habitat and range: North American, European, and Asian plains and forests
The Trulops is a mighty beast. Standing with the size, proportions, and niche of a white rhinoceros, they are one of the largest mammals of the era. Their legs and hooves have thickened into a shape more akin to a hippopotamus to support its massive weight and size; spindly pig legs and delicate pig hooves are too delicate for the immense amount of weight it needs to carry. They are herd animals, with a peculiar trait, their shovel-like horn (their name translates roughly to "shovel-face in a combination of Greek and Latin words). Now, at first you may say "a horn on a pig makes no sense, you've gone off the deep end with this! Terrestrial seals and penguin whales are one thing, but this is too much!" To which I respond, 1) that is a very specific place to draw the line, and 2) it isn't a horn. When examining their skull, it turns out the shovel on their face is actually two blunted tusks growing upward from the dorsal side of the maxillary jaw. Which sounds crazy, but the Babirusa literally did exactly that in the modern day, and it is absolutely insane. The one difference between the structures, is on a Trulops the two tusks are enjoined in a single sheath of keratin. This creates a broad, shovel-like horn perfect for bashing the more ambitious predators and rival males.

Description

Trulops
Scientific name: Trulops monoceros
Other Names: Rhino-pig
Ancestor: Feral hog
Diet: Grass, roots, tubers
Habitat and range: North American, European, and Asian plains and forests
The Trulops is a mighty beast. Standing with the size, proportions, and niche of a white rhinoceros, they are one of the largest mammals of the era. Their legs and hooves have thickened into a shape more akin to a hippopotamus to support its massive weight and size; spindly pig legs and delicate pig hooves are too delicate for the immense amount of weight it needs to carry. They are herd animals, with a peculiar trait, their shovel-like horn (their name translates roughly to "shovel-face in a combination of Greek and Latin words). Now, at first you may say "a horn on a pig makes no sense, you've gone off the deep end with this! Terrestrial seals and penguin whales are one thing, but this is too much!" To which I respond, 1) that is a very specific place to draw the line, and 2) it isn't a horn. When examining their skull, it turns out the shovel on their face is actually two blunted tusks growing upward from the dorsal side of the maxillary jaw. Which sounds crazy, but the Babirusa literally did exactly that in the modern day, and it is absolutely insane. The one difference between the structures, is on a Trulops the two tusks are enjoined in a single sheath of keratin. This creates a broad, shovel-like horn perfect for bashing the more ambitious predators and rival males.