That would be a mighty large mammal there.
Researchers have announced the discovery of a completely preserved roughly 26.5 myo (Oligocene) skull, mandible (jaw) with teeth and four vertebrae of a new species of ancient giant hornless rhino that roamed what is now the plateaus of Central Asia. The fossils were unearthed from deposits in the Linxia Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China.
This creature was one of the largest species among a group that were the largest terrestrial mammals ever to live. This cousin of a modern rhinoceros would have weighed up to 24 tons or the equivalent of four modern adult African elephants. It likely stood up to 20' at the shoulder with a nearly 7' long neck topped by a slender skull itself that was over 3' long. In comparison the tallest giraffe alive is a little over 18.5' tall.
At National Geographic, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, a rhino paleontologist at France’s University of Montpellier who reviewed the new study, said that these huge creatures "would have been able to eat flowers at the third or fourth floor of a building."
Based on the anatomy of the skull, the team responsible for the discovery think it possessed a short, prehensile trunk like that on a modern tapir. The plateau was a good deal different back when this creature, which was named Paraceratherium linxiaense, (named after where it was discovered with the genus name meaning "near the hornless beast") lived. Back then it was wetter and much more forested and P. linxiaense likely lived in areas of open woodland and ate leaves high up in the trees in the same manner that giraffes do today. But as the region dried out and became cooler it could no longer support these massive herbivores and they began to die out.
The paper, An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution is available at the hyperlink provided, and here is the abstract from it:
Finally, an artist's reconstruction
Researchers have announced the discovery of a completely preserved roughly 26.5 myo (Oligocene) skull, mandible (jaw) with teeth and four vertebrae of a new species of ancient giant hornless rhino that roamed what is now the plateaus of Central Asia. The fossils were unearthed from deposits in the Linxia Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China.
This creature was one of the largest species among a group that were the largest terrestrial mammals ever to live. This cousin of a modern rhinoceros would have weighed up to 24 tons or the equivalent of four modern adult African elephants. It likely stood up to 20' at the shoulder with a nearly 7' long neck topped by a slender skull itself that was over 3' long. In comparison the tallest giraffe alive is a little over 18.5' tall.
At National Geographic, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, a rhino paleontologist at France’s University of Montpellier who reviewed the new study, said that these huge creatures "would have been able to eat flowers at the third or fourth floor of a building."
Based on the anatomy of the skull, the team responsible for the discovery think it possessed a short, prehensile trunk like that on a modern tapir. The plateau was a good deal different back when this creature, which was named Paraceratherium linxiaense, (named after where it was discovered with the genus name meaning "near the hornless beast") lived. Back then it was wetter and much more forested and P. linxiaense likely lived in areas of open woodland and ate leaves high up in the trees in the same manner that giraffes do today. But as the region dried out and became cooler it could no longer support these massive herbivores and they began to die out.
The paper, An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution is available at the hyperlink provided, and here is the abstract from it:
Abstract
As one of the largest land mammals, the origin and evolution of the giant rhino Paraceratherium bugtiense in Pakistan have been unclear. We report a new species Paraceratherium linxiaense sp. nov. from northwestern China with an age of 26.5 Ma. Morphology and phylogeny reveal that P. linxiaense is the highly derived species of the genus Paraceratherium, and its clade with P. lepidum has a tight relationship to P. bugtiense. Based on the paleogeographical literature, P. bugtiense represents a range expansion of Paraceratherium from Central Asia via the Tibetan region. By the late Oligocene, P. lepidum and P. linxiaense were found in the north side of the Tibetan Plateau. The Tibetan region likely hosted some areas with low elevation, possibly under 2000 m during Oligocene, and the lineage of giant rhinos could have dispersed freely along the eastern coast of the Tethys Ocean and perhaps through some lowlands of this region.
As one of the largest land mammals, the origin and evolution of the giant rhino Paraceratherium bugtiense in Pakistan have been unclear. We report a new species Paraceratherium linxiaense sp. nov. from northwestern China with an age of 26.5 Ma. Morphology and phylogeny reveal that P. linxiaense is the highly derived species of the genus Paraceratherium, and its clade with P. lepidum has a tight relationship to P. bugtiense. Based on the paleogeographical literature, P. bugtiense represents a range expansion of Paraceratherium from Central Asia via the Tibetan region. By the late Oligocene, P. lepidum and P. linxiaense were found in the north side of the Tibetan Plateau. The Tibetan region likely hosted some areas with low elevation, possibly under 2000 m during Oligocene, and the lineage of giant rhinos could have dispersed freely along the eastern coast of the Tethys Ocean and perhaps through some lowlands of this region.
Finally, an artist's reconstruction
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