Prehistoric life
Weighing some 20 tonnes and standing 5.5 metres at the shoulder, Paraceratherium currently holds the record as the largest land mammal ever identified. It was a relative of the rhinoceros, belonging to a family of hornless rhinos, but had a giraffe-like lifestyle, feeding on the leaves of trees. Paraceratherium also goes by the names of Indricotherium and Baluchitherium, as the fossil discoveries have been given many different names. There were several different species of Paraceratherium.
Scientific name: Paraceratherium
Rank: Genus
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Gentle giants
Indricotheres experienced both pros and cons of being outsize animals.
Indricotheres experienced both pros and cons of being outsize animals.
Skull splitters
Two outsize indricothere bulls compete for the attention of a female.
Two outsize indricothere bulls compete for the attention of a female.
Dried up
Mongolia's ancient mammals are under stress from prolonged drought.
Mongolia's ancient mammals are under stress from prolonged drought.
Oligocene giants
Eight times the size of their rhino descendants Indricotheres are the new super-sizers.
Eight times the size of their rhino descendants Indricotheres are the new super-sizers.
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Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
Oligocene epochParaceratherium, also commonly known as Indricotherium or Baluchitherium (see taxonomic discussion below), is an extinct genus of gigantic hornless rhinoceros-like mammals of the family Hyracodontidae, endemic to Eurasia and Asia during the Oligocene epoch. It was first discovered in 1910 in Balochistan of what is now Pakistan, hence the name, during an expedition by the English paleontologist and Cambridge University Museum of Zoology director Sir Clive Forster Cooper.
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