This Prehistoric Rhino Was Taller Than A Giraffe And Four Times Heavier Than An Elephant
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Modern-day rhinos, which weigh anywhere from 1,800 to 5,100 pounds, are no lightweights. However, they pale in comparison to their prehistoric cousin that roamed China about 26 million years ago. The massive mammal weighed 46,000 pounds — almost as much as four large African elephants. Standing at a height of 23ft (7m), it was also taller than a giraffe.
Dr. Tao Deng, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team stumbled upon remains of two specimens of the massive rhino in the Linxia Basin in northwest China in 2015. One fossil comprised a perfectly preserved skull, jawbone, teeth, and the atlas vertebra, which connects the head to the spine. The second fossil consisted of three complete vertebrae.
A closer examination revealed that the two specimens were a previously unknown new species of the Paraceratherium — an extinct genus of the hornless rhino. The animals, among the largest mammals to walk on land, roamed across Asia during the Oligocene period (34 million to 23 million years ago).
The researchers, who called the new species Paraceratherium linxiaens, say this is the sixth and largest member of the rhinos found to date. The skull size indicates that the P. linxiaens had a long, thick neck and a short torso, while the vertebrae point to a more flexible neck than other Paraceratheriums. The scientists believe the animals sported four bony legs, similar to those of a giraffe, and were fast runners.
Dr. Deng's team, who published their findings in the journal Communications Biology on June 17, 2021, believe the new species is related to the Paraceratherium bugtiense, which lived in Pakistan. They speculate that the massive animals migrated to South Asia in search of food during the early Oligocene period. They then most likely ventured back northward when weather conditions in Central Asia improved.
"Animal migration is linked to climate change. So 31 million years ago, when the Mongolian plateau dried up, they moved south," Dr. Deng said to CNN.
The precious fossils are now being safeguarded at the Hezheng Paleozoological Museum in China's north-central Gansu province. Dr. Deng and his team next hope to reconstruct the creature’s muscles to obtain a better estimate of the ancient rhino's body mass.
Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, CNN.com, Nature.com
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137 Comments
evil-fox-evilalmost 4 yearsYou should look up Entealadon and it lived in the same time. It was 6 feet tall! 😫😫 It looked like a hipo and ate anything it wanted to!
beeberlinalmost 4 yearsDANG! That thing is BIGGGGGGGGG! I mean wow just look at it!😂
aiden866almost 4 yearsOMG
qwaszxalmost 4 yearsThat is one giant rhino I wish I could be in it right now!!! I would be on its head and enjoy myself😆
pickaxeaxealmost 4 yearsThat's a big rhino! If I were riding that rhino I would probably cry because I'm very afraid of heights.
eli412almost 4 yearsGirafaphant- beeberlinalmost 4 yearsLol but perfect name girafaphant!😆😂✌
unipuppy1668almost 4 yearsThat is big if i was alive in that time i bet thats what they called an Uber for animals to get around.Lol.
sprizzalmost 4 yearsIf a T_Rex saw this land mammal, it would most definitely bow. XD This is one animal I would not want to have an encounter with at night if I were doing an hike. I was pretty confused when I saw the title of it being a rhino, but being one of the tallest land mammals the weight of 4 African Elephants, with a height taller than the modern day giraffe.
judgment11almost 4 yearsvery big, and thats all I have to say here
samriddhalmost 4 yearsprehistoric is so large but I think t-rex dinosaur is more larger than prehistoric but still its amazing