Page 69 - Prehistoric Animals

Para-Cera-Thear-Eum

Paraceratherium

Indricotherium

Paraceratherium* is an extinct genus of mammal. It
lived in and around Eurasia during the
late Oligocene, about 34 to 23 million years ago. It was
the largest ever land mammal to walk the earth. Its size
is estimated to be around 5 metres tall at the shoulder
and about 7 metres in length.

Paraceratherium was a high browsing herbivore.
It had robust but tall pillar-like legs supporting its
huge body and a reasonably long flexible neck for high
browsing. It had a head in proportion to its body, with
a forward pointing snout. It had a large prehensile up-
per lip, for stripping the foliage from branches and a
set of incisor teeth at the front of the top and bottom
jaws. These would have been used for gripping and rip-
ping, branches and twigs.

When first named by, Sir Clive Forster Cooper
in 1911, it was generally accepted that Paraceratherium
was a relative of the rhino. This conclusion was
reached on a fossilized scull only and its apparent simi-
larities to the rhino, even though there was no evidence
of a horn ever being present. However, later a com-
plete fossilized skeleton found in China, changed peo-
ples thinking. Studies on this fossil showed Paracera-
therium had much longer and slender legs than first
thought. It also had a much longer neck. Many came to
the conclusion Paraceratherium was related more to
giraffes than rhinos. Although many disagree with the
rhino analogy many still believe it and use it in their
writings.

Paraceratherium was a gentle giant that roamed
the planet for millions of years. Due to its size it proba-
bly had no natural predators. Yet, it eventually van-
ished from the face of the earth. The mystery sur-
rounding its demise has spawned many theories as to
the cause. One, places its extinction squarely on
Paraceratheriums’ own shoulders; it was just too big to
survive in a world that was constantly changing.
*Found to be the same by S. G. Lucas and J. C. Sobus in 1989, and under the
rule ‘ First named takes priority’, Indricotherium (first named in 1915) was now to be
known as Paraceratherium (first named in 1911).