New species of Paraceratherium discovered

[Prehistory Resurrection]

Paraceratherium was already a discovered prehistoric animal and one of the largest prehistoric mammals ever to live(as heavy as four African elephants) , but a new species in this genus has been discovered, named Paraceratherium linxiaense, discovered in northwestern China.

A life reconstruction of the newly described Paraceratherium linxiaense with several other mammal fauna from the Linxia Basin (Oligocene Epoch) illustrated. Picture credit: Chen Yu.

The fossil material which includes a skull and articulated mandible as well as the first cervical vertebra (atlas), as well as another neckbone and two thoracic vertebrae from a second individual were found in Late Oligocene deposits associated with the Jiaozigou Formation of Linxia Basin (Gansu Province), close to the north-eastern border of the Tibetan Plateau.

The holotype (HMV 2006) of Paraceratherium linxiaense consisting of skull and jaw material. Picture credit: The Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Standing taller than a giraffe and weighing approximately 20 tonnes, Paraceratherium linxiaense had a slender skull and a prehensile nose trunk similar to that of the modern tapir to help it to grab leaves and branches from the tops of trees, a food resource that no other animal in its environment could exploit.

[Dusty Wren]

Link to the paper, for anyone interested. Shockingly, it's open access. Thanks for making it easy this time, Nature.

Thanks for posting this, @Prehistory Resurrection. Big rhino news is always good news.

[Faelrin]

Nice to see another species of Paraceratherium discovered, in another locale. I'm glad they at least have the skull to work with.

[andrewsaurus rex]

Interesting stuff.  Does anyone know of a reference that outlines the various species and the differences between them?  I know some were larger than others and one, P. bugtiense, is thought to perhaps be the female of another species, rather than a distinct species on its own.

[Psittacoraptor]

Thanks for sharing. I've always been fascinated by Cenozoic megafauna, and found Paraceratherium to be the most interesting among the mammals. I like the paper, too. Short and concise with all the info you'd want, great illustrations and maps, and clickable references.

[Papi-Anon]

So they confirmed that at least some of the indricotheres had tapir-like trunks, huh? Pretty neat! Guess we can hope a company does a trunked Paraceratherium in the not too distant future.

[Newt]

@Papi-Anon  I don't know if "confirmed" is the word. The retracted nares and enlarged lip muscle attachment sites on all Paraceratherium skulls imply some kind of big mobile oral structure, but whether that was more tapir-, moose-, or black rhino-like, or even a mini elephant trunk, is still up for discussion.


A @andrewsaurus IIRC, Prothero's book Rhinoceros Giants goes over all the described species, but ends up lumping most of them. It's been a while since I read it so take that with a grain of salt.

[Papi-Anon]

@Papi-Anon  I don't know if "confirmed" is the word. The retracted nares and enlarged lip muscle attachment sites on all Paraceratherium skulls imply some kind of big mobile oral structure, but whether that was more tapir-, moose-, or black rhino-like, or even a mini elephant trunk, is still up for discussion.

Ah, I see. Still a cool finding.