Paraceratherium
| Paraceratherium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Fossil | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Skeleton
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Superfamily: | Rhinocerotoidea |
| Family: | Hyracodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Indricotheriinae Borissiak, 1923 |
| Genus: | Paraceratherium Borissiak, 1915 |
Paraceratherium, also known as Indricotherium or Baluchitherium or just Indricothere, was a huge fossil mammal. It lived in Asia during the late Oligocene and early Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period, (37–32 million years ago).
The Indricothere is the largest land mammal known. The average size of adults was 5m (16.5 ft) tall, 8m (26.5 ft) in length, with a weight of about 15 tons. It had a long, low, hornless skull and long frontal and nasal bones.
It was a herbivore that stripped leaves from trees. Its front teeth had a single pair of incisors in either jaw. They were round, pointed, and so large that they looked like small tusks. The upper incisors pointed straight downwards, while the lower ones jutted outwards. The upper lips was evidently extremely mobile. The neck was very long, the body big and strong, and the limbs long and thick, column-like.
