Nature never ceases to amaze us all. Over 99% of all the species that have ever lived on Earth have died out, meaning that there’s so much more to learn about our planet’s history! The term “Paraceratherium linxiaense” may not say too much for you, but you should consider remembering the name.
Paraceratherium linxiaense, or Linxia Giant Rhino, is the largest land mammal that ever existed on Earth, according to a new discovery of paleontologists that CNN writes about.
Meet Paraceratherium, the giant rhino
Paraceratherium is not only the largest land mammal that have ever walked on the Earth’s surface – it’s also a newfound species of giant rhino. A group of paleontologists working in China are responsible for the discovery. The remnants of the giant rhino were found in Asia, as a press release from the Chinese Academy of Sciences reveals.
The fossils were found in 2015 in the Linxia basin in Gansu Province, northwestern China, and the name of the beast was given by a team led by Deng Tao from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).
Image source: CNN
As Deng reveals, the huge rhino was about the same size as six elephants combined, and it was weighting 24 tons. The animal’s body was measuring about 26 feet long.
Deng declared for CNN:
Usually fossils come in pieces, but this one is complete, with a very complete skull and a very complete jaw, which is rare,
The skull was more than a meter (three feet) long, and it was very rare for a skull of that size to be preserved. We also found the cervical spine.
The beast mainly lived in Mongolia, China, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan about 31 million years ago.
