Fossils of giant rhino found in China. It is the largest mammal ever and taller than giraffe.
Giant Rhino/Photo credits: NBC News
Giant Rhinos Fossils: Fossils of two giant rhinos have been discovered in northwestern China. The Paraceratherium linxiaense—among the largest mammal to walk on land are dated back about 22 million years ago.
They are among the most recent relics of the colossal beast, which was discovered amid much fanfare early last century. Giant rhinos which weighed 21 tonnes were much larger than modern rhinos and stand more than 20 feet tall at the shoulder. They are equivalent to four large African elephants.
These giant rhinos are taller than a giraffe. The new findings were gathered from fossils discovered in Gansu Province.
The fossils found near the Wangjiachuan village in 2015 indicate it as an entirely new species. This was different from other known giant rhinos, in a study published in the Communications Biology journal, scientists said.
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A study of Dr Deng Tao of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing explained that a completely preserved skull and jawbone, for instance, indicated that the animal had featured a slender skull, as well as a prehensile nose trunk. This is similar to that of the modern tapir.
According to research published in the journal Communications Biology, the remains had been an indispensable part of their study to mark the differences in their skeletons and classification of them as a new species. It proved helpful in reconstructing the ancient animals. Scientists dubbed it Paraceratherium linxiaense. This is the first name from its wider group of giant rhinos, but the second from the region where it was found.
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After the expedition of famous American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, Giant rhinos in the 1920s came into existence in Mongolia and China.
Andrews’ team discovered that the fossils of giant rhinoceros are largely unexplored in the Gobi Desert. He returned a fossilised skull of one beast to New York. This fossilised skull has been put up for display in the American Museum of Natural History.
