Rhinoceros Giants: The Paleobiology of IndricotheresA book for everyone fascinated by the huge beasts that once roamed the earth, Rhinoceros Giants: The Paleobiology of the Indricotheres, introduces a prime candidate for the largest land mammal that ever lived - the giant hornless rhinoceros, Indricotherium. These massive animals lived in Asia and Eurasia for more than 14 million years, about 37 to 23 million years ago. They had skulls 2 metres long, stood over 7 meters at the shoulder, and were nearly twice as heavy as the largest elephant ever recorded, tipping the scales at 20,000 kg. Fortunately, the big brutes were vegetarians, although they must have made predators think twice before trying to bring them down. In this book for lovers of ancient creatures great and small, Donald R. Prothero tells their story, from their discovery by palaeontologists just a century ago to the latest research on how they lived and died, with some interesting side trips along the way. |
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American Museum amynodonts Andrews animals Antoine Aral Sea artiodactyls Asia Asian Badlands Baluchitherium body Borissiak brontotheres bugtiense Chadronian China Chinese climate cotheres crests Dera Bugti dinosaurs Dzungariotherium early Miocene early Oligocene elephants Emry entelodonts Eocene Eocene-Oligocene eratherium Ergilian evolution expeditions extinct faunas Figure flora Forster Cooper Forstercooperia Fortelius fossil fossil mammals genera genus Geological giant Granger and Gregory Henry Fairfield Osborn horn Hsanda Gol Formation huge hyaenodont Hyrachyus Hyracodon hyracodonts incisors indri indricotheres Indricotherium Juxia Kazakhstan land mammal late Eocene late Oligocene living lower Lucas and Sobus mammalian mammals mastodonts McKenna mean annual temperature middle Eocene Miocene Mongolia Museum of Natural Natural History North America Osborn Pakistan Paleogene paleontologists Paraceratherium Perissodactyla predators primitive proboscideans Prothero Qiu and Wang region rhinoceros rhinocerotids rhinos rodents sauropod scientists sequence skeleton skull Soviet species stratigraphy svita taxa teeth tonnes tooth tusks upper molars Urtinotherium Vertebrate Paleontology