Paraceratherium, mainly living inthe oligocene epoch, which includes 12 genera, of which the Junggar giant rhinoceros is the largest terrestrialmammalThe total length is 5-12m (nose to tail), and the maximum body length is about 823 meters, with a maximum shoulder height of 528m[1]When the neck is vertical to the ground, the height can reach 3-9 meters, and the shoulder height is 1.9-5 meters!It weighs about 3-20 tons.The giant rhinoceros family became extinct in the early Miocene.Giant rhinoceros is the largest known terrestrial mammal. Giant rhinoceros is a close relative of rhinoceros, which was distributed in the forests of Central Asia about 34 million to 23 million years ago.Because the giant rhinoceros is tall and has a long neck, they feed on the leaves on the tree crown.Scientists believe that the migration from forest to grassland eventually led to the extinction of giant rhinoceros.
In June 2021, it was reported that Chinese and American scientists had discovered a new species of giant rhinoceros Linxia giant rhinoceros.[4]
Rhinoceros is a very large family, which belongs to the rhinoceros superfamily of the order Odaria in the classification position.The giant rhinoceros is only a small extinct branch of this huge family.The characteristics of giant rhinoceros are that in addition to its huge size, its neck and limbs are stretched more backward [from above the third upper premolar (P3) to above the fourth upper premolar (P4)[1]。
Eostrichos(Juxia), distributed in northern China and eastern Mongolia in Eocene, is small in size,Sharamulen's first giant rhinocerosCompleteness ofskeletonIt is the most well preserved giant rhinoceros fossil, which is exhibited in the China Ancient Animal Museum.
Urtinotherium (also known as Urdin rhinoceros), distributed in the Late Eocene, includes the small Erden rhinoceros andMiddle Erdeng giant rhinocerosTwo, fossils were found in Yunnan and Inner Mongolia of China.
The genus Paraceratherium, widely distributed in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and Pakistan, is the most famous population under the giant rhinoceros family. The giant rhinoceros of Ge family and larger beautiful giant rhinoceros have been found in China（Tianshan Deputy Giant Rhinoceros）Two,Beijing Natural History MuseumThe giant rhinoceros fossils in this genus are the combination of Paraceratherium and Indian.
Benaratherium, a small giant rhinoceros once distributed in the Caucasus.
Aralotherium, whose fossils are mainly found in Kazakhstan, has also found a small number of fossils in China, and is designated as Sul's Aral Sea giant rhinoceros.
The genus Dzungariotherium is the largest population under the giant rhinoceros family. The largest giant rhinoceros in Tianshan, with a body length of 9 meters, a height of more than 7 meters, a shoulder height of 5 meters, and a weight of about 15 tons, also includes the smaller giant rhinoceros in Turpan and the largest giant rhinocerosTianshan Junggar Giant Rhinoceros(Only mandibular stumps were found, exhibited inChinese Ancient Animal Museum）The most complete fossil is Horgos Junggar giant rhinoceros skull, hidden inShanghai Natural History Museum。
Turpan giant rhinoceros (Turpan otherium), distributed in Xinjiang and Gansu in China, is the latest giant rhinoceros, including the beautiful model species Turpan giant rhinoceros and the undetermined Yagou Turpan giant rhinoceros
In addition to the subfamily MegarhinocerosFursteniaceae, including two genera of Rhinoceros fuscus and Rhinoceros fuscus.
characteristic
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Profile features
Giant rhinoceros population living in China
In addition to the characteristics of giant rhinoceros, its neck and limbs are stretched more and more backward [from the top of the third upper premolar (P3) to the top of the fourth upper premolar (P4)], the front of the premaxillary bone gradually bends down, the first upper and lower incisors become larger and larger, the second and third pairs of incisors, canine teeth and the first pair of premolar teeth gradually degenerate, and then disappear.Therefore, the late evolution of the giant rhinoceros family to such a huge species is a process, is gradual.[1]
There is no horn on the head, and the head, neck and limbs are very long. When standing up, the shoulder height can reach 5-6 meters, the body length is 12-13 meters, the body length is 9 meters, and the weight is 15 tons. It is the largest known terrestrial mammal.The skull is long and low, about 1m long, but it looks small compared with its huge body.Frontal eminence without horns;The nasal bone is smooth and bent downward.The neck is very long and the limbs are columnar.No horn on the head.The tooth structure is simple. The tooth groove is close to the pepper groove,[2]There is a pair of blunt incisors;Buccal toothLow crown, anterior acetabulum nearly rectangular, first anteriorMolarsThe protocusp is special, with a large fourth cusp and poorly developedPosterior cusp；The original tip of the second premolar forms a long hooked ridge to connect with the fourth tip, and the posterior tip is thin but not connected with the fourth tip;The posterior cusp of the third premolar is thin and prominent, bent within the fourth cusp;Simple molars;Upper first molar with undevelopedContra anterior stab；The upper third molar trapezoid is primitive in structure.It is estimated that they mainly feed on the tender leaves on the upper branches.
environment
EurasianTertiaryIn the middle period (Eocene Miocene), China was the origin area and the center of evolution and development of these animals.Earliest and more primitiveFossilFound in ChinaEoceneIn stratum[3]。
The living rhinoceros only lives in South Asia, Southeast Asia, most parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert and parts of North Africa.They live in tropical and subtropical savannah and shrub areas.They eat all kinds of plants, and mainly succulent plants.Among the living rhinoceroses, only the African white rhinoceros (Ceratotherum simum) lives on the grassland and mainly eats grass.Asian rhinoceros mainly eat the same height, or[1]Lower plants, such as seeds, leaves, twigs, bark, grass and reeds.They like wet and warm animals.According to the ecology of living rhinoceros, it is likely that giant rhinoceros also likes wet and warm animals.
Distribution range
It is produced in Asia and Europe.Mongolia, China, TurkeyKazakhstan、PakistanThey all found something.China has found primitive fossils in the Eocene strata of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Yunnan, which are the earliest fossils and are named Xiaojuxi
The giant rhinoceros family is a native of Asia, that is to say, they originated in Asia, mainly distributed in Asia, and later may expand slightly westward to the Caucasus, Romania, Yugoslavia and other places in Eastern Europe, never to North America, Western Europe and Africa.They have been found in China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Pakistan and other places in Asia.Among them, China has found the most abundant fossils with the most types.
The earliest and most original members of the giant rhinoceros family are the small giant rhinoceros (Juxia sharamurunensis) found in the Middle Eocene Salamulun Formation in Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, and the latest representatives are the giant rhinoceros (Dzungariotherium orgosensis) found in the Upper Oligocene of Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China and Bugti, PakistanParaceratherium bugtiense in the region.The geological history of the giant rhinoceros family is from the Middle Eocene to the Late Oligocene.[1]
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The most complete fossil
Giant rhinoceros fossil
It is also the largest giant rhinoceros fossil in China. It was unearthed in Shanshan County, Turpan, Xinjiang in the 1990s.Now it is displayed in Xinjiang Turpan Regional Museum.It is connected by several skeletons in the shape of giant rhinoceros.It is 4m high and 8.9m long.It is the largest giant rhinoceros fossil found in China.It is estimated that the body weight before death is about 15 tons.
The world's largest giant rhinoceros fossil was found in MongoliaCall Laer。Distinguishing feature
Revised identification characteristics of Paracerateriinae Osborn:
Others in the same periodRhinocerotidae (Except for amphibious rhinoceros) Compared with large rhinoceros, the shoulder height is 3.7 oh and the body length (without tail) is about 5.9 to 8. The estimated weight is about 4 to 8.
The skull is relatively small compared with the whole body. The skull is long and narrow, and the female and male have no horns;The skull, especially the part behind the articular kyphosis, is longer than a quarter of the length from the articular kyphosis to P2.The accessory occipital process and the posterior tympanic process are united in a wide and thick plate like structure, leaving a wide gap between them and the posterior articular process, so as to form a closed false external auditory canal.
nasal boneThe free part is narrow and long, and the cross section is a triangle with sharp angle downward;The nasal notch is deep and long, and the posterior edge is above P3-M2.The rostral end (the anterior part of the premaxilla and maxilla and the joint part of the mandible) is very long or highly retracted.The tooth type is from 3.1.4.3 | 3.1.4.3 to 1.0.3.31.0.2.3.The first pair of upper and lower incisors, or the largest or only pair of incisors, is very large or highly retracted;The upper part extends downward, and the lower part extends forward or diagonally downwards;Canine teeth are slightly larger than the third pair of incisors until they are completely retracted;Buccal toothIt is a primitive low crown "rhinoceros tooth": the anterior appendage and anterior apex of the upper molar are small and nearly equal in size;M1 to M2 are II shaped, the rear tip is long ridge shaped, M3 is triangular, the rear end of the outer ridge remains at the base of the crown, m1 to m3 are U+L shaped, M3 does not have the third page.
Upper anterior molars Molar teethThe degree of degeneration is strengthened backward: p2 is hemimolar, the secondary cusp is deeply separated from the primary cusp, and the posterior ridge is nearly formed. P3 is secondary molar, the primary cusp is fused at the secondary cusp to form a hook shaped ridge, and the rear end is beyond the posterior cusp backward, and the posterior cusp is semilunar shaped. After moderate wear, it is connected with the external ridge and the secondary cusp;P3-P4 has a long root base, from the lower internal apex to a small solitary cone to the lower internal ridge formed with the lower apex.
The cervical spine (C1-C7) is longer than the head.The atlas cone wing is short laterally;C3-C7 cone head and cone socket are nearly circular and transversely wide dumbbell shaped;The spinous process is weak and small.Broad transverse process;At the later stage, the foramen of transverse process strongly expanded, making the vertebral body empty.The spinous processes of the last three thoracic vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae are vertical or backward inclined;frontSpinous process of thoracic vertebraWith a broad and deep posterior fovea.4-6 lumbar vertebrae;The anterior and posterior articular surfaces of all or posterior lumbar vertebrae are concave and convex.
The long bones in the limbs grow from thin to unusually thick.The scapula is roughly the same length as the humerus, and the radius and ulna are much longer than the humerus.The width of the scapula is about 3/5-3/4 of the length (height), and the supraspinatus fossa and infraspinatus fossa are nearly equal in size, with sprouting teeth like acromion.The width of the humeral head is greater than the length (anteroposterior direction), the deltoid tuberosity is weak, the lateral epicondyle is not developed or developed, but the position is moved upward, and the outer edge is straight.The radial eminence is a large rough surface, but never forms a deep concave, and the distal end is articulated with three proximal carpals.The ulna is not strongly curved, and the cubital process is relatively short, mainly extending backward.The posterior tubercle of all carpal bones is small, and the distal and proximal articular surfaces are relatively flat;In the late genera and species, "inhibitory surface" appears in the front, and the giant bone becomes wider than tall.The third trochanter of femur is weak;The talus changes from high and wide to much wider than high, and the trochlear ridge and groove change from high and deep to low and shallow.The forefoot is from four fingers to three fingers.The third metacarpal and metatarsal bones are particularly strong, and the distal trochlea is nearly symmetrical;The side metacarpal and metatarsal bones become thinner, turn to the middle metacarpal and metatarsal bones to measure the rear, and the middle phalangeal bone changes from column or cube to oval disc.
Discovery
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In June 2021, it was reported that Chinese and American scientists had discovered a new species of giant rhinoceros Linxia giant rhinoceros, and combined with other evidence, revealed the migration and diffusion process of this prehistoric giant across the Qinghai Tibet Plateau.Relevant research results have been published in the international journal Communication Biology on June 17, 2021.[4]
