Indricotheriinae
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Forstercooperia |
The Indricotheriinae are a group of long-limbed hornless rhinoceroses that evolved in the Eocene epoch and continued through to the early Miocene. Originally modest sized animals, evolving from small fast-running lightly built animals with no similarity to modern rhinos, but during the late Eocene and early Oligocene they quickly grew to huge size, flourishing in the rainforests of what is now Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Southwest China, but was then a coastal region, as well as further inland throughout central Asia.
The indricotheres reached the peak of their evolution from the Middle Oligocene through to the early Miocene, where they had become truly gigantic animals, represented by the specialised genera Indricotherium and Paraceratherium (these may or may not be different names for the same animal, although there were still several distinct species). These were the largest land mammals that ever lived, equalling the medium-sized sauropod dinosaurs in size. However, they remained limited to the Kazakhstan, Pakistan, western and norther China, and Mongolia which at the time were part of a large lush lowland region. The collision with the Indian subcontinent, and the Himalayan uplift resulted in global cooling and desertification, and the disappearance of their forest habitats resulted in the extinction of these giant ungulates.
[edit] References and External links
- Indricotherium
- Discovery Channel - Answers from Dr. Mikael Fortelius
- Lucas, S. G. & Sobus, J. C., (1989), The Systematics of Indricotheres. 358-378 in Prothero, D. R. & Schoch, R. M., (eds.) 1989: The Evolution of Perissodactyls, Oxford University Press, New York, New York & Oxford, England
- Hyracodontidae: Indricotheriinae - Mikko's Phylogeny Archive - follows Lucas and Sorbus
