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, they evolved from small, fast-running, lightly built animals with little similarity to modern rhinos. However, during the late Eocene and early Oligocene, they quickly grew to huge sizes. They flourished in the rainforests of a coastal region that became Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Southwest China. Indricotherines lived further inland throughout central Asia as well.
The indricotherines 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 specialized genera Indricotherium and Paraceratherium (these genera may be synonymous, but several distinct species probably remain valid). These were the largest land mammals that ever lived, equaling the medium-sized sauropod dinosaurs in size. However, they remained confined to Kazakhstan, Pakistan, western and northern 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 led to global cooling, desertification, and the disappearance of forest habitats, which 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
