| Paleoparadoxia Temporal range: Miocene |
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| Skeleton of Paleoparadoxia on display | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Desmostylia |
| Family: | Paleoparadoxiidae |
| Genus: | Paleoparadoxia Tokunaga, 1939 |
| Type species | |
| Paleoparadoxia tabatai |
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| Species | |
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Paleoparadoxia[1] is a genus of large, herbivorous marine mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch (20 to 10 million years ago). It ranged from the waters of Japan (Tsuyama and Yanagawa), to Alaska to the north, and down to Baja California, Mexico. It is believed there are only two complete fossil skeletons in the world, one at Fukushima Museum in Fukushima Prefecture Japan and one at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Northern California.
Paleoparadoxia is thought to have fed primarily on seaweeds and sea grasses. The jaws and the angle of the teeth resemble a backhoe bucket. Its bulky body was well adapted for swimming and underwater foraging, but not for extended deep-sea living or deep diving. Like the modern-day seal, Paleoparadoxia probably came on shore for breeding and basking in the sun. It also resembled the Desmostylus.