Gigatransferia

Gigatransferia, also known as gigantotheria, is a term used in paleontology to describe a group of extinct mammals that were characterized by their enormous size. The term was coined by paleontologist Robert Bakker in 1986 to distinguish these large mammals from other groups of large mammals, such as the megatheria, which were primarily native to South America. Gigatransferia includes several well-known genera, such as Indricotherium, the largest land mammal known to have ever lived, and Paraceratherium, which was one of the largest terrestrial animals of the Cenozoic era.

The gigatransferia evolved during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, with the majority of species appearing in Africa and Asia. These mammals were herbivores, with some species having specialized diets, such as Paraceratherium, which had a unique digestive system adapted to a diet of tough, fibrous plants. The gigatransferia had a diverse range of body sizes, from the small Indricotherium to the massive Paraceratherium, which could weigh up to 15 tons.

The extinction of the gigatransferia is not well understood, but it is thought to have been caused by a combination of factors, including climate change and competition with other large mammals. The last known gigatransferia species went extinct around 10,000 years ago, around the same time as the extinction of the large mammals of the Americas, known as the megafauna. The study of gigatransferia provides valuable insights into the evolution and ecology of large mammals, and continues to be an active area of research in paleontology.