Indricotheriids

Indricotheriids were a group of extinct, giant rhinoceros-like mammals that lived in Asia during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. They are also known as Paraceratheriidae. These herbivores were among the largest land mammals ever to have lived. The most famous and largest genus is Indricotherium, often referred to as Paraceratherium.

Indricotheriids are characterized by their massive size, long necks, and relatively small heads. They lacked horns, unlike many modern rhinoceroses. Their teeth suggest a diet of leaves, twigs, and other vegetation, which they likely stripped from trees. Their long necks would have allowed them to reach foliage high up in forests. The exact distribution of indricotheriids is still debated, but fossil evidence points to their presence across central and eastern Asia, including regions that are now Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Pakistan.

The evolutionary lineage of indricotheriids is understood to have originated from earlier rhinocerotoids. Their immense size may have been an adaptation to escape predators and to access food resources unavailable to smaller herbivores. The extinction of indricotheriids is thought to be linked to environmental changes, such as shifts in vegetation and climate, that occurred during the late Miocene. Their disappearance left a significant gap in the megafauna of the time.