Largest mammal 'Paraceratherium' to ever walk on Earth was a mixture of rhino and giraffe, researchers claim

The largest land mammal to ever live on Earth had unique features, combining the traits of both rhino and giraffe. The creature, now extinct, is known as Paraceratherium, according to IFLScience. They lived from the early to the late Oligocene epoch (34–23 million years ago) and were mostly found in present-day Asia, specifically in countries like China, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Standing at 24 feet, they dwarf many massive present-day mammals, but their position as the largest ever mammals has not gone unchallenged by any means.

New Species: Paraceratherium

A new species of Paraceratherium, also known as the giant rhino, was uncovered by experts at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in 2015, according to CNN. They analyzed rare complete fossils from the Oligocene epoch belonging to this species from the Linxia basin in Gansu Province, northwestern China. The species was named Paraceratherium linxiaense or Linxia Giant Rhino by experts. In the discovered remains, the team detected a complete skull and a jaw. The mammal was equal to six elephants in size and weighed around 24 tons, according to the team's investigation.

Researchers determined that its shoulders could have been 16 feet above the ground, while its head could have been 23 feet elevated from the ground. "This is the largest mammal ever to have lived on land," Deng Tao from IVPP declared. Before discovering these findings, the features of Paraceratherium were determined by a partially reconstructed skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History. The species on average weighed 17 tons, according to this construction. The 2015 readings further elevated the stature of this extinct mammal. 

How Did They Migrate?

To date, researchers have determined that the mammal possibly inhabited the northern part of the Tibetan plateau around 31 million years ago. Therafter, they moved southwest in Kazakhstan and then Pakistan. The one uncovered in 2015 supposedly descended from a giant rhino that lived in Pakistan. This species may have had to cross the Tibetan Plateau to reach Linxia. If this assertion turns out to be true, then the plateau was lower in elevation than it is today.

Multiple other climatic insights also come forth due to these migration insights. "In addition, animal migration is linked to climate change. So 31 million years ago, when the Mongolian plateau dried up, they moved south," Tao added. "Then the weather got wet and they went back to the north. Therefore, this discovery is of great significance to the study of the whole plateau uplift process, climate, and environment," he said.

Some Other Claims 

Over the years, several creatures have contested the title of being the largest mammal to walk on Earth. Some experts claim that the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon that lived around 700,000–50,000 years ago could be larger than the giant rhinos. However, other researchers have rejected this assertion, as only a femur fragment is available for analysis of this creature, and readings from it are not enough to determine its height. Essentially, at present, the rhinos are overpowering the elephants when it comes to this honor.