Paraceratheriidae

{{Short description|Extinct family of mammals}} {{automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Middle Eocene to Early Miocene, {{Fossil range|47|23}} | image = Палеонтологический_музей_Орлова_(20221008151051).jpg | image_caption = Skeleton of ''Paraceratherium'' | image2 = Juxia sharamurunense.jpg | image2_alt = Juxia skeleton | image2_caption = Skeleton of ''Juxia'' | taxon = Paraceratheriidae | authority = Osborn, 1923 | subdivision_ranks = Subgroups | subdivision = * {{extinct}}'''Forstercooperiinae'''? ** {{extinct}}''Forstercooperia'' ** {{extinct}}''Pappaceras'' * {{extinct}}'''Paraceratheriinae''' ** {{extinct}}''Aralotherium'' ** {{extinct}}''Dzungariotherium'' ** {{extinct}}''Juxia'' ** {{extinct}}''Paraceratherium'' ** {{extinct}}''Turpanotherium'' ** {{extinct}}''Urtinotherium'' | synonyms_ref = <ref name="lucas&sobus1989"/> | synonyms = * Baluchitheriinae Osborn, 1923 * Indricotheriinae Borissiak, 1923 * Forstercooperiidae? Kretzoi, 1940<ref name="wood1963"/> }} '''Paraceratheriidae''' is an extinct family of long-limbed, hornless rhinocerotoids, native to Asia and Eastern Europe<ref name="Deng-2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Deng |first1=Tao |last2=Lu |first2=Xiaokang |last3=Wang |first3=Shiqi |last4=Flynn |first4=Lawrence J. |last5=Sun |first5=Danhui |last6=He |first6=Wen |last7=Chen |first7=Shanqin |date=2021-06-17 |title=An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution |journal=Communications Biology |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=639 |doi=10.1038/s42003-021-02170-6 |issn=2399-3642 |pmc=8211792 |pmid=34140631}}</ref> that originated in the Eocene epoch and lived until the beginning of the Miocene. They represent some of the largest terrestrial mammals to have ever lived.

== Description == [[File:Paraceratherium-Scale-Diagram-SVG-Steveoc86.svg|left|thumb|Size comparison one of the largest known ''Paraceratherium'' individuals compared to a giraffe and a human]]The necks and limbs of paraceratheriids are elongate relative to those of living rhinoceroses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hutchinson |first=John R. |date=2021-06-01 |title=The evolutionary biomechanics of locomotor function in giant land animals |url=https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/224/11/jeb217463/269062/The-evolutionary-biomechanics-of-locomotor |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |language=en |volume=224 |issue=11 |doi=10.1242/jeb.217463 |issn=0022-0949 |pmc=8214834 |pmid=34100541}}</ref> The earliest paraceratheres like ''Juxia'' were comparable in size with living rhinoceroses with a body mass of three quarters to one and a half tons, while later members grew substantially larger, with the largest representatives (''Dzungariotherium'' and ''Paraceratherium'') estimated to have a body mass of around 17 to 20 tons, making them the largest land mammals to have ever lived (though possibly equalled or exceeded by some proboscideans in body mass).<ref name="proboscideans">{{Cite journal |last1=Larramendi |first1=A. |year=2016 |title=Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans |url=https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app61/app001362014.pdf |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=61 |doi=10.4202/app.00136.2014 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Shijie |last2=Jiangzuo |first2=Qigao |last3=Deng |first3=Tao |date=2022-07-06 |title=Body mass of the giant rhinos (Paraceratheriinae, Mammalia) and its tendency in evolution |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2095908 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2022.2095908 |s2cid=250366746 |issn=0891-2963|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Non-forstercoopine paraceratheriids are united by the possession of a retracted nasal notch, a lack of contact between the premaxilla and nasal bones of the skull, enlarged upper and lower first incisors and small lower canine teeth, along with characters relating to the size and shape of the molars and premolars.<ref name="Deng-2021" />left|thumb|Artist's reconstruction of ''Paraceratherium''. It stood about {{convert|4.8|m|1|abbr=off}} tall at the shoulder and weighed {{Convert|15|to|20|tonnes|lb}}.

== Range == Their range spanned from Eastern Europe in the west, the Indian subcontinent in the south, to Northern China in the east.<ref name="Deng-2021" />

== Ecology == Paraceratheriids are thought to have been primarily browsers.<ref name="2011 isotopes">{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=C. |last2=Bentaleb |first2=I. |last3=Antoine |first3=P. -O. |year=2011 |title=Pakistan mammal tooth stable isotopes show paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes since the early Oligocene |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=311 |issue=1–2 |pages=19–29 |bibcode=2011PPP...311...19M |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.07.010}}</ref> == Taxonomy ==

Although considered a subfamily of the family Hyracodontidae by some authors, recent authors treat the paraceratheres as a distinct family, Paraceratheriidae (Wang et al. 2016 recover hyracodonts as more basal than paraceratheres).<ref name="Qiu2007" /><ref name="Wang2016" /> Some authors choose to include the small, primitive forsterocoopines (''Forstercooperia, Pappaceras'') within the family,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Hai-Bing |last2=Bai |first2=Bin |last3=Meng |first3=Jin |last4=Wang |first4=Yuan-Qing |date=2018-03-21 |title=A New Species of Forstercooperia (Perissodactyla: Paraceratheriidae) from Northern China with a Systematic Revision of Forstercooperiines |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1206/3897.1 |journal=American Museum Novitates |language=en |volume=3897 |issue=3897 |pages=1–41 |doi=10.1206/3897.1 |issn=0003-0082}}</ref> while they are excluded by other authors.<ref name="Deng-2021" />{{clear left}}Cladogram after Deng et al. 2021:<ref name="Deng-2021" />{{clade |label1=Rhinocerotoidea |1={{clade |1=''Hyrachyus'' |2={{clade |1=Amynodontidae |2={{clade |1=Hyracodontidae |2={{clade |1= ''Uintaceras'' + Rhinocerotidae (modern rhinoceroses) |label2='''Paraceratheriidae''' (s.l.) |2={{clade |1=''Pappaceras'' |2={{clade |1=''Forstercooperia'' |label2=Paraceratheriidae (s.s.) |2={{clade |1=''Juxia'' |2={{clade |1=''Urtinotherium'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Turpanotherium'' |2=''Dzungariotherium'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Aralotherium'' |2=''Paraceratherium'' }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="lucas&sobus1989">{{Cite book | last1 = Lucas | first1 = S.G. | author-link = Spencer G. Lucas | last2 = Sobus | first2 = J.C. | author-link2 = Jay Sobus | chapter = The Systematics of Indricotheres | editor-last = Prothero | editor-first = D. R. | editor2-last = Schoch | editor2-first = R. M. | title = The Evolution of Perissodactyls | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1989 | location = New York, New York & Oxford, England | pages = 358–378 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=08YPAQAAMAAJ | isbn = 978-0-19-506039-3 | oclc = 19268080}}</ref>  <ref name="Qiu2007">Z. Qiu and B. Wang. 2007. Paracerathere Fossils of China. Palaeontologia Sinica, New Series C 193(29):1-396</ref> <ref name="Wang2016">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=H. |last2=Bai |first2=B. |last3=Meng |first3=J. |last4=Wang |first4=Y. |title=Earliest known unequivocal rhinocerotoid sheds new light on the origin of Giant Rhinos and phylogeny of early rhinocerotoids |journal=Scientific Reports |date=2016 |volume=6 |issue=1 |article-number=39607 |doi=10.1038/srep39607|pmid=28000789 |pmc=5175171 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016NatSR...639607W }}</ref> <ref name="wood1963">{{cite journal|last=Wood|first=H.E.|year=1963|title=A Primitive Rhinoceros from the Late Eocene of Mongolia|url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1245598571&folder=124|journal=American Museum Novitates|issue=2146|pages=1–12}}</ref>}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1094909}} Category:Paraceratheriidae Category:Aquitanian extinctions Category:Eocene first appearances Category:Prehistoric mammal families