20-Feet-Tall Prehistoric Giant Rhinos Discovered in China, Study Says
HOW OLD?!
The past has given us giant elephants in mammoths, giant tigers in sabertooths, and giant sharks in megalodons. Giant rhinos can now join the list, according to a study published Thursday. In 2015, scientists from China’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology used a newly discovered skull, jawbone, and vertebrate to reconstruct an ancient animal. Those fossils, found in the Linxia region of China’s Gansu province, led them to the discovery of a new species: Paraceratherium linxiaense, a form of giant rhinoceroses and the largest land mammal ever to walk the Earth. According to the study, the species is believed to have lived 26.5 million years ago. The mammals stood more than 20 feet tall and weighed more than 20 tons, according to the study, making them larger than mammoths. For reference, a modern rhino stands at about 6 feet tall and weighs about 2.5 tons.