Iranotherium

Name: Iranotherium ‭(‬Iran beast‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ih-ran-o-fee-ree-um.
Named By: Ringstr�m‭ ‬-‭ ‬1924.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Perissodactyla,‭ ‬Rhinocerotidae.
Species: I.‭ ‬morgani.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Between‭ ‬3-4‭ ‬meters long.‭ ‬Males larger than females.
Known locations: China and Iran.
Time period: Miocene.
Fossil representation: Skulls and post cranial remains of several individuals.




       Iranotherium was a genus of rhinoceros that was once fairly widespread across central Asia.‭ ‬Individuals of Iranotherium were between three and four meters long,‭ ‬though as with other known kinds of rhinoceroses,‭ ‬the males would have been larger than females.‭ ‬The largest males could approach sizes up to four meters long.‭ ‬The disappearance of Iranotherium coincides with the rise of the genus Sinotherium,‭ ‬indicating that Sinotherium may have evolved from Iranotherium,‭ ‬and/or outcompeted the earlier genus.‭ ‬The Sinotherium genus is believed to eventually give rise to the better known Elasmotherium.

Further reading
- New discovery of Iranotherium morgani (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the late Miocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China, and its sexual dimorphism. - Journal of vertebrate Paleontology, 25(2), 442–450. - T. Deng - 2005.
-‭ ‬Neogene Rhinoceroses of the Lingxia Basin‭ (‬Gansu,‭ ‬China‭) ‬Cour.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tado Deng‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites