? Baluchitherium Conservation status: Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Superfamily: Rhinocerotidae Family: Hyracodontidae Subfamily: Indricotheriinae Borissiak, 1923 This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascideiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands... Families Equidae Tapiridae Rhinocerotidae The odd-toed ungulates or Perissodactyla are large to very large browsing and grazing mammals with relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe. ... Species Ceratotherium simum Dicerorhinus sumatrensis Diceros bicornis Rhinoceros unicornis A rhinoceros is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... Genera Forstercooperia Juxia ?Benaratherium Urtinotherium Indricotherium Paraceratherium The Indricotheriinae are a group of long-limbed hornless rhinoceroses that evolved in the Eocene and continued through to the early Miocene. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Genus: Indricotherium Species: I. transouralicum
Binomial name
Indricotherium transouralicum (Pavlova, 1922)

Baluchitherium (Indricotherium transouralicum) was a gigantic hornless rhinoceros. It lived in Asia during the late Oligocene and early Miocene epoch of the Tertiary Period, 20-30 million years ago and went extinct 10 million years ago. Binomial name Baluchitherium grangeri Baluchitherium (also called Indricotherium; full name: Baluchitherium grangeri) was a gigantic hornless rhinoceros. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) A rhinoceros (commonly called a rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... The Oligocene epoch is a geologic period of time that extends from about 33. ... The Miocene epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23 to 5. ... The Tertiary period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 64 million years ago to the start of the Quaternary period about 1. ...

It is widely known by its synonym Baluchitherium grangeri (Henry Fairfield Osborn, 1923) but the rules of scientific classification are that first publication takes priority, and the name Indricotherium is older. Henry Fairfield Osborn (August 8, 1857 — November 6, 1935) was an American paleontologist and geologist. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ...

There is some disagreement over whether this is the same animal as Paraceratherium, named by Forster Cooper in 1911. If it is then Indricotherium becomes a junior sysnonym for Paraceratherium. Lucas and Sorbus 1989 argue for synonymy, and consider that the differences between the two are of species level at most, and may even be the result of sexual dimorphism in a single species, with the larger more robust Indricotherium with larger incisors being probably the male, and the more gracile Paraceratherium the female. Others however have expressed doubts on this (concerning the interpretation of the shape of the skull). Even if these two do turn out to be distinct genera, they would still be very similar in size and appearance. Binomial name Paraceratherium bugtiense (Pilgrim, 1908) Paraceratherium bugtiense was a gigantic hornless rhinoceros, whose fossils have been found in the Chitarwata Formation of the Bugti Hills, Balochistan. ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Female (left) and male Common Pheasant, illustrating the dramatic difference in form between the sexes Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. ... Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. ...

Indricotherium/Baluchitherium is believed to have been the largest land mammal ever to have lived. It stood 5.5 m (18 ft) high at the shoulders and was 9 m (30 ft) long. Its skull was about 2 m/6.6 ft in length, its limbs were long and massive, and it weighed about 20 tons. It was a herbivore that stripped leaves from trees with its down-pointing tusklike upper teeth that occluded forward-pointing lower teeth. Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands... A Hippopotamuss skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of vertebrates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plant matter (rather than meat). ...

"Baluchitherium" means "beast from Baluchistan" in Central Asia, where fossils attributed to Paraceratherium have been discovered. Major Ethnic Groups in Pakistan and surrounding areas, 1980. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

Indricotherium is named after a fabulous Russian beast called the "indrik," considered the most powerful creature and the father of the animals. Indrik-Beast (Russian: Индрик-зверь, transliteration:Indrik zvier)is in the Russian lore a miraculous beast, the lord of all animals. ...

These giant animals seem to have been limited to central Asia, for their fossils have not been found elsewhere.

References and External links

• Indricotherium
• Discovery Channel - Answers from Dr. Mikael Fortelius
• Lucas, S. G. & Sobus, J. C., (1989), The Systematics of Indricotheres. 358-378 in Prothero, D. R. & Schoch, R. M., (eds.) 1989: The Evolution of Perissodactyls, Oxford University Press, New York, New York & Oxford, England
• Hyracodontidae: Indricotheriinae - Mikko's Phylogeny Archive - follows Lucas and Sorbus
• sci.bio.paleontology newsgroup Jul 20 1999