A 155-character analysis places the 26.5 Ma Paraceratherium linxiaense as a derived member of a monophyletic Oligocene Paraceratherium clade, with detailed within-genus relationships remaining analysis-dependent.
claim:taxon:paraceratheriumParaceratherium
An Oligocene Asian paraceratheriid genus whose 26.5 Ma Linxia skull and vertebrae refine species relationships and a Tibetan-region dispersal hypothesis.
Represented range26.5–26.5 Ma
Content packageperissodactyla
PBDBtxn:43161
Evidence boundary
A review packet exists and the maintainer decision is still in progress; automated checks are not a completed review.
Claim ledger
Paraceratherium is treated as an Oligocene paraceratheriid genus; the six sampled species form a monophyletic clade in the cited 155-character analysis.
claim:taxon:paraceratherium:taxonomyThe atlas displays the 26.5 Ma Paraceratherium linxiaense LX1808 occurrence as a point sample and does not treat it as a genus-wide first or last appearance.
claim:taxon:paraceratherium:fossil-rangeP. linxiaense preserves a giant skull, mandible and cervical vertebrae consistent with a large body and long flexible neck; the study does not support elephant-like stubby graviportal limbs.
claim:taxon:paraceratherium:morphologyParaceratherium is represented as a giant terrestrial herbivore associated in the cited study with Oligocene Asian woodland–grassland mosaics; high feeding reach is an anatomical inference, not observed behavior.
claim:taxon:paraceratherium:ecologyThe cited phylogeny and occurrence map place Paraceratherium species across the Mongolian Plateau, northwestern China, Kazakhstan and Pakistan and infer dispersal through the Tibetan region.
claim:taxon:paraceratherium:biogeographyKnown limits
- A missing branch or fossil occurrence does not imply biological absence. Internal nodes are not calibrated divergence estimates.
References
- An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolutionDeng, T.; Lu, X.; Wang, S.; et al. · 2021 · DOI 10.1038/s42003-021-02170-6
- Open Tree of Life web servicesOpenTreeOfLife Project
- The Paleobiology Database application programming interfacePeters, S.E.; McClennen, M. · 2016 · DOI 10.1017/pab.2015.39
- Denormalized occurrence and taxon tables of the Paleobiology DatabaseThe Paleobiology Database Community; Kocsis, Á.T. · 2026 · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21620933