OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Long-necked rhinoceros — Paraceratherium transouralicum

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier

Artist / Creator

Henry F. Osborn

Date / Period

Cenozoic — specimen chronology flagged for review · Smithsonian's current catalog record labels this specimen Miocene. Broader Paraceratherium literature is commonly associated with Oligocene deposits, so SAGE retains the catalog record but flags the age for specimen-level review.

Object Type

skull cast

Medium

original_fossil

About This Object

Geologic period: Cenozoic — specimen chronology flagged for review

Age: Smithsonian's current catalog record labels this specimen Miocene. Broader Paraceratherium literature is commonly associated with Oligocene deposits, so SAGE retains the catalog record but flags the age for specimen-level review.

Feeding: Herbivorous.

Evidence: The skull provides direct evidence for cranial anatomy. Body size and posture are reconstructed using associated skeletons and related specimens.

Why it matters: Paraceratherium demonstrates the extreme body sizes achieved by hornless rhinocerotoids during the Cenozoic.

Plain Language Identity: A gigantic hornless rhinocerotoid and one of the largest terrestrial mammals known.

What You Are Looking At: A cast representing the enormous skull of Paraceratherium transouralicum.

Ecosystem: Asian Cenozoic terrestrial ecosystem.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/paraceratherium-transouralicum-pavlova-1922:nmnhpaleobiology_3391355

Provenance Note: The Smithsonian catalog currently combines a Miocene age field, Hsanda Gol Formation terminology and a Pakistan locality. SAGE preserves those source fields but does not silently reconcile the apparent chronology/provenance conflict.

Open Questions: Specimen-level age and formation require additional catalog verification before a narrow numeric date is published.

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; chronology and taxonomy conflicts retained rather than silently corrected; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Paraceratherium transouralicum

Evidence / representation: historical_photo_of_real_skull

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

historical_photo_of_real_skull

After the Dinosaurs: Mammals, Ice Ages and the World We Inherited.

Provenance

Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Costs and Benefits of Living Large

Visual source institution: Wikimedia Commons

Exhibition History

Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.

Collection & Credit

Media license: Public domain

Subjects & Themes

Paraceratherium transouralicum Cenozoic — specimen chronology flagged for review skull cast Costs and Benefits of Living Large After the Dinosaurs

ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.

VIEW ORIGINAL SMITHSONIAN RECORD ↗