Fossils are very important in helping humans discover the past. With the earth being estimated to be around 4.543 billion years old, an unimaginable amount of life once called the planet its home. The five extinction events that happened on earth wiped out many species, but luckily the fossils are there to help piece together the long history of life. This article will look at the now extinct species embolotherium, also called the “Battering Ram Beast”. Some may say this animal looks like a failed rhinoceros because of its uniquely shaped head, but there are plenty of other interesting things to learn about it.
What is Embolotherium?
the Embolotherium is a genus of extinct animal, whose name translates from Greek as “Battering Ram Beast”, or “Wedge Beast”. This animal lived at the end of the Eocene in East Asia. Its name refers to the large protrusion of its skull which makes it look like a failed rhinoceros. Embolotherium belongs to the family Brontotheriidae and order Perissodactyla. They are distant relatives of animals like horses, tapir, and rhinos.
Several species of this ancient genus are suggested, but only two are considered valid. Emblotherium Andrewsi, and Embolotherium graneri. Studies and debates are still ongoing on the total number of species. Embolotherium was a very large ancient mammal, known only from incomplete fossil remains.
Discovery and Fossils of the Embolotherium
Although there are no complete Embolotherium fossils, there is plenty of evidence that allows for in-depth study of the ancient animal. 1928 in the Ulan Gochu Formation in Inner Mongolia is where the first fossils of Embolotherium were discovered. Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews and paleontologist Walter W. Granger led an expedition to China to discover fossils in the rich geological layer.
The earliest found remains of this species were several specimens and fragmented skulls. Other Emolotherium jaw and skull fossils have been found in the Baron Sog Formation and the Shara Murun Formation. Fossils of this animal are known only in the East Asiaincluding findings in the Gobi Desert.
Belonging to the family Brontotheriidae, other animals like the North American Megacerops have helped describe the appearance of Embolotherium. When initially described, over a dozen species of Embolotherium were recorded, but further studies have reduced the number of species to just two.
Size and appearance
No complete Embolotherium fossils have been found but by using other found fossils of other Brontotheriidae such as Megacerops, scientists are able to estimate their size. It is estimated that Embolotherium had a height of 8 feet and a length of up to 16 feet. One of the largest of their kind, they are estimated to have weighed around 4,400 pounds.
This species is sometimes called the “ram beast” because it has a large bony growth protruding from its face, which is about 2.2 feet long. Depictions of this animal show them very similar to modern rhinos, but they have a large bony growth instead of a horn. It is theorized that the great ram may have been used as a resonator to amplify their sound. All known specimens of them have rams, and it is questioned whether they were sexually dimorphic.
Diet and habitat of Embolotherium
Embolotherium lived in Mongolia and other parts of East Asia, with most fossils found in the Gobi Desert. This animal lived in the Eocene era, there are about 41-34 million yeasts. During this period, the arid desert that we know was very different. Plants were abundant in the area and it was more of a wetland habitat.
Embolotherium’s teeth suggested they were herbivores. Softer vegetation is what they ate. They had shear teeth instead of grinding them. Plant life that didn’t require much chewing is what they fed on. Wet area Habitats with lots of soft plants are where this animal likely lived, wandering in search of food.
Extinction of Embolotherium
Despite its massive size and success in Eocene times, Embolotherium increased extinct at the end of the Eocene. The main reason was climate change, and at the end of the Eocene, the region of Asia in which this animal lived became drier. The soft plants that this great beast depended on have been replaced by drier, harder-to-eat vegetation. Other animals adapted and defeated the Embolotherium to extinction.
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