Inaugural Ceremony of ‘Balochitherium’ exhibit on Wednesday

23 Oct, 2012

 

Federal Minister for Science & Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali will inaugurate Balochiterium exhibit.

 

Baluchitherium is an extinct Rhinoceros and the largest land mammal ever lived on the earth about 30 million years ago. It is called Baluchitherium: "Balochi" for Balochistan; "therium" for Beast.

 

It literally means the "beast of Balochistan" and was named so because it was first discovered in the Bugti Hills (ranging in age from 30 million years to 20 million years ago) Balochistan.

 

The average height of an adult Baluchitherium is estimated to have been 18 ft high at the shoulder, and approximate weight is two ton (2,000 Kilograms).

 

Talking to APP, Director General PMNH Dr. Akhtar Javed said fossils of this giant land mammal, Baluchitherium, were first discovered in the Bugti Hills in 1908, and included only a few foot bones.

 

However, the major discovery was made in 2000, when the joint team of paleontologists from University of Montpellier, France and the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad found almost complete skeleton of Baluchitherium from Chitarwata Formation, north of Sui in the Bugti Hills after a search of almost 3 years.

 

"This discovery of largest land mammal has greatly increased the geological significance of our country for research in the field of paleontology and has made Pakistan known to geoscientists and biologists all over the world".

 

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012

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