P is for Paraceratherium, a rhino relative that grew to be one of the largest land mammals, way back in the Early Oligocene to the Early Miocene, around 34 to 23 million years ago.

Mini-theme: Letter Blocks & Prehysterical Critters

Art © 10/2025 Marvin E. Fuller
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This was originally I for Indricotherium until research showed that Indricotherium is actually a junior synonym for Paracerathium. Sometimes, thanks to the fragmentary nature of the available evidence, a species can be given different scientific names by different scientists until someone realizes everyone is describing the same species. When that happens, precedence is given to the first name used to describe the species and the junior synonyms invalidated. A famous example is Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus, the latter of which was thought to be a junior synonym of the former until a 2015 study revealed they were indeed distinct animals.