Video series: giants after the dinosaur era
Watch the interviews with our specialists who tell you everything about the specimens on display in our GIANTS exhibition.
Paraceratherium: growing for life?
Paraceratherium is the largest known land mammal. Like the elephant, this giant animal continued to grow throughout its life, while other mammals stop growing at adulthood. The first remains of Paraceratherium were described in the early 20th century after excavations in Pakistan. At first, paleontologists were confused about this animal.
Although closely related to the rhino, we now know that it was more like a bizarre cross between a rhino, an elephant and a giraffe.
Do you like really big cats? Smilodon might change your mind....
Numerous bones and paw prints of these animals have been found. Sabre-toothed cats lived everywhere except Australia and the polar regions.
The genus Smilodon consists of three species: Smilodon gracilis, Smilodon fatalis and Smilodon populator. The most famous and largest of the sabre-toothed cats was Smilodon populator from South America. He was as big as an African lion and was a fearsome predator. He was considerably heavier, though, and his canine teeth could reach 28 centimetres in length.
Vous aimez les très grands chats ? Smilodon pourrait bien vous faire changer d’avis…
De nombreux ossements et empreintes de pattes de ces animaux ont été retrouvés. Les chats à dents de sabre vivaient partout, sauf en Australie et dans les régions polaires.
Le genre Smilodon comprend trois espèces : Smilodon gracilis, Smilodon fatalis et Smilodon populator. Le plus célèbre et le plus grand des chats à dents de sabre était Smilodon populator d'Amérique du Sud. Il était considérablement plus lourd et ses canines pouvaient atteindre 28 centimètres de longueur.
Gigantopithecus: King Kong, fact or fiction?
Gigantopithecus is the largest ape that ever lived. Two million years ago, he lived in the subtropical forests of what is now southern China. Its jaws and teeth tell us all we need to know about this giant ape. They are shaped differently from those of all other apes. This is how scientists realised it was a new species. Genetic analysis of a molar showed that Gigantopithecus was a cousin of the orang-utan.
For most of the year, the giant ape fed on coarse leaves, roots, shoots and, in certain seasons, fruit. However, due to the ice ages, many forests turned into grass landscapes, resulting in Gigantopithecus eventually disappearing due to lack of food.
Leviathan, a mythical sea monster that really existed!
For 5 million years, this super predator swam in the same waters as the giant shark Megalodon. It had teeth and jaws similar to those of orcas, but it is a distant relative of the sperm whale.
This skull of Leviathan was discovered in 2008 in the Pisco Desert in Peru. A paleontologist from the Institute of Natural Sciences led the research team. So far, no other part of the skeleton has been found. To estimate the size of the animal, researchers based their calculations on the size of the skull and the length of other sperm whales.