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.

The woolly rhino: a puzzling disappearance?

Coelodonta antiquitatis was barely larger than today's rhino. It fed throughout the year on different types of food such as grasses, mosses, herbs and shrubs.

A primary explanation for its disappearance may be climate change. After the last ice age, the climate became warmer and wetter. The steppes gradually turned into forests and the woolly rhino's food disappeared. Another hypothesis attributes it to hunting by humans.

But what about it It is probably a combination of these two factors, with no way to determine which one was the deciding factor.

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.

The cave lion: a misleading name?

Even though this giant prehistoric lion did not steal its name, it did not actually live in caves. It was mainly found on steppes, meadows and occasionally in open forests. This lion got its name from its rather interesting hunting method. Namely, it entered caves to hunt cubs or sick bears during their winter rest.

When the cave bear was extinct, reindeer became the cave lion's main prey. But at the end of the last ice age, the steppes turned into forests. This reduced the reindeer population and with it the available food. And then came man, his greatest competitor. Did we deal him the final blow?

Titanoboa, the largest predator on Earth, a few million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs!

In the year 2000s, palaeontologists discovered remains of Titanoboa in a coal mine in Colombia. Soon they described Titanoboa as the largest snake ever! It lived in the tropical forest of present-day Colombia and ate large fish, crocodiles and turtles. Like the anaconda and boa constrictor, Titanoboa choked its prey by wrapping itself around it and then swallowing it in one bite.

Why is Titanoboa extinct? It still remains a mystery... Possibly the climate changed and rivers dried up, resulting in the disappearance of its habitat.

Megaloceros giganteus, also known as the « giant deer », is the largest deer-like animal that has ever existed.

The Institute of Natural Sciences acquired this specimen on 3 June 1884. It is 3 metres long, 3 metres tall and 3 metres from one end of its antlers to the other. Not only was the transport of this gigantic skeleton a real challenge, but also its reassembly. The skull and antlers cannot be separated. So we had to transport it in one piece from the storage area to the exhibition hall, and soon we will have to do it again in the opposite direction.

Mammoths in Belgium?

Mammuthus primigenius lived on the steppes of Western Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. Many traces of this giant have been found in our country! The woolly mammoth lived in our regions during the last ice age, from about 120,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Bones have been found in Hofstade (near Mechelen), in Spy, Goyet, Warneton, Dendermonde, Hoboken and Lier. Most recently, mammoth remains came to light during works on the future metro line 3 in Brussels.

How could a sloth grow so big?

Megatherium grew up to 5 to 6 metres long. For comparison, today’s sloths measure 75 centimetres at most. The size of herbivores depends partly on climate and the amount of food available. For almost 60 million years, South America was an island with a favourable climate, abundant vegetation and few predators.

About 3 million years ago, a narrow strip of land formed between South America and North America. This brought ground sloths into contact with larger predators, such as Smilodon. During this period, glacial and thermal cycles followed one another. Because of their larger size, sloths were better protected from predators and the cold.