Andrewsarchus

weird lookin’ critter!

Andrewsarchus—the World’s Largest Predatory Mammal

by Bob Strauss
Updated September 25, 2018

Andrewsarchus is one of the world’s most tantalizing prehistoric animals: its three-foot-long, toothstudded skull indicates that it was a giant predator, but the fact is that we have no idea what the rest of this mammal’s body looked like.

Andrewsarchus Is Known by a Single Skull

All we know about Andrewsarchus amounts to a single, three-foot-long, vaguely wolf-shaped skull, discovered in Mongolia in 1923. While the skull clearly belongs to some type of mammal—there are obvious diagnostic markers by which paleontologists can distinguish between reptilian and mammalian bones—the lack of an accompanying skeleton has resulted in nearly a century of confusion, and debate, about what type of animal Andrewsarchus really was.

Andrewsarchus is one of the world’s most tantalizing prehistoric animals: its three-foot-long, toothstudded skull indicates that it was a giant predator, but the fact is that we have no idea what the rest of this mammal’s body looked like.

All we know about Andrewsarchus amounts to a single, three-foot-long, vaguely wolf-shaped skull, discovered in Mongolia in 1923. While the skull clearly belongs to some type of mammal—there are obvious diagnostic markers by which paleontologists can distinguish between reptilian and mammalian bones—the lack of an accompanying skeleton has resulted in nearly a century of confusion, and debate, about what type of animal Andrewsarchus really was.

The Fossil of Andrewsarchus Was Discovered by Roy Chapman Andrews (My Hero!)

During the 1920’s, the swashbuckling paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, embarked on a series of well-publicized fossil-hunting expeditions to central Asia (then, as it still is now, one of the most remote regions on earth). After its discovery, Andrewsarchus (“Andrews’ ruler”) was named in his honor, though it’s unclear whether Andrews bestowed this name himself or left the task to other members of his team.

Wonderful, wonderful!

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