Description

Andrewsarchus mongoliensis Andrewsarchus was the largest carnivorous land mammal ever. It had a skull of about 83cm, which would make it about 1.8m high and 5m long – the largest meat-eating land mammal ever. Andrewsarchus was a carnivorous hoofed mammal known from only one skull which has been found in Mongolia. The skull is characteristic of its closest relatives, the mesonychids, who all have a dog-like shape with long, powerful jaws. They lived on the shores, river banks and plains of Asia and probably scavenged along the water’s edge. Their teeth and jaws were very strong and so apparently had a diet including a lot of hard items such as bone and turtle shell.