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Skull of Arsinoitherium zitteli, discovered in Egypt in 1902. Dating back to the Late Eocene (36-30 Ma) The skull of Arsinoitherium zitteli, first described in 1902 from fossils discovered in Egypt’s Fayum Depression, belongs to one of the strangest large mammals of the Late Eocene, about 36–30 million years ago. Despite its rhinoceros-like appearance, Arsinoitherium was not closely related to rhinos; it belonged to an extinct group of African mammals called embrithopods, which were more distantly related to elephants, hyraxes, and manatees within the Afrotheria lineage. The animal likely weighed 1.5–2 tons and stood about 1.7 meters (5.5 ft) tall at the shoulder, with two massive keratin-covered horns that grew from the nasal bones and could reach over 60 cm (2 ft) long. A second pair of smaller horns sat just behind them. Its teeth suggest it was a herbivore that fed on soft vegetation, living in swampy, river-edge environments that covered much of northern Africa during the Eocene. The Fayum fossil beds where Arsinoitherium was discovered have also produced some of the earliest known ancestors of modern elephants and whales, making the region one of the most important paleontological sites for early mammal evolution. #drthehistories