LAHORE, Jan 22: The excavators, who had found the biggest mammal in Balochistan in 1999, have claimed to have discovered chalicothere, a horse-like species with large nails.

A documentary — Giant of the Lost Valley — highlighting the discovery of the mammal was shown at the French Cultural Centre here on Tuesday.

Team head Mr Jean Loup Welcomme told Dawn that they had also found remains of seven species of primates and many other animals that had lived millions of years ago.

The team had been able to find one-tenth of the animals and excavated only a minor portion of the area, he said. He hoped the rest of the land and remains of different species would be dug out after the mammal project.

He said the remains of the mammal, which swarmed the area some 25 to 40 million years ago, were first found in 1910. However, area owner Bugti tribe refused to cooperate with the excavators and the work remained suspended for the next eight decades, he said.

Mr Welcomme said he contacted Akbar Ali Bugti who showed keen interest in the project and offered maximum cooperation.

Giving description of the creature, he said it was seven-metre tall, as much long and almost 20 tons. A replica of the mammal would be installed in the Islamabad Museum and Museum National d’Histiore Naturel de Paris, he added.

About the possible origin of the mammal, he said, it might be from Africa. The movement of the tectonic plates separated Asia from Africa millions of years ago and some of the mammals got separated from the rest of the tribe. A big river used to flow in the area where the remains of the mammal were discovered in and it might be more aquatic than it apparently looked, Mr Welcomme concluded.