P. media Inuzuka 2005[2] P. tabatai Tokunaga 1939[3] Paleoparadoxia ("ancient paradox") is a genus of large, herbivorous aquatic mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch (20 to 10 million years ago).

It ranged from the waters of Japan (Tsuyama and Yanagawa), to Alaska in the north, and down to Baja California, Mexico.

[5] Recent discoveries have extended the known geographical range of Paleoparadoxia, with the oldest record from the northwest Pacific suggesting a much earlier presence in this region.

This finding implies that Paleoparadoxia had a wider distribution and potentially different migratory patterns than previously understood, hinting at a complex early evolution within the Desmostylia order.

[6] Size estimates of P. tabatai vary, with the Tsuyama specimen measuring 215 cm (7.05 ft) in length, 80 cm (2.6 ft) in height, and 582 kg (1,283 lb) in body mass, and the other specimens measuring 1,048 kg (2,310 lb) and 3.2 metric tons (3.5 short tons) in body mass.