Ceratotherium neumayri

Last updated

Ceratotherium neumayri
Temporal range: Late Miocene, Vallesian-Turolian
Diceros pachygnathus.JPG
Skull
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: Ceratotherium
Species:
†C. neumayri
Binomial name
†Ceratotherium neumayri
(Osborn, 1900)
Synonyms
  • Atelodus neumayriOsborn, 1900 (basionym)
  • Diceros pachygnathusGuérin, 1980
  • Diceros neumayri(Osborn, 1900)

Ceratotherium neumayri is an extinct species of rhinoceros from the Late Miocene epoch (specifically the Vallesian and Turolian European land mammal ages) of the Balkans (including Greece [1] and Bulgaria [2] ) and Western Asia (including Iran and Anatolia in Turkey). [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was originally named Atelodus neumayri by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1900. [4] It is considered part of the tribe Dicerotini (also spelled Diceroti) or subtribe Dicerotina, indicating a close relationship to the extant African rhinoceroses, the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). [5]

The generic assignment of neumayri is disputed, having been placed in both Ceratotherium and Diceros by various authors. [6] Some paleontologists have proposed it as a common ancestor to both Ceratotherium and Diceros, [7] [8] while others suggest it represents an early, distinct evolutionary branch not directly ancestral to the modern African rhinos. [5] A 2022 study placed the species in the separate monotypic genus Miodiceros. [5]

Description

The species was a large sized rhinceros, and had two horns, a nasal and a frontal horn. The nasal septum was not ossified. [5]

Ecology

Analysis of dental microwear patterns on the teeth of C. neumayri suggests that it was a mixed feeder. This diet means it was adaptable, capable of both grazing on grasses and browsing on leaves and twigs from shrubs and trees. [9]

Discoveries

Fossils attributed to C. neumayri have been found across southeastern Europe and Western Asia. Fossils of the species have been found in the Balkans, including Bulgaria [2] and Greece (such as Pikermi, Samos, and Axios Valley). [1] [5] Discoveries also extend into Anatolia and northern Iran, with occurrences in the southern Caucasus. [5]

In 2012, a well-preserved skull from Gülşehir, dating to around 9.2 million years ago was found. This individual is believed to have died due to extreme temperatures from a pyroclastic flow (ignimbrite) associated with a volcanic eruption. [3]

Some authors have suggested that the species was also present in Africa, based on Late Miocene remains found in Tunisia originally attributed to C. douariense. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 Giaourtsakis, I.X. (2003). Late Neogene Rhinocerotidae of Greece: distribution, diversity and stratigraphical range. Deinsea, 10(1), 235–254.
  2. 1 2 Geraads D, Spassov N. (2009). Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Bulgaria. Palaeontographica A. 287:99–122.
  3. 1 2 Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Orliac, Maeva J.; Atici, Gokhan; Ulusoy, Inan; Sen, Erdal; Çubukçu, H. Evren; Albayrak, Ebru; Oyal, Neşe; Aydar, Erkan; Sen, Sevket (2012). "A Rhinocerotid Skull Cooked-to-Death in a 9.2 Ma-Old Ignimbrite Flow of Turkey". PLOS ONE. 7 (11) e49997. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...749997A. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049997 . PMC   3503723 . PMID   23185510.
  4. ↑ Osborn HF (1900) Phylogeny of the rhinoceroses of Europe. Bull Am Mus Natur Hist 12:229–267.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Giaourtsakis, Ioannis X. (2022), Vlachos, Evangelos (ed.), "The Fossil Record of Rhinocerotids (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) in Greece" , Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 409–500, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_14, ISBN   978-3-030-68441-9, S2CID   239883886 , retrieved 20 November 2023
  6. ↑ Handa, Naoto; Nakatsukasa, Masato; Kunimatsu, Yutaka; Nakaya, Hideo (2019-02-07). "Additional specimens of Diceros (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the Upper Miocene Nakali Formation in Nakali, central Kenya" . Historical Biology. 31 (2): 262–273. Bibcode:2019HBio...31..262H. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1362560. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   135074081.
  7. ↑ Geraads, Denis (2005). "Pliocene Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia) from Hadar and Dikika (Lower Awash, Ethiopia), and a revision of the origin of modern african rhinos" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (2): 451–461. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0451:PRMFHA]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   52105151.
  8. ↑ Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Saraç, Gerçek (2005). "Rhinocerotidae from the late Miocene of Akkasdagi, Turkey". Geodiversitas. 27 (4): 601–632.
  9. ↑ Hullot, Manon; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Spassov, Nikolai; Koufos, George D.; Merceron, Gildas (2023-08-03). "Late Miocene rhinocerotids from the Balkan-Iranian province: ecological insights from dental microwear textures and enamel hypoplasia". Historical Biology. 35 (8): 1417–1434. Bibcode:2023HBio...35.1417H. doi:10.1080/08912963.2022.2095910. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   251046561.
  10. ↑ Pandolfi (2018). Evolutionary history of Rhinocerotina (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). Fossilia, Volume 2018
Moropus elatus NT.jpg

This prehistoric odd-toed ungulate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.