| Diceros Temporal range: Possible Early Miocene record | |
|---|---|
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| Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
| Tribe: | Dicerotini |
| Genus: | Diceros Gray, 1821 |
| Species | |
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Diceros (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos) [1] ) is a genus of rhinoceros containing the extant black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and several extinct species. [2]
Diceros is more closely related to the genus Ceratotherium (which contains the white rhinoceros) than it is to other living rhinoceroses, with the clade containing the two comprising the tribe Dicerotini (also spelled Diceroti) or subtribe Dicerotina. [3]
Diceros has been suggested by some authors to have branched off from an early species of Ceratotherium, specifically C. neumayri, [4] which has also been assigned to Diceros in some studies. [3] However, other authors have disputed the close relationship between Diceros and "C". neumayri. [3]
The oldest species assigned to the genus is "Diceros" australis from the Early Miocene of Namibia, [5] dating to around 17-18 million years ago. [6] It is only known from fragmentary remains, and its assignment to the genus, and even to Dicerotini have been questioned by other authors. [3] Other species assigned to the genus include Diceros praecox from the Late Miocene (from about 7 million years ago) and the Pliocene of Sub-Saharan Africa. [6] D. praecox has been suggested by some authors to be the ancestor of the modern D. bicornis. [7] Diceros primaevus is known from the Late Miocene (c. 12-10 million years ago) of Algeria. [6] [3] Diceros douariensis is known from the Late Miocene of Tunisia and possibly Ethiopia. [6] [3] Some authors have assigned this species to Ceratotherium. [8] The species Diceros gansuensis has been reported from the Late Miocene of China, [9] dating to around 10 million years ago. [6] The earliest remains assigned to the modern black rhinoceros are known the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) of East Africa. [6]
Perissodactyla is an order of ungulates. The order includes about 17 living species divided into three families: Equidae, Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses), and Tapiridae (tapirs). They typically have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three or one of the five original toes, though tapirs retain four toes on their front feet. The nonweight-bearing toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or positioned posteriorly. By contrast, artiodactyls bear most of their weight equally on four or two of the five toes: their third and fourth toes. Another difference between the two is that odd-toed ungulates digest plant cellulose in their intestines, rather than in one or more stomach chambers as even-toed ungulates, with the exception of Suina, do.
The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the species is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. It is the only extant species of the genus Diceros.
A rhinoceros, commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae; it can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.
The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists of two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 16,803 wild-living animals, and the much rarer northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies has very few remaining individuals, with only two confirmed left in 2018, both in captivity. Sudan, the world's last known male Northern white rhinoceros, died in Kenya on 19 March 2018 at age 45.
Ceratotherium is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the white rhinoceros, and its extinct relative Ceratotherium mauritanicum, of which Ceratotherium efficax is considered a synonym. Another species known as Ceratotherium praecox is now considered a member of the related genus Diceros. The placement of Ceratotherium neumayri from the Late Miocene of Europe and Western Asia within the genus has been questioned, with other authors assigning it to the separate genus Miodiceros. The species 'Ceratotherium’ advenientis is known from the Late Miocene of Italy.
Hadar or Hadar Formation is a paleontological fossil site located in Mille district, Administrative Zone 1 of the Afar Region, Ethiopia, 15 km upstream (west) of the A1 road's bridge across the Awash River.
Aepyceros is a genus of African antelope that contains a single living species, the impala. It is the only known member of the tribe Aepycerotini.
Ancylotherium is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Early Pleistocene, existing for approximately 9.8 million years.
Nannippus is an extinct genus of three-toed horse endemic to North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene, about 13.3—1.8 million years ago (Mya), living around 11.5 million years. This ancient species of three-toed horse grew up to 3.5 feet and weighed between 165 pounds to 199 pounds, which was around the same size as a domestic sheep.
Chilotherium is an extinct genus of rhinocerotids endemic to Eurasia during the Miocene through Pliocene living for 13.7—3.4 mya, existing for approximately 10.3 million years.
Ceratotherium mauritanicum is a species of fossil African rhinoceros found in the Late Pliocene to early Late Pleistocene of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. It is disputed as to whether remains from the Pliocene of East Africa belong to this species, and if so, whether C. mauritanicum is ancestral to the modern white rhinoceros. During the early Late Pleistocene, sometime between 120-57,000 years ago, it was replaced in North Africa by the modern white rhinoceros.
Ceratotherium neumayri is a fossil species of rhinoceros from the Late Miocene (Vallesian-Turolian) of the Balkans and Western Asia, with remains known from Greece, Bulgaria, Iran, and Anatolia in Turkey.
Stephanorhinus is an extinct genus of two-horned rhinoceros native to Eurasia and North Africa that lived during the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene. Species of Stephanorhinus were the predominant and often only species of rhinoceros in much of temperate Eurasia, especially Europe, for most of the Pleistocene. The last two species of Stephanorhinus – Merck's rhinoceros and the narrow-nosed rhinoceros – went extinct during the last glacial period.
Victoriaceros is an extinct genus of elasmotheriine rhinoceros known from the Miocene of Maboko Island, Kenya.
Damalborea is an extinct genus of alcelaphine bovid. It was first named by Alan W. Gentry in 2010, and the type species is Damalborea elisabethae. It is known from the holotype AL 208–7, a skull with horn cores collected from the Middle Pliocene Hadar Formation Member SH-3 of Ethiopia. In addition, a fossils of this or a closely related species were collected from Aramis, Wee-ee and Maka localities in the Middle Awash deposits, lower and upper units of the Laetolil Beds, as well as Tulu Bor Member and an unknown horizon of the Koobi Fora Formation. Geraads, Bobe & Reed (2012) assigned all Damalborea specimens from the Basal Member and Sidi Hakoma member of the Hadar Formation to the species D. elisabethae; in addition, the authors named the second species, Damalborea grayi, described on the basis of fossils from the Denen Dora member of the Hadar Formation. Damalborea was a moderately large alcelaphine with high and narrow skull proportions.
Ugandax is an extinct genus of bovines in the subtribe Bubalina that lived from the Miocene to the Pleistocene of Africa. Cladistic analyses suggest Ugandax represents an ancestral form of the African buffalo, Syncerus, and teeth assigned to Ugandax represent the earliest appearance of bovines in Africa.
Diceros praecox is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived in Africa during the Pliocene, around 4 million years ago. It has been suggested to be the direct ancestor of the living black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).
Pliorhinus is an extinct genus of rhinoceros known from the Late Miocene and Pliocene of Eurasia. The type species, Pliorhinus megarhinus, was previously assigned to Dihoplus.
Extant Perissodactyla (Odd-toed ungulates) species by suborder | |||||||||||||||||
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