Dihoplus

Last updated

Dihoplus
Temporal range: Late Miocene–Pliocene
Dihoplus schleiermacheri skull.svg
Dihoplus schleiermacheri holotype skull
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Tribe: Dicerorhinini
Genus: Dihoplus
Brandt, 1878
Type species
Rhinoceros schleiermacheri
Kaup, 1832
Species
  • D. bethlehemsis
  • D. pikermiensis
  • D. schleiermacheri

Dihoplus is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia from the Late Miocene to Pliocene. [1]

Contents

Description

Skull of a subadult Dihoplus pikermiensis from Greece Dihoplus pikermiensis skull.jpg
Skull of a subadult Dihoplus pikermiensis from Greece

Species of Dihoplus were large rhinoceroses, with the body masses of Dihoplus schleiermacheri and Dihoplus pikermiensis estimated at 2,122 kilograms (4,678 lb) and 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb) respectively. [2] The head bore two horns. The nasal septum was not ossified, with a nasal notch above the frontmost premolars. The toothrow is placed posteriorly within the skull. The first upper premolar is absent, though the lower second incisor is present. [1]

Taxonomy

Members of Dihoplus were long placed in Dicerorhinus (which contains the living Sumatran rhinoceros). Sometimes these species are placed in the related Stephanorhinus . The genus is now generally considered distinct, [3] though there is still debate as to which species should be included; for example, Deng (2011) listed Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis) under Dihoplus. [4] Species recently placed in the genus include: [5]

"D." megarhinus (de Christol, 1834) from the Late Miocene-Pliocene of Europe, Anatolia, China and Transbaikalia, [1] [5] since 2021 has been placed instead in the genus Pliorhinus along with "Dicerorhinus" miguelcrusafonti from the Pliocene of Europe. [6] [7] "D." ringstoemi is either considered a synonym of "D." megarhinus [1] or placed as a separate species within Pliorhinus. [8]

The monophyly of the genus has been questioned, with some studies suggesting that D. pikermiensis is more closely related to Stephanorhinus and Coelodonta (which contains the woolly rhinoceros) than to the type species D. schleiermacheri. [7]


Morphological phylogeny after Pandolfi (2023), excluding living African rhinoceros species. [7]

Ecology

D. pikermiensis and D. bethlehemsis are suggested to have been browsers. [9] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippopotamidae</span> Family of mammals

Hippopotamidae is a family of stout, naked-skinned, and semiaquatic artiodactyl mammals, possessing three-chambered stomachs and walking on four toes on each foot. While they resemble pigs physiologically, their closest living relatives are the cetaceans. They are sometimes referred to as hippopotamids.

<i>Elasmotherium</i> Genus of extinct rhinoceroses

Elasmotherium is an extinct genus of large rhinoceros endemic to Eurasia during Late Miocene through to the Late Pleistocene, with the youngest reliable dates around 39,000 years ago. It was the last surviving member of Elasmotheriinae, a distinctive group of rhinoceroses separate from the group that contains living rhinoceros (Rhinocerotinae).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolly rhinoceros</span> Extinct species of rhinoceros of northern Eurasia

The woolly rhinoceros, simply known as woolly rhino, is an extinct species of rhinoceros that inhabited northern Eurasia during the Pleistocene epoch. The woolly rhinoceros was a member of the Pleistocene megafauna. The woolly rhinoceros was covered with long, thick hair that allowed it to survive in the extremely cold, harsh mammoth steppe. It had a massive hump reaching from its shoulder and fed mainly on herbaceous plants that grew in the steppe. Mummified carcasses preserved in permafrost and many bone remains of woolly rhinoceroses have been found. Images of woolly rhinoceroses are found among cave paintings in Europe and Asia. The species range contracted towards Siberia beginning around 17,000 years ago, with the youngest known records being around 14,000 years old in northeast Siberia, coinciding with the Bølling–Allerød warming, which likely disrupted its habitat, with environmental DNA records possibly extending the range of the species around 9,800 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumatran rhinoceros</span> Critically Endangered species of small Asian rhinoceros

The Sumatran rhinoceros also known as the hairy rhinoceros, Asiatic one-horned rhinoceros, Asian one-horned rhinoceros or Sumatran rhino for short is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros; it is the only extant species of the genus Dicerorhinus. It is the smallest rhinoceros, although it is still a large mammal; it stands 112–145 cm (44–57 in) high at the shoulder, with a head-and-body length of 2.36–3.18 m and a tail of 35–70 cm (14–28 in). The weight is reported to range from 500–1,000 kg (1,100–2,200 lb), averaging 700–800 kg (1,540–1,760 lb). Like both African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in), while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran rhino's body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinoceros</span> Family of mammals

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.

<i>Diceros</i> Genus of Rhinocerotidae

Diceros is a genus of rhinoceros containing the extant black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and several extinct species.

<i>Dicerorhinus</i> Genus of mammals

Dicerorhinus is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros, and several extinct species. The genus likely originated in the Mid to Late Pliocene of Northern Indochina and South China. Many species previously placed in this genus probably belong elsewhere.

<i>Ceratotherium</i> Genus of mammals

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.

<i>Rhinoceros</i> (genus) Genus of mammals

Rhinoceros is a genus comprising one-horned rhinoceroses. This scientific name was proposed by Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus contains two species, the Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros. Although both members are threatened, the Javan rhinoceros is one of the most endangered large mammals in the world with only 60 individuals surviving in Java (Indonesia). The word 'rhinoceros' is of Greek origin meaning "nose-horn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gomphothere</span> Extinct family of proboscidean mammals

Gomphotheres are an extinct group of proboscideans related to modern elephants. They were widespread across Africa Eurasia and North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs and dispersed into South America during the Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange. Gomphotheres are a paraphyletic group that is ancestral to Elephantidae, which contains modern elephants, as well as Stegodontidae. While most famous forms such as Gomphotherium had long lower jaws with tusks, which is the ancestral condition for the group, some later members developed shortened (brevirostrine) lower jaws with either vestigial or no lower tusks, looking very similar to modern elephants, an example of parallel evolution, which outlasted the long-jawed gomphotheres. By the end of the Early Pleistocene, gomphotheres became extinct in Afro-Eurasia, with the last two genera, Cuvieronius ranging from southern North America to western South America, and Notiomastodon having a wide range over most of South America until the end of the Pleistocene around 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct following the arrival of humans.

<i>Coelodonta</i> Extinct genus of rhinoceros

Coelodonta is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 14,000 years ago, in the Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs. It is best known from the type species, the woolly rhinoceros, which ranged throughout northern Eurasia during the Pleistocene. The earliest known species, Coelodonta thibetana, lived in Tibet during the Pliocene, with the genus spreading to the rest of Eurasia during the Pleistocene.

<i>Chilotherium</i> Extinct genus of rhiniceros

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.

<i>Zygolophodon</i> Extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean

Zygolophodon is an extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean that lived during the Miocene in Africa, Eurasia, and North America.

<i>Ceratotherium neumayri</i> Extinct species of 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.

<i>Aphelops</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Aphelops is an extinct genus of hornless rhinocerotids endemic to North America. It lived from the Middle Miocene to the early Pliocene, during which it was a common component of North American mammalian faunas along with Teleoceras.

<i>Stephanorhinus</i> Extinct genus of rhinoceros

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.

<i>Lartetotherium</i> Extinct genus of mammal

Lartetotherium is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid that lived during the Miocene in Europe and possibly China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-nosed rhinoceros</span> Extinct species of rhinoceros

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros, also known as the steppe rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus that lived in western Eurasia, including Europe, as well as North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe around 500,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene and survived there until at least 34,000 years Before Present.

<i>Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis</i> Extinct species of mammal

Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, also known as Merck's rhinoceros or the forest rhinoceros, is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus from the Middle to Late Pleistocene of Eurasia. Its range spanned from Western Europe to Eastern Asia. Among the last members of the genus, it co-existed alongside Stephanorhinus hemitoechus in the western part of its range.

<i>Pliorhinus</i> Extinct genus of rhinoceros

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pandolfi, Luca; Gasparik, Mihály; Piras, Paolo (2015). "Earliest occurrence of "Dihoplus" megarhinus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Europe (Late Miocene, Pannonian Basin, Hungary): Palaeobiogeographical and biochronological implications". Annales de Paléontologie. 101 (4): 325–339. Bibcode:2015AnPal.101..325P. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2015.09.001.
  2. Mallet, Christophe; Billet, Guillaume; Cornette, Raphaël; Alexandra Houssaye, And (2022-11-02). "Adaptation to graviportality in Rhinocerotoidea? An investigation through the long bone shape variation in their hindlimb". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 196 (3): 1235–1271. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac007. ISSN   0024-4082.
  3. Tong, Hao-wen (2012). "Evolution of the non-Coelodonta dicerorhine lineage in China". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 11 (8): 555–562. Bibcode:2012CRPal..11..555T. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.002.
  4. Deng, T. (September 2, 2011). "Out of Tibet: Pliocene Woolly Rhino Suggests High-Plateau Origin of Ice Age Megaherbivores". Science. 333 (6047): 1285–1288. Bibcode:2011Sci...333.1285D. doi:10.1126/science.1206594. PMID   21885780. S2CID   8913866.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pandolfi, Luca; Rivals, Florent; Rabinovich, Rivka (January 2020). "A new species of rhinoceros from the site of Bethlehem: 'Dihoplus' bethlehemsis sp. nov. (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae)". Quaternary International. 537: 48–60. Bibcode:2020QuInt.537...48P. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.01.011. S2CID   213080180.
  6. Pandolfi, Luca; Pierre-Olivier, Antoine; Bukhsianidze, Maia; Lordkipanidze, David; Rook, Lorenzo (2021-08-03). "Northern Eurasian rhinocerotines (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) by the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition: phylogeny and historical biogeography". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (15): 1031–1057. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19.1031P. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1995907. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   244762077.
  7. 1 2 3 Pandolfi, Luca (April 2023). "Reassessing the phylogeny of Quaternary Eurasian Rhinocerotidae". Journal of Quaternary Science. 38 (3): 291–294. Bibcode:2023JQS....38..291P. doi:10.1002/jqs.3496. hdl: 11563/163194 . ISSN   0267-8179. S2CID   256167036.
  8. Li, Shijie; Sanisidro, Oscar; Wang, Shiqi; Yang, Rong; Deng, Tao (March 2024). "New materials of Pliorhinus ringstroemi from the Linxia Basin (Late Miocene, eastern Asia) and their taxonomical and evolutionary implications". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31 (1). doi:10.1007/s10914-023-09698-w. ISSN   1064-7554. S2CID   267352083.
  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.