| Lartetotherium Temporal range: Miocene | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Lartetotherium sansaniense skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
| Genus: | † Lartetotherium Ginsburg, 1974 |
| Species: | †L. sansaniense |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lartetotherium sansaniense Ginsburg, 1974 | |
| Synonyms | |
Dicerorhinus sansaniensis | |
Lartetotherium is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid that lived during the Miocene in Europe [1] and possibly China. [2]
The type species Lartetotherium sansaniense was a unique cursorial rhinoceros with a distinctly long horn. Its teeth were brachyodont, indicating its diet contained a high quantity of soft plants and a lower proportion of woody material. [3]
A 2023 study reassigned the species Dicerorhinus cixianensis (Chen and Wu, 1976) from the Middle Miocene of Cixian County, Hebei Province, China, to the genus. [2] The species is known from a single partial skull and juvenile mandible, notably small in size. [4]
Analysis of δ18O and δ13C values suggests that L. sansaniense was an inhabitant of relatively open environments. [5]