Hundsheimer rhinoceros

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Hundsheimer rhinoceros
Skull of the Hundsheimer Rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis)

Skull of the Hundsheimer Rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis )

Temporal occurrence
Old Pleistocene to Middle Pleistocene
1.2 million years to 450,000 years
Locations
  • western Eurasia
Systematics
Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Laurasiatheria
Unpaired ungulate (Perissodactyla)
Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae)
Stephanorhinus
Hundsheimer rhinoceros
Scientific name
Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis
( Toula , 1902)

The Hundsheimer rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis ) is a now extinct rhinoceros species from the early and middle Pleistocene of western Eurasia . Together with its also extinct relatives, the forest rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis ) and the steppe rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus hemitoechus ), it belongs to the Dicerorhinina, two-horned rhinos, the last survivor of which is the highly endangered Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ) in the forests of the southeast .

distribution and habitat

Distribution of the Hundsheimer rhinoceros in the Old and Middle Pleistocene in Europe. The black dots represent important sites.

The Hundsheim rhinoceros preferred sub-Mediterranean to moderate climates and lived in the steppes of the Old and Middle Pleistocene in western Eurasia. Its distribution area ranged from the Iberian Peninsula in the west (including Fuente Nueva and Barranco Léon, Spain ) to the Black Sea and Caucasus region in the east ( Tiraspol , Moldova , Archalkalaki, Georgia ). In the south it is known from sites on the Apennine Peninsula (such as Isernia , Venta Micena) and in the north from the British Isles (including Boxgrove, West Runton).

The appearance of the Hundsheim rhinoceros was largely limited to the warm-time sections of the Pleistocene, especially during the Cromer Complex (850,000 to 475,000 years ago). It then occurred together with the historically older Etruscan rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus etruscus ), but also with other typical warm-adapted animals, such as the hippopotamus or the aurochs , as well as with inhabitants of open landscapes, such as the steppe mammoth and the wild horse . Obviously, however, it also tolerated cool to cold climates and sometimes appeared in cold periods , e.g. B. in Süßenborn ( Thuringia ) or Vallonet ( France ). Here it was socialized with the bison or the giant deer . In the late phase of the appearance of the Hundsheim rhinoceros, its range overlapped with that of the forest and steppe rhinoceros.

Physique and diet

The Hundsheimer rhinoceros was a relatively graceful rhinoceros. It reached a head-torso length of 270 cm with a height at the withers of about 160 cm and was thus about as big as today's Sumatran rhinoceros. The maximum reconstructed body weight was a little less than 1 t. It had long and relatively narrow limbs, the length of the legs exceeding that of its phylogenetic predecessor, the Etruscan rhinoceros. In addition, they only had weak, pronounced joint surfaces.

The skull was 60 to 75 cm long and had a short, right-angled occiput , which caused the animal to keep its head upright, similar to today's black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis ). On the nose and in the middle forehead area there was a pearl-like roughened bone surface, which shows the respective horn base. The size and clarity of the surface structure showed that the horns were larger than those of the Etruscan rhinoceros, which appeared at the same time, and were probably in the range of the Sumatran rhinoceros. The front horn (nasal horn) was probably significantly larger than the rear (frontal horn). In addition, the Hundsheim rhinoceros had a nasal septum that was only ossified in the front area , a feature that is typical of all Stephanorhinus species and, with the exception of the Sumatran rhinoceros, is extremely rare in today's rhinos. The ossification of the nasal septum in the Hundsheim rhinoceros did not reach the same extent as in its genealogically younger relative, the steppe rhinoceros.

The lower jaw was built relatively slim and had a height of 6 cm at the rearmost tooth. The symphysis was narrow. The dentition was characterized by the reduction of the front teeth ( incisors and canines ), while the rear dentition consisted of three premolars and three molars per mandibular arch. The dental formula was: . The crown height of the teeth was very low (brachydont) and thus differs markedly from the later Stephanorhinus representatives. In addition, the second premolar and the last molar were particularly large. Occasionally, pathological anomalies in the form of excess teeth occurred in the dentition .

The body skeleton is fairly well known through some complete skeletons. The spine was different from other Stephanorhinus TYPES from 7 cervical, 19 thoracic, lumbar 3, 4 sacral and caudal vertebrae at least 15. The humerus reached a length of 45 cm, the ulna of 51 cm. The thigh bone could reach 50 cm, the shin 40 cm. The limbs ended in three toes, typical of modern rhinos. The central ray (Metapodium III) was particularly strong. The third metatarsal bone was 22 cm long, the same metatarsal bone 20 cm.

The long limbs of the Hundsheimer rhinoceros indicate a way of life in open landscapes on the edge of forests or alluvial forests , the peculiarities of the tooth morphology, especially the low-crowned teeth and the large rear molar, speak for a largely leaf-eating diet, while the high head posture suggests the medium-high bushes served as a food resource. More recent investigations on the signs of wear, however, revealed a more differentiated picture: teeth of this rhinoceros species, including those from the 700,000-year-old site in Voigtstedt (Thuringia), show a typical pattern with a trough-like depression of the teeth, indicating a soft leaf food, while finds show off the only slightly more recent deposits from Süßenborn (Thuringia) have partly horizontal signs of wear. These can be traced back to hard grass food, with the abrasion being carried out by the silica contained in the plants . This means that the Hundsheim rhinoceros showed a very high ecological tolerance and should rather be addressed as a generalist who, depending on the ecological conditions, appeared either as a browser (leaf eater) or grazer (grass eater).

Tribal history and systematics

The Hundsheimer rhinoceros developed in the early Pleistocene, where it is found at sites such as Untermaßfeld ( Thuringia ), Dorn-Dürkheim ( Hesse ) or Atapuerca Gran Dolina ( Spain ). Most palaeontologists assume that the rhinoceros species developed from the Etruscan rhinoceros, while others see ancient features in their dentition morphology (e.g. the very large second premolar) that a direct line of descent is rather improbable. There is broad consensus that this was an immigrant from Asia.

During its development, the Hundsheimer rhinoceros experienced an increase in size, so that the later forms were on average larger and heavier (800 to 1000 kg) than the original representatives (400 to 750 kg). This is explained by the increasing deterioration in the climate in the early Middle Pleistocene. The Hundsheim rhinoceros became extinct in the mid-Middle Pleistocene. Late occurrences can be found at the famous early human discovery sites (see Homo heidelbergensis ) in Mauer ( Baden-Württemberg ), Vértesszőlős ( Hungary ) and Boxgrove ( England ), but also at the eponymous discovery site Hundsheim ( Lower Austria ), while it is in the younger deposits the Mosbacher Sande near Wiesbaden (Hessen) has its last appearance so far. The extinction of this rhinoceros species goes hand in hand with the parallel evolution of more specialized and better adapted rhinos, such as the forest rhinoceros and the steppe rhinoceros. The more generalist Hundsheimer Nashorn could not compete with these two specialists. An involvement of early humans in the extinction of the animal species, among other things as a result of heavy hunting, is excluded.

Research history

The first scientific description of the Hundsheimer rhinoceros as Rhinoceros hundsheimensis was made in 1902 by Franz Toula. Bones and teeth from the Lower Austrian town of Hundsheim served as the basis . The generic name Dicerorhinus used later due to its closer relationship with the Sumatran rhinoceros was replaced by Stephanorhinus in 1942 . This term was established by the Hungarian paleontologist Miklós Kretzoi (1907–2005) and is based on different dentition features of the two genres.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Jan van der Made: The rhinos from the Middle Pleistocene of Neumark-Nord (Saxony-Anhalt) . In: Dietrich Mania et al. (Ed.): Neumark-Nord: An interglacial ecosystem of the Middle Palaeolithic people. Publications of the State Museum for Prehistory 62. Halle / Saale, 2010, pp. 433–527
  2. ↑ a b c d Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke and Thomas M. Kaiser: Generalism as a subsistence strategy: advantages and limitations of the highly flexible feeding traits of Pleistocene Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia). Quaternary Science Reviews 30, 2011, pp. 2250-2261, doi : 10.1016 / j.quascirev.2009.12.012 .
  3. ↑ a b Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, Nuria García, Dimitris S. Kostopoulos, Frédéric Lacombat, Adrian M. Lister, Paul PA Mazza, Nikolai Spassov and, Vadim V. Titov: Western Palaearctic palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene inferred from large mammal communities, and implications for hominin dispersal in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2010, pp. 1-28
  4. ^ A b Jean-Philip Brugal and Roman Croitor: Evolution, ecology and biochronology of herbivore associations in Europe during the last 3 million years. Quaternaire, 18 (2), 2007, pp. 129-152
  5. ↑ a b Frederic Lacombat: Phylogeny of the genus Stephanorhinus in the Pliocene-Pleistocene of Europe. Hallesches Jahrbuch für Geoswissenschaften 23, 2007, pp. 63–65
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Mikael Fortelius, Paul Mazza and Benedetto Sala: Stephanorhinus (Mammalia: Rhinocerotidae) of the Western European Pleistocene, with a revision of S. etruscus (Falconer, 1868). Palaeontographia Italica, 80, 1993, pp. 63-155
  7. ^ M. Breda, SE Collinge, Simon A. Parfitt, and Adrian M. Lister: Metric analysis of ungulate mammals in the early Middle Pleistocene of Britain, in relation to taxonomy and biostratigraphy. I: Rhinocerotidae and Bovidae. Quaternary International 228, 2010, pp. 136-156.
  8. ↑ a b Friedrich E. Zeuner: The relationships between skull shape and way of life in recent and fossil rhinos. Reports of the Natural Research Society in Freiburg 34, 1934, pp. 21–80
  9. ^ Franz Toula: The teeth and remains of the nasal bones of Rhinoceros (Ceratorhinus Osborn) hundsheimensis treatises of the Royal and Imperial Geological Institute 20 (2), 1906, pp. 1–38
  10. ↑ a b Jan van der Made and René Grube: The rhinoceroses from Neumark-Nord and their nutrition. In: Harald Meller (Hrsg.): Elefantenreich - Eine Fossilwelt in Europa. Halle / Saale 2010, pp. 382–394
  11. ↑ a b Frederic Lacombat: Rhinoceroses in Mediterranean Europe and Massif Central (France). Courier des Forschungs-Institut Senckenberg 256, 2006, pp. 57–69
  12. ^ Wighart von Koenigswald, B. Holly Smith, Ann Arbor and Thomas Keller: Supernumerary teeth in a subadult rhino mandible (Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis) from the middle Pleistocene of Mosbach in Wiesbaden (Germany). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 81 (4), 2007, pp. 416–428.
  13. ^ A b Franz Toula: The rhinoceros of Hundsheim: Rhinoceros (Ceratorhinus Osborn) hundsheimensis nov.form .: with explanations about the proportions of eleven skulls of Rhinoceros (Ceratorhinus) sumatrensis. of the Royal and Imperial Geological Reichsanstalt 19 (1), 1902, pp. 1–92
  14. ↑ Claude Guérin: Les Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) du Miocène terminal au Pléistocène supérieur d'Europe occidentale comparés aux espèces actuelles: tendances évolutives et relations phylogénétiques. Géobios 15, 1982, pp. 599-605
  15. ↑ Hans-Dietrich Kahlke: The Rhinocerotiden-Reste from the Unterpleistozän of Untermaßfeld. In: Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke: The Pleistocene of Untermaßfeld near Meiningen (Thuringia). Part 2. Monagraphs of the RGZM 40.2, Mainz, 2001, pp. 501–555
  16. ↑ Jan van der Made: A preliminary note on the rhinos from Bilzingsleben. Praehistoria Thuringica 4, 2000, pp. 41-64