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Ecomorphological patterns linking fossil Coelodonta antiquitatis and extant Ceratotherium simum: a review (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae)

Francesco Nardelli
Pages 95–120
DOI 10.37520/lynx.2023.007
Keywords Woolly rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, Pleistocene, morphology, phylogeny, ecology, mammoth steppe, systematics
Citation NARDELLI, Francesco. Ecomorphological patterns linking fossil Coelodonta antiquitatis and extant Ceratotherium simum: a review (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae). Lynx, new series. Prague: National Museum, 2023, 54(1), 95–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/lynx.2023.007. ISSN 0024-7774 (print), 1804-6460 (online). Also available from: https://www.nm.cz/en/periodicals/lynx-new-series/54-1/ecomorphological-patterns-linking-fossil-coelodonta-antiquitatis-and-extant-ceratotherium-simum-a-review-perissodactyla-rhinocerotidae
Lynx, new series | 2023/54/1

Relationships between morphological traits and their ecological function frequently result in patterns that are consistently observed within taxa. It was under this premise that the fossils of the coldadapted, shaggy-coated fossil woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis was compared to those of other Coelodonta species, indicating that this genus originated in the Tibetan region during the Pliocene. It occurred throughout the Pleistocene mammoth steppe, covering the northern Iberian Peninsula, Great Britain, Central Europe, Russia, and Siberia, and was characterized by a diverse community of large herbivores. Plant fragments stuck in woolly rhino teeth (most typically inside the infundibula – the crescent-shaped recesses present in the middle of the molars) show that they were grazers, with grasses comprising about 96% of their diet, and mosses and forbs forming the remainder. Moreover, as the extant white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum shares several common characters with C. antiquitatis, the animals likely originate from the same ancestors. These hypotheses are supported by a detailed analysis of their physical characters, distribution, habitat, and behaviour.

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