Narrow-nosed rhinoceros

Narrow-nosed rhinoceros
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Late Pleistocene
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Skull of Stephanorhinus hemitoechus
Stephanorhinus hemitoechus life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: †Stephanorhinus
Species:
†S. hemitoechus
Binomial name
†Stephanorhinus hemitoechus
Falconer, 1859
Range of Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (blue) and Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (red), with overlapping range in purple
Synonyms
  • Dicerorhinus hemitoechus Falconer, 1859
  • Rhinoceros hemitoechus Falconer, 1859
  • Rhinoceros binagadensis Dzhafarov, 1955
  • Rhinoceros subinermis Pomel, 1895

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus), 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[1] 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. It was native to temperate and Mediterranean environments, where it fed on low growing plants and to a lesser extent woody plants. Evidence has been found that it was exploited for food by archaic humans, including Neanderthals.

  1. ^ Faith, J. Tyler (2014). "Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa". Earth-Science Reviews. 128: 105–121. Bibcode:2014ESRv..128..105F. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.10.009.