Merck´s Rhinoceros
Encyclopedia
Stephanorhinus is an extinct genus of rhinoceros
native to northern Eurasia
that lived during the middle and early late Pleistocene
epoch
. It had two horns and was a relatively large rhino.
S. kirchbergensis preferred forest or woodland habitats, while S. hemiotechus was probably adapted to more open habitats. S. kirchbergensis is relatively rare in fossil record and known from few Italian, French, German, British, and East-European localities, mostly of the middle Pleistocene. In Asia it is known from Siberia, Western Asia (e.g. southeastern Kazakhstan), Central Korea, China. It may have also occurred in Israel and Lebanon, but here it's unclear, if it was really S. kirchbergensis or a similar species
.
In eastern Europe S. kirchbergensis disappeared during the earliest Late Pleistocene, where it is recorded in the Eemian in Poland. In the Forests of the Caucasus it may have survived even until the early Weichselian. The last occurrences are known from Spain, where it survived until the middle or early Late Weichselian. The narrow-nosed rhinoceros appeared in Europe in the early middle Pleistocene. It is known here from many localities between, Spain, Italy, Germany and the British Islands. Apart from Europe it is also known from Syria, Israel, the Caucasus and from one late Pleistocene locality close to Lake Baikal
. This is the easternmost point of the known range. The latest fossils of the narrow-nosed rhinoceros are known from the Balkan, where it survived until the early late Weichselian
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
native to northern Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
that lived during the middle and early late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch
Epoch (geology)
An epoch is a subdivision of the geologic timescale based on rock layering. In order, the higher subdivisions are periods, eras and eons. We are currently living in the Holocene epoch...
. It had two horns and was a relatively large rhino.
Species and distribution
S. kirchbergensis was larger than the similar Narrow-nosed Rhinoceros Stephanorhinus hemiotechus, which lived during the same epoch in Eurasia.S. kirchbergensis preferred forest or woodland habitats, while S. hemiotechus was probably adapted to more open habitats. S. kirchbergensis is relatively rare in fossil record and known from few Italian, French, German, British, and East-European localities, mostly of the middle Pleistocene. In Asia it is known from Siberia, Western Asia (e.g. southeastern Kazakhstan), Central Korea, China. It may have also occurred in Israel and Lebanon, but here it's unclear, if it was really S. kirchbergensis or a similar species
.
In eastern Europe S. kirchbergensis disappeared during the earliest Late Pleistocene, where it is recorded in the Eemian in Poland. In the Forests of the Caucasus it may have survived even until the early Weichselian. The last occurrences are known from Spain, where it survived until the middle or early Late Weichselian. The narrow-nosed rhinoceros appeared in Europe in the early middle Pleistocene. It is known here from many localities between, Spain, Italy, Germany and the British Islands. Apart from Europe it is also known from Syria, Israel, the Caucasus and from one late Pleistocene locality close to Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
. This is the easternmost point of the known range. The latest fossils of the narrow-nosed rhinoceros are known from the Balkan, where it survived until the early late Weichselian