Dihoplus

In today's world, Dihoplus is a topic of great interest and relevance. Whether in the political, social, cultural or scientific field, Dihoplus has captured the attention of people of all ages and from different parts of the world. As Dihoplus continues to be the subject of debate and analysis, it is important to understand its impact on our society and the world at large. In this article, we will explore different aspects of Dihoplus, from its origin to its possible implications for the future. We will also examine the various perspectives and opinions that exist around Dihoplus, with the aim of offering a comprehensive and complete vision of this topic that is so relevant today.

Dihoplus
Temporal range:
Dihoplus schleiermacheri holotype skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Tribe: Dicerorhinini
Genus: †Dihoplus
Brandt, 1878
Type species
†Rhinoceros schleiermacheri
Kaup, 1832
Species
  • D. bethlehemsis
  • D. pikermiensis
  • D. schleiermacheri

Dihoplus is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia from the Late Miocene to Pliocene.[1]

Description

Skull of a subadult Dihoplus pikermiensis from Greece

Species of Dihoplus were large rhinoceroses, with the body masses of Dihoplus schleiermacheri and Dihoplus pikermiensis estimated at 2,122 kilograms (4,678 lb) and 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb) respectively.[2] The head bore two horns. The nasal septum was not ossified, with a nasal notch above the frontmost premolars. The toothrow is placed posteriorly within the skull. The first upper premolar is absent, though the lower second incisor is present.[1]

Taxonomy

Members of Dihoplus were long placed in Dicerorhinus (which contains the living Sumatran rhinoceros). Sometimes these species are placed in the related Stephanorhinus. The genus is now generally considered distinct,[3] though there is still debate as to which species should be included; for example, Deng (2011) listed Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis) under Dihoplus.[4] Species recently placed in the genus include:[5]

  • D. schleiermacheri (Kaup, 1832) the type species of the genus, known from Late Miocene of Europe, with the type specimen being known from Eppelsheim, Germany.[5]
  • D. pikermiensis (Toula, 1906), known from the Late Miocene of Europe, originally placed in the genus Stephanorhinus.[5]
  • ‘D.’ bethlehemsis Pandolfi, Rivals and Rabinovich, 2023, known from Pliocene aged deposits from Bethlehem in the Levant.[5]

"D." megarhinus (de Christol, 1834) from the Late Miocene-Pliocene of Europe, Anatolia, China and Transbaikalia,[1][5] since 2021 has been placed instead in the genus Pliorhinus along with "Dicerorhinus" miguelcrusafonti from the Pliocene of Europe.[6][7] "D." ringstoemi is either considered a synonym of "D." megarhinus[1] or placed as a separate species within Pliorhinus.[8]

The monophyly of the genus has been questioned, with some studies suggesting that D. pikermiensis is more closely related to Stephanorhinus and Coelodonta (which contains the woolly rhinoceros) than to the type species D. schleiermacheri.[7]


Morphological phylogeny after Pandolfi (2023), excluding living African rhinoceros species.[7]

Ecology

D. pikermiensis and D. bethlehemsis are suggested to have been browsers.[9][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pandolfi, Luca; Gasparik, Mihály; Piras, Paolo (2015). "Earliest occurrence of "Dihoplus" megarhinus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Europe (Late Miocene, Pannonian Basin, Hungary): Palaeobiogeographical and biochronological implications". Annales de Paléontologie. 101 (4): 325–339. Bibcode:2015AnPal.101..325P. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2015.09.001.
  2. ^ Mallet, Christophe; Billet, Guillaume; Cornette, Raphaël; Alexandra Houssaye, And (2022-11-02). "Adaptation to graviportality in Rhinocerotoidea? An investigation through the long bone shape variation in their hindlimb". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 196 (3): 1235–1271. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac007. ISSN 0024-4082.
  3. ^ Tong, Hao-wen (2012). "Evolution of the non-Coelodonta dicerorhine lineage in China". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 11 (8): 555–562. Bibcode:2012CRPal..11..555T. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.002.
  4. ^ Deng, T. (September 2, 2011). "Out of Tibet: Pliocene Woolly Rhino Suggests High-Plateau Origin of Ice Age Megaherbivores". Science. 333 (6047): 1285–1288. Bibcode:2011Sci...333.1285D. doi:10.1126/science.1206594. PMID 21885780. S2CID 8913866.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Pandolfi, Luca; Rivals, Florent; Rabinovich, Rivka (January 2020). "A new species of rhinoceros from the site of Bethlehem: 'Dihoplus' bethlehemsis sp. nov. (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae)". Quaternary International. 537: 48–60. Bibcode:2020QuInt.537...48P. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.01.011. S2CID 213080180.
  6. ^ Pandolfi, Luca; Pierre-Olivier, Antoine; Bukhsianidze, Maia; Lordkipanidze, David; Rook, Lorenzo (2021-08-03). "Northern Eurasian rhinocerotines (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) by the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition: phylogeny and historical biogeography". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (15): 1031–1057. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19.1031P. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1995907. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 244762077.
  7. ^ a b c Pandolfi, Luca (April 2023). "Reassessing the phylogeny of Quaternary Eurasian Rhinocerotidae". Journal of Quaternary Science. 38 (3): 291–294. Bibcode:2023JQS....38..291P. doi:10.1002/jqs.3496. hdl:11563/163194. ISSN 0267-8179. S2CID 256167036.
  8. ^ Li, Shijie; Sanisidro, Oscar; Wang, Shiqi; Yang, Rong; Deng, Tao (March 2024). "New materials of Pliorhinus ringstroemi from the Linxia Basin (Late Miocene, eastern Asia) and their taxonomical and evolutionary implications". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31 (1). doi:10.1007/s10914-023-09698-w. ISSN 1064-7554. S2CID 267352083.
  9. ^ Hullot, Manon; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Spassov, Nikolai; Koufos, George D.; Merceron, Gildas (2023-08-03). "Late Miocene rhinocerotids from the Balkan-Iranian province: ecological insights from dental microwear textures and enamel hypoplasia". Historical Biology. 35 (8): 1417–1434. Bibcode:2023HBio...35.1417H. doi:10.1080/08912963.2022.2095910. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 251046561.


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