Gaindatherium
Gaindatherium is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Asia during the Miocene. It is mainly known from the Siwalik Hills in Pakistan, though its fossils have been found as far west as the Negev desert.[1]
| Gaindatherium Temporal range: Early - Mid Miocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
| Genus: | †Gaindatherium Colbert, 1934 |
| Type species | |
| †Gaindatherium browni Colbert, 1934 | |
| Species | |
| |
Description
Gaindatherium is believed to be the direct ancestor of the genus Rhinoceros. Among the features it shares with that genus are arched nasal bones that helped support its single horn and a forward-inclined back of skull.[2] Its skull is longer and narrower compared to Rhinoceros, with more primitive brachyodont teeth.[3]
References
- Pandolfi, L. (2021). "Rhinocerotidae from the early Miocene of the Negev (Israel) and implications for the dispersal of early Neogene rhinoceroses". Journal of Paleontology: 1–12. doi:10.1017/jpa.2021.64.
- Prothero, Donald R. (2002). Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 285. ISBN 9780801871351.
- Colbert, Edwin H. (1935). "Siwalik mammals in the American Museum of Natural History". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. 26.
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