Aphelops

Aphelops
Temporal range: Miocene–Middle Pleistocene
Skeleton in Nebraska State Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Subfamily: Aceratheriinae
Genus: Aphelops
Owen, 1845

Aphelops is an extinct genus of rhinoceros endemic to North America during the Miocene through the Pliocene, living from 20.43—4.9 mya.[1]

Taxonomy

A. fossiger skeletal restoration
Restoration

Aphelops was named by Owen (1845) with species attributed to Cope 1873 and Cope 1874. It was assigned to Aceratheriinae by Prothero (1998); and to Rhinocerotidae by Owen (1845), Carroll (1988) and Hulbert and Whitmore (2006).[2][3]

Morphology

Body mass

Five specimens were examined by M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist.[4] The results were:

  • Specimen 1: 265.7 kg (590 lb)
  • Specimen 2: 474.0 kg (1,000 lb)
  • Specimen 3: 3,327.5 kg (7,300 lb)
  • Specimen 4: 1,283.3 kg (2,800 lb)
  • Specimen 5: 261.9 kg (580 lb)

References

  1. ↑ PaleoBiology Database: Aphelops, basic info
  2. ↑ D. R. Prothero. 1998. Rhinocerotidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary mammals of North America 595-605
  3. ↑ R. C. Hulbert and F. C. Whitmore. 2006. Late Miocene mammals from the Mauvilla Local Fauna, Alabama. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 46(1):1-28
  4. ↑ M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist. 2006. Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates: a study on the use of multiple regression. Journal of Zoology 270(1):90-101


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