First Discovery of Dicerorhinus sumatrensis from Yanjinggou Provides Insights into the Pleistocene Rhinocerotidae of South China

Abstract

AbstractThe Rhinocerotidae is one of the most common and important families in the Pleistocene mammalian fauna of South China. Since the last century, most of the Pleistocene rhinocerotid fossils were prematurely assigned to Rhinoceros sinensis, which has resulted in confusion of taxonomy for decades, especially in South China. The Yanjinggou area in Chongqing Municipality of China, where the neotype of R. sinensis came from, has yielded abundant rhinocerotid fossils and is a key area to solve this problem. A recently discovered juvenile skull from a karstic fissure in this area can be referred to Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Fischer, 1814), which is the first confirmed non‐Rhinoceros rhinocerotid from the area. This new finding indicates that non‐Rhinoceros fossils might have been mixed in AMNH collection from Yanjinggou and thus the diagnosis of Rhinoceros sinensis needs reformation. On the other hand, Stephanorhinus ?kirchbergensis is also detected in Granger's collection based on our reobservation. The coexistence of Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus and Stephanorhinus shows the higher diversity of Pleistocene rhinocerotids in South China.