New cranial material of Shansirhinus (Rhinocerotidae, Perissodactyla) from the Lower Pliocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China

Abstract

A well-preserved skull and articulated mandible of Shansirhinus, a horned aceratherine rhinocerotid, is described from an Early Pliocene (Gaozhuangian; approximately 5.3–4.34 Ma) locality of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China. Comparing the new material of Shansirhinus ringstromi Kretzoi, 1942, we confirm the synonymy proposed previously for the species Chilotherium yunnanensis Tang et al., 1974, Chilotherium cornutum Qiu and Yan, 1982, and Ch. tianzhuensis Zheng, 1982. New knowledge concerning its cranial and mandibular morphology allows insight into its phylogenetic position among aceratherine rhinocerotids. A sister group relationship between Shansirhinus and Chilotherium is proposed on the basis of cranial, mandibular and dental evidence. Shared derived characters that support this relationship include: an expanded mandibular symphysis with a concave ventral surface; retracted premaxillae lacking upper incisors; a robust and right-angled facial crest; a flat or slightly concave dorsal skull profile; a weak or absent parastyle fold; and a constricted protocone on the premolars. Shansirhinus was probably a grazer, which is evidenced by the high crown, strong wear, well-developed secondary folds, and enamel plications on its teeth. The age of S. ringstromi is Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene, corresponding to the Turolian to Ruscinian, MN12–MN15 of Europe. S. ringstromi is likely the ancestor of the more advanced S. brancoi (Schlosser, 1903).