A new rhinocerotid (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from the latest Miocene of Southern Italy

Abstract

A new species of Rhinocerotidae (Perissodactyla), ‘Ceratotherium’ advenientis sp. nov., from the late Miocene (8.1–7.2 Ma) locality of Cava Gentile, Calabria (Southern Italy), is described. ‘Ceratotherium’ advenientis displays morphological characters close to Rhinocerotina, in particular to dicerotines, and can be distinguished from the late Miocene elasmotheres, teleoceratines and aceratheres recorded in Eurasia and Africa. The new taxon clearly differs from the European latest Miocene species Dihoplus schleiermacheri, Dihoplus pikermiensis, ‘Dihoplus’ megarhinus and Ceratotherium neumayri, and from the African species Ceratotherium douariense, Ceratotherium? primaevum and Paradiceros mukirii. ‘Ceratotherium’ advenientis also differs from the Chinese dicerotine Diceros gansuensis and from the extant African species. The new taxon is characterized by peculiar features, in particular in the morphology and dimension of the neurocranial portion, and by having a nuchal crest wider than in the extant African rhinoceroses, C. neumayri, C. douariense, and European latest Miocene species. A cladistic analysis places ‘Ceratotherium’ advenientis in a polytomy with the extant Diceros bicornis, C. neumayri and a small clade composed by C. simum and C. antiquitatis. The African affinities of the new taxon support the Calabrian-Peloritan arc as a northern extension of the African continental shelf during the late Miocene.