Diceros
Temporal range: Possible Early Miocene record
Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Tribe: Dicerotini
Genus: Diceros
Gray, 1821
Species

Diceros (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos)[1]) is a genus of rhinoceros containing the extant black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and several extinct species.[2]

Taxonomy

Diceros is more closely related to the genus Ceratotherium (which contains the white rhinoceros) than it is to other living rhinoceroses, with the clade containing the two comprising the tribe Dicerotini (also spelled Diceroti) or subtribe Dicerotina.[3]

Diceros has been suggested by some authors to have branched off from an early species of Ceratotherium, specifically C. neumayri,[4] which has also been assigned to Diceros in some studies.[3] However, other authors have disputed the close relationship between Diceros and "C". neumayri.[3]

The oldest species assigned to the genus is "Diceros" australis from the Early Miocene of Namibia,[5] dating to around 17-18 million years ago.[6] It is only known from fragmentary remains, and its assignment to the genus, and even to Dicerotini have been questioned by other authors.[3] Other species assigned to the genus include Diceros praecox from the Late Miocene (from about 7 million years ago) and the Pliocene of Sub-Saharan Africa.[6] D. praecox has been suggested by some authors to be the ancestor of the modern D. bicornis.[7] Diceros primaevus is known from the Late Miocene (c. 12-10 million years ago) of Algeria.[6][3] Diceros douariensis is known from the Late Miocene of Tunisia and possibly Ethiopia.[6][3] Some authors have assigned this species to Ceratotherium.[8] The species Diceros gansuensis has been reported from the Late Miocene of China,[9] dating to around 10 million years ago.[6] The earliest remains assigned to the modern black rhinoceros are known the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) of East Africa.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Glossary. American Museum of Natural History". Archived from the original on 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. p. 679. ISBN 9780520257214.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Giaourtsakis, Ioannis X. (2022), Vlachos, Evangelos (ed.), "The Fossil Record of Rhinocerotids (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) in Greece", Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 409–500, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_14, ISBN 978-3-030-68441-9, retrieved 2023-11-20
  4. ↑ Geraads, Denis (2005). "Pliocene Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia) from Hadar and Dikka (Lower Awash, Ethiopia), and a revision of the origin of modern African rhinos" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (2): 451–461. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0451:PRMFHA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4524458.
  5. ↑ Guérin C (2000) The Neogene rhinoceroses of Namibia. Palaeontol Africana 36:119–138
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Handa, Naoto; Nakatsukasa, Masato; Kunimatsu, Yutaka; Nakaya, Hideo (2019-02-07). "Additional specimens of Diceros (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the Upper Miocene Nakali Formation in Nakali, central Kenya". Historical Biology. 31 (2): 262–273. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1362560. ISSN 0891-2963.
  7. ↑ Geraads, Denis (2005). "Pliocene Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia) from Hadar and Dikka (Lower Awash, Ethiopia), and a revision of the origin of modern African rhinos" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (2): 451–461. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0451:PRMFHA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4524458.
  8. ↑ Pandolfi (2018). Evolutionary history of Rhinocerotina (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). Fossilia, Volume 2018
  9. ↑ DENG Tao, QIU Zhan-Xiang . First Discovery of Diceros (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) in China [J]. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2007, 45(4): 287-306.
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