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Rhino like dinosaur11/13/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The presence of a large diastema supports this theory.Ĭomparisons with extant perissodactyls confirm that Coelodonta was a hindgut fermentor with a single stomach, and as such would have grazed upon cellulose-rich, protein-poor fodder. In particular, the enlargement of the temporalis and neck muscles is consistent with that required to resist the large tugging forces generated when taking large mouthfuls of fodder from the ground. Pollen analysis shows a prevalence of grasses and sedges within a more complicated vegetation mosaic.Ī strain vector biomechanical investigation of the skull, mandible and teeth of a well-preserved last cold stage individual recovered from Whitemoor Haye, Staffordshire, revealed musculature and dental characteristics that support a grazing feeding preference. Climatic reconstructions indicate the preferred environment to have been cold and arid steppe-tundra, with large herbivores forming an important part of the feedback cycle. The palaeodiet of the woolly rhinoceros has been reconstructed using several lines of evidence. File:Coelodonta.jpgĪ CGI life restoration of Coelodonta antiquitatis A close relative, the Elasmotherium had a more southern range.Ĭontroversy has long surrounded the precise dietary preference of Coelodonta as past investigations have found both grazing and browsing modes of life to be plausible. Like the vast majority of rhinoceroses, the body plan of the woolly rhinoceros adhered to the conservative morphology, like the first rhinoceroses seen in the late Eocene. Its geographical range expanded and contracted with the alternating cold and warm cycles, forcing populations to migrate as glaciers receded. Stocky limbs and thick woolly pelage made it well suited to the steppe-tundra environment prevalent across the Palearctic ecozone during the Pleistocene glaciations. The woolly rhinoceros used its horns for defensive purposes and to attract mates.Īs the last and most derived member of the Pleistocene rhinoceros lineage, the woolly rhinoceros was supremely well adapted to its environment. Cave paintings suggest a wide dark band between the front and hind legs, but it is not universal and identification of rhinoceros as woolly rhinoceros is uncertain. It had thick, long fur, small ears, short, thick legs, and a stocky body. Two horns on the skull were made of keratin, the anterior horn being 2 feet in length, with a smaller horn between its eyes. The woolly rhinoceros could grow up to be 2 meters tall. Life restoration of Coelodonta with a young one An adult woolly rhinoceros was 3.7 metres (12 feet) in length, and 2 to 3 tons on average, but they could probably grow to 4.3 - 4.4 meters (over 14 feet) at the largest. The external appearance of woolly rhinos is known from mummified individuals from Siberia as well as cave paintings. ![]()
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