New material of Stephanorhinus (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia) from Jinyuan Cave, Luotuo Hill in Dalian, Northeast China

ABSTRACT

Middle Pleistocene rhinocerotid material from the upper strata of Jinyuan Cave, Luotuo Hill, Dalian, is described in the present study. The specimens mainly consist of maxillary and mandible with dentition of juvenile and aged individuals, respectively. Based on comparison between the new discovery and known records of Pleistocene rhinocerotid, the Jinyuan Cave specimens are most similar to Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and then have been identified as Stephanorhinus cf. kirchbergensis. Tooth loss has been present on the Jinyuan Cave rhinocerotid specimen, represented by a mandible without both p2s. This problem could be a result of heredity issues. This condition may be due to mechanical damage from a coarse diet, which can lead to tooth loss and alveolar remodelling, according to the findings from an environmental investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• Rhinocerotidae
• Jinyuan Cave
• Middle Pleistocene
• palaeoecology
• pathology

Acknowledgements

The editor Dr Dyke and reviewers greatly improved our manuscript. Prof. Tao Deng (IVPP) provided research data of Zanda Basin, Tibet, China. Mr. Sheng Lü and Ms. Jie Zhang provided support to observations on Jinyuan Cave specimens housed in Administrative Committee of Dalian Jinpu New District. Dr Wenhui Liu (the National Museum of China) provided helpful suggestion for pathology discussion. We appreciate for all of their efforts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS)(No. 203115), the Chinese Natural Science Foundation Program (grant number 41872022) and Administrative Committee of Dalian Jinpu New District, Liaoning Province (The Comprehensive Research Project on Quaternary vertebrate fossils from Luotuo Hill, Dalian); the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB26030302, XDA20070203), award of Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2021069).