Rhinos Lived in High Arctic 23 Million Years Ago
Paleontologists have identified a new Early Miocene species of the rhinocerotid genus Epiaceratherium from the fossilized remains found in the Canadian High Arctic.
The new rhino species, named Epiaceratherium itjilik, lived in what is now Canada about 23 million years ago (Early Miocene epoch) and is most closely related to other rhino species that thrived in Europe millions of years earlier.
“Today there are only five species of rhinos in Africa and Asia, but in the past they were found in Europe and North America, with more than 50 species known from the fossil record,”
said Dr. Danielle Fraser, a researcher at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Carleton University and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Author's summary: Ancient rhinos lived in the Canadian High Arctic.