Woolly Rhinoceros

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) is an extinct rhinoceros species that was widespread in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and lasted until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a Pleistocene megafauna member.

The woolly rhinoceros had long, thick hair that allowed it to survive in the harsh mammoth steppe despite the intense cold. It possessed a large hump that protruded from its shoulder, and it ate mostly herbaceous vegetation found in the steppe.

Many bone remnants of woolly rhinoceroses have been discovered, as well as mummified carcasses preserved in permafrost. Cave paintings across Europe and Asia contain images of woolly rhinoceroses.

Scientific Classification of Woolly Rhino

(image will be uploaded soon)

This article will study prehistoric rhinoceros in detail.

Taxonomy of Woolly Rhino

Woolly rhinoceros skeletons were discovered long before the species was named, and they served as inspiration for certain mythological monsters. Siberian indigenous peoples believed their horns were gigantic bird claws. In 1335, a rhinoceros skull was discovered in Klagenfurt, Austria, and was thought to be that of a dragon. It was used as the model for the head of a Lindworm statue in 1590. The animal was given the name Gryphus antiquitatis, which means "ancient gryphon," by Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert, who believed the horns were the claws of huge birds.

In 1769, naturalist Peter Simon Pallas issued a report on his trips to Siberia, where he discovered a skull and two horns in the permafrost of a baby woolly rhino . This was one of the earliest scientific accounts of an old rhinoceros species.  Pallas obtained a rhinoceros skull and two legs from villagers in Irkutsk in 1772, and called the species Rhinoceros lenenesis (after the Lena River). Johann Friedrich Blumenbach investigated rhinoceros bones from the University of Göttingen's collection in 1799 and proposed the name Rhinoceros antiquitatis.

Prehistoric Rhinoceros

Evolution

1. The woolly rhinoceros was the most advanced member of the Coelodonta genus. Elasmotherium is the woolly rhinoceros' closest extinct relative. During the first half of the Miocene, these two lineages were split. A 1.77 million-year-old Stephanorhinus rhino mummy could be a Coelodonta sibling group.

2. The woolly rhinoceros is thought to be descended from the Eurasian C. tologoijensis or Tibetan C. thibetana.

3. On the frigid Tibetan Plateau in 2011, a 3.6-million-year-old woolly rhinoceros fossil, the oldest known, was unearthed.

4. The closest living relative, according to DNA data dating from 40,000 to 70,000 years ago, is the Sumatran rhinoceros.

Characteristics of Prehistoric Rhinoceros

Structure and appearance

• From head to tail, an adult woolly rhinoceros measured 3 to 3.8 metres (9.8 to 12.5 feet), weighing roughly 1,800–2,700 kilogrammes (4,000–6,000 lb) or 2,000 kg (4,400 lb). It was about the same size as a white rhinoceros, growing up to 2 m (6.6 ft) tall at the shoulder. A one-month-old calf measured 120 centimetres (3.9 feet) in length and 72 centimetres (2.36 feet) in height at the shoulder. The keratin horns had one long horn that reached forward and a smaller horn between the eyes. The woolly rhinoceros had a longer head and body than other rhinoceroses, as well as shorter legs.

• The animal's large front horn was supported by a muscular hump on its shoulder. The hump also had a fat reserve to help them survive the harsh winters of the mammoth steppe.

• The rhino's lengthy fur coat was reddish-brown, with a thick undercoat that lay beneath a layer of long, coarse guard hair thickest around the withers and neck, according to frozen specimens. Snow didn't stick to the limbs because of the shorter hair. The tail was 45 to 50 cm (1.48 to 1.64 feet) in length and had a brush of coarse hair at the end. On the udders of females, there were two nipples.

• The woolly rhinoceros has numerous traits that reduce the surface area of the body and reduce heat loss. Its ears were just 24 centimetres (9.4 in) long, but rhinos in hot regions have ears that are roughly 30 centimetres long (12 in). Their tails were likewise shorter than others. It also possessed thick skin, with thickness varying from 5 to 15 millimetres (0.20 to 0.59 in), with the chest and shoulders being the thickest.

Skull and Dentition

• The cranium measured between 70 and 90 centimetres in length (28 to 35 in). It was longer than other rhinoceros', giving it a deep, downward-facing slanting stance akin to Stephanorhinus haematoloechus and Elasmotherium, as well as the white rhinoceros. The large skull was maintained in place by strong muscles on the long occipital bone. Its huge lower jaw could reach 60 centimetres (24 inches) in length and 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) in height.

• Unlike modern rhinos, the woolly rhinoceros' nasal septum was ossified. Adult males were the most affected. This adaptation most likely arose as a result of the high strain on the rhinoceros' horn and face while grazing beneath the thick snow. The nasal bones were united to the premaxilla in this rhino, which was not the case in older Coelodonta kinds or modern rhinoceroses.

• The woolly rhinoceros' teeth were thicker enamel with an exposed interior hollow. Adult rhinos, like other rhinos, lacked incisors. Both jaws had three premolars and three molars. The molars possessed a thick cementum coat and were high-crowned.

Horns 

There were two horns on both sexes. The front horn was at least a metre (3.3 feet) long, with a maximum length of 1.4 metres (4.6 feet) and a weight of 15 kilogrammes (33 lb). It had a much more forward-facing face than current rhinos. The trumpet on the back was shorter.

Paleobiology

The life cycle of the woolly rhinoceros was identical to that of modern rhinos. Individuals developed similarly to both the white and black rhinoceros, according to milk tooth studies. The female's two tests indicate that she only had one calf every two to three years, if at all. Calves stayed with their mother for roughly three years before hunting for their own territory, achieving sexual maturity by five years, if they were identical to modern rhinos. Woolly rhinoceroses, like their modern relatives, can live to be around 40 years old.

Woolly rhinos may have utilised their horns for combat, most likely intraspecific combat as documented in cave paintings, as well as pushing snow to expose vegetation during the winter. They could have been used to attract mates as well. Bull woolly rhinos, like their contemporary counterparts, were likely territorial, defending themselves against rivals, especially during the rutting season. Fossil skulls reveal traces of damage from other rhinos' front horns, while lower jaws and back ribs show signs of being fractured and re-formed, maybe from fighting.

Diet 

The skull, mandible, and teeth of a well-preserved final cold stage individual discovered from Whitemoor Haye, Staffordshire, displayed muscular and dental traits that suggest a grazing dietary choice, according to a strain vector biomechanical assessment. The expansion of the temporalis and neck muscles, in particular, is commensurate with that required to resist the large tugging forces created when consuming large mouthfuls of ground feed. This notion is supported by the presence of a big diastema.

Habitat and Distribution

The woolly rhinoceros lived mostly in dry to arid conditions in lowlands, plateaus, and river valleys, and migrated to higher elevations during favourable climate periods. Due to severe snow and steep terrain that the animal could not readily transverse, it avoided mountain ranges. The mammoth steppe, a broad, open area with a diverse mix of grasses and shrubs, was the rhino's primary home. The woolly rhinoceros coexisted with other huge herbivores including the woolly mammoth, giant deer, reindeer, saiga antelope, and bison, forming the Mammuthus-Coelodonta Faunal Complex.

Due to low grass density and lack of suitable habitat in the Yukon, competition with other large herbivores on the frigid land bridge, and vast glaciers creating physical barriers, it appears that it did not cross the Bering land bridge during the last ice age (which connected Asia and North America), with its easterly-most occurrence at the Chukotka Peninsula. Even if some did make it to North America, this was most likely a rare occurrence.

Woolly Rhino Extinction

Many Pleistocene megafauna species, such as the woolly rhinoceros, went extinct around the same time. Human hunting is frequently mentioned as a contributing factor. Climate change linked to the retreating Ice Age and the hyperdisease hypothesis are two more ideas for the extinctions (q.v. Quaternary extinction event). Although the woolly rhinoceros was specialised for cold weather, it was capable of thriving in warmer areas, according to one of the most frequently accepted explanations.

Populations in western Siberia survived as recently as 8,000 BC, according to radiocarbon dating. However, because many radiocarbon plateaus exist around this time, the accuracy of this date is questionable. The extinction does not coincide with the end of the last ice age, but it does coincide with the Younger Dryas, a brief interlude in the continuing warming following the termination of the last major ice age (GS2), thought to have been due to a shutdown of the global climate system.

Fossil Specimen 

• In the permafrost zone, many rhinoceros skeletons have been discovered. A skull, two legs, and a hide were discovered in the Vilyuy River in eastern Siberia in 1771 and delivered to Saint Petersburg's Kunstkamera. In 1877, a Siberian trader discovered a skull and one leg in a Yana River tributary.

• Miners in Starunia, Ukraine, discovered a mammoth body buried in an ozokerite pit in October 1907. A rhinoceros was discovered 5 metres (16 feet) beneath the surface a month later. Both were delivered to the Dzieduszycki Museum, where they were described in full in the museum's monograph. Photographs of the mounted specimen were published in paleontological publications and textbooks, and the mounted specimen inspired the first modern depictions of the species.

• Along with the mammoth, the rhino is presently housed in the Lviv National Museum. The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences later conducted an expedition to Starunia in 1929, where they discovered the mummified remains of three rhinos. One specimen was brought to the Aquarium and Natural History Museum in Kraków, losing only its horns and fur. Soon later, a plaster cast was prepared, which is currently in the Natural History Museum in London.

• In 1972, a rhinoceros skull and rib parts were discovered in Churapcha, between the Lena and Amga rivers. Soon after, a whole skeleton was discovered, complete with intact skin, fur, and stomach contents. A 20,000-year-old rhinoceros skeleton was discovered on the Aldan River's left bank in 1976 by kids on a field trip. The skeleton included a skull with both horns, a spine, ribs, and limb bones.

• In 2007, a fragmentary rhinoceros carcass was discovered in the Kolyma's lower reaches. The animal's upward-facing orientation implies that it sank after falling into mud. In the following year, 2008, a completely full skeleton was discovered in the Chukochya River. Locals near the Amga discovered mummified rhinoceros remains the same year, and over the next two years, pelvis bones, tail vertebrae, and ribs, as well as forelimbs and hind limbs with toes intact, were excavated.

Preserved Woolly Rhino

A well-preserved Ice age rhinoceros  woolly rhino has been discovered in permafrost in Russia's far north, with many of its internal organs still intact. The carcass was discovered by thawing permafrost in Yakutia in August, according to Russian media. According to Plotnikov, the young rhino most certainly drowned.

Two hunters, Alexander ``Sasha” Banderov and Simeon Ivanov, discovered a mummified baby rhinoceros in a tributary of the Semi Lyakh River in the Abyss District of Yakutia, Russia, in September 2014. Its skull and horns, as well as its fur and delicate tissues, were found. Because they were not buried by permafrost, some pieces had thawed and been eaten. The body was sent to the Yakutia Academy of Sciences, where it was given the name "Sasha" in honour of one of the finders.

Conclusion

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) is an extinct rhinoceros that was common in Europe and Asia throughout the Pleistocene epoch and persisted until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a member of the Pleistocene megafauna.

The long, thick hair of the woolly rhinoceros helped it to thrive in the harsh mammoth steppe despite the extreme cold. It ate largely herbaceous vegetation found in the steppe and had a huge hump protruding from its shoulder.

Many woolly rhinoceros bone fragments, as well as mummified carcasses frozen in permafrost, have been unearthed. Images of woolly rhinoceroses can be found in cave paintings all over Europe and Asia.