Prosantorhinus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammal}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Miocene
| image = Prosantorhinus sp.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Prosantorhinus
| authority = Heissig, 1973{{cite web |title=Prosantorhinus |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=43221 |website=Fossilworks}}
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
Prosantorhinus douvillei
Prosantorhinus germanicus
Prosantorhinus shahbazi
Prosantorhinus yei
}}
Prosantorhinus is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid that lived during the Early and Middle Miocene subepochs. The small teleoceratine rhinocerotid was found in Western Europe and Asia.{{cite journal |last1=Antoine |first1=P-O. |last2=Bulot |first2=C. |last3=Ginsburg |first3=L. |title=Une faune rare de rhinocérotidés (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) dan le Miocène inférieur de Pellecahus (Gers, France) |journal=Geobios |date=2000 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=249–255 |doi=10.1016/S0016-6995(00)80022-4|bibcode=2000Geobi..33..249A }}
Description
Prosantorhinus was a similarly sized animal to the Sumatran rhinoceros, it stood at around {{convert|4|ft|3|in|cm|abbr=on}} at the shoulder and was about {{convert|9|ft|6|in|cm|abbr=on}} long, weight estimates however are considerably bigger due to its considerably deeper chest.{{cite web |last1=Hernández Fernández |first1=Manuel |last2=Ansón |first2=Marco |title=Artistic reconstruction of the appearance of Prosantorhinus Heissig, 1974, the teleoceratine rhinoceros from the Middle Miocene of Somosaguas |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307544040 |website=ResearchGate |publisher=Spanish Journal of Paleontology |access-date=23 September 2021}} The body plan of Prosantorhinus is stubbier than that of other rhinocerotids, and its brachyodont molars would seem to suggest Prosantorhinus led a semiaquatic life, similar to a hippopotamus, possibly feeding on fresh water plants.{{cite book |last1=Agustí |first1=Jordi |last2=Antón |first2=Mauricio |title=Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe |date=2002 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231116411 |page=113}}Heissig, K. (1999): Family Rhinocerotidae. - In: Rossner, G. E. & Heissig, K. (Eds.): The Miocene Land Mammals of Europe, 175-188; Munich (Pfeil). The tooth eruption sequence of P. germanicus was identical to that of the present-day black rhinoceros, suggesting that it was a slow-growing and long-lived mammal.{{Cite journal |last=Böhmer |first=Christine |last2=Heissig |first2=Kurt |last3=Rössner |first3=Gertrud E. |date=9 November 2015 |title=Dental Eruption Series and Replacement Pattern in Miocene Prosantorhinus (Rhinocerotidae) as Revealed by Macroscopy and X-ray: Implications for Ontogeny and Mortality Profile |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10914-015-9313-x?fromPaywallRec=false |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=265–279 |doi=10.1007/s10914-015-9313-x |issn=1064-7554 |access-date=14 November 2024 |via=Springer Link|url-access=subscription }} The rugged texture at the tip of its snout could suggest the existence of one, maybe two, small horns; however it has been traditionally reconstructed with a fleshy bump.{{Cite journal |last1=Cerdeño |first1=Esperanza |date=1996-01-01 |title=Prosantorhinus, the small teleoceratinerhinocerotid from the Miocene of Western Europe |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699596800775 |journal=Geobios |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=111–124 |bibcode=1996Geobi..29..111C |doi=10.1016/S0016-6995(96)80077-5 |issn=0016-6995 |access-date=2021-09-21|url-access=subscription }}
Palaeoecology
Study of the dental mesowear and microwear of P. douvillei reveals that it was a folivorous browser.{{Cite journal |last1=Hullot |first1=Manon |last2=Laurent |first2=Yves |last3=Merceron |first3=Gildas |last4=Antoine |first4=Pierre-Olivier |date=2021 |title=Paleoecology of the Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Béon 1, Montréal-du-Gers (late early Miocene, SW France): Insights from dental microwear texture analysis, mesowear, and enamel hypoplasia |url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2021/3433-beon-1-rhinocerotids-ecology |journal=Palaeontologia Electronica |doi=10.26879/1163 |access-date=29 November 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Perissodactyla Genera|Rh.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3924061}}
Category:Prehistoric mammals of Europe
Category:Miocene mammals of Europe
Category:Miocene mammals of Asia
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