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Iranotherium

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Iranotherium
Temporal range: Late Miocene
Iranotherium morgani
Scientific classification
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Iranotherium

Ringström, 1924
Binomial name
Iranotherium morgani
Mecquenem, 1908

Iranotherium ("Beast of Iran") was a large elasmothere rhinoceros, as big as a modern white rhino, found in the Middle East and Central Asia. It was a precursor of the related Sinotherium, and may have been ultimately outcompeted by its descendant.

Skull of Iranotherium morgani.

Males were larger than the females and had more developed muscle scars on the zygomatic arch.

References

  • Deng, T. (2005). New discovery of Iranotherium morgani (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the late Miocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China, and its sexual dimorphism. Journal of vertebrate Paleontology, 25(2), 442-450.