Iranotherium
Appearance
Iranotherium Temporal range: Late Miocene
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Iranotherium morgani | |
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Genus: | Iranotherium Ringström, 1924
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Binomial name | |
Iranotherium morgani Mecquenem, 1908
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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.
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.