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Le gisement de vertébrés pliocènes de Çalta, Ankara, Turquie. 6. Rhinocerotidae

Claude GUÉRIN & Sevket SEN

fr Geodiversitas 20 (3) - Pages 397-407

Published on 30 September 1998

This article is a part of the thematic issue Pliocene vertebrate locality of Çalta, Ankara, Turkey

Pliocene vertebrate locality of Çalta, Ankara, Turkey. 6. Rhinocerotidae

Six rhinocerotid remains were found in the upper Ruscinian site of Çalta: a magum, an astragalus, three metarsals including a complete third one, and a phalanx. They belong to the most recent form of Dicerorhinus megarhinus (de Christol, 1834) which is the standard and most common rhinoceros from the European Ruscinian. Fossil species from the upper Ruscinian (MN15) are clearly smaller than the individuals found from the lower Ruscinian (MN14) and the bones from Çalta belong to the most evoluted type. The ecological requirements of D. megarhinus were an open forest in a warm and wet climate.


Keywords:

Rhinocerotidae, Pliocene, Turkey, biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironment

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