New and revised occurrences of Dihoplus megarhinus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in the Pliocene of Italy

Abstract

Several rhinoceros remains, collected in the Pliocene deposits of Northern Italy and usually ascribed to Dicerorhinus or Rhinoceros megarhinus, are revised; fur-thermore, unpublished Pliocene remains are also described. The material is compared with the respective anatomical elements of Dihoplus megarhinus, Stephanorhinus jeanvi-reti and Stephanorhinus etruscus. Based on morphological and morphometrical comparisons, the presence of Dihoplus megarhinus is confirmed in at least ten sites. In other Late Pliocene fossiliferous localities, the presence of S. jeanvi-reti and/or S. etruscus is recorded. D. megarhinus occurred in Italy at the beginning of the Early Pliocene. It was well represented in Val di Pugna (Tuscany) and in several Pli-ocene marine deposits near Bologna by fragmentary man-dibles, some postcranial remains and few teeth. The species disappeared before the beginning of the Villafranchian (Late Pliocene) when S. jeanvireti and S. etruscus co-occurred both in the site of Villafranca d'Asti and Montopoli. S. jeanvireti disappeared in Italy at the Plio-cene-Early Pleistocene transition whereas S. etruscus was widespread in Central and Southern Italy.