Narrow-nosed rhinoceros

Skulls from top to bottom. S. kirchbergensis, S. hemitoechus and the woolly rhinoceros, showing the difference in head angle

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros was a large animal, reaching a shoulder height of as much as 2 m (6.6 ft).[2] It can be distinguished from other species of Stephanorhinus by its very long and low skull. Its nasals are relatively low, and its horn base poorly developed. Teeth are forward shifting.[3]

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros probably favored temperate open areas rich in low-growing vegetation. It displayed many similarities to its better known extinct relative, the woolly rhinoceros. It was probably not a pure grazer, but a mixed feeder, eating low-growing vegetation in open habitats, with its diet varying according to local conditions.[3][4][5][6]

In Apulia in southern Italy, remains of narrow-nosed rhinoceros from the middle Late Pleistocene were found to be smaller than those of other areas, indicating they may have been an insular form.[7]

From the late Middle Pleistocene onwards, the narrow-nosed rhinoceros and its relative, the Merck's rhinoceros were the only surviving species of Stephanorhinus. In comparison to the widespread Merck's rhinoceros, the narrow-nosed rhinoceros had a more restricted distribution, including Europe,[8] as well as West Asia[9] and North Africa.[1]

In North Africa, the youngest remains of the narrow-nosed rhinoceros date to between 109 and 53 kya.[1]

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros survived until around 40 kya in southern Europe. The last records in Italy date to around 41,000 years ago,[6] while remains dating to 40,000 years ago are knowns from Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria.[10]

Specimens of S. hemitoechus from the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 12, 478,000-424,000 years ago) Caune de l'Arago site in Southern France shows extensive evidence of butchery by archaic humans (presumably by Tautavel Man, which is found at the same site). The ratios of skeletal elements implies that only the parts of the body with the most meat were carried to the site. The profile of ages of rhino bones in the cave resembles natural mortality curves, suggesting that there was not selective hunting, and the fact that marks of other carnivores are rare implies that the carcasses were acquired by hunting or active scavenging.[11] A skull from Cueva Des-Cubierta in central Spain, dating to the early-mid Late Pleistocene (MIS 4-early MIS 3, ~71-43,000 years ago) exhibits fracturing and cut marks consistent with butchery likely by Neanderthals. The missing pieces of the skull were not found in the cave, suggesting that it had been butchered off-site. It has been proposed that the skull was kept as a hunting trophy along with the skulls of aurochs and bison.[12]