Dihoplus
Dihoplus is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia from the Late Miocene to Pliocene.
Description
Species of Dihoplus were large rhinoceroses, with the body masses of Dihoplus schleiermacheri and Dihoplus pikermiensis estimated at and respectively. The head bore two horns. The nasal septum was not ossified, with a nasal notch above the frontmost premolars. The toothrow is placed posteriorly within the skull. The first upper premolar is absent, though the lower second incisor is present.Taxonomy
Members of Dihoplus were long placed in Dicerorhinus. Sometimes these species are placed in the related Stephanorhinus. The genus is now generally considered distinct, though there is still debate as to which species should be included; for example, Deng listed Merck's rhinoceros under Dihoplus. Species recently placed in the genus include:- D. schleiermacheri the type species of the genus, known from Late Miocene of Europe, with the type specimen being known from Eppelsheim, Germany.
- D. pikermiensis, known from the Late Miocene of Europe, originally placed in the genus Stephanorhinus.
- ‘D.’ bethlehemsis Pandolfi, Rivals and Rabinovich, 2023, known from Pliocene aged deposits from Bethlehem in the Levant.
The monophyly of the genus has been questioned, with some studies suggesting that D. pikermiensis is more closely related to Stephanorhinus and Coelodonta than to the type species D. schleiermacheri.
Morphological phylogeny after Pandolfi, excluding living African rhinoceros species.