Rhinoceroses diversify
Running rhinos, hippo-like rhinos and giant browsing rhinos occupy niches across the northern continents.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 11 million years
- Known to
- ± 1 million years
- Era
- Oligocene, Cenozoic
The Oligocene is the peak of rhinocerotoid diversity, with far more variety than the five living species suggest. Hyracodonts are lightly built runners; amynodonts are heavy, semi-aquatic and hippo-like; and the true rhinocerotids, mostly hornless at this stage, are abundant browsers. The giant Paraceratherium belongs to the same broad group. Most of these forms disappear as grasslands spread and as the climate cools, leaving a much narrower surviving lineage.