Researchers Discover Ancient Woolly Rhinoceros With Snow Shovel Like Horn
Posted on September 4, 2011
Researchers discovered the fossil of an ancient woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta thibetana) in Tibet. The unique woolly rhinoceros lived 3.6 million years ago on the Tibetan Plateau. The beast may have used its large horn like a shovel to move snow.
The researchers say the discovery predates other woolly rhino fossils by at least a million years. The BBC reports that the ancient rhino was found in Tibet's Zanda Basin. The Zanda Basin was much warmer 3.6 million years ago. The researchers believe it may have been the origin spot - or "cradle" - for many megaherbivores.
NPR says that ancient woolly rhino's horn was three-foot-long and was wide and flat. Xiaoming Wang, from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, says, "The animal actually used it to sweep snow, so they can get at the vegetation below the snow cover."
The shovel like horn and thick fur would have served the woolly rhinoceros well when it moved into colder regions. A paper about the Tibetan Plateau and the woolly rhino discovered was published here in Science magazine