Russian archaeologists have unearthed a large collection of vertebral remains and other body parts of an ancient rhinoceros called Elasmutherium, the first such discovery in western Siberia.
The skeleton, the size of an Indian elephant, has been transferred to the collections of the Tomsk State University Museum. This was reported by TASS, citing the university's press service.
The Tomsk State University Paleontology Museum, celebrating its centenary this year, has acquired a truly unique exhibit, according to the museum's press service. The museum received a partial skeleton of the ancient Siberian rhinoceros, *Elasmotherium sibiricum*, an animal the size of an Indian elephant. This is the first time in Western Siberia that not just a single fragment, but a large collection of vertebral remains has been discovered. A detailed article on the study's findings will soon be published in a scientific journal. The rare specimen was delivered on September 22, World Rhino Day.
According to Andrei Shpansky, head of the Department of Paleontology and Historical Geology at the Faculty of Geology and Geography of Tomsk State University, local residents discovered the animal's remains in the far southwest of Siberia, near the village of Kirilovka in northern Kazakhstan. The remains, covering an area of approximately four square meters, consisted of the bones of a Siberian rhinoceros, including a large molar, cervical, thoracic, and caudal vertebrae, ribs, parts of the pelvis, and long leg bones. Although Elasmotherium has been known to science for over 220 years, it had previously only been discovered in western Siberia and Kazakhstan as individual bones.
Alongside the elasmotherium bones, an upper tooth of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) was found, as well as fragments of a skull and bones from an ancient horse. Analysis of the remains suggests that the animals died in the autumn on the shore or in shallow water. Soft tissue held the bones together for a long time, and then a spring flood quickly buried them in a shallow, sandy-clay bank. The bones show no signs of predator teeth or water erosion, and all belong to an adult individual about 20 years old who lived approximately 350,000 years ago, during a period of alternating glacial and warming phases.
The study's main scientific achievement lies in solving a long-standing mystery. Until now, paleontologists did not know how the skeletons of female Ellasmoreium differed from those of males. Examination of the left bone revealed that, while the same length as European specimens, it was significantly more slender. Calculations of the slenderness index confirmed that the discovered skeleton belonged to a large adult female. Ellasmoreium females were only slightly smaller than males, while still maintaining enormous sizes.
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