Article: A new species of the rhinoceros Alicornops from the Middle Miocene of the Linxia Basin, Gansu, China
Publication: Palaeontology
Volume:
47
Part:
6
Publication Date:
November
2004
Page(s):
1427
–
1439
Author(s):
Tao Deng
Abstract
A new species of the genus Alicornops, A. laogouense, from Laogou in Hezheng County, Linxia Basin, Gansu, China, is described. It is mid-sized in the subfamily Aceratheriinae, but is the largest known species of Alicornops. It represents the first discovery of the genus in Asia. The Middle Miocene fauna bearing A. laogouense is contemporaneous with the Dingjiaergou fauna of Tongxin, Ningxia, China, and its age corresponds to MN 6 in Europe. The discovery of A. laogouense in the Linxia Basin implies that Alicornops dispersed from Europe to Asia. During MN 6 times it was relatively widespread throughout Eurasia. Alicornops laogouense lived in open woodland rich in lakes and rivers.