Deep beneath the frozen ground of Devon Island in Canada’s Arctic highlands, researchers have discovered a nearly complete skeleton of a rhinoceros. Ephiaceratherium Ijiriklived there about 23 million years ago.
This discovery is Canadian Museum of Natureit becomes clear that rhinos roam farther north than anyone ever imagined.
Ephiaceratherium Ijirik fossil
The fossil was discovered within Horton Crater. Horton Crater, the 23 km wide impact site, is now covered in ice and silence. Millions of years ago, forests, lakes, and life existed in this same place.
The research team named the new species Ephiaceratherium Ijirikor “frosty rhino,” is a combination of Latin and Inuktitut words, reflecting its Arctic homeland.
“Currently, there are only five species of rhinos in Africa and Asia, but they were once found in Europe and North America, and more than 50 species are known from the fossil record,” said Dr. Daniel Fraser, head of palaeontology at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“The addition of this arctic species to the rhino family tree provides new insights into our understanding of rhino evolution.” history”
How rhinos adapted to the Arctic
Rhino bones tell a story of adaptation and survival. Ephiaceratherium Ijirik It was smaller and slimmer than the modern African rhinoceros. It had no horns and was similar in size to an Indian rhinoceros.
The name “Ijilik”, which means “frost” in Inuktitut, was chosen after consultation with Inuit elder Jaroo Kigkutak from Griesfjord, Canada’s northernmost Inuit community. He visited fossil We guided the naming process to honor the traditions of the area.
The first discovery dates back to 1986. Carnegie Museum of Natural History I collected some key bones. They contained parts of a skull, jaw and teeth, enough to confirm that it was a member of the rhinoceros family.
Dawson, who passed away in 2020, was one of the first to examine the Arctic fossils and is credited as a co-author of the study that ultimately led to the naming of the species.
bone from Ephiaceratherium Ijirik
The quality of the fossils surprised the research team. “The remarkable thing about the Arctic rhinoceros is that fossil The bones are in excellent condition,” said Marisa Gilbert, senior research assistant at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“They are three-dimensionally preserved and have only been partially replaced by minerals. About 75 percent of the skeleton was discovered, which is incredibly complete for a fossil.”
Gilbert participated in several Arctic expeditions led by Dr. Natalia Rybczynski in the late 2000s. During these trips, the team discovered another ancient species. Puigila Dalwinithe ancestor of seals that migrated from land to sea.
and Ephiaceratherium IjirikTheir research is now linking two different evolutionary stories. One about ice-adapted life and the other about mammals that spread across continents.
How did the rhino reach the North Pole?
The location of the fossil’s discovery adds a new twist to the rhino family’s story. By studying 57 extinct and extant rhino species, scientists discovered: Ephiaceratherium Ijirik It probably migrated from Europe to North America via a land bridge through Greenland.
Previous studies had argued that this route disappeared 56 million years ago, but new evidence suggests it lasted much longer, perhaps into the Miocene.
Dr. Fraser’s team used modeling to track when and where rhino species appeared. Their analysis showed that the North Atlantic Land Bridge was still active at the time. Ephiaceratherium Ijirik He was alive.
The discovery rewrites part of the history of mammal migration, showing that the wave of animal movement between continents was much slower than anyone expected.
Protein clues from enamel
In 2025, another milestone takes the story even further. Scientists have successfully extracted a partial protein from rhinoceros tooth enamel. This is an accomplishment that was once thought to be impossible with fossils this old.
The study was led by postdoctoral researcher Ryan Sinclair-Patterson. University of Copenhagenextending the timeline of retrievable evolutionary proteins by millions of years.
This research also opens new doors to studying ancient mammals through conserved biomolecules.
“Descriptions of new species are always exciting and informative,” Dr Fraser said.
“But that’s not all there is to gain from identifying it. Ephiaceratherium IjirikBecause our reconstruction of rhino evolution shows that the North Atlantic played a much more important role in rhino evolution than previously thought. ”
ancient arctic environment
Houghton Crater once contained a lake surrounded by temperate forest. Fossil plants show that birch and larch trees grew where ice now dominates.
Over time, freeze and thaw cycles destroyed the buried layers and pushed the ancient bones to the surface.
This process, known as cryoturbation, has helped preserve fossils such as: Ephiaceratherium Ijirik It is located in a small area about 7 square meters wide.
The Arctic may seem desolate now, but it continues to reveal traces of its lush past. Every discovery there adds a new line to Earth’s history, etched in bone and ice.
the importance of Ephiaceratherium Ijirik
This discovery does more than fill a current gap. fossil record. It reveals that the Arctic, often seen as lifeless, has a story of resilience and adaptation.
Millions of years ago, a hornless rhino walked through a forest that no longer exists. Their ice-free bones contain stories about survival in a changing world, reminding us that even the coldest places can hold the warmest histories.
fossil of Ephiaceratherium Ijirik It is currently housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature (created in collaboration with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History).
The research will be published in a journal natural ecology and evolution.
Featured image credit: Julius Csotonyi
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