Extinct Eurasian rhinoceros Coelodonta and Stephanorhinus dental pathologies and tooth change modus

Dental pathologies are described for four extinct rhinoceroses Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach, 1799) and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (Falconer, 1868) of the Late Pleistocene Weichselian Glacial (MIS 3-5 d), Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Ja euro ger, 1839 of the Late Pleistocene Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e), and Ste-phanorhinus hundsheimensis (Toula, 1902) from the Middle Pleistocene Cromerian Mosbach Interglacial (MIS 11) which material is mainly from the Rhine Valley megafauna migratory channel of Central Europe. All three extinct and even extant rhinoceros share similar ontogenetic P4 pathologic misplacement pa-thologies. Those caused in some cases further dental abnormalities impacting the lower jaw dentition, even in rare cases including complete deformation of the lower jaw. In the browsing Stephanorhinus (S. kirchbergensis, S. hundsheimensis) the P4 is more commonly misplaced; in the Mid-Pleistocene Mos-bach S. hundsheimensis are three examples with similar misplacements on the right and left maxillaries, which have a similar genetic pool background of a local palaeopopulation. The grazer rhinoceros C. antiquitatis has a further pathology type with loss or even genetically pre-assessed non-development of the first upper or lower PM premolars or last M molars. The strong wear, damage, and loss of the anterior premolars in elderly individuals as ontogenetically based pathology, seem to result from intensive grazer and opal phytoliths abrasion. This loss finally resulted in irregularities of the permanent dentition and influenced wear stages and irregular abrasion angles of the tooth rows, affecting the upper and lower rows each others.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study describes dental pathologies in four extinct rhinoceros species belonging to different periods of the Pleistocene era. The species show similar dental abnormalities, including misplacement of the P4 tooth and dental abnormalities in the lower jaw. The browsing rhinoceros species exhibit a higher frequency of P4 misplacement, while the grazer rhinoceros species have a specific pathology involving the loss or underdevelopment of specific premolar and molar teeth. The wear, damage, and loss of anterior premolars in elderly individuals are likely due to intensive grazing and abrasion from plant fossils. These dental pathologies have implications for tooth wear and alignment in both the upper and lower jaws.