Teleoceras major (fossil barrel-bodied rhinos) in volcanic tuff (Ash Hollow Formation, Miocene, 11.83 Ma; Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska, USA) 31 : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Teleoceras major (fossil barrel-bodied rhinos) in volcanic tuff (Ash Hollow Formation, Miocene, 11.83 Ma; Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska, USA) 31 / James St. John
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Teleoceras major Hatcher, 1894 - fossil barrel-bodied rhino skeletons in fossiliferous volcanic tuff in the Miocene of Nebraska, USA.Volcanic tuff is a fine-grained, clastic-textured, extrusive igneous rock - basically a solidified volcanic ash deposit. Volcanic tuff can be well to poorly indurated / lithified. This exposure is at Nebraska's Ashfall Fossil Beds. The ash is derived from the Bruneau-Jarbidge Volcanic Field in southwestern Idaho's Snake River Plain. The wind-blown ash buried a vertebrate-rich biota at what was originally a Miocene waterhole.The skeletons seen here are barrel-bodied rhinos, Teleoceras major, which is a common species at Ashfall Fossil Beds. The larger skeleton is an adult female rhino (nicknamed "Sandy"); the smaller skeleton is a baby rhino (nicknamed "Justin").------------------------------------------------From on-site info.:This close association suggests that "Justin", who is about one month old, may be "Sandy's" calf. Several examples of baby rhinos in nursing position have been found previously at Ashfall (none in the Rhino Barn yet).-------------The most abundant large animal discovered in the volcanic ash bed is an extinct rhinoceros with a body shape similar to today's hippopotamus. Like hippos, barrel-bodied rhinos may have wallowed in the waterholes that dotted the ancient savannas of the Great Plains. Unlike modern-day rhinos, which are primarily solitary creatures, the Nebraska rhino probably was a social species that formed herds. By studying the age and sex of more than 100 skeletons from Ashfall, paleontologists concluded that Teleoceras males (with large tusks) may have defended "harems" of females (with small tusks) and their calves. Young adult male skeletons are remarkably rare in the ash bed, suggesting that "bachelor males" may have been excluded from the breeding herds and forced to live elsewhere.Adult males were only about 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder but were over 10 feet long and 10 feet in circumference around the belly. Females measured 20% smaller.[Teleoceras - ] the name means "perfect horn" and refers to the fact that both mle and female skulls have rough bumps near the end of their nasal bones, proving that they had a true horn in life. ------------------------------------------------Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Perissodactyla, RhinocerotidaeStratigraphy: Cap Rock Member, Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group, Miocene, 11.83 MaLocality: Hubbard Rhino Barn, Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, northeastern Nebraska, USA------------------------------------------------Info. at:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleocerasanden.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashfall_Fossil_Beds |
| 撮影日 | 2011-08-05 13:24:57 |
| 撮影者 | James St. John |
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