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Mid-Cenozoic rhinocerotid dispersal via the North Atlantic

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 9, pages 2223–2237 (2025) Cite this article

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Abstract

The North Atlantic Land Bridge (NALB), which connected Europe to North America, enabled high-latitude dispersal, particularly during globally warm periods such as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, a period of dramatic faunal reorganization. It has been generally accepted by palaeontologists, based on faunal comparisons between Europe and North America, that terrestrial vertebrates did not disperse via the NALB more recently than the early Eocene. Here we describe a new Early Miocene rhinocerotid species from the Canadian High Arctic with proximity to the NALB and present novel phylogenetic hypotheses for rhinocerotids. The new species, Epiaceratherium itjilik sp. nov., is differentiated from the four other members of the genus by characteristics of the P3, M1-2, mandible and lower premolars. E. itjilik also possesses an enlarged fifth metacarpal and reduced third trochanter of the femur. Global-scale biogeographic analyses reveal a high number of dispersals between Europe and North America, in both directions; cumulatively, they near the number of dispersals within Eurasia. Notably, multiple dispersals occurred in the Oligo-Miocene, suggesting that the NALB may have been crossable for mammals for at least 20 million years longer than previously considered, consistent with emerging geological and palaeoclimatological models. In combination with a NALB that was interrupted by only narrow, shallow waterways until the Miocene, we suggest that the formation of seasonal ice as early as the mid to late Eocene may have facilitated movement of terrestrial organisms between Europe and North America. We thus provide insight into the importance of the NALB as a persistent high-latitude connector of geographically disparate terrestrial faunas, underscoring the pivotal role of the Arctic in mammalian evolution.

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Fig. 1: Three-dimensional scan of the skull elements of Epiaceratherium itjilik sp. nov. (CMNFV 59632) in right lateral view.
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Fig. 2: Maxillary elements of Epiaceratherium itjilik sp. nov.
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Fig. 3: Mandibular elements of Epiaceratherium itjilik sp. nov.
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Fig. 4: Dispersals between North America and Europe occurred as late as the Miocene.
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Fig. 5: Dispersals between North America and Europe occurred with relatively high frequency.
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Data availability

Phylogenetic character data for Aphelops megalodus, Diceratherium armatum, Peraceras profectum and Floridaceras whitei were collected by the authors from the American Museum of Natural History and Museum of Comparative Zoology. Specimen numbers are listed in Supplementary Table 3. Biogeographic data were collected from the Paleobiology Database (https://paleobiodb.org), relevant literature or the database of Old World Neogene and Quaternary rhino occurrences151. The data used in this study are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17049570 (ref. 163).

Code availability

The code used for the current study is available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17049570 (ref. 163).

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Acknowledgements

The Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) resides on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinābe Algonquin people who have stewarded the land for thousands of years. We acknowledge that the CMN’s scientific research occurs across Canada—from coast to coast to coast—on the territories of the Métis and First Nations people and in Inuit Nunangat. This work was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant to D.F. (NSERC RGPIN-2018-05305) and The W. Garfield Weston Foundation to N.R. The fieldwork would not have been possible without the support from the Polar Continental Shelf Program, the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut Impact Review Board. This research was also supported by palaeontology permits from the Government of Nunavut, Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and with the permission of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, especially Grise Fiord. Guidance on Inuktitut species name was provided by J. Kiguktak. The work benefited from discussions and fieldwork collaboration of J. Gosse. Field research was supported by the CMN and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and a National Geographic grant to M.R.D. Collections support was provided by K. Shepherd, M. Currie, S. Rufolo and S. Swan. We thank A. Henrici and colleagues for their careful reconstruction and preparation of the Devon Island rhino specimen. Three-dimensional models were created and edited by A. Tirabasso and A. McDonald. We thank K. Johnson for helpful discussion. We also thank J. Tissier for productive comments that greatly improved the systematics components of manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palaeobiology, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Danielle Fraser, Natalia Rybczynski & Marisa Gilbert

  2. Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Danielle Fraser & Natalia Rybczynski

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Danielle Fraser & Natalia Rybczynski

  4. Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA

    Danielle Fraser

  5. Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Mary R. Dawson

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  1. Danielle Fraser
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  2. Natalia Rybczynski
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  4. Mary R. Dawson
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Contributions

D.F. described the specimen, took measurements and photos, performed the phylogenetic analyses, performed the biogeographic analyses and wrote the manuscript. N.R. was field leader in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, described the specimen, took measurements and photos and wrote the manuscript. M.G. was part of the field team in 2008, 2009 and 2010, described the specimen, took measurements and photos and wrote the manuscript. M.R.D. was field leader in 1986 when the majority of the rhinocerotid specimen was collected, described the specimen, took measurements and participated in 2007 and 2008 fieldwork.

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Correspondence to Danielle Fraser.

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Nature Ecology & Evolution thanks Thomas Denk, Jeremy Tissier and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Figs. 1–27, Tables 1–7, specimen description, comparison, comparisons of phylogenetic tree topologies and discussion.

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Fraser, D., Rybczynski, N., Gilbert, M. et al. Mid-Cenozoic rhinocerotid dispersal via the North Atlantic. Nat Ecol Evol 9, 2223–2237 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02872-8

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