Generalism as a subsistence strategy: advantages and limitations of the highly flexible feeding traits of Pleistocene Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia)

Patterns of diet and body mass of large ungulates from the Pleistocene of Western Europe, and their relation to vegetation

“…Highly abrasive diet typical for grazers causes low and blunt wear relief on the teeth. This method has been successfully applied to fossil ungulate teeth (e.g., Kaiser, 2004;Mihl-4 bachler and Solounias, 2006;Rivals et al, 2007;Croft and Weinstein, 2008;DeMiguel et al, 2008;Kahlke and Kaiser, 2011;Mihlbachler et al, 2011) and is grounded in studies of modern ungulates of known diet (e.g., Fortelius and Solounias, 2000;Clauss et al, 2007). Morphological adaptations improving wear resistance of herbivorous mammal teeth, such as increased molar crown height (hypsodonty), reflect the conditions under which they evolved and have been shown to be adaptive both to environmental factors (such as precipitation and erosion rates, which regulate the accumulation of mineral particles on plant material), as well as to dietary factors (abrasive food items, mainly grass).…”

“…For example, Kahlke and Kaiser (2011) used mesowear analysis on the Middle Pleistocene rhinoceros Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis in Germany. The population from the cool-climate of Süssenborn has, on average, a mesowear signal indicating a more abrasive diet than that of the interglacial of Voigtstedt.…”

On the history of Early—Middle Pleistocene mammal faunas of the Central Balkans

“…More open biotopes were inhabited by hyenas, rhinoceroses, and horses. The rhinoceros Stephan orhinus hundsheimensis was highly flexible with refer ence to feeding traits among herbivorous ungulates (Kahlke and Kaizer, 2011).…”

Dietary traits of the late Early Pleistocene Bison menneri (Bovidae, Mammalia) from its type site Untermassfeld (Central Germany) and the problem of Pleistocene ‘wood bison’

“…During the 2.6-1.8 Ma interval, characterised by a fairly regular 41 ka climatic periodicity (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005), landscapes in the western Palaearctic partially opened up, which is clearly reflected in the fossil mammal record. Thermophile species characteristic of humid forest habitats were replaced by forest-steppe to steppe dwellers (Kahlke et al, 2011). A decrease in global temperatures over the subsequent 1.8-1.2 Ma timespan, still governed by the 41 ka cyclicity, led to an increased specialisation of species and faunas.…”

“…A decrease in global temperatures over the subsequent 1.8-1.2 Ma timespan, still governed by the 41 ka cyclicity, led to an increased specialisation of species and faunas. Such differentiation resulted, especially in the western part of the Palearctic, in an ongoing alternation of faunal communities, caused by the interplay of oceanic (Atlanto-Mediterranean) and continental (central Eurasian) climatic influences (Kahlke et al, 2011). The following 1.2-0.9 Ma interval of the late Early Pleistocene, which linked the 41 ka with the following 100 ka periodicity (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005), was a more unstable transitional time (Kahlke, 2007).…”