The Fossil Record of Rhinocerotids (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) in Greece

Revision of the Late Miocene hornless rhinocerotids from Samos Island (Greece) with the designation of neotypes and implications for the European chilotheres

“…The skull GPIH 3015 and its associate mandible are definitely assignable to C. schlosseri based on the morphological similarities, which include the very wide parietal crests and the complex tooth morphology, with a very strong crochet, antecrochet, protocone constriction, and the existence of a crista in some teeth that closes off the medifossette. The taxonomic attribution of GPIH 3015 to C. schlosseri was also encouraged by previous authors (Giaourtsakis, 2022;Lehmann, 1984). Specimen SMF M 3601, on the other hand, lacks the depression in the frontals, its parietal crests are much closer together, and the secondary folds in the maxillary teeth are not as prominent.…”

“…The holotype and some other specimens belong to a chilothere (herein E. samium), whereas the rest of the material belongs to Acerorhinus neleus (Athanassiou et al, 2014). A potential close relationship between Aceratherium kiliasi and E. samium was already hinted by Heissig (1996) and Giaourtsakis (2022) suggested that Aceratherium kiliasi actually represents a junior synonym of E. samium.…”

“…75.3.3). The type material of both Aceratherium schlosseri and Aceratherium samium, including all material described by Weber (1905), was formerly housed in the BSPG, but cannot be relocated and it is believed that it was destroyed in the Second World War (Giaourtsakis, 2003(Giaourtsakis, , 2022Kampouridis et al, 2022b), during the bombing of Munich by the Allied Royal Air Force on April 24, 1944 (Nothdurft & Smith, 2002), thus meeting the condition of ICZN Art. 75.3.4.…”

“…Included Species-Chilotherium persiae (Pohlig, 1886), Chilotherium habereri (Schlosser, 1903), Chilotherium schlosseri (Weber, 1905), Chilotherium kowalevskii (Pavlow, 1913), 'Chilotherium' wimani Ringström, 1924, Chilotherium sarmaticum Korotkevich, 1958, Chilotherium orlovi Bayshashov, 1982, 'Chilotherium' primigenium Deng, 2006a, Chilotherium licenti Sun et al, 2018 Amended Diagnosis-Aceratheriine rhinocerotids that feature the following autapomorphic characters: flattened and depressed frontal region; well-developed postorbital processes; moderately to widely separated parietal crests; highly placed orbits; very wide mandibular symphysis; very large, flattened, tusk-like second lower incisors, with a scalene triangle cross section and upturned, dorsomedially oriented wear facets; reduced premaxillary bones that lack upper incisors; and very strong secondary enamel folds, including a lingually flattened and strongly constricted protocone in the molars. It is also characterized by a relatively short length of the premolars compared with the molars, mainly due to the reduced size of the P2 and p2; and notably shortened metapodials and relative robust appendicular skeleton (Geraads & Spassov, 2009;Giaourtsakis, 2022;modified after Ringström, 1924).…”

“…1). It was housed in the BSPG, but it is believed to have been destroyed during the Second World War (Giaourtsakis, 2009(Giaourtsakis, , 2022. Due to the loss of the type material, a neotype must be designated to solve the taxonomic issues and to secure the stability of this species.…”