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| Woolly rhino's ancient migration | Woolly rhino's ancient migration |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Palaeontologists have pieced together the fossilised skull of the oldest example yet found of a woolly rhinoceros in Europe. | |
| The 460,000-year-old skull, which was found in Germany, had to be reconstructed from 53 fragments. | |
| The extinct mammals reached a length of three-and-a-half metres in adulthood and, unlike their modern relatives, were covered in shaggy hair. | The extinct mammals reached a length of three-and-a-half metres in adulthood and, unlike their modern relatives, were covered in shaggy hair. |
| Details of the work appear in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. | Details of the work appear in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. |
| The team says the find from Germany fills a gap in our understanding of how these animals evolved. | The team says the find from Germany fills a gap in our understanding of how these animals evolved. |
| First on the scene | First on the scene |
| "This is the oldest woolly rhinoceros found in Europe," said Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Weimar, Germany. | "This is the oldest woolly rhinoceros found in Europe," said Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Weimar, Germany. |
| He added: "It gives us a precise date for the first appearance of cold-climate animals spreading throughout Asia and Europe during the ice ages."The skull was pieced together from 53 fragments | He added: "It gives us a precise date for the first appearance of cold-climate animals spreading throughout Asia and Europe during the ice ages."The skull was pieced together from 53 fragments |
| The skull was discovered around 1900, in a gravel pit at the foot of the Kyffhauser mountain range near the city of Bad Frankenhausen. | The skull was discovered around 1900, in a gravel pit at the foot of the Kyffhauser mountain range near the city of Bad Frankenhausen. |
| The 53 fragments were only recently put together by Dr Kahlke and his colleague Frederic Lacombat, from the Crozatier Museum in Puy-en-Velay, France. | The 53 fragments were only recently put together by Dr Kahlke and his colleague Frederic Lacombat, from the Crozatier Museum in Puy-en-Velay, France. |
| After examining the reconstructed cranium, they assigned the specimen to Coelodonta tologoijensis, an Asian woolly rhino species that had not previously been described in Europe. | After examining the reconstructed cranium, they assigned the specimen to Coelodonta tologoijensis, an Asian woolly rhino species that had not previously been described in Europe. |
| Woolly rhino (Coelodonta) first appeared about 2.5 million years ago in the northern foothills of the Himalayas. | Woolly rhino (Coelodonta) first appeared about 2.5 million years ago in the northern foothills of the Himalayas. |
| And for much of their evolutionary existence, these mammals were confined to steppe environments in continental Asia. | And for much of their evolutionary existence, these mammals were confined to steppe environments in continental Asia. |
| The key was their diet, which started off being rather mixed - including the leaves of shrubs and trees. | The key was their diet, which started off being rather mixed - including the leaves of shrubs and trees. |
| But as conditions became increasingly arid, the woolly rhino evolved into a specialist in browsing for steppe food that grew nearer to the ground. | But as conditions became increasingly arid, the woolly rhino evolved into a specialist in browsing for steppe food that grew nearer to the ground. |
| Changes in the animals' anatomy enabled them to tolerate cold, arid conditions | Changes in the animals' anatomy enabled them to tolerate cold, arid conditions |
| The animals probably migrated from Asia into East and Central Europe when cold, arid conditions held sway between 478,000 and 424,000 years ago. | The animals probably migrated from Asia into East and Central Europe when cold, arid conditions held sway between 478,000 and 424,000 years ago. |
| Their territorial advances were paralleled by changes in anatomy. | Their territorial advances were paralleled by changes in anatomy. |
| "Analysis of the Frankenhausen specimen shows that Coelodonta tologoijensis... carried its head low along the ground and had a lawnmower-like mouth with a huge set of grinding teeth," said Mr Lacombat. | "Analysis of the Frankenhausen specimen shows that Coelodonta tologoijensis... carried its head low along the ground and had a lawnmower-like mouth with a huge set of grinding teeth," said Mr Lacombat. |
| "As the climate became colder, these animals became more efficient at utilising the available food." | "As the climate became colder, these animals became more efficient at utilising the available food." |
| The researchers propose that the species represented at Bad Frankenhausen, C. tologoijensis, was ancestral to the "true" woolly rhino, C. antiquitatis, which was common across Eurasia during ice ages. | The researchers propose that the species represented at Bad Frankenhausen, C. tologoijensis, was ancestral to the "true" woolly rhino, C. antiquitatis, which was common across Eurasia during ice ages. |
| Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk | Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk |