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<p>The Mediterranean Island of Kos, situated in the Southeastern Aegean Sea, has long attracted the interest of paleontologists. In the present study, the first records of fossil inoceroses from the island are reported. Recent field prospecting has led to the discovery of a fossiliferous site near the village of Antimacheia containing vertebrate remains, including a partial rhinocerotid nasal bone fragment attributable to the genus <i>Stephanorhinus</i>. A subsequent evaluation of a legacy museum collection from Kos also revealed a rhinocerotid astragalus morphologically and morphometrically consistent with <i>Stephanorhinus</i> cf. <i>etruscus.</i> Previous studies concur that the fossil vertebrate assemblages of Kos date to the Early Pleistocene (Villafranchian), including mammalian taxa such as <i>Anancus arvernensis</i>,<i> Homotherium</i> sp., <i>Hippopotamus antiquus</i>,<i> Leptobos etruscus</i>,<i> Gazella borbonica</i>,<i> Eucladoceros ctenoides</i>,<i> Croizetoceros ramosus</i> and <i>Equus stenonis.</i> The addition of the rhinocerotid <i>Stephanorhinus</i> cf. <i>etruscus</i> is biogeographically significant, because it complements the known Eurasian distribution of the species and offers valuable insights into the dispersal routes in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Villafranchian. These findings support the hypothesis that the island of Kos was geographically contiguous with the Anatolian Peninsula during Early Pleistocene eustatic lowstands, which created intermittent land bridges that facilitated the dispersal of Villafranchian megafauna.</p>

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First occurrence of a fossil rhinoceros on the island of Kos (Dodecanese, Greece)

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月29日

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  • A. I. Avrithis,
  • I. X. Giaourtsakis

摘要

The Mediterranean Island of Kos, situated in the Southeastern Aegean Sea, has long attracted the interest of paleontologists. In the present study, the first records of fossil inoceroses from the island are reported. Recent field prospecting has led to the discovery of a fossiliferous site near the village of Antimacheia containing vertebrate remains, including a partial rhinocerotid nasal bone fragment attributable to the genus Stephanorhinus. A subsequent evaluation of a legacy museum collection from Kos also revealed a rhinocerotid astragalus morphologically and morphometrically consistent with Stephanorhinus cf. etruscus. Previous studies concur that the fossil vertebrate assemblages of Kos date to the Early Pleistocene (Villafranchian), including mammalian taxa such as Anancus arvernensis, Homotherium sp., Hippopotamus antiquus, Leptobos etruscus, Gazella borbonica, Eucladoceros ctenoides, Croizetoceros ramosus and Equus stenonis. The addition of the rhinocerotid Stephanorhinus cf. etruscus is biogeographically significant, because it complements the known Eurasian distribution of the species and offers valuable insights into the dispersal routes in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Villafranchian. These findings support the hypothesis that the island of Kos was geographically contiguous with the Anatolian Peninsula during Early Pleistocene eustatic lowstands, which created intermittent land bridges that facilitated the dispersal of Villafranchian megafauna.