Haughton Crater rhino
Reconstruction of the early Miocene, High Arctic rhinoceros, Epiaceratherium itjilik , shown in a fall setting on the edge of crater lake. Also shown is the otter like Puijila darwini, a rodent, rabbit-relative and swans. Pollen evidence shows the forest included pine, maple, alder and possibly sweetgum. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi
Epiaceratherium itjilik is known from a nearly complete skeleton, most of which was collected by Mary Dawson beginning in 1986, from Haughton Crater (Devon Island, Nunavut) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Epiaceratherium is otherwise only known from Europe, Asia and the middle East, with the closest relative to the Haughton rhino being from Europe. We propose that Epiaceratherium reached the Canadian Arctic via the North Atlantic Land Bridge (NALB). It has been long accepted that the NALB subsided in the early Eocene (~50 MA). However, A phylogenetic analysis of rhinoceratids finds that rhinos crossed between Europe and North America multiple time and we therefore hypothesize that the NALB was an active corridor for flora and fauna for millions of years longer, possibly into the earliest Miocene (~20 MA).
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In addition, tooth enamel from Epiaceratherium itjilik yielded the oldest known phylogenetically informative ancient proteins - underscoring the importance of polar fossil sites in paleomolecular research.
Natalia Rybczynski and Mary Dawson, with Liz Ross in backbround, on Devon Island. 2007. Image credit: Martin Lipman
REFERENCES
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Fraser, D., N. Rybczynski, M. Gilbert & M.R. Dawson. 2025. Mid-Cenozoic rhinocerotid dispersal via the North Atlantic. Nature Ecology & Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02872-8
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Paterson, R.S., Mackie, M., Capobianco, A. et al. 2025. Phylogenetically informative proteins from an Early Miocene rhinocerotid. Nature 643, 719–724. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09231-4
