ABSTRACT
Several upper molars and part of a maxilla of a large rhinocerotid were collected from two localities in coastal facies of the upper unit of the Chitarwata Formation at Zinda Pir Dome in western Pakistan. Preserved features of the dentition are widely symplesiomorphic and do not permit clear assignment to a known species from the diverse rhinocerotid fauna at Dera Bugti or to the rhinocerotini subtribes. The teeth of the rhino from the upper unit of the Chitarwata Formation have a rudimentary likeness to another enigmatic but smaller species, Rhinoceros blandfordi, from Bugti Hills, suggesting a possible evolutionary link. However, additional fossils from the region are required to test this supposition. Likewise, the well-established pattern of barrier-free rhinocerotoid dispersal between the Indian subcontinent, Europe, and Asia during the early Miocene also makes it plausible that this large rhinocerotid came to the Indian subcontinent as part of an early Miocene immigration event.
Kevin F. Downing. DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA.
KEY WORDS: Rhinocerotid; Miocene, early; Chitarwata Formation; Pakistan; Rhinoceros
PE Article Number: 8.1.21A
Copyright: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology May 2005
Submission: 1 October 2004. Acceptance: 19 April 2005
