Modern rhinos aren’t Nebraskan animals. And they aren’t North American animals, either. But millions of years ago, rhinos were. In the Middle Miocene, Teleoceras major rhinos lived across Nebraska and across much of North America, too.
Analyzing an assembly of T. major remains, which were buried in volcanic ash in northeastern Nebraska around 12 million years ago, a team of researchers recently revealed that these rhinos lived relatively social and sedentary lives. In fact, as reported in a study in Scientific Reports, the team’s results suggest that these rhinos lived in huge non-migratory herds.
“I am not surprised that the analyses very strongly suggest that [T. major] lived in herds given that this animal resembles [the] modern hippopotamus in form,” said John Payne, a biologist who works with rhinos and was not involved in the study, according to a press release. “Hippos live in herds of several tens of animals — with several herds in one geographical area.”
