Diceros
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Diceros (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)Template:Source needed is a genus of rhinoceros containing the extant black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and several extinct species.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Taxonomy
Diceros is more closely related to the genus Ceratotherium (which contains the white rhinoceros) than it is to other living rhinoceroses, with the clade containing the two comprising the tribe Dicerotini (also spelled Diceroti) or subtribe Dicerotina.<ref name=":1" />
Diceros has been suggested by some authors to have branched off from an early species of Ceratotherium, specifically C. neumayri,<ref name="inria">Template:Cite journal</ref> which has also been assigned to Diceros in some studies.<ref name=":1" /> However, other authors have disputed the close relationship between Diceros and "C". neumayri.<ref name=":1" />
The oldest species assigned to the genus is "Diceros" australis from the Early Miocene of Namibia,<ref>Guérin C (2000) The Neogene rhinoceroses of Namibia. Palaeontol Africana 36:119–138</ref> dating to around 17-18 million years ago.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is only known from fragmentary remains, and its assignment to the genus, and even to Dicerotini have been questioned by other authors.<ref name=":1">Template:Citation</ref> Other species assigned to the genus include Diceros praecox from the Late Miocene (from about 7 million years ago) and the Pliocene of Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name=":0" /> D. praecox has been suggested by some authors to be the ancestor of the modern D. bicornis.<ref name="inria2">Template:Cite journal</ref> Diceros primaevus is known from the Late Miocene (c. 12-10 million years ago) of Algeria.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Diceros douariensis is known from the Late Miocene of Tunisia and possibly Ethiopia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Some authors have assigned this species to Ceratotherium.<ref>Pandolfi (2018). Evolutionary history of Rhinocerotina (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). Fossilia, Volume 2018</ref> The species Diceros gansuensis has been reported from the Late Miocene of China,<ref>DENG Tao, QIU Zhan-Xiang . First Discovery of Diceros (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) in China [J]. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2007, 45(4): 287-306.</ref> dating to around 10 million years ago.<ref name=":0" /> The earliest remains assigned to the modern black rhinoceros are known the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) of East Africa,<ref name=":0" /> though other authors have considered the earliest remains of the species to date to the earliest Pleistocene around 2.6 million years ago at Koobi Fora, Kenya.<ref>Geraads, D., 2010. Rhinocerotidae Template:Webarchive, in: Werdelin, L., Sanders, W.J. (eds), Cenozoic mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 669-683</ref>
References
External links
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