A fossil rhinocerotid tooth from the Yage Formation (Middle to Late Pleistocene), Yage in Shizuoka Prefecture, is described. The present specimen shows the following characteristics of the second lower incisor: tusk-like shape, enamel on the labial side, a teardrop-shaped cross section of the tooth crown, and an oval cross section of the root. The specimen is similar to the genus Rhinoceros in having a large and robust shape. However, owing to a lack of other elements, generic and specific identification are not possible. Previously, several large mammal fossils had been reported from the Yage area, but there were no rhinocerotids among them. Thus, this report is the first record of a rhinocerotid from the area. The Yage specimen suggests rhinocerotids were widely distributed during the Pleistocene of Far East Asia.
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1 April 2015
A Pleistocene Rhinocerotid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Yage, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan
Naoto Handa
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Paleontological Research
Vol. 19 • No. 2
April 2015
Vol. 19 • No. 2
April 2015
Japan
lower incisor
Pleistocene
Rhinocerotidae
Shizuoka Prefecture
Yage