| Rhinocerotoids Temporal range: Latest Paleocene–Present | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Clade: | Tapiromorpha |
| Suborder: | Ceratomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Rhinocerotoidea Gray, 1821 |
| Families and genera | |
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Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls that appeared 56 million years ago in the Paleocene. The only extant family of rhinocerotoids is the Rhinocerotidae (true rhinoceroses), which survives as five living species. Rhinocerotoidea also comprises at least three extinct families: the Amynodontidae, Hyracodontidae, and Paraceratheriidae. The relationships between the different groups are not well resolved, and two additional extinct families are sometimes recognized, the Eggysodontidae and Forstercooperiidae.
Extinct non-rhinocerotid members of the group are sometimes considered rhinoceroses in a broad sense. Although the term 'rhinoceroses' is sometimes used to refer to all of these, a less ambiguous vernacular term for this group is 'rhinocerotoids'.
Internal classification
Families
Rhinocerotoidea has traditionally been divided into three families: the extant Rhinocerotidae (true rhinoceroses) and the extinct Amynodontidae (swamp rhinoceroses) and Hyracodontidae (running rhinoceroses).[1] Phylogenetic analyses often recover the traditional Hyracodontidae as paraphyletic; the giant paraceratheres, historically considered part of the family, are therefore generally recognized as the distinct family Paraceratheriidae.[2][3][4][5]
Whether additional families of rhinocerotoids are recognized depends on the analysis. Historically, the basal rhinocerotoid Hyrachyus and similar forms have sometimes been placed in a family named Hyrachyidae,[6] though recent analyses do not recover Hyrachyus in a consistent position or group.[3][4][5] Eggysodonts are variously separated into the distinct family Eggysodontidae[3] or retained within Hyracodontidae;[5] whether eggysodonts and hyracodonts form a monophyletic group varies between analyses.[3][4][5] Forstercooperia and similar forms are treated either as paraceratheres[7] or separated into the distinct family Forstercooperiidae.[4][5] Analyses similarly vary in whether forstercooperiids and paraceratheres are recovered as a monophyletic group or not.[3][4][5]
Phylogeny
Recent analyses do not reach a consensus on interrelationships within Rhinocerotoidea. The cladograms below follow phylogenetic analyses by Bai et al. (2020),[4] Deng et al. (2021),[8] Veine-Tonizzo et al. (2023),[3] and Lu et al. (2026).[5]
Topology A: Bai et al. (2020)[4]
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Topology B: Deng et al. (2021)[8]
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Topology C: Veine-Tonizzo et al. (2023)[3]
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Topology D: Lu et al. (2026)[5]
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References
- Osborn, Henry Fairfield (1898). "The Extinct Rhinoceroses". Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. 1 (3): 80.
- Haibing Wang; Bin Bai; Jin Meng; Yuanqing Wang (2016). "Earliest known unequivocal rhinocerotoid sheds new light on the origin of Giant Rhinos and phylogeny of early rhinocerotoids". Scientific Reports. 6: Article number 39607. doi:10.1038/srep39607.
- Veine-Tonizzo, Lea; Tissier, Jérémy; Bukhsianidze, Maia; Vasilyan, Davit; Becker, Damien (2023). "Cranial morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Amynodontidae Scott and Osborn, 1883 (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotoidea)". Comptes Rendus. Palevol. 22 (8): 109–142. doi:10.5852/cr-palevol2023v22a8.
- Bai, B.; Meng, J.; Zhang, C.; Gong, Y.-X.; Wang, Y.-Q. (2020). "The origin of Rhinocerotoidea and phylogeny of Ceratomorpha (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)". Communications Biology. 3 (1): 509. doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01205-8. PMC 7490376. PMID 32929169.
- Lu, Xiaokang; Deng, Tao; Sun, Boyang; Sun, Danhui; Li, Shijie (2026). "A new rhinocerotoid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the early Oligocene of Ningdong, China, and its phylogenetic implications". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32 (4): 47. doi:10.1007/s10914-025-09791-2. ISSN 1573-7055.
- Bai, Bin; Meng, Jin; Wang, Yuan-Qing; Wang, Hai-Bing; Holbrook, Luke (2017). "Osteology of The Middle Eocene Ceratomorph Hyrachyus modestus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 413: 1–70. doi:10.1206/0003-0090-413.1.1. ISSN 0003-0090.
- Wang, Hai-Bing; Bai, Bin; Meng, Jin; Wang, Yuan-Qing (2018). "A New Species of Forstercooperia (Perissodactyla: Paraceratheriidae) from Northern China with a Systematic Revision of Forstercooperiines". American Museum Novitates. 3897 (3897): 1–41. doi:10.1206/3897.1. ISSN 0003-0082.
- Deng, Tao; Lu, Xiaokang; Wang, Shiqi; Flynn, Lawrence J.; Sun, Danhui; He, Wen; Chen, Shanqin (2021). "An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 639. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02170-6. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 8211792. PMID 34140631.