US EditionScientists describe an extinct rhino species from Canada's High Arctic
The Arctic rhino discovery fills gaps in rhino evolution, showing migration via the North Atlantic Land Bridge occurred during the Miocene, 23 million years ago, scientists said.
- On Oct. 28, 2025, scientists from the Canadian Museum of Nature published in Nature Ecology and Evolution naming Epiatheracerium itjilik from Haughton Crater, Devon Island as the northernmost rhino known.
- Nearly 40 years after the first bones were collected in 1986, Dr. Mary Dawson studied Epiatheracerium itjilik, which lived during the Early Miocene about 23 million years ago.
- Marisa Gilbert noted that about 75% of the skeleton was recovered and the bones are three-dimensionally preserved in exceptional condition.
- The team’s biogeographic analysis indicates the North Atlantic Land Bridge was used into the Miocene, and the new species updated the Rhinocerotidae family tree with later Europe–North America dispersal.
- The specimen is housed and curated at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and partial proteins extracted from Epiatheracerium itjilik’s tooth enamel open new avenues for ancient protein research.
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Financial PostCanadian scientists describe an extinct rhino species from Canada's High Arctic
Scientists from the Canadian Museum of Nature have announced the discovery and description of an extinct rhinoceros from the Canadian High Arctic. The nearly complete fossil skeleton of the new species was recovered from the fossil-rich lake deposits in Haughton Crater on Devon Island, Nunavut and is the most northerly rhino species known. Rhinoceroses have an evolutionary history that spanned over 40 million years, encompassing all continents e…
Scientists describe an extinct rhino species from Canada's High Arctic
Scientists from the Canadian Museum of Nature have announced the discovery and description of an extinct rhinoceros from the Canadian High Arctic. The nearly complete fossil skeleton of the new species was recovered from the fossil-rich lake deposits in Haughton Crater on Devon Island, Nunavut and is the most northerly rhino species known.
The movement of the animal was made possible by the earth bridge connecting the Euro-Asian continent and America. The fossil is now preserved in the Canadian Museum of Natural Sciences
Hornless Rhino Roamed Canadian High Arctic 23 Million Years Ago
About 23 million years ago, a species of rhinoceros - similar in size to the modern Indian rhino but lacking a horn - made its home in the challenging environment of the Canadian High Arctic, which at the time was warmer than it is now but still experienced snow and months of wintertime darkness.
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