LM12-018 - ULTRA RARE INTACT HUMERUS BONE FROM DICERORHINUS AN EXTINCT EUROPEAN RHINOCEROS

Product Description

ITEM # 

LM12-018

ID

Dicerorhinus hemitoechus

FOUND

Interglacial Gravel Pit Deposit - Great Britain

AGE

PLEISTOCENE (IPSWICHIAN):  110,000 years ago

SIZE

15.5" long x 8.7" across overall

CONDITION

NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION

NOTE

RARE BEYOND WORDS - FIRST TIME WE HAVE
SEEN A MAJOR LIMB BONE FROM THIS 
EXTINCT RHINO AND THIS ONE IN THE MOST
PERFECT CONDITION POSSIBLE!!!

Actual Item - One Only
Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WOOLLY RHINOCEROS

For the first time we have ever seen such rare fossils offered, this could very well be for most collectors, a once-in-lifetime chance to own fossils of an uncommon Pleistocene rhinoceros of Europe that lived during the second interglacial period.  This is a fossil humerus (upper arm bone) from the extinct European Soft Nose Rhinoceros  Dicerorhinus hemitoechus.  It is in perfect preservation with all joints and articulating surfaces of the finest degree of intactness and density.  Color is natural and bone is in 100% 'AS FOUND' condition.   Entire specimen is  INTACT and with NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION.  Bone is complete except for a tiny edge that was sheared off when dug with machinery during the working of the commercial gravel pit.  For the ultimate quality of fossil mammal bone from Europe AND from one of the rarest mammal fossil bones we will ever offer, this is a specimen that is lacking in most museum collections not to mention private collections.

Due to the rarity of such a fossil and our doubts we will have any more ever to offer, we have forgone setting up a separate section and have included this specimen amongst the Woolly Rhino category as they are in the same family.

Not much is known about this extinct European rhino.  This beast was robust and similar in size to the Woolly Rhinoceros but lacked the thick fur.  Fossil remains are very limited.  We know these creatures were hunted by  primitive humans.  Fragmentary remains have been found in some cave deposits in Europe along with primitive human fossil teeth of Neanderthals and from an earlier period, Acheulian and Clactonian tools.  Like the Woolly Rhinoceros and Cave Bear, it is probable that  Dicerorhinus hemitoechus was revered and worshipped based on the strength and fierceness of such a beast and the related difficulty and danger that was involved in killing one. 

The eventual extinction of  Dicerorhinus hemitoechus is believed to have been caused by their inability to cope with the climate that marked the close of the second interglacial period and the following colder climate which was better survived by the Woolly rhinoceros.  Today, the family Rhinocerotidae contains only five living species in the wild, two in Africa and three throughout Asia.  All but the Sumatran rhinoceros are virtually hairless except for the tip of the tail and a fringe on the ears.  The Sumatran rhinoceros is thought to have been stranded on the island of Sumatra during the retreat of the last ice sheet.  This amazing animal is covered with a fairly dense coat of hair and is believed to be the closest living relative of the Woolly rhinoceros.