''Brachypotherium'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus of

rhinocerotid A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

that lived in

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. Many species of ''Brachypotherium'' have been described. Some species have moved to other genera, such as ''B. aurelianense'' being transferred to '' Diaceratherium''. The genus was widespread during the Early and Middle Miocene, before heading into a decline. They went extinct in

by the beginning of the Late Miocene, with the African species ''B. lewisi'' surviving until the end of the epoch. A first upper decidual molar referable to ''Brachypotherium brachypus'' was found during gold mining in

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

during the 19th century, being misidentified as a species of

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

known as ''

Zygomaturus ''Zygomaturus'' is an extinct genus of giant marsupial belonging to the family Diprotodontidae which inhabited Australia from the Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene. Description It was a large animal, weighing 500 kg (1100 lbs) or o ...

.'' However, rhinoceros were never native to New Caledonia, and the tooth likely originates from France and was probably used as jewelry by a French convict deported there.

Paleoecology

Dental microwear and mesowear analysis suggests that ''B. brachypus'' was a mixed feeder.

References

Miocene rhinoceroses Miocene mammals of Europe Miocene mammals of Asia Miocene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1904 {{paleo-oddtoedungulate-stub