Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from the late early Pleistocene deposits of the Denizli Basin (Anatolia, Turkey)

Pleistocene rhinoceroses are poorly documented in Turkey where they have been reported only from the late early Pleistocene (1.3-1.1 Ma) travertine deposits of the Denizli Basin. In this work, new rhinoceros remains collected from this basin are assigned to a relatively large-sized Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis on the basis of their morphology and morphometry. The first Turkish record of this species is approximately coeval with the first appearance of S. hundsheimensis in Europe, chronologically referred to the late early Pleistocene, ca. 1.2 Ma. During that time, S. etruscus still survived in Iberian Peninsula, central Italy and Dacian Basin. The presence of two successive evolutionary morphs for S. hundsheimensis during the Pleistocene is not confirmed.