Late Miocene rhinocerotids from the Balkan-Iranian province: ecological insights from dental microwear textures and enamel hypoplasia

The late Miocene is a period of increasing aridity and habitat openness in the south-eastern Mediterranean region. impact these changes has not been fully explored regarding rhinocerotids’ ecology, although rhinoceroses were major diverse component mammalian faunas. Here, we investigate palaeoecology rhinocerotid specimens coming from 12 localities throughout Balkan-Iranian zoogeographic province, covering large part (MN9 to MN13). Microwear textures confirmed hypothesised niche partitioning between two main species – Ceratotherium [Ce.] neumayri (mixed-feeder including grasses) Dihoplus pikermiensis (browser) but highlighted dietary overlap Ce. co-occurring chilothere at Maragheh, Samos Pentalophos-1. Although microwear did reveal clear spatiotemporal differences, found obvious discrepancies hypoplasia prevalence: Vallesian teeth displayed more defects (Xirochori Pentalophos-1: 16.26% affected) than Turolian (all other localities: 9.72%). Similarly, eastern (Samos Maragheh; supposedly arid), had higher prevalence (13.52%) their western counterparts (6.90%). Insights ecology thus challenged space time homogeneity within associated savanna habitat, least sample studied here.