{"product_id":"bone-valley-rhino-tooth-1","title":"Bone Valley Rhino tooth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eA genuine upper tooth from one of prehistoric North America's most remarkable large mammals\u003c\/strong\u003e -\u003c\/span\u003e the short legged barrel bodied rhinoceros\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e, recovered from the legendary Bone Valley Formation of central Florida. \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe specimen has been repaired and gap filled — honest restoration work that is standard for fossils of this age. Rare from this site regardless of condition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout the species\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ,\u003c\/span\u003ecommonly called the Archer short legged rhino, was a massive, hippo-proportioned rhinoceros that roamed the subtropical lowlands of what is now Florida during the late Miocene epoch, roughly 8 to 9.5 million years ago. Weighing an estimated 615 kg (about 1,350 lbs), it was among the largest land mammals of its time. Despite its outward resemblance to a modern hippopotamus  squat, barrel shaped, short limbed, it was a true rhinoceros, related to today's African and Asian rhinos and belonging to the order Perissodactyla alongside horses and tapirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis species is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eendemic to Florida\u003c\/strong\u003e, meaning it has been found nowhere else in the world, making every specimen a piece of uniquely American natural history. The teeth are distinctive among North American fossil mammals: high crowned, heavily enameled, and bearing a characteristic L-shaped occlusal pattern ,ideally suited to a diet of coarse grasses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat it ate\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas a dedicated grazer. Its hypsodont (high crowned) molars are the primary evidence: teeth evolved this way to resist the relentless wear of tough, silica-rich grasses. The wide, broad rostrum (snout) further supports a grazing lifestyle, allowing the animal to crop large swaths of vegetation close to the ground , much like modern white rhinos in Africa today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere it lived\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis species inhabited the warm, seasonally wet grasslands and floodplain environments of Miocene Florida, a landscape very different from today. At that time, sea levels were higher, Florida was warmer and more heavily forested along waterways, and broad savannas stretched across the interior.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epreferred low lying terrain near water sources  rivers, ponds, and wetlands,  where rich grasses grew abundantly. Fossil evidence from sites like Mixson's Bone Bed (Levy County) and the Love Bone Bed (Alachua County) suggests these animals congregated in large herds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bone Valley Formation of Polk County,  where this tooth originates, preserves one of the most diverse Miocene vertebrate faunas in North America, laid down in ancient river channels and phosphate-rich marine sediments formed 5 to 23 million years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIts contemporaries\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSharing the Florida landscape with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas a remarkable cast of Miocene megafauna:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAphelops malacorhinus\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— a longer-legged, browser-type rhino that lived alongside\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras\u003c\/em\u003e, occupying a slightly different ecological niche\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThree-toed horses\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(\u003cem\u003eHipparion\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand related genera) — swift grazers that filled the savanna grasslands\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGomphotheres\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— four-tusked, elephant-like proboscideans\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrehistoric camels\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— North America was actually the evolutionary birthplace of the camel family\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGiant tortoises\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand large land-dwelling crocodilians\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOffshore, the warm Miocene seas were patrolled by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eOtodus megalodon\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, whose teeth are often found in the same Bone Valley phosphate deposits\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow did it go extinct?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe entire\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elineage disappeared from North America by approximately 4.5 million years ago, with the Florida species vanishing around 8 million years ago as the Miocene gave way to the Pliocene. The precise cause remains debated, but leading factors include:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eprogressive global cooling and drying\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethat transformed lush subtropical habitats into drier, more open environments;\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eincreased competition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas new immigrant species from South America arrived via the newly formed Central American land bridge; and the gradual\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ereplacement of C3 grasses\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eby tougher C4 grasses, which may have stressed populations already adapted to specific vegetation types. No rhino species survived in North America into the Pleistocene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFascinating facts\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMale\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epossessed enlarged, tusk-like lower incisor teeth — used in combat and display, much like hippo tusks today\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThousands of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003especimens have been recovered in Florida, representing over 117 individuals at a single site — suggesting strongly social, herd-living behavior\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFossil oxygen isotope studies of their tooth enamel have been used to debate whether they were truly semi-aquatic (like hippos) or primarily terrestrial — the jury is still out\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRhino teeth from Bone Valley are\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eexceptionally rare\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecompared to the abundant shark teeth found in the same deposits — large terrestrial mammals were heavily underrepresented in the marine-influenced Bone Valley Formation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe species was first formally described by paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1885 from specimens found at Mixson's Bone Bed, Florida\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout this specimen\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a genuine fossilized tooth of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTeleoceras proterum\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003erecovered from the Bone Valley Formation, Polk County, Florida. Fossils from this formation are approximately 5–9 million years old (Late Miocene to Early Pliocene). Each piece comes with a label documenting species identification and provenance. A genuinely rare fossil — large terrestrial mammal teeth are far less commonly encountered in Bone Valley than marine specimens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fossils Online","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48166741377164,"sku":"4038","price":199.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0621\/3697\/5500\/files\/Untitled_21837d3e-6771-4d66-b79c-830e149045bd.jpg?v=1777491179","url":"https:\/\/fossilsonline.com\/products\/bone-valley-rhino-tooth-1","provider":"Fossils Online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}