Authentic Woolly Rhinoceros fossilized molar, 5.0 cm long, 20,000 years old, Pleistocene, Netherlands

Description

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) is an extinct species of herbivorous mammal that lived from the Pliocene epoch through the Pleistocene epoch, from approximately 5.3 million years ago until about 11,700 years ago. This rhinoceros was distinguished by its massive size as well as its thick, long, dark-brown coat, which provided essential protection against the intense cold of the Ice Age.

It inhabited a vast territory spanning the cold tundras and steppes of Eurasia, from Western Europe to eastern Siberia. Like modern rhinoceroses, the woolly rhinoceros possessed two keratinous horns on its head, with the anterior horn being prominent and curved. It is believed that this robust horn was used to clear away snow to access underlying vegetation. Its diet was predominantly herbivorous, consisting mainly of grasses, ferns, mosses, and lichens.

Woolly rhinoceros molars differ from those of modern rhinoceroses in having a characteristic depression in the crown. The genus name derives from the Greek words koilos – “hollow” and odoús – "tooth", giving the scientific name Coelodonta antiquitatis – "hollow tooth of antiquity".

The extinction of this species, occurring approximately 11,700 years ago, was driven by a combination of factors. Climate change at the end of the last glacial period, which brought about major ecological shifts, fundamentally altered its habitat, while intensive hunting by prehistoric human populations contributed significantly to the species' final decline.