Posted on 03/08/2026 9:52:46 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Deep within the frozen ground of Devon Island in Canada’s High Arctic, researchers found the nearly complete skeleton of a rhinoceros, Epiaceratherium itjilik, that lived there around 23 million years ago.
The discovery, made by a team from the Canadian Museum of Nature, reveals that rhinos once roamed much farther north than anyone imagined.
The fossils were found inside Haughton Crater, a 23-kilometer-wide impact site now locked in ice and silence. Millions of years ago, this same place held forests, lakes, and life.
The team named the new species Epiaceratherium itjilik, or “frosty rhino,” combining Latin and Inuktitut to reflect its Arctic home.
“Today there are only five species of rhinos in Africa and Asia, but in the past they were found in Europe and North America, with more than 50 species known from the fossil record,” said Dr. Danielle Fraser, head of palaeobiology at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“The addition of this Arctic species to the rhino family tree now offers new insights to our understanding of their evolutionary history.”
How rhinos adapted to the Arctic
The rhino’s bones tell a story of adaptation and survival. Epiaceratherium itjilik was smaller and slimmer than today’s African rhinos. It had no horn and resembled the Indian rhinoceros in build.
The name “itjilik,” meaning “frost” in Inuktitut, came after consultation with Inuit Elder Jarloo Kiguktak from Grise Fiord, the northernmost Inuit community in Canada. He had visited the fossil site and guided the naming process to honor the region’s heritage.
The original discovery dates back to 1986 when Dr. Mary Dawson of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collected several key bones. Those included parts of the skull, jaws, and teeth – enough to confirm it belonged to the rhino family.
Dawson, who passed away in 2020, was one of the first to explore Arctic fossils and is credited as a co-author of the study that finally gave the species its name.
Bones from Epiaceratherium itjilik
The quality of the fossil astonished the research team. “What’s remarkable about the Arctic rhino is that the fossil bones are in excellent condition,” said Marisa Gilbert, senior research assistant at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“They are three dimensionally preserved and have only been partially replaced by minerals. About 75% of the skeleton was discovered, which is incredibly complete for a fossil.”
Gilbert joined several Arctic expeditions led by Dr. Natalia Rybczynski in the late 2000s. During those trips, the team uncovered another ancient species, Puijila darwini, a land-to-sea transitional seal ancestor.
With Epiaceratherium itjilik, their work now connects two different evolutionary stories – one about life adapting to ice, another about mammals spreading across continents.
How rhinos reached the Arctic
The fossil’s location added a new twist to the rhino family story. By studying 57 extinct and living rhino species, the scientists discovered that Epiaceratherium itjilik likely migrated from Europe to North America using a land bridge through Greenland.
Earlier studies claimed this route disappeared 56 million years ago, but this new evidence suggests the passage lasted far longer, possibly until the Miocene.
Dr. Fraser’s team used modeling to trace where and when rhino species appeared. Their analysis showed that the North Atlantic Land Bridge was still active during the time Epiaceratherium itjilik lived.
This finding rewrites part of mammalian migration history and points to a much later wave of animal movement between continents than anyone expected.
Protein clues from enamel
In 2025, another breakthrough pushed the story even further. Scientists managed to extract partial proteins from the rhino’s tooth enamel – an achievement once thought impossible for fossils this old.
The work, led by postdoctoral fellow Ryan Sinclair Paterson at the University of Copenhagen, has extended the timeline for recoverable evolutionary proteins by millions of years.
The research has also opened a new window into studying ancient mammals through their preserved biomolecules.
“It’s always exciting and informative to describe a new species,” said Dr. Fraser.
“But there is more that comes from the identification of Epiaceratherium itjilik, as our reconstructions of rhino evolution show that the North Atlantic played a much more important role in their evolution than previously thought.”
The ancient Arctic environment
The Haughton Crater once held lakes surrounded by temperate forest. Fossil plants show that birch and larch trees grew where ice now reigns.
Over time, cycles of freezing and thawing broke open buried layers, pushing ancient bones toward the surface.
That process, known as cryoturbation, helped preserve fossils like Epiaceratherium itjilik across a small area roughly seven square meters wide.
The Arctic may seem desolate now, but it continues to reveal traces of a greener past. Every discovery there adds a line to Earth’s history – one written in bone and ice.
Significance of Epiaceratherium itjilik This discovery does more than fill a gap in the fossil record. It reveals that the Arctic, often seen as lifeless, holds stories of resilience and adaptation.
Millions of years ago, a hornless rhino walked through forests that no longer exist. Its bones, now free from ice, hold a story about survival in changing worlds – and remind us that the coldest places can still hold the warmest histories.
The fossil of Epiaceratherium itjilik now rests at the Canadian Museum of Nature (prepared in collaboration with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History).
The study is published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The brontosaurus was designed by Emily Bronte.
Have a great rest of the night, FRiend!
Somehow it escapes them to mention that the earths temperature was far warmer than it is today. This rhino was walking around in a climate like Minnesota where its now tundra. Clearly climate changed. And the Earth didn’t even belch. The Earth has been far warmer and far cooler than it is now. Large mammals and plants lived in those temperatures as they live in this temperature. Animals became extinct back then as they do now. And what nobody seems to mention is that new species form every day.
Our planet has an expiration date on it. About 4 billion years from now. Which is both the approximate life of the sun and the life of our galaxy. Between now and then we have to watch out for super volcanos, large meteors and Chinese viruses.
Our only hope is to establish ourselves in another solar system and another galaxy before that happens. As a cubs fan I am used to waiting. It took a hundred years for the Cubs to win. I think we have time on our side. And climate change is not one of my worries.
You too.
Personally,
I do not think the Earth’s rotational axis
has “always” been 23.5 degrees
for all of these millions of years.
Too bad Burl Ives is gone.
I’ll have good company while I’m going mad, at least.
( try It’s A Small World )
😁
Did it lose its horn in a bad bet?
Probably pawned it for a fur coat...
:]
Besides the wobble of the Earth’s axis, Earth’s orbit changes over the eons from gravitational influences from the sun and other planets. There is also continental drift, so the island wouldn’t be in the same location as 23 million years ago..
Re “pining for the fjords“
Or the Chjevy…. Or the Pyontiacs…. Or maybe a Cjadyllac…
I might have that wrong. Maybe the creature was born a rhino but identified as buffalo and removed his own horn to complete his transition.
LOL! - that was so good I had to post that pic with the story on other forums...
The Earth wobbles now. So the axis is moving in our lifetime. But the Earth is not round. So it is sort of stuck in a range unless something big comes near. Jupiter has an effect. As do the other planets especially when they align. And things like large volcanic releases or large shifts of water can cause small shifts. There were times when the ice sheets came close to the equator. The size of the atmosphere would have shrunk so the wobble would change as well.
..................... “brontosaurus was designed by Emily Bronte.”
Don’t know why I’m on this old thread but you’re very funny.
It was from yesterday! But thank you, very much.
It is true climate and climate trends change over time. The problem today is that it is changing too fast for many organisms to evolve new adaptations required to maintain survival. Around 74 thousand years ago the Indonesian volcano Toba erupted blasting a Crater around 16 by 65 miles. If you look at long period temperature charts you can generally see a noticeable drop in temps around 74 million years ago. I think there was another dip around 25 thousand years ago when Vesuvius blew a big one. Another big dip happened around 13,000 years ago when space rock(s) wiping out many northern species and possibly created lake Michigan and the Carolina Bays, and flash frozen mammoths in Siberia with fresh wild flowers frozen in their stomachs. SunkenCiv sometimes lists a book by Firestone and friends about this 13,000 year old disaster. It was followed by about 1,700 years of very cold climate called the Younger Dryas period.
Not to mention the spot cycles with ebb and flow of wetter and dryer cycles roughly every 11,22,44, and 88 years. Currently we have been experiencing the 88 most extreme phase which is what was happening during the Dust Bowl Great Depression years. Right now places with extreme drought are western Russia, eastern Ukraine and Crimea, as well as Iran, which is one reason the citizens were protesting so strongly. Then there have been several years of severe wild fires in California.
Tehran has been in a 6 year drought. Water management under the mullahs has exasperated the problem. Reservoirs are near empty and ground water is being seriously depleted. The following link discusses some of the issues for anybody interested.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/iran-water-drought-dams-qanats
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