Merck’s Rhinoceros
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis
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Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Rhinoceratoidea
Rhinocerotidae
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis
The Merck’s Rhinoceros — The Cold-Adapted Grazer of Eurasia’s Ice Age Plains
Majestic, shaggy, and built for endurance, Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, also known as Merck’s rhinoceros, roamed the temperate and subarctic steppes of Eurasia during the Pleistocene. With its heavy coat and massive horn, it was one of the great browsers of the Ice Age, sharing its frozen world with mammoths, steppe bison, and early humans. This rhinoceros was an emblem of adaptability—thriving from Western Europe to Siberia until its final disappearance near the close of the last glacial period.
Description
The Merck’s Rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis) was a large, cold-adapted member of the Rhinocerotidae family. Adults stood 1.8–2.0 meters at the shoulder, measured up to 4 meters in body length, and weighed around 2,000–3,000 kilograms. It possessed two prominent keratin horns, the larger front one often exceeding 1 meter in length. Unlike its woolly cousin (Coelodonta antiquitatis), S. kirchbergensis was less specialized for extreme cold, favoring mixed woodland and steppe habitats rather than open tundra.
Its body was likely covered in dense, insulating fur with a thick undercoat to withstand glacial climates. The broad, high-crowned teeth and strong jaw structure suggest a browser-grazer diet, feeding on coarse shrubs, willow, birch, and grasses. Fossil evidence indicates a wide range—from Great Britain and Germany through Central Europe to Siberia and northern China—marking it as one of the most geographically adaptable Pleistocene rhinos.
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis was an important component of Ice Age ecosystems, acting as a keystone herbivore that maintained open landscapes through its grazing. Its extinction around 30,000 years ago may have resulted from rapid climatic oscillations combined with hunting pressure from expanding human populations in Europe and Asia.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
3600
1.6
2.4
4
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Browsers
Hunt History
Evidence from archaeological sites suggests that Neanderthals and early modern humans occasionally hunted S. kirchbergensis. Its large size made it a risky but rewarding target, often pursued near watering holes or trapped in soft ground. Butchery marks on fossil bones indicate systematic dismemberment using flint tools. These hunts would have provided meat, hide, and horn for early human groups. The species’ decline coincided with the spread of human habitation across its range, implying that human predation contributed to its disappearance alongside environmental changes.
Three Archaeological and Paleontological Examples:
Neumark-Nord, Germany (~125,000 BCE): Multiple skeletons found with stone tools and cut marks indicate organized Neanderthal hunting and butchering.
Kostyonki, Russia (~40,000 BCE): Fossil remains near Upper Paleolithic hearths show coexistence with early modern humans on the East European Plain.
Yakutia, Siberia (~35,000 BCE): Exceptionally preserved bones and teeth reveal the species’ survival into colder environments before its extinction.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
30000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Europe
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
6
Est. Renderable Fat
216
kg
Targeted Organs
Hump/back & visceral fat
Adipose Depots
Subcutaneous back/shoulder, visceral; marrow
Preferred Cuts
Dorsal hump fat & marrow
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
5