Ashfall Mystery Solved: Fossilised Rhinos Show Herd Life and No Escape
New research into extinct rhinos in Nebraska has revealed that these massive creatures, which once roamed North America in herds, didn’t perish instantly in a dramatic volcanic blast but died slowly after inhaling ash and losing access to clean food and water. Scientists examining fossilised remains at Ashfall Fossil Beds found the animals showed no signs of migration or escape, suggesting they lived and died right where they were found.
By analysing isotopes in the animals’ teeth, researchers were able to determine that these rhinos didn’t roam far. They grazed locally, stayed near water, and formed large herds not unlike modern hippos. It turns out the ash that killed them, spewed from the Yellowstone supervolcano 700 miles away, coated everything so thoroughly that many likely starved, rather than perishing instantly.
“We found they didn’t move very much,” said lead researcher Clark Ward, who conducted the study while at the University of Cincinnati. His work, published in Scientific Reports, shows no sign of seasonal migration or movement in response to the disaster.
The rhinos lived during the Miocene epoch, 12 million years ago, when the American landscape was lush with grasslands and scattered wetlands. Like modern-day hippos, Teleoceras were barrel-shaped, water-loving grazers. Their calves, however, weren’t so lucky as scavenger marks on some skeletons suggest bone-crushing prehistoric dogs fed on the young.
The researchers examined strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopes to piece together a detailed picture of how these animals lived. Strontium reveals where an animal fed, carbon tells us what they ate, and oxygen offers clues about rainfall and climate. The conclusion? These rhinos stayed close to home.
Ashfall Fossil Beds is one of the most extraordinary palaeontological sites in the world, and this new research gives us a rare look at the social lives of prehistoric creatures. For Ward, the project is deeply personal – he first visited the fossil site as a child, and later returned as a student and researcher. “It’s come full circle,” he said.
John Payne, a respected rhino expert not involved in the study, wasn’t surprised. “This animal resembles the modern hippopotamus, and hippos live in herds,” he noted.
With each new discovery, Ashfall continues to offer insights not just into extinct creatures, but also the ancient climates and ecosystems they inhabited.
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