TELEOCERAS FOSSIGER (RHINOCEROTIDAE: MAMMALIA) FROM TWO LATE MIOCENE (EARLY HEMPHILLIAN) QUARRIES FROM KANSAS

Teleoceras fossiger is a late Miocene (early Hemphillian) rhinoceros from North America. In this study I examined two samples of T. fossiger from two quarries in Kansas, the Jack Swayze Quarry (Clark Co.) and Minium Quarry (Graham Co.). Only specimens from these quarries housed at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History (Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas) were included in this study. The samples were examined to determine species identification, the minimum number of individuals (MNI) present, and to compare morphologic characteristics between the two populations. The large size of craniomandibular and limb elements, presence of long crochets on M1-M3 that are periodically fused to long antecrochets, and extreme hypsodonty of molars that lack a prominent cingulum, confirm the presence of T. fossiger in both quarry samples. Scatter plots provide additional quantitative support for the species assignment. Scatter plots suggest that the sample from Minium Quarry is generally larger than that of Jack Swayze Quarry. T-tests of the sample (where n = 5 or greater), indicate a trend towards increasing robustness in limb and podial elements in the Minium Quarry sample. These results are consistent with previous findings concerning morphologic trends within T. fossiger during the late Miocene.