The Arctic rhino: a 23-million-year-old ghost in the frost

Nature · Published 28 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Rhinos are not just African giants. A recently discovered fossil in the Canadian High Arctic reveals that these prehistoric creatures once roamed the frozen north, challenging our understanding of how they migrated across continents and evolved over millions of years.

Researchers from the Canadian Museum of Nature identified a previously unknown species of extinct rhinoceros, named Epiatheracerium itjilik, in the High Arctic. Located within Devon Island's Haughton Crater in Nunavut, this specimen originated during the Early Miocene, approximately 23 million years ago, inside old lakebed deposits. Such a discovery confirms the most northerly rhino ever recorded, demonstrating that these creatures occupied territories much higher in latitude than earlier theories suggested.

The discovery provides a vital link in the evolutionary history of rhinoceroses, which have a lineage spanning more than 40 million years. While there are only five species of rhinos remaining today in Africa and Asia, the fossil record reveals that more than 50 species once existed. Measuring similarly to today's Indian rhinoceros, Epiatheracerium itjilik possessed a slight frame and modest proportions, yet it lacked a horn entirely.

The presence of this species in the Arctic suggests that rhinos reached North America from Europe via a land bridge. This implies that these land bridges remained active for land mammals much later than scientists once believed. The name 'itjilik' translates to 'frosty' or 'frost' in Inuktitut, a name chosen in collaboration with an Inuit Elder to honor the species' Arctic origins.

This find is part of a broader, urgent conservation effort. While prehistoric rhinos are being mapped in the north, modern species face a crisis. The global rhino population has plummeted from over 500,000 at the start of the 20th century to fewer than 27,000 today. In Borneo, fewer than 50 Sumatran rhinos remain, while the northern white rhino is considered functionally extinct with only two females surviving.

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