A new paper published in the journal Science reveals the discovery of a primitive¹ woolly rhino²（犀牛） fossil in the Himalayas, which suggests some giant mammals first evolved in present-day Tibet before the beginning of the Ice Age. The extinction³ of Ice Age giants such as woolly mammoths and rhinos⁵, giant sloths⁶（懒惰） , and saber-tooth cats has been widely studied, but much less is known about where these giants came from, and how they acquired their adaptations for living in a cold environment. A team of geologists⁷ and paleontologists led by Xiaoming Wang from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) and Qiang Li of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology（古人类学） , Chinese Academy of Sciences, uncovered a complete skull⁸ and lower jaw⁹ of a new species of woolly rhino (Coelodonta thibetana) in 2007, at the foothills of the Himalayas in southwestern Tibetan Plateau.

"Cold places, such as Tibet, Arctic, and Antarctic, are where the most unexpected discoveries will be made in the future -- these are the remaining frontiers that are still largely unexplored," said the NHM's Dr. Wang.

There are dual¹¹ connections between the new paper and the Natural History Family of Museums (including the Natural History Museum and the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar¹⁰ Pits). Dr. Wang contributed to NHM's Age of Mammals exhibition, which depicts¹² the creation of the Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau, and subsequent climactic changes of the Pleistocene Ice Age. Additionally, the largest Ice Age megafauna collection in the world is excavated¹³, researched, and displayed at the Page Museum.

The new rhino is 3.6 million years old (middle Pliocene), much older and more primitive than its Ice Age (Pleistocene) descendants in the mammoth⁴ steppes across much of Europe and Asia. The extinct animal had developed special adaptations for sweeping¹⁴ snow using its flattened¹⁵ horn to reveal vegetation, a useful behavior for survival in the harsh Tibetan climate. These rhinos lived at a time when global climate was much warmer and the northern continents were free of the massive ice sheets seen in the Ice Age later.

The rhino accustomed itself to cold conditions in high elevations¹⁶ and became pre-adapted for the future Ice Age climate. When the Ice Age eventually arrived around 2.6 million years ago, the new paper posits¹⁷（假设） , the cold-loving rhinos simply descended¹⁸ from the high mountains and began to expand throughout northern Asia and Europe.

In addition to the new woolly rhino, the paleontologist team also uncovered extinct species of three-toed horse (Hipparion), Tibetan bharal（岩羊） (Pseudois, also known as blue sheep), chiru (Pantholops, also known as Tibetan antelope), snow leopard¹⁹ (Uncia), badger²⁰ (Meles), as well as 23 other kinds of mammals.