Overview

• Scientists analyzed isotopes in the teeth of Teleoceras major fossils from the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Nebraska to study their mobility and environment.
• Findings show these prehistoric rhinos lived in large, socially complex super-herds and had limited movement across their landscape.
• Isotopic evidence confirms the rhinos did not migrate seasonally or in response to the Yellowstone supervolcano eruption that gradually covered their habitat in ash.
• The ash fallout caused a slow and fatal process, with the rhinos inhaling ash and likely starving as their environment became uninhabitable.
• This research, published in *Scientific Reports*, deepens understanding of ancient ecosystems and highlights how catastrophic natural events shaped prehistoric life.