Fossil grass anthoecia within Miocene rhinoceros skeletons: diet in an extinct species

Silicified anthoecia (fertile lemmas and paleas) of grasses (Berriochloa communis, Berriochloa primaeva, and Berriochloa cf. nova) were found in the oral cavity and rib cage in articulated skeletons of Teleoceras major buried in late Clarendonian volcanic ash in Nebraska. The plant fossils, thought to be food residues, help clarify the enigmatic paleobiological role of Teleoceras, which had hippotamuslike proportions but very high-crowned teeth. Teleoceras was probably amphibious, but siliceous grasses formed a significant portion of its diet.