Ancient 'frosty' rhino from Canada's High Arctic rewrites what scientists thought they knew about the North Atlantic Land Bridge

Artist's impression of a newfound extinct rhino species in its habitat. We see a hornless rhino starting by a river and a seal floating in the water.

Almost four decades ago, researchers discovered a collection of perfectly preserved fossils inside an impact crater in the Canadian High Arctic. Now, those remains have finally yielded their secrets, revealing they belong to an extinct species of hornless rhinoceros that lived 23 million years ago.

Scientists have called the animal Epiatheracerium itjilik, with the species name meaning "frost" or "frosty" in Inuktitut. These creatures were similar in size to modern Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis), according to a statement from the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN). The newly identified fossils are the only specimen found to date and show that the animal died of unknown causes as a young adult.