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== Origin ==
The origin of the species is obscure, with various authors suggesting either a European or Asian origin. The earliest definitive records are from [[Zhoukoudian|Choukoutien]] Locality 13, in [[Fangshan District]] near Beijing at around the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition,<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Tong |first=Hao-wen |date=November 2012 |title=Evolution of the non-Coelodonta dicerorhine lineage in China |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=en |volume=11 |issue=8 |pages=555–562 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.002}}</ref> though the older records of ''Stephanorhinus lantianensis'' and ''Stephanorhinus yunchuchenensis'' have been suggested to be synonyms of ''S. kirchbergensis'' by some sources.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Antoine |first=Pierre-Olivier |date=March 2012 |title=Pleistocene and Holocene rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Indochinese Peninsula |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=en |volume=11 |issue=2–3 |pages=159–168 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.002}}</ref> It appears in Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene between 0.7 and 0.6 million years ago, existing alongside the already present ''S. hundsheimensis''.<ref name=":0" /> Mitochondrial and nuclear genomes obtained from a permafrost specimen<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Kirillova |first1=Irina V. |last2=Chernova |first2=Olga F. |last3=van der Made |first3=Jan |last4=Kukarskih |first4=Vladimir V. |last5=Shapiro |first5=Beth |last6=van der Plicht |first6=Johannes |last7=Shidlovskiy |first7=Fedor K. |last8=Heintzman |first8=Peter D. |last9=van Kolfschoten |first9=Thijs |last10=Zanina |first10=Oksana G. |date=November 2017 |title=Discovery of the skull of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) above the Arctic Circle |journal=Quaternary Research |language=en |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=537–550 |bibcode=2017QuRes..88..537K |doi=10.1017/qua.2017.53 |issn=0033-5894}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Liu|first=Shanlin|last2=Westbury|first2=Michael V.|last3=Dussex|first3=Nicolas|last4=Mitchell|first4=Kieren J.|last5=Sinding|first5=Mikkel-Holger S.|last6=Heintzman|first6=Peter D.|last7=Duchêne|first7=David A.|last8=Kapp|first8=Joshua D.|last9=von Seth|first9=Johanna|last10=Heiniger|first10=Holly|last11=Sánchez-Barreiro|first11=Fátima|date=16 September 2021|title=Ancient and modern genomes unravel the evolutionary history of the rhinoceros family|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867421008916|journal=Cell|language=en|volume=184|issue=19|pages=4874–4885.e16|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.032}}</ref> and a dental [[proteome]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cappellini|first1=Enrico|last2=Welker|first2=Frido|last3=Pandolfi|first3=Luca|last4=Ramos-Madrigal|first4=Jazmín|last5=Samodova|first5=Diana|last6=Rüther|first6=Patrick L.|last7=Fotakis|first7=Anna K.|last8=Lyon|first8=David|last9=Moreno-Mayar|first9=J. Víctor|last10=Bukhsianidze|first10=Maia|last11=Rakownikow Jersie-Christensen|first11=Rosa|display-authors=10|date=October 2019|title=Early Pleistocene enamel proteome from Dmanisi resolves Stephanorhinus phylogeny|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=574|issue=7776|pages=103–107|doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1555-y|issn=0028-0836|pmc=6894936|pmid=31511700|bibcode=2019Natur.574..103C}}</ref> suggest that it is more closely related to the [[woolly rhinoceros]] than the [[Sumatran rhinoceros]], but its relationship to other ''[[Stephanorhinus]]'' species remains unclear.
== Range ==
[[File:Distribution of S. kirchbergensis2.png|left|thumb|Range of Merck's rhinoceros, excluding arctic localities]]Its range spans from Europe to East Asia, but appears to be absent from the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name=":5">Billa, E.M.E. 2011a. Occurrences of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Eurasia - An account. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 7: 17-40</ref><ref>Billia, E.M.E., Zervanová, J., 2015. New Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis(Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) records in Eurasia. Addenda to a previous work. Gortania.Geologia, Paleontologia, Paletnologia36, 55–68.</ref> It is presumed to have had a preference for closed forest and woodland habitats, as opposed the to open grassland habitats favoured by ''S. hemitoechus''.However according to Frans Vera's "wood-pasture hypothesis it lived in more open habitats.
[[File:Distribution of S. kirchbergensis2.png|left|thumb|Range of Merck's rhinoceros, excluding arctic localities]]Its range spans from Europe to East Asia, but appears to be absent from the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name=":5">Billa, E.M.E. 2011a. Occurrences of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Eurasia - An account. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 7: 17-40</ref><ref>Billia, E.M.E., Zervanová, J., 2015. New Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis(Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) records in Eurasia. Addenda to a previous work. Gortania.Geologia, Paleontologia, Paletnologia36, 55–68.</ref> It is presumed to have had a preference for closed forest and woodland habitats, as opposed the to open grassland habitats favoured by ''S. hemitoechus''.<ref name=":2" /> Its range extended into the Arctic Circle, with a 70–48 thousand-year-old skull known from arctic [[Yakutia]] in the [[Chondon River]] valley<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Kirillova|first1=Irina V.|last2=Chernova|first2=Olga F.|last3=van der Made|first3=Jan|last4=Kukarskih|first4=Vladimir V.|last5=Shapiro|first5=Beth|last6=van der Plicht|first6=Johannes|last7=Shidlovskiy|first7=Fedor K.|last8=Heintzman|first8=Peter D.|last9=van Kolfschoten|first9=Thijs|last10=Zanina|first10=Oksana G.|date=November 2017|title=Discovery of the skull of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) above the Arctic Circle|journal=Quaternary Research|language=en|volume=88|issue=3|pages=537–550|doi=10.1017/qua.2017.53|bibcode=2017QuRes..88..537K|issn=0033-5894}}</ref> and a late Middle Pleistocene aged lower jaw from the [[Yana River]] valley.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shpansky|first1=A. V.|last2=Boeskorov|first2=G. G.|date=July 2018|title=Northernmost Record of the Merck's Rhinoceros Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger) and Taxonomic Status of Coelodonta jacuticus Russanov (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae)|journal=Paleontological Journal|language=en|volume=52|issue=4|pages=445–462|doi=10.1134/S003103011804010X|s2cid=91447285|issn=0031-0301}}</ref> Teeth are known from caves in [[Primorsky Krai]] , suggested to date between 50,000 and 25,000 years ago based on dates of other bones found in the deposit, which are the easternmost known records.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kosintsev|first1=P. A.|last2=Zykov|first2=S. V.|last3=Tiunov|first3=M. P.|last4=Shpansky|first4=A. V.|last5=Gasilin|first5=V. V.|last6=Gimranov|first6=D. O.|last7=Devjashin|first7=M. M.|date=March 2020|title=The First Find of Merck's Rhinoceros (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae, Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Jäger, 1839) Remains in the Russian Far East|journal=Doklady Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=491|issue=1|pages=47–49|doi=10.1134/S0012496620010032|pmid=32483707|s2cid=219156923|issn=0012-4966}}</ref> A tooth of ''S.'' cf''. kirchbergensis'' of an unknown age is known from the [[Lut Desert]] in eastern Iran.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hashemi|first1=N|last2=Ashouri|first2=A|last3=Aliabadian|first3=M|last4=M. Gharaie|first4=M|last5=Sánchez Marco|first5=A|last6=Louys|first6=J|date=2016|title=First report of Quaternary mammals from the Qalehjough area, Lut Desert, Eastern Iran|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|doi=10.26879/539|issn=1094-8074|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is fairly common throughout the Pleistocene in North China,<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Antoine|first=Pierre-Olivier|date=March 2012|title=Pleistocene and Holocene rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Indochinese Peninsula|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|language=en|volume=11|issue=2–3|pages=159–168|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.002}}</ref> but is a rarer component of South Chinese assemblages,<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Tong|first1=HaoWen|last2=Wu|first2=XianZhu|date=April 2010|title=Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia) from the Rhino Cave in Shennongjia, Hubei|journal=Chinese Science Bulletin|language=en|volume=55|issue=12|pages=1157–1168|doi=10.1007/s11434-010-0050-5|bibcode=2010ChSBu..55.1157T|s2cid=67828905|issn=1001-6538}}</ref> being known from around 30 localities in the region.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Tong|first=Hao-wen|date=November 2012|title=Evolution of the non-Coelodonta dicerorhine lineage in China|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|language=en|volume=11|issue=8|pages=555–562|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.002}}</ref> Antoine (2012) states that ''D.'' ''choukoutienensis'', ''D. lantianensis'', and ''D. yunchuchenensis'' are local names for the taxon, without elaboration.<ref name=":3" /> Its range was strongly controlled by glacial cycles, with the species experiencing repeated cycles of expansion and contraction as the ice sheets advanced, this accounts for the relative rarity of its remains in comparison to the woolly rhinoceros.<ref name=":5" /> The species' range underwent significant reduction during the [[Last Glacial Period]], with the youngest records from Italy being in [[Marine isotope stage]] (MIS) 4 and 3.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lacombat|first=Frédéric|date=2006|title=Pleistocene Rhinoceroses in Mediterranean Europe and in Massif Central (France)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283814488|journal=CFS Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg}}</ref> Radiocarbon dated remains from the [[Altai Mountains|Altai]] date to around 40,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Кириллова|first=И. В.|last2=Вершинина|first2=А. О.|last3=Зазовская|first3=Э. П.|last4=Занина|first4=О. Г.|last5=Катлер|first5=С.|last6=Косинцев|first6=П. А.|last7=Лаптева|first7=Е. Г.|last8=Чернова|first8=О. Ф.|last9=Шапиро|first9=Б.|date=2021|title=К вопросу о времени и среде обитания Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Jäger 1839 (Mammalia, Rhinoceratidae) на Алтае и северо-востоке России|trans-title=To the question of time and environment of ''Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis'' Jäger 1839 (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Altai and North-East of Russia|url=https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=45544816|journal=Зоологический Журнал|language=ru|volume=100|issue=5|doi=10.31857/S0044513421050068|issn=0044-5134}}</ref> The youngest reliable records in China are from the Rhino Cave in [[Hubei]], which is early Late Pleistocene in age.<ref name=":4" /> Though less definitive remains are known from near [[Harbin]] in [[Heilongjiang province|Heilongjiang]], which are thought to be 20 kya in age.<ref name=":6" /> Records from Migong Cave just south of the Yangtze River in the [[Three Gorges Reservoir Region|Three Gorges area]] are suggested to date to MIS 2 (29,000-14,000 years ago).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pang|first1=Libo|last2=Chen|first2=Shaokun|last3=Huang|first3=Wanbo|last4=Wu|first4=Yan|last5=Wei|first5=Guangbiao|date=April 2017|title=Paleoenvironmental and chronological analysis of the mammalian fauna from Migong Cave in the Three Gorges Area, China|journal=Quaternary International|language=en|volume=434|pages=25–31|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.039}}</ref>
== Diet ==
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