Home / Science / Retired Dutch Engineer Discovers Rare Woolly Rhino Fossil on Rotterdam Beach
Retired Dutch Engineer Discovers Rare Woolly Rhino Fossil on Rotterdam Beach
17 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Retired Dutch engineer finds rare woolly rhinoceros molar fossil on Rotterdam beach
- Fossil dates back 126,000-116,000 years, when hippos and elephants roamed the area
- Citizen paleontologists collaborate with scientists to study and preserve fossil finds
In November 2025, a retired Dutch engineer named Cock van den Berg made an exciting discovery on a beach in Rotterdam, Netherlands. After scouring the shore for hours, van den Berg found a polished black stone about the size of an acorn with two punctures, which an expert later identified as a molar from a woolly rhinoceros.
The fossil dates back to a time when the area around Rotterdam was home to a diverse array of Pleistocene megafauna, including hippos, straight-tusked elephants, and other giant creatures that roamed the region between 126,000 and 116,000 years ago. This stretch of beach, known as Maasvlakte 2, has become a popular destination for amateur paleontologists, or "citizen scientists," who collaborate with researchers to study and preserve these important fossil finds.
