Artistic reconstruction of the appearance of Prosantorhinus Heissig, 1974, the teleoceratine rhinoceros from the Middle Miocene of Somosaguas

Abstract

We show the methodology used to perform the artistic palaeoreconstruction of the teleoceratine rhinoceros Prosantorhinus, which is found in the middle Miocene fossil site of Somosaguas-Norte (Pozuelo de Alarcón, middle Aragonian). Successive phases within this work involved (1) the interpretation of the fossils in comparative anatomy terms; (2) the use of modern analogues, considering the systematic relationships among the extinct species and their extant relatives, which allows us to infer the condition of unpreserved attributes such as soft tissues; and (3) addition of palaeoecological information in order to establish the palaeoenvironmental framework of the species. Our finished work shows a plausible reconstruction of the inferred life appearance of Prosantorhinus