Ecomorphology of the postcranial skeleton of the rhinocerotids from the Miocene Fossillagerstätte Sandelzhausen

中新世Fossillagerstätte Sandelzhausen发现于1959年，是世界上最重要的新近系哺乳动物遗址之一。在大型恐龙群中，犀牛在丰富的化石组合中占主导地位。到目前为止，研究的主要是头骨和下颌骨的残骸，以及属于三个不同属的三个现存物种的牙齿。Sandelzhausen是原鼻属和Plesiaceratherium fahlbuschi的模式产地。除了头盖骨外，化石残骸还含有丰富的颅后物质，尤其是肢骨。这种材料提供了独特的机会来研究变异性和详细描述颅后解剖学，并将成为全面统计分析的基础。除了两性二态性和个体发育，生态解释是这个项目的主要目的之一，例如，在短肢的德国原犀牛的半水生生活模式的假设将被测试。另外两个物种是长腿的，被认为是陆生的，但在Plesiaceratherium fahlbuschi中，原始的牙齿也倾向于潮湿的栖息地。在化石遗骸中，德国小蠊和法尔布希小蠊的数量几乎相同，而Sandelzhausen被认为是世界上这两种物种最丰富的地方。Lartetotherium sansaniense最早发现于法国的Sansan地区，在Sandelzhausen地区也相当丰富。功能研究的主要焦点在于三个不同适应物种的肢骨。这一分析将有助于阐明生命的模式和描述化石环境。大部分材料是不连贯的。因此，经典的方法，如生物识别，将与当前的3D方法，如表面和微CT扫描相结合。有了3D数据，测量和比较的可能性将得到扩展，虚拟骨骼重建将允许像铰接标本一样解释数据。该项目为Fossillagerstätte Sandelzhausen本身的知识以及犀牛科的进化和生态提供了富有成果和基础的贡献。

The Miocene Fossillagerstätte Sandelzhausen was discovered in 1959 and is one of the most important Neogene mammal sites in the world. Within the large the rhinoceroses are dominating the rich fossil assemblage. So far mostly skull and mandible remains, and teeth have been studied of the three occurring species, which belong to three different genera. Sandelzhausen is the type locality for the genus Prosantorhinus and the species Plesiaceratherium fahlbuschi. Beside cranial elements the fossil remains are rich in postcranial material especially limb bones. This material provides the unique opportunity to study variability and to describe the postcranial anatomy in detail and will be the basis for comprehensive statistical analyses. Beside sexual dimorphism and ontogeny the ecological interpretation is one of the main aims of this project and for example the hypothesis of a semi-aquatic mode of life in the short limbed Prosantorhinus germanicus will be tested. The two other species are long legged and hypothesized as terrestrial, but also in Plesiaceratherium fahlbuschi the primitive dentition tends to a moist habitat. Within the fossil remains P. germanicus and P. fahlbuschi are nearly same abundant and Sandelzhausen is known as the richest locality worldwide for both species. Lartetotherium sansaniense was first described from the French locality Sansan and is comparably abundant in Sandelzhausen.The main focus of the functional investigations lies on the limb bones of the three differently adapted species. The analysis will help to clarify the modes of life and to describe the fossil environment. Most of the material is disarticulated. Therefore classical methods, e.g., biometrics, will be combined with current 3D methods, e.g., surface and micro CT scanning. With the 3D data the possibility for measurements and comparisons will be extended, Virtual skeletal reconstructions will allow an interpretation of the data like articulated specimens. This project provides a fruitful and fundamental contribution to the knowledge of the Fossillagerstätte Sandelzhausen itself, as well as to the evolution and ecology of the Rhinocerotidae.