Cranial remains of juvenile fossil rhinos are very rare.
An interesting find was found in the Middle Pleistocene deposits of Melpignano (Apulia, Italy) which has been digitalized by CTscan.
Due to the fragility of the skull case, a digital restoration was performed to avoid damaging the original material. Virtual copies of all skull case fragments were manually reconnected by matching the complementary margins of the bones.
The specimen belongs to an individual approximately 12-18 months old, representing to date the youngest Pleistocene rhinoceros from Mediterranean Europe documented from neurocranial material.
The project was carried out in collaboration with Prof. Dawid Adam Iurino and Sapienza, University of Rome.