Cranial CT-data of Eocene Prototherium ausetanum from Catalonia compared to a Dugong skull

Taxonomic and morphological approaches on Eocene sirenians from Catalonia (Spain) benefit from a newly discovered specimen found in a quite unusual locality, the pedestrian zone in the city of Girona. Two fossil-bearing limestone slabs from middle Eocene (Bartonian) layers of a quarry in the wider surrounding area north-west of Barcelona, were CT-scanned in the Clínica Girona to enhance more detailed investigations. Post-processing of the scans and, as far as possible, 3D-reconstruction of the preserved elements in the plates was performed at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Thereby, the skull of a Dugong specimen was used as a reference point. Based on the combined analysis of macroscopic and CT-data, the specimen most likely represents Prototherium ausetanum and complements the available information of the holotype and hitherto only known specimen of that species.