Luigi Capasso

Università degli Studi G. d'Annunzio Chieti e Pescara | UNICH · Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze dell'Invecchiamento

The author presents the revision of the 17 specimens of Mesozoic cypraeids found in Italy, following the direct re-examination of the specimens, three of which are currently lost. The review led to the identification of only six formally valid species, belonging to four genera: (i) Palaeocypraea tithonica and (ii) Bernaya gemmellaroi, from the Tith...

Riassunto-L'autore affronta la questione della possibile sopravvivenza dei Picnodonti, pesci fossili attualmente completamente estinti, in periodi più recenti dell'Eocene. Nonostante che la letteratura corrente ponga al Priaboniano il limite superiore di estensione stratigrafica di questi pesci, esistono alcune segnalazioni di resti di Picnodonti i...

Embryos and trophonems in Cenomanian rays from Lebanon (Batomorphii, Pisces)-The author describes three fossil rays with well preserved embryos at the level of their abdominal cavities; the specimens are from the limestone formations of Nammoura and Haqel (Lebanon) and dated to the Cenomanian. The specimens are attributable to two different species...

The authors take into consideration general morphological analogies of the skeleton, coating of scales, and dentition that exist between the Pycnodontiformes and the Platysomiformes. Through analysis of new fossil samples, the authors establish that the characters showing similarities between the two groups are at least the following: (i) structure...

Coccidioidomycosis is an infectious fungal disease endemic in Bolivia's Gran Chaco region that is caused by inspiration of the spores of Coccidiodes species. It is a respiratory pathology that can spread to the skeleton and produce diffuse lytic lesions in different parts of the body. This disease has rarely been described in historic populations,...

The Tombs of the Nobles are located in ancient Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt) and are primarily the site of elite burials. One such is the monumental funerary complex of Neferhotep, which is characterised by several tombs arranged around a central court: TT49, TT187, TT362, TT363, and TT347, which have been already excavated, while TT348 is still clo...

Pycnodontiformes are a well-known family of Actinopterygii that lived from the Triassic to the Eocene. While there are many convergences with modern-day reef-dwelling teleosts, there are also many unanswered questions about their ecological niche and role in the food web, e.g., because Mesozoic reefs were fundamentally different from present-day co...

ABSTRACT By comparing the morphological variability of two groups of pycnodonts, the Coccodontoidea and the Nursalliini, the author demonstrates that in the Late Cretaceous these two groups had adopted completely different blauplans. Throughout the Cretaceous and the Eocene, the Nursalliini maintained the typical shape of the pycnodonts, rounded an...

Here, a fossil egg case that contains a well-preserved embryo is described. The embryo is characterised by (i) a rostral cartilage, (ii) some ribs, (iii) and a well-developed stinger; (iv) absence of thoracolumbar synarcual. This represents an unique combination of characters which demonstrate that the batoid that produced the egg case was a comple...

A relic (from the Latin reliquiae: remains) is the body (or part) of a deceased holy person or belongings kept as an object of reverence. The long-term preservation of relics is a priority for many religious and secular communities and often anthropologists, involved in their restoration for conservative purposes, collect anthropological and paleop...

Objective: To document skin lesions on a mummified individual from the XIX century and to diagnose the pathology based historical documentation and physical examination. Materials: Marie Leonie Martin (1863–1941) was a Roman Catholic nun. Her naturally mummified body is currently preserved in the Monastery of the Visitation in Caen (France). On the...

Objective To describe a case of an expansive endocavitary lesion at the level of the caudal tract of the vertebral column of a juvenile fish (Pycnodont) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon (Hjoula). Materials The specimen is part of the Paleontological Collection of the University Museum of Chieti, Italy, Inventory Number P #23752. M...

In the collective imagination derived from scientific and popular literature, Triceratops often faced each other in combat. Thus, from the second half of the twentieth century, these ceratopsids were described as pugnacious animals. This arises primarily from the interpretation of extracranial fenestrae in ceratopsids being the result of combat tra...

The authors demonstrate for the first time the extent of morphological and somatometric variability within a population of †Pycnodontiformes. This variability concerns a population of 135 individuals of Pycnodonts pertaining to an undescribed species reported by Bravi (1996) from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of Profeti (Caserta Province, Southern...

DEZIGNOBATIS ITALICUS (CHONDRICHTHYES, BATOMORPHII), GEN. ET SP. NOV., DALLE ARGILLE OLIGOCENICHE DEL TORRENTE CHIAVON (VI) RIASSUNTO L'autore descrive un batoideo fossile di antica raccolta proveniente dalle mi-criti argillose affioranti nell'alveo del torrente Chiavon, presso Fara Vicenti-no, Vicenza, datate all'Oligocene medio. L'esemplare descr...

Based on a single right prearticular bone section with partial dentition collected from the lower part of the Beris member, Dakhla Formation (Egypt), dated to the Maastrichtian, the authors describe a new Pycnodont, Anomoeo-dus aegypticus. The planktonic foraminiferal assemblages indicate deposi-tion in a marginal marine environment with open marin...

Based on a single vomer with partial dentition collected from the lower part of the Beris member, Dakhla Formation, dated to the Maastrichtian, we describe the new pycnodont Diastemapycnodus tavernensis gen et sp. nov. The characteristics of the new genus are (i) five rows of teeth and (ii) very large diastema interposed between the primary lateral...

In the collective imagination derived from scientific and popular literature, Triceratops often faced each other in combat. Thus, from the second half of the twentieth century, these ceratopsids were described as pugnacious animals. This arises primarily from the interpretation of extracranial fenestrae in ceratopsids being the result of combat tra...

Blessed Egidio was a revered Catholic friar who lived in Basilicata (southern Italy) between the 15th and 16th centuries A.D. His natural mummy is preserved in the Mother Church of Laurenzana, the village where he lived. During the recent restoration and conservation of the relic, palaeopathological analysis was carried out. This revealed osteolyti...

Paleopathology History of Medicine

The Valley of the Nobles is a burial area that is located between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, together with which it constitutes the Theban Necropolis. The Valley of the Nobles houses the tombs of ancient aristocratic families, which include the monumental complex of the Neferhotep tomb, catalogued as TT49 (XVIIIth Dynasty...

Variations in the number, size and shape of the foramina transversaria of cervical vertebrae can affect the anatomical course of vital blood vessels and nerves, with the risk for pathological conditions, like vertebrobasilar insufficiency. This can result in compression of the vertebral artery during neck movements, which is characterised by headac...

Personal identification in legal proceedings and social matters consists of the description, comparison and correct attribution of some relevant biological individualising characteristics. Determination of an identity is generally achieved through construction of the biological profile (i.e. ancestry, sex, age, stature) and comparison of the indivi...

Objectives The objective was to develop an odontometric technique for sex estimation based on dental measurements from adult individuals, and to evaluate its applicability and reliability for diagnosis of sex of nonadult skeletal remains. Materials and methods This study was conducted on the permanent dentition of 132 individuals (70 males, 62 fem...

The author reports the first evidence of Pycnodont fish remains collected in the Late Cretaceous Cape de Naze marine Formation during the half of the past century by the Catholic father Paul Jamet, a French missionary sent to Dakar as part of the programs for the dissemination of the Christianity in the "Afrique-Occidentale Française". Notwithstand...

The skeleton of Tergestinia sorbinii, a pycnodont fish from the Late Cretaceous of Trebeciano (Trieste, northern Italy), is described in details and its systematic position is discussed. Tergestinia belongs to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by the presence of a brush-like process on the parietal. The posterior region of the endocranium is visib...

In the mid-eighteenth century, King Charles III of Spain started to explore the ruins of the ancient city of Herculaneum. Since then, several medical and surgical instruments made of bronze and iron have been found. The archaeological digs carried out in 1982 in the area corresponding to the ancient shoreline of Her-culaneum brought to light not on...

Conservation and use of naturalistic collections subject to CITES regulation The University Museum of the "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara has been engaged for years in the recovery, restoration and conservation of nature collections from various public and private entities to ensure their accessibility and enjoyment to the general publ...

The conference paper show a particular case of a brain conservation. Analysis show the morphology and the mineral composition of sample understudy

The author presents the ancient history of the world famous Lebanese fossil fishes quarries, demonstrating that the first written quotation was due to Eusebius of Caesarea and dated back to the IV century AD. The first locality in which Cretaceous fossils were collected in Lebanon was probably Haqel; the locality of Sahel Alma was discovered in the...

RIASSUNTO L'autore presenta due casi di resti di pasto di picnodonti ritrovati nel cal-care Cenomaniano Medio di En Nammoura, Libano; essi consistono in un coprolite ed un rigurgito. Entrambi sono icno-fossili conseguenti alla nutri-zione del picnodonte Acrorhinichthys poyatoi. Il coprolite ha una struttu-ra spiralata, indicando che l'ultimo tratto...

The results of a paleopathological examination of the teeth and supporting structures of a 4th through 2nd century BC Etruscan sample of 119 crania from central Italy reveals a relatively low incidence of caries (27.7%) and high frequencies of antemortem tooth loss (49.6%) and alveolar bone infection (27.7%). The mandibular anterior teeth of one in...

The skeleton and the relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and of Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov., two pycnodontiform fishes from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, are studied in detail. Both species belong to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by their parietal brush-like process. Some osteological chara...

The osteology of Furloichthys bonarellii gen. and sp. nov., a small ichthyodectid fish from the marine Cenomanian of the Furlo river (The Marche, central Italy), is studied in details. The new genus differs from all the other known Ichthyodectidae by a few peculiar characters. The lateral ethmoid is reduced and largely separated from the mesethmoid...

The osteology and the phylogenetic relationships of Haqelpycnodus picteti gen. and sp. nov., a pycnodont fish from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, are studied in details. The new fossil genus belongs to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by the presence of a brush-like process on the parietal. H. picteti shares a few specialized...

Surgical extraction of teeth due to dental pathologies is a relatively common procedure in modern man. The healing of the wound that results occurs in gradual and sequential stages, such that the analysis of this repair process can be very useful in forensic investigations on human remains. The following study reports on a particular case where the...

The fast, high-throughput distinction between palaeoanthropological/archaeological remains and recent forensic/clinical bone samples is of vital importance in the field of medico-legal science. In this paper, a novel dating method was developed using the autofluorescence of human bones and the confocal laser scanning microscope as the means to dist...

The phylogenetic relationships of Pholidorhynchodon malzannii and Eurycormus speciosus, two Mesozoic teleosts of the "Pholidophoriformes" lineage, are commented on the basis of the available osteological data. To conclude, the belonging of Pholidorhynchodon to the Pholidophoridae sensu stricto is contested and the genus is ranged within the family...

This study is based on the skeletal remains of an adult female from the ancient city of Herculaneum (Naples, Italy), who was a victim of the eruption of the nearby Vesuvius Volcano on 24-25 August, AD 79. Examination of the maxillofacial region revealed evidence of unilateral condylar fracture and dislocation, as well as traumatic dental injuries....

The osteology of Acrorhinichthys poyatoi gen. et sp. nov., a pycnodontid fish from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. The new fossil genus belongs to the order Pycnodontiformes, but is less evolved than the Pycnodontidae. It still exhibits a few bony plates (= tesserae) in the gular region, 3 teeth on the prem...

The skeleton of three new gladiopycnodontid genera from the marine Cenomanian of Lebanon, Hayolperichthys pectospinus gen. and sp. nov., Ducrotayichthys cornutus gen. and sp. nov. and of Tricerichthys wenzi gen. and sp. nov. is studied in details. The osteology of Ichthyoceros spinosus Gayet, 1984, another Lebanese gladiopycnodontid, is re-studied....

The osteology of "Coccodus" lindstroemi is studied in detail and it is demonstrated that this species does not belong to the genus Coccodus, but is a rather primitive member of the pycnodontiform family Gladiopycnodontidae. Indeed, the snout of "Coccodus" lindstroemi is elongated in a rostrum formed by the prefrontal and the premaxilla. This rostru...

Recent forensic studies have shown that the hyoid bone is a sexually dimorphic element of the human skeleton. Given the advanced techniques of collecting human remains in archaeological and forensic contexts, the recovery of hyoid bones is now more frequent in skeletal samples. For that reason the authors propose a new method for estimating sex bas...

An enormous earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 brought to light human bodies buried in the underground rooms of the medieval St. John the Evangelist church (Casentino, Central Italy). Among the remains we discovered a human fetus, whose post-cranial bones were wrapped in bandages and cranial bones were reallocated inside a sort of hood. Anthropometrica...

The description of a Neanderthal hyoid from Kebara Cave (Israel) in 1989 fuelled scientific debate on the evolution of speech and complex language. Gross anatomy of the Kebara 2 hyoid differs little from that of modern humans. However, whether Homo neanderthalensis could use speech or complex language remains controversial. Similarity in overall sh...

The osteology of Rhinopycnodus gabriellae gen. and sp. nov., a pycnodontiform fish from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. This new fossil genus belongs to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by the presence of a posterior brush-like process on its parietal. Its long and broad premaxilla, bearing one short and...

Dental enamel hypoplasia is usually read as a sign of a systematic growth disturbance during childhood. Following the analysis of human teeth from Herculaneum (79 AD, Central Italy), the authors focused on linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) manifestations in order to delineate a possible correlation between their frequency and distribution and the eart...

The osteology of Gladiopycnodus karami gen. et sp. nov., of Monocerichthys scheuchzeri gen. et sp. nov. and of Rostropycnodus gayeti gen. et sp. nov., three new fossil fishes from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. Some of their cranial characters and the presence of a postcoelomic bone clearly refer these fis...

In 1982, some occasional excavations in the area corresponding to the ancient beach of Ercolano brought to light the rests of around 250 individuals, victims of the eruption of the Vesuvius. This exceptional recovery constitutes an essential patrimony for the reconstruction of the paleobiology and the paleopathology of the human populations in Roma...

The Authors describe a Messinian icnofossil of an ootheca, coming from the paleontological site of Palena. Its morphological and dimensional characteristics do not match with the oothecae of modern Teleostei correlated with the fossil fishes from the same paleontological site. Therefore, the Authors compared this fossil ootheca with the ones of ext...

The osteology of Prognathoglossum kalassyi, an osteoglossiform teleostean fish from the marine Cenomanian of En Nammoura in Lebanon, is described in details. This fish exhibits an important prognathism. The frontal is broad and short. The temporal fossa is located very laterally on the braincase. There is a small postfrontal behind the frontal. The...

The authors describe an hemimandible attributable to Alectrosaurus sp., which shows evident traces of aging in a member of the Family Tyrannosauridae. The examination of the specimen reveals incipient osteoporosis and dental wear. Moreover the radiograph shows that in our mandible there are no replacement tooth buds. It demonstrate that Tyrannosaur...

Charged by the Pope Julius II for painting the Cappella Sistina in Rome (between 1508 and 1512), Michelangelo worked in an elevated scaffolding, in an anomalous position with dyes (including poisoning lead salts) and solvents (such as toxic turpentine) dripping on his face and continuously inhaling, in a dim environment illuminated only with oil la...

The University Museum of Chieti is carrying on an intense activity in various anthropological fields. The active sectors include: (i) establishing and increasing osteological collections, (ii) researching in the Biology, Biomechanics and Paleopathology of ancient human remains and (iii) disclosing the achieved results, finally (iv) developing conse...

The authors describe a very rare case of osteoarthritis in a cervical vertebra of a cretaceous dinosaur (Spinosaurus maroccanus). Besides it is one of the most ancient case of osteoarthritis published up today. The fossil record was studied through macroscopic and radiographic analyses and computed tomography scan.

Sex determination of subadult skeletal remains with satisfactory accuracy represents one of the most important limitations of archaeological research and forensic practice. Teeth are one of the most durable physical elements of an individual that remain after death, and constitute a potential source of information about the biological sex of that i...

The size and shape of the jaws are related to occlusion and masticatory muscle function. Consequently, teeth and muscles are considered the functional matrix for the two jaws. Existing studies did not focus on the relationship between maxillary and mandibular base but on just their absolute dimensions. As the relationship between the two is of inte...