Maria Rita Palombo

Sapienza University of Rome | la sapienza · Department of Earth Sciences

This research presents an in-depth analysis of large mammal remains first discovered in 1932 in the archaeological area of ancient Rome, central Italy, during the work for the opening of Via dell’Impero (VFI). This work describes the faunal assemblage, its current preservation status, and uses tephrochronology to assess its age. Additionally, it pr...

Thus far, a few moderately reduced-size mammoth remains have been reported from six Sardinian (Italy) sites, presumably ranging in age from the late Middle to the Late Pleistocene. All remains have been tentatively ascribed to a single endemic species, Mammuthus lamarmorai, but the uncertainties about the actual chronology of most of the remains, t...

The dwarf Sardinian mammoth, Mammuthus lamarmorai, is a well-known species frequently cited in the literature; however, the fossil record of the Pleistocene Sardinian mammoths mainly consists of isolated remains (an incomplete skeleton from Guardia Pisano Hill, isolated teeth and a largely incomplete tibia from different localities, and some footpr...

Body mass (BM) is a critical characteristic of both extant and extinct organisms, influencing many biological factors such as metabolism, fecundity, life span, biomechanics, general ecology, trophic requirements and diets, reproduction dependence on the external environment, home range, and growth rate. For this reason, an accurate estimation of BM...

The mammal fauna from Casal de'Pazzi (Rome) has been listed in several papers during the past decades, but a detailed taxonomic study has never been published. In this paper, the specimens retrieved or still embedded in sediments from the musealized area of the Casal de'Pazzi site are described and compared for the first time. The morphological and...

The site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Latium, Italy) is located about 22 kilometers northwest of Rome. Excavation campaigns conducted from 1985 to 2013 revealed 1200 square meters of deposits referable to a river that was active during the Middle Pleistocene. Two main sedimentary phases have been recognized. Initially, a fluvial episode led to t...

A summary of the origin and development of Quaternary studies in Italy since the 18th to mid 20th century is presented, focussing on marine sediment stratigraphy, continental glacial deposits, vertebrate palaeontology, palaeobotany, and palaeoanthropology. The history of the Quaternary sciences in Italy is also figured in a timeline of main milesto...

In this contribution, we estimate the possible living body mass (BM) of the anancine gomphotheriid Anancus arvernensis, by testing a recently proposed volumetric method based on hyper-realistic in vivo 3D reconstructions and comparing the results with the BM obtained by using regression formulas. The analysis, conducted starting from two articulate...

The footprints left by the Palaeolithic hominins at the ca. 350 ka old Foresta "Devil's Trails" ichnosite (Tora-Piccilli, central Italy) are rather variable, even in a single trackway. The peculiar characteristics of the deposit and the acclivity of the soft, slipping slope the hominins were walking on, which forced trackmakers to change pace and w...

In this contribution we present an in vivo reconstruction and volumetric body mass estimate for the mounted skeleton of Mammuthus meridionalis on exhibit at the east bastion of the Spanish Fortress at L’Aquila (Abruzzo, Central Italy). The reconstruction has been obtained starting from a 3D photogrammetric model of the skeleton acquired via a micro...

Body mass (BM) estimation in extinct tetrapods constitutes a crucial research field, which sheds light on several important aspects of the biology and general physiology of organisms, with important implications also for the study of macro-evolutionary processes. In this framework, we present a volumetric body mass estimate and an in vivo reconstru...

This is the first study on the bony labyrinth of Cynotherium sardous, an intriguing extinct canid that inhabited Sardinia in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. The morphological features of the cochlea indicate that C. sardous had a lower number of cochlear turns (2.25) than all extant canids. This feature, as well as the reduced length of the s...

SUMMARY – Subsistence strategies in The Lower Palaeolithic at La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome): the exploitation of a carcass of PALAEOLOXODON ANTIQUUS – The deposit of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, central Italy) is located in the western area of the Campagna Romana. From 1985 to 2013, deposits of an ancient river were excaveted in an area...

The study of the past is of fundamental importance in understanding the processes that control the functioning of the Earth System and the interaction between ecosystems, human society and natural variability. The Quaternary scientist produces a variety of proxies derived from the investigation of natural, archaeological and historical records cove...

A nearly complete skeleton of an elephant calf was excavated between 2012 and 2014 from breccia deposits in a vertical karstic cavity named Cova del Rinoceront, exposed during limestone quarrying. The skeleton was found in the 120 cm-thick breccia layer III (Unit 1) of the 11 m-long sedimentary sequence filling the cavity. IRSL (128–129 ka) and AAR...

The 1-m-tall dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon falconeri from the Pleistocene of Sicily (Italy) is an extreme example of insular dwarfism and epitomizes the Island Rule. Based on scaling of life-history (LH) traits with body mass, P. falconeri is widely considered to be ‘r-selected’ by truncation of the growth period, associated with an early onset of r...

The osteological collection of the Museo Civico di Zoologia of Rome (MCZR) counts 2 complete skeletons, 4 skulls with mandible, 4 skulls, 5 mandibles, 1 molariform tooth, and 11 more or less complete tusks of extant elephants. This research aims to identify to which elephant among those that lived in captivity and died at the Zoological Garden of R...

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have seen tremendous development in the last decade, with numerous applications in civil and research fields. Drones' success, particularly in the field of research, is due to a number of factors, including rapid technological advancement, tool versatility, and prices that are becoming increasingly affordable even f...

Extinction of species has been a recurrent phenomenon in the history of our planet, but it was generally outweighed in the course of quite a long geological time by the appearance of new species, except, especially, for the five geologically short times when the so-called “Big Five” mass extinctions occurred. Could the current decline in biodiversi...

The intra-montane Guadix-Baza Basin is one of the few continental basins in Europe that hosts a well-dated set of fossiliferous sites spanning from the latest Miocene to the late Middle Pleistocene. The Cúllar de Baza 1 (CB-1) represents a key site to investigate the effects of the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, considered a fundamental trans...

The identification of mineralogical and chemical composition of the fossil bones is essential for reconstructing the depositional paleo-environment and burial processes, and to highlight the mechanisms triggering the fossilization processes during diagenesis. At La Polle-drara di Cecanibbio, (the richest Middle Pleistocene paleontological and archa...

The research describes for the first time a possible case of pituitary gigantism in fossil mammals, precisely in deer. The pathology was detected in two long bones (tibia and metatarsus) belonging to an individual of an unusual large size found at the Bate cave (Rethymnon, Northern Crete). It formed the basis of Candiacervus major Capasso Barbato &...

The human-elephant interactions during the Lower Palaeolithic are an intriguing issue that has been the subject of several studies, however, the multifaceted aspects of the interaction dynamics are still imperfectly known and divide most of the researchers dealing with this topic. Various sources of evidence point out the contem-poraneous presence...

This short note aims to give notice of the vestige (the external imprint and few minute fragments) of the distal portion of an elephant tusk found in a sandstone deposit exposed at a small sheltered bay, Las Tronas bay, located at the north side of the El Tro' Carlos V bay (Alghero, NW Sardinia). The coarse sandstone and the overlain aeolian sedime...

We provide a list of contribution by Italian scientists to tetrapod ichnology with papers on both material from Italy and abroad. Foreign author's contributions on tetrapod ichnology based on material from Italy are also considered. The list updates the previous one published by D'Orazi Porchetti et al. (2008) and, as a result, includes works from...

This paper re-apprises the scant elephant remains belonging to a dwarf Palaeoloxodon of uncertain taxonomy collected during the 1980s from a cave on Favignana Island (Aegadian Archipelago, western Sicily). The elephant was recently ¹⁴C-dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (20,350–19,840 cal. BP), indicating that the Favignana elephant is likely the mo...

This work presents the current knowledge on the Quaternary vertebrate ichnological record (excluding the hominid data) of peninsular and insular Italy. In particular, the data concerning different Pleistocene localities of Sardinia (e.g. Capo Mannu and Funtana Morimenta) and the Middle Pleistocene Foresta "Devil's Trails" ichnosite of Roccamonfina...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The microstructural features of the tissue of long bones subjected to different biomechanical stresses could be a helpful tool for a better understanding of locomotor behavior in extant and extinct mammals, including equids. However, few researches have attempted to describe the bone tissue of extinct horses. In our study, we analyze and compare th...

Steppe-pastoralist-related ancestry reached Central Europe by at least 2500 bc, whereas Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 bc. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean, where they have contributed to many populations that live today, remains poorly understood. Here, we generat...

The Foresta ichnosite is well known for preserving some of the oldest human fossil footprints recorded in Europe so far. This research aims to: i) describe new footprints that are larger than those already reported, some of which form a new trackway that moves in the opposite direction to all the others; ii) announce the discovery of some stone too...

This paper presents a reappraisal of evolution in the extinct Pleistocene straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon, based on cranial morphology. Particular emphasis is given to the parieto-occipital crest (POC), a specialised structure of the Palaeoloxodon skull. A key aim of this contribution is to discuss the systematic significance of the so-calle...

The hominin-elephant interaction during the Lower Palaeolithic is an intriguing issue that has been the subject of a number of studies, but the multifaceted aspects of the interaction dynamics are still imperfectly known and divide most of researchers dealing with this topic. To highlight similarities/differences in hominin behaviour considering en...

Body size is one of the most crucial biological properties for both extant and extinct organisms as it influences the ecology, metabolism, reproduction rate, life span, growth rate fecundity and several other physiological aspects. Taking into account the strong relationship between these aspects and body mass, the quantitative analysis of body siz...

The continental shelf morphology offshore of western Sicily suggests that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 20 ka cal BP), two of the Egadi Islands, Favignana and Levanzo, were connected to Sicily by a wide emerged plain, while Marettimo was only separated from the other islands by a narrow channel. We studied the relative sea-level variation f...

In the present paper we provide a new estimate of the body mass (BM) of the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon ex gr. P. falconeri from Spinagallo cave (Sicily) at three different ontogenetic stages. The new estimates are based on 3D in-vivo restorations, digitally sculpted on anatomically updated photogrammetric models of the skeletons mounted at the Mu...

A series of studies have documented how Steppe pastoralist-related ancestry reached central Europe by at least 2500 BCE, while Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 BCE. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean where they have contributed to many populations living today remains...

The extinct Pleistocene elephant Palaeoloxodon are characterised by a remarkable cranial structure known as parieto-occipital crest (POC), which may occur as either weakly/moderately or strongly deve¬loped. Palaeoloxodon recki, the ancestral form of this genus from the Early Pleistocene of East Africa, already possesses most characteristic synapomo...

This research describes pathological bones of Prolagus sardus (Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae) from four Middle-Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene sites of Sardinia (Italy), and presents a short inventory of the main Sardinian localities recording the species, with the intent to infer the viability of the Sardinian ochotonid populations during the Middle-...

Explaining the multifaceted, dynamic interactions of the manifold factors that have modelled throughout the ages the evolutionary history of the biosphere is undoubtedly a fascinating and challenging task that has been intriguing palaeontologists, biologists and ecologists for decades, in a never-ending pursuit of the causal factors that controlled...

The site of Huéscar-1 (Baza basin, Granada, Spain) yielded an interesting paleontological record close in age to the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary. In 2003 two lithic artifacts were found, confirming the human presence at this site. The faunal assemblage preserves few marsh turtle remains, a number of avian species, and small and large mammals,...

Mammuthus lamarmorai (Major, 1883) is the only dwarf proboscidean taxon known from the Pleistocene of Sardinia (Italy). The fossil record mainly consists of isolated remains reported from a few localities. The species was, however, created for an incomplete skeleton, the first finding of the taxon, fortuitously discovered at the end of the XIX cent...

This research aims to give notice of and provide preliminary information on some elephant footprints recently identified at Foresta ichnological site (Tora-Piccilli, Caserta, central Italy). The elephant-footprint area was previously poorly investigated because partially affected by anthropic modifications during historical times. The footprints, a...

In 1997, some Italian palaeontologists proposed a new biochronological assessment for selected Italian Late Pliocene-Quaternary terrestrial mammal, mollusc and ostracod species. In particular, they proposed a new Land Mammal Age (Aurelian LMA), emphasising the relevance of the taxonomical and functional turnover that characterised the post-Galerian...

Between 1985 and 1996, approximately 70 individual Palaeoloxodon antiquus specimens were recovered from the lacustrine deposits in the open-cast lignite mine of Neumark-Nord 1 (NN1) in Geiseltal, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. This study analyses 11 of the most complete skeletons. Because the studied fossil remains were so well preserved, it was possible...

The Pleistocene fossil record of the Mediterranean region is particularly suitable for studying the role of climate change on faunal evolution, and comparing faunal dynamics (FDy) at local and regional levels because of the complex physiographic and climatic heterogeneity of the region, and the complex history of invasions of species of varying geo...

On March 2003, the discovery of human fossil footprints on the volcanic ashes of the north eastern slope of Roccamonfina volcano was announced to the world. They were dated to through 40Ar/39Ar to 349±3 ka. For this reason they are still among the oldest ichnological issues known up to now. Furthermore, they are, more specifically, among the rarest...

The skeleton of Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825), found in 1954 at Madonna della Strada (Scoppito, L’Aquila, central Italy) and exhibited since 1960 in the Spanish Fortress in L’Aquila, has recently undergone a complex diagnostic and restoration project funded by the “Guardia di Finanza” as a contribution to the reconstruction of the city of L’...

Although the first discovery of palaeoloxodont elephants in Eurasia dates back to the 17th century, when a skeleton found in 1695 in the Late Pleistocene travertine deposits of Burgtonna (Germany) was recognised by Tentzel (1696) as belonging to an extinct elephant species, the systematics of the so-called “straight-tusked” elephants remains still...

Endemic elephants, variously reduced in size, have been reported from a number of Mediterranean islands. Most of these originated from the mainland species Palaeoloxodon antiquus. A few dwarf mammoth remains are recorded from Crete and Sardinia. In Sardinia, a largely incomplete skeleton and a few mammoth teeth have been reported from localities be...

The appearance of monodactyl equids in Eurasia and their dispersal towards South Europe is a significant event that marks the beginning of the Quaternary period. During the Pleistocene, horses were a common element in most European large mammal faunal assemblages, providing important palaeoecological clues, but their taxonomy, nomenclature and phyl...

Since the time of Darwin (1859) and Wallace (1869), islands have been regarded by scientists as a prime target for scrutinizing the forces that may influence evolution and diversification and important elements in biogeographic studies. This research aims to scrutinize whether and to what extent the composition and structure of past mammal insular...

It is often difficult, if not impossible, to separate postcranial elements of species, such as sheep and goats. Distinguishing between the skeletal remains of these species is important in a variety of scientific fields, such as comparative anatomy, taxonomy, biomechanical engineering, as well as zooarchaeology and palaeontology. The aim of this st...

Various species and ecomorphotypes of the genus Equus are recorded in several southern European Early Pleistocene local faunal assemblages (LFAs), though their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships, and chronological distribution are still a matter of debate. This article aims to increase knowledge on the European pre-Olduvai stenonoid horses by des...

The actual nature of large vertebrate bones found in sedimentary deposits was a intriguing, debated and unanswered issues until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The fossil bones were interpreted in a number of fantastic ways, e.g. as remains of mythological giants, or bones of dragons killed by saints. These unrealistic notions progressivel...

The timing of the colonization of Sardinia by mammalian fauna and anatomically modern humans (AMH) is currently under debate. The understanding of the geological and palaeoclimatological conditions that characterized the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene is essential to investigate colonization processes and requires an integrated multidisciplinary...

Su Fossu de Cannas (SFC) cave is one of several known cavities in the Sadali plateau in Sardinia, Italy. The evolution of the cave is the result of complex erosional and deposital processes that occurred during the Neogene and Quaternary. A fossiliferous cemented conglomerate, containing various deer remains, now forms the ceiling of a cavity (tunn...

New data from Europe, putting back the appearance of tools showing affinities or belonging to the Acheulean technocomplex to the late Early Pleistocene, open new questions about the onset of handaxe-making behaviour in the North Mediterranean region. This research aims to provide some clues to the debate by analysing at regional and local scale the...

The site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Central Italy) clearly documents a close connection between elephant remains and the subsistence strategies of human beings. A carcass of a straight-tusked elephant was recently discovered in sediments that represent the edge of a former swampy area. Some limbs are still in anatomical connection and th...

The site of Ficoncella, in northern Latium (Italy), represents a great opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in a fluvial context during Lower Palaeolithic. From the results of radiometric dating, geological study and bio-chronological analyses, it emerged that the human occupation at the site, an ancient riverbank, occurr...

This research aims to investigate the large mammal faunal dynamics in SW Europe during the late Early Pleistocene. At that time, the climate forcing known as Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR) induced deep, more or less gradual alterations and latitudinal displacements in European terrestrial biomes and exerted great influence on dispersal and disper...

During the period of 1958 and 1960, the richest sample of Palaeoloxodon ex gr. P. falconeri (104 individuals) was recovered from Spinagallo cave (Syracuse, Hyblean Plateau, SE Sicily). Subsequently, several composite skeletons were reconstructed. Four of them are today exhibited at the Paleontological Museum of Department of Earth Sciences of Sapie...

This research aims to deconstruct time and mode of dispersal of large mammals in SW Europe during the post-Olduvai Early Pleistocene, focusing on asynchronous versus diachronous appearance bioevents in the Iberian Peninsula, France and Italy. The geography of the region and its rich Quaternary fossil record is particularly suitable for studying the...

The endemic Pleistocene dwarf elephants from Sicily and Malta display numerous anatomical changes with respect to their putative mainland ancestor and contemporary Palaeoloxodon antiquus, including significant differences in the functional morphology of the astragalus-calcaneus. Here we describe the functional morphology of dwarf elephants from the...

La Polledrara di Cecanibbio is a Pleistocene fossiliferous deposit near Rome (Italy) where large quantities of bones, belonging mainly to elephants, have been discovered and ‘musealized’ under an enclosing structure. The prevailing environmental conditions inside the museum and the exposition in situ of the fossilized remains have resulted in the d...

Functional diversity (the amount of inter-specific variation in functional traits in an ecological community) has been receiving increased attention in ecological studies because it does not treat all species identically, as taxonomical diversity does, but rather according to the role they have within a community. Therefore, functional diversity (F...

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Islands have been regarded by scientists as a living laboratory of evolution, and a prime target for the study of forces influencing evolution. This research aims to investigate whether a dwarf deer (Candiacervus ropalophorus), that suffered a traumatic fracture of its metatarsal, might have survived, despite the broken limb, in the Cretan free-pre...

Drastic changes, driven by variations in orbital forcing, occurred in the Earth's climate system around 1.0 Ma. As a consequence, a marked reorganization of the ecosystems took place in Europe between 1.2 and 0.6 Ma. Arrival of hominins to Western Eurasia occurred at this time or slightly earlier, and many questions related to their time and mode o...