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Magnetostratigraphy of the Late Miocene Baccinello-Cinigiano basin (Tuscany, Italy) and the age of Oreopithecus bambolii faunal assemblages
Abstract
This study has the aim of dating the latest Miocene Hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii bearing succession of the Baccinello–Cinigiano Basin (BCB) in southern Tuscany (Italy). Since the 1960s biochronology has been the source for rough age estimations. Geochronological techniques have started to provide significant time constraints after the absolute dating obtained from a single point in the BCB, where a relatively thick and continuous lithostratigraphic record is found together with a succession of several mammal sites. Chronological control of the sedimentary succession and age range of Oreopithecus faunal assemblage has nowadays only been possible with the characterization of the magnetostratigraphy of the BCB sedimentary succession. This study demonstrates that: i) the oldest Oreopithecus bearing sediments in BCB (V1) has an age older than 8.1Ma; ii) the IGF 4883V Oreopithecus from Trasubbie creek has an age of 8.1–7.7Ma; iii) the youngest Oreopithecus remains (from the so called V2 assemblages) have an age between 7.1 and 6.7Ma; iv) the Oreopithecus chronologic range within the BCB is about 1.5Ma long bracketed between 8.3 and 6.7Ma; v) the post-Oreopithecus faunal complex V3-bearing deposits, likely to have an age between 6.7 and 6.4Ma, belonging to the very early MN13 unit (early Messinian); and finally, vi) Oreopithecus is confirmed to be the youngest dryopithecine record from Eurasia, extending his last occurrence into the early Messinian.
... At present, the only occurrence of U. azzarolii is the type specimen from Casteani (around 8.3-7.7 Ma; V1 in the Oreopithecus-Zone Faunas) in Tuscany and from the slightly younger locality of Fiume Santo (ca. 7.1-6.7 Ma; V2 in the Oreopithecus-Zone Faunas) in Sardinia (Hürzeler and Engesser 1976;Rook et al. 2000Rook et al. , 2011Abbazzi et al. 2008;Rook 2016). Despite the presence of dentition and some postcranial elements, the identification of Umbrotherium as a giraffid has not been confirmed, and its systematic and phylogenetic position remained unresolved. ...
... The V0 to V2 faunal assemblages belong to an endemic faunal complex (the so called "Oreopithecus-Zone Faunas [OZF]" sensu Bernor et al. 2001) with a high level of endemism, low taxonomic diversity, and a tendency for the development of hypsodonty (Hürzeler and Engesser 1976;Sondaar 1977;Engesser 1989;Casanovas-Vilar et al. 2011). The V3 faunal assemblage instead includes continental taxa with Eurasian affinities such as the genera Hippotherium and Procapreolus and the species Pliorhinus megarhinus (Lorenz 1968;Hürzeler and Engesser 1976;Engesser 1989;Rook et al. 2000Rook et al. , 2011Rook 2016;Angelone et al. 2017;Pandolfi and Rook 2017;DeMiguel and Rook 2018;Pandolfi et al. 2020). The localities that yielded the giraffid remains, namely Casteani and Fiume Santo, belong to the V1 and V2 faunal assemblages, respectively. ...
... II, Eumaiochoerus etruscus, as well as, most probably, Indarctos anthracitis (Rook et al. 1996Benvenuti et al. 2001;Cirilli et al. 2016), suggesting a temporary reconnection with Europe (Benvenuti et al. 2001). Furthermore, the V2 fauna shows new species resulting from the in situ evolutionary transformation of locally endemic forms (Lorenz 1968;Hürzeler and Engesser 1976;Engesser 1989;Rook et al. 2000Rook et al. , 2011Rook 2016;Angelone et al. 2017). ...
The origin and evolution of endemic species characterizing the Oreopithecus-faunal assemblages of the Tusco-Sardinian archipelago remain a matter of debate. An emblematic case is the enigmatic giraffid Umbrotherium azzarolii, represented by a single specimen from the type locality of Casteani (Tuscany) and by several isolated teeth and fragmentary mandibles from the locality of Fiume Santo (Sardinia). An exhaustive diagnosis of Umbrotherium has not been firmly established, and its systematic and phylogenetic position remain unresolved. Unpublished remains of giraffids, including an almost complete mandible, several isolated teeth, and other cranial remains are described for the first time in the present work. The specimens were collected from the locality of Botro della Canonica (Pisa), located at the northernmost portion of the Tusco-Sardinian archipelago. The new material sheds light on the morphological and morphometric variability of Umbrotherium, thereby enabling a comparison between specimens collected from different Tusco-Sardinian Miocene localities spanning from the V1 to the V2 Oreopithecus-Zone Faunas and allowing the establishment of the new species U. engesserii sp. nov. from Fiume Santo (Sardinia). This study also reveals that Umbrotherium was more closely related to Decennatherium than to other Late Miocene continental giraffids, suggesting a dispersal of its ancestor from the Iberian Peninsula. Accordingly, a new paleogeographic and biochronological framework is proposed herein for the Tusco-Sardinian archipelago, hypothesizing a fragmentation of the area into several domains, with sporadic reconnections, and the establishment of different faunal assemblages.
... Oreopithecus went extinct at ca. 6.7 Ma (Rook, 2009;Rook et al., 2011), which contrasts strongly with most other ape extinctions in Eurasia, ultimately related to an increase in environmental uni- formity and the resulting loss of habitat suitability (Merceron et al., 2010;DeMiguel et al., 2014). In Western and Central Europe, this sharp decline has been related to changes towards increased seasonality and lower temperatures, with the substitu- tion of fruit-rich evergreen (sub)tropical forests by more decidu- ous trees (Alba, 2012;DeMiguel et al., 2014). ...
... While some works attribute its extinction and the replace- ment of its endemic associated fauna to a marked shift from warm and humid conditions to an inconsistent climate regime (Benvenuti et al., 1994;Bernor et al., 2001;Ligios et al., 2008), others show no relation to any significant change in climate or habitat, but rather to the connection of its insular ecosystem to the mainland ca. 6.7 Ma (Rook et al., 2011;Matson et al., 2012;Nelson and Rook, 2016) and intensive interaction with invading non-endemic fauna like Hip- potheriun, Dicerorhinus, Propotamochoerus, Machairodus, etc. (Bernor et al., 2001;Rook et al., 2011). ...
... Convincingly demonstrating what did cause the extinction is outside the scope of this study, since our analyses cannot directly support any alternative hypothesis. However, and as other authors ( Bernor et al., 2001;Agustí, 2007;Abbazzi et al., 2008;Rook, 2009;Rook et al., 2011) have argued in a more extensive way, the arrival of continental newcomers to the Tusco-Sardinian province seems to be the most parsimonious alternative explanation. Thus, and although all the available evidence indicates that not one of the V2 mammalian elements are associated with the faunal complex of V3 Rook, 2016), which makes testing difficult, it is probable that large predators and potential competitors found in Baccinello V3 localities encountered the insular forms on a short (non-geological) timescale. ...
... The basin shoulders are made of late Oligocene turbidite sandstones (Tuscan Units) on the west and of late Cretaceous chaotic claystone with limestone blocks (Ligurid Units) on the southern and eastern margins. The BCB is filled by a fluvio-lacustrine, dominantly clastic succession exposed for about 250 m, which has been subdivided into two unconformitybounded stratigraphic units (synthems, CB1 and CB2; Benvenuti et al. 2001Benvenuti et al. , 2015 Rook et al. 2011; Marroni et al. 2015 ). Synthem CB1 (upper Tortonian-lower Messinian ) includes six units, which document an articulated depositional evolution. ...
... The lowermost unit CB1a records the development of limited colluvial fans (Fig. 1; Benvenuti et al. 2001Benvenuti et al. , 2015) at the base of the southern basin shoulder later evolved into poorly drained alluvial plains, whose deposits bear the vertebrate-bearing level described in this paper (see details below). The overlying unit CB1b attests to the successive development of a shallow lake characterized by organic and carbonate deposition (Fig. 1; Benvenuti et al. 2001; Marroni et al. 2015), where endemic V1-mammal remains accumulated (Lorenz 1968; Rook et al. 2011). Unit CB1c points to the full establishment of a shallow terrigenous lake characterized by delta progradation from ESE (Benvenuti et al. 2001). ...
... The following unit CB1d, documents alluvial fans prograding from the eastern basin margin into a muddy alluvial plain which replaced the former shallow lake. This endorheic alluvial setting was populated by the V2 mammal fauna (Benvenuti et al. 2001; Rook et al. 2011). Unit CB1e records persisting alluvial deposition in a plain crossed by an axial river that entered the basin from the north testifying to drainage opening compared with the previous closed alluvial plain. ...
The Late Miocene continental successions of the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin (Grosseto), one of the longest and most continuous vertebrate-bearing continental successions in the Neogene Italian record, yielded at least four superimposed vertebrate assemblages bracketed in the time span 8.3-6.4 Ma. The Baccinello-Cinigiano basin is famous for recording endemic vertebrate assemblages that include the youngest European Miocene hominoid, Oreopithecus bambolii. The late Miocene endemic vertebrate fauna known as the Baccinello V0 assemblage is the oldest vertebrate fauna within the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin succession, being correlated to the European mammal Neogene unit MN11. Recent field surveys along the Trasubbie river allowed studying in detail the basal Baccinello-Cinigiano sedimentary succession, and sampling fossiliferous level bearing microvertebrates along the small creek Fosso della Fittaia. The sample "Fosso della Fittaia 2013" yielded about 170 fossil remains improving our documentation of the oldest vertebrate assemblages from the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin. As far as rodents are concerned, in addition to the already recognized murid Huerzelerimys and glirid Anthracoglis, a few dental remains are assigned to a new genus and species of giant dormouse. It is further worth noting the occurrence in the sample of shrew remains (the first described from the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin) identified as cf. Lartetium. The latter attests the presence of a crocidosoricine in the Fosso della Fittaia 2013 assemblage, postdating the youngest known occurrences of the subfamily by at least 1 my. The vertebrate assemblage is completed by a diverse herpetofauna and the first fish remains reported from the basin.
... The Latest Miocene continental record of the Italian peri-Tyrrhenian regions (Tuscany and Sardinia) documents the existence of a peculiar bioprovince characterised by the occurrence of vertebrate faunas with manifestly endemic features that differ from coeval mammal faunas, either from Europe or Africa: the so-called Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince ("Oreopithecus Zone Faunas", or OZF in Bernor et al., 2001). The Latest Miocene faunal succession of the Tusco-Sardinian area has been known for a long time in the literature, and the geological setting, the evolutionary patterns of vertebrate records and their biogeographic significance have been exhaustively reported in a number of papers (e.g., Abbazzi et al., 2008b;Azzaroli et al., 1986;Benvenuti et al., 2001;Chesi et al., 2009;Delfino and Rook, 2008;Hürzeler and Engesser, 1976;Rook et al., 2011). ...
... Among these localities (Casteani, Montebamboli, Ribolla, etc.), the geology and palaeontology of the Baccinello area are the best known, thanks to the early research led by J. Hürzeler from the Basel Naturhistorisches Museum (De Terra, 1956;Gillet et al., 1965;Lorenz, 1968;Rook, 2012), who recovered abundant faunal remains from different stratigraphic levels. Since the 1990s, research conducted by the Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group of the University of Florence (Fig. 2) has increased our knowledge of the palaeontology, geology and sedimentology of the area (Benvenuti et al., 1999a(Benvenuti et al., ,b, 2001Rook et al., 2000Rook et al., , 2011, allowing a better understanding of the sedimentary/environmental evolution of the Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin (henceforth referred to as the BC Basin). ...
... Data suitable for a firmer chronological calibration and for the basin stratigraphic correlation have been provided by a sampling for a magnetostratigraphic study within the BC Basin stratigraphic succession and analysis of its magnetostratigraphic signature Rook et al., 2011). The correlation of the investigated sedimentary sections of the BC Basin succession with the standard polarity scale (Lourens et al., 2004; uptaded as by Hilgen et al., 2012) has been carried out by integration of the basin analysis (Benvenuti et al., 1999a(Benvenuti et al., ,b, 2001, radiometric datings (Rook et al., 2000), and biostratigraphy . ...
The Latest Miocene succession of the Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin in southern Tuscany (Italy) recorded a faunal turnover documenting the extinction of an older, insular, endemic faunal complex characterised by the extinct ape Oreopithecus bambolii and the setting of a new, continental, European faunal complex including the colobine monkey Mesopithecus. A similar turnover pattern (Late Miocene ape/Latest Miocene Cercopithecidae) is generally observed in Late Miocene continental successions of Eurasia, from Spain to central Europe, Southwest Europe, the near East, and Southwest Asia. Abundant literature reports that the Late Miocene Eurasian hominoid primate distribution closely tracks the climatic/environmental changes occurring during the 12-9. Ma interval, until their extinction in western Europe. In the primate record, the dispersion of Cercopithecidae and the contraction of hominids is interpreted as an event depicting a pattern of "continentalisation" in the Old World. The sedimentary succession of the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin, one of the longest continuous vertebrate-bearing continental successions in the Neogene Italian record, contributes to the debate on this hypothesis. This paper provides an overview of the main characteristics of the sedimentary succession, the chronological constraints (biochronology, radiometric datings, magnetostratigraphy), and the palaeoenvironmental evolution as derived from palaeobiological approaches and from the study of stable carbon and oxygen isotope contents along the entire sedimentary succession. The 2. myr geological history of the Baccinello Cinigiano Basin, which documents the evolutionary history of Oreopithecus and associated faunas, does not have a direct relation with the event of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The evolutionary history of Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin and its palaeontological record have been mainly driven by the regional tectonism and palaeogeographic changes that affected the northern Tyrrhenian regions in Late Miocene (Latest Tortonian-Messinian) times.
... Until the last few decades, Italian Late Miocene vertebrate-bearing continental fossiliferous localities were largely represented by strongly endemized mammal assemblages. The most outstanding of these communities are those from the Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince [i.e., Monte Bamboli, Baccinello (Tuscany), with its three fossiliferous levels V0, V1, V2, and Fiume Santo (Sardinia ) (Oreopithecus Zone faunas, see BeRnoR et al. 2001; Rook et al. 2006 Rook et al. , 2011 aBBazzi et al. 2008a)], as well as from the Apulian Platform [i.e., Scontrone (Abruzzo) and the numerous karst fissures of Gargano (Apulia) (Mikrotia fauna, see FReudenthal 1971; MaSini et al. 2010 MaSini et al. , 2013 Mazza 2013; villieR & CaRnevale 2013)]. Recent studies have highlighted the association of these endemic mammal communities with crocodylians of probable African origin, at Baccinello (delFino & Rook 2008), Scontrone (delFino & RoSSi 2013), and Gargano (delFino et al. 2007). ...
... Baccinello V1- V3 include also chelonians that survived the mammal turnover that signed the end of the so-called Oreopithecus Zone Fauna of the Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince (CheSi et al. 2009). Baccinello's uppermost fossiliferous level (V3) yields, within a " non-insular " mammal assemblage, a few mammal taxa endemic to southern Tuscany, and yet none survived from the older V0-V2 endemic assemblages (BeRnoR et al. 2001; Rook et al. 2006 Rook et al. , 2011 aBBazzi et al. 2008a). They developed, in contrast, from new continental incomers (angelone & Rook 2011, and references therein). ...
... They developed, in contrast, from new continental incomers (angelone & Rook 2011, and references therein). Non-endemized Italian Miocene mammals are muchBoSSio et al. 2001; hilgenS et al. 2003; louRenS et al. 2004; evanS et al. 2007; aBBazzi et al. 2008b; MaRRa 2009; MaRRa et al. 2011; Rook et al. 2011; PataCCa et al. 2013 ). less frequent. ...
A considerable amount of vertebrate remains have been found in the upper Messinian Cassano Spinola Conglomerates Formation, which crops out along the Tanaro River near Verduno (Piedmont). The fossil-bearing deposits were deposited during the third stage of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.55-5.33 Ma) in connection with the 'Lago-Mare' event. Sedimentological evidence indicates that the deposition of this Formation originated in a variety of fresh- and brackish-water environments. This is the most diverse Late Miocene faunal community found in NW Italy up to now, and includes remains of fish (cyprinodontiforms and putative lophiiforms), amphibians (bufonids, ranids), reptiles (testudinids, geoemydids, lacertids, anguids, varanids, agamids, amphisbaenians, scolecophidians, colubrids), birds (galliforms, accipitriforms and strigiforms) and mammals (proboscideans, perissodactyls, artiodactyls, carnivores, insectivores, rodents and lagomorphs). The tetrapod assemblages are consistent with the late Turolian age inferred based on sedimentological evidence and indicative of an open, semi-arid woodland savanna with at least modest, sparse fresh and brackish water bodies. The Verduno fossil assemblages share faunal similarities with coeval ones of southwest, central, and eastern Europe, as well as of peninsular Italy. Located at the crossroads between the two sides of the Mediterranean, northwestern Italy witnessed faunal exchanges between the different corners of the European continent. It was also on the access pathway to the Italian peninsula. The Verduno assemblage made it possible to track the migration of several taxa during latest Miocene across the whole southern Europe.
... At Baccinello, a thick stratigraphic succession preserves assemblages referred to V0, V1, V2 and V3 (Lorenz, 1968;Engesser, 1989;Rook, 2016), whereas in the rest of the Baccinello Basin, only the V1 assemblage occurs in lignite deposits. Montebamboli has yielded mammal remains that suggest an attribution to the V2 assemblage, as exemplified by the occurrence of the endemic suid Eumaiochoerus etruscus (Michelotti, 1861) (Azzaroli et al., 1986;Rook et al., 1996Rook et al., , 2011Fig. 1 -Location of the main vertebrate-bearing sites of southern Tuscany (white-filled circles). Redrawn and modified after Rook et al. (1993). ...
... According to the chronostratigraphic calibration provided by Rook et al. (2011) for the vertebrate assemblages collected at Baccinello, V1 likely represents the 8.3-8.1 Ma time span, corresponding to the late Tortonian, whereas the age of V2 should be comprised between 7.1 Ma and 6.7 Ma, corresponding to the early Messinian. Absolute confidence about the geographic and stratigraphic whereabouts of the studied specimen would thus be needed for pinpointing its geological age. ...
An isolated large tusk, belonging to the historical finds of the Collezione di Geologia "Museo Giovanni Capellini" (Bologna, Italy) and originally identified as belonging to a hippopotamus, is here described and reassigned to the genus Metaxytherium (Dugongidae, Sirenia, Mammalia). According to the museum label, this specimen originates from the now-exhausted lignite deposits of Montebamboli (Tuscany, central Italy); the latter are late Tortonian to early Messinian in age and were deposited in a lacustrine environment. The Montebamboli tusk displays strong similarities with an elderly Metaxytherium subapenninum specimen from the Pliocene deposits of Bra (Piedmont, northern Italy) as well as with an isolated Metaxytherium tusk, now apparently lost, from Miocene deposits of Son Morelló (Mallorca, Spain). The Late Miocene occurrence of a large-tusked Metaxytherium in the Mediterranean Basin calls into question the anagenetic trend previously proposed for the Euro-North African species of Metaxytherium, thus also stimulating further research on the intra-and interspecific tusk size variability within this lineage. Furthermore, this specimen represents the first record of a marine species from the lignites of Montebamboli, indicating the proximity of marine settings.
... In recent years, newly discovered Italian localities provided information that partially bridges the chasm of knowledge. Until recently, the vertebrate fossil record from the late Miocene of Italy have consisted solely of endemic faunal complexes mainly from two isolated areas: the Apulo-Abruzzi paleobioprovince (e.g., Freudenthal, 1971;Mazza and Rustioni, 2011;Delfino and Rossi, 2013;Masini et al., 2013;Meijer, 2013;Patacca et al., 2013;Pavia, 2013;Villier and Carnevale, 2013;Savorelli et al., 2016;Pavia et al., 2017) and the Tusco-Sardinian paleobioprovince (e.g., Engesser, 1989;Abbazzi et al., 2008a;Rook et al., 2011). However, some of the newly discovered Italian fossil localities yield nonendemic faunal assemblages. ...
... However, some of the newly discovered Italian fossil localities yield nonendemic faunal assemblages. A few of them are from central Italian Messinian basins on the western side of Northern Apennines, such as the Tuscan basins of Baccinello-Cinigiano (Baccinello V3) (Rook et al., 2011), Valdelsa (Borro Strolla) (Abba-zzi et al., 2008b), Casino (Abbazzi et al., 2008b) and Velona (Ghetti et al., 2002). Other rich faunal assemblages come from the upper Messinian karstic complex of the Monticino gypsum quarry near Brisighella, in Romagna. ...
The systematic analysis of more than 20,000 fossils (Vertebrata and Mollusca), recovered from the post-evaporitic Messinian (5.41-5.33 Ma) succession of Moncucco Torinese (NW Italy), resulted in the identification of 90 vertebrate and 65 mollusk taxa that provide additional information about the paleoecological context and the paleoenvironmental settings of NW Italy slightly before the Mio-Pliocene boundary. Our analyses indicate a landscape dominated by open woodlands within a mosaic environment also including closed canopy forests, grasslands, rocky outcrops and limited water edges. The wide spectrum of habitats may have had a prominent role in determining the high paleobiodiversity observed in the paleocommunity of Moncucco Torinese. Slight variations in the abundances of the most common rodent species over the investigated succession are probably related to local changes in the paleolandscape. From a paleoclimatic point of view, the overall information provided by the fauna indicates mesic conditions in a subtropical climate, which is also consistent with the interpretation derived from paleobotanical and sedimentological analyses for the latest Messinian of Northern Italy.
... Ma) [3] of Greece; Oreopithecus bambolii232425 from the Late Miocene (MN12, ca. 8.3–6.7 Ma) [26] of Italy; and Hispanopithecus crusafonti (MN9, ca. 10.4–10.0 ...
... Its extinction does not offer much insight with regard to that of other apes from mainland Europe, since it is not related to any environmental change [121], but rather to the connection of its insular habitat to the mainland ca. 7 Ma—and the substitution of the endemic associated fauna [26,121]. ...
Given the central adaptive role of diet, paleodietary inference is essential for understanding the relationship between evolutionary and paleoenvironmental change. Here we rely on dental microwear analysis to investigate the role of dietary specialization in the diversification and extinction of Miocene hominoids from Western Eurasian between 14 and 7 Ma. New microwear results for five extinct taxa are analyzed together with previous data for other Western Eurasian genera. Except Pierolapithecus (that resembles hard-object feeders) and Oreopithecus (a soft-frugivore probably foraging opportunistically on other foods), most of the extinct taxa lack clear extant dietary analogues. They display some degee of sclerocarpy, which is most clearly expressed in Griphopithecus and Ouranopithecus (adapted to more open and arid environments), whereas Anoiapithecus, Dryopithecus and, especially, Hispanopithecus species apparently relied more strongly on soft-frugivory. Thus, contrasting with the prevailing sclerocarpic condition at the beginning of the Eurasian hominoid radiation, soft- and mixed-frugivory coexisted with hard-object feeding in the Late Miocene. Therefore, despite a climatic trend towards cooling and increased seasonality, a progressive dietary diversification would have occurred (probably due to competitive exclusion and increased environmental heterogeneity), although strict folivory did not evolve. Overall, our analyses support the view that the same dietary specializations that enabled Western Eurasian hominoids to face progressive climatic deterioration were the main factor ultimately leading to their extinction when more drastic paleoenvironmental changes took place.
... These nonmarine strata host a peculiar vertebrate assemblage that includes the insular primate Oreopithecus bambolii, thought to have evolved bipedalism independently from the hominines (e.g. Rook et al. 2006Rook et al. , 2011Rook 2016;Pandolfi et al. 2022). ...
Quarries are areas of pivotal importance for investigation, popularization, and educational purposes in the field of geosciences. Here, we focus on three quarries of Tuscany (La Serra, Arcille, and Certaldo) that have been home to significant finds of marine vertebrate fossils. The three selected localities are representative of the many active (La Serra), inactive (Arcille), and abandoned (Certaldo) Tuscan quarries where vertebrate-bearing Pliocene deposits are exposed. Given the richness and scientific value of their paleontological content (including holotypes as well as otherwise unique specimens), the abundance of exposed sedimentary structures, and the high potential for open-air musealization, the La Serra, Arcille, and Certaldo quarries should be regarded as geosites. These quarries are thoroughly described, and several suggestions for their preservation and valorization are proposed, focusing on their importance for geotourism, with the goal of reaching out to the broadest audience possible. Many innovative dissemination tools, including 3D technologies, are now available for pursuing such an aim.
... Pending further clarification of the internal phylogenetic relationships of the Nyanzapithecidae and their possible link with Oreopithecus (see below), we refrain from distinguishing nyanzapithecid subfamilies. Oreopithecini Oreopithecus, from the Late Miocene of Europe (~8e7 Ma; Rook et al., 2011), is the most completely preserved Miocene ape, being known from dental, cranial, and postcranial remains. However, due to a unique combination of features, the phylogenetic relationships of Oreopithecus have been controversial for a century and a half (see review in Delson, 1986). ...
Hominoids diverged from cercopithecoids during the Oligocene in Afro-Arabia, initially radiating in that continent and subsequently dispersing into Eurasia. From the Late Miocene onward, the geographic range of hominoids progressively shrank, except for hominins, which dispersed out of Africa during the Pleistocene. Although the overall picture of hominoid evolution is clear based on available fossil evidence , many uncertainties persist regarding the phylogeny and paleobiogeography of Miocene apes (nonhominin hominoids), owing to their sparse record, pervasive homoplasy, and the decimated current diversity of this group. We review Miocene ape systematics and evolution by focusing on the most parsimonious cladograms published during the last decade. First, we provide a historical account of the progress made in Miocene ape phylogeny and paleobiogeography, report an updated classification of Miocene apes, and provide a list of Miocene ape species-locality occurrences together with an analysis of their paleobiodiversity dynamics. Second, we discuss various critical issues of Miocene ape phylogeny and paleobiogeography (hylobatid and crown hominid origins, plus the relationships of Oreopithecus) in the light of the highly divergent results obtained from cladistic analyses of craniodental and postcranial characters separately. We conclude that cladistic efforts to disentangle Miocene ape phylogeny are potentially biased by a long-branch attraction problem caused by the numerous postcranial similarities shared between hylobatids and hominidsddespite the increasingly held view that they are likely ho-moplastic to a large extent, as illustrated by Sivapithecus and Pierolapithecusdand further aggravated by abundant missing data owing to incomplete preservation. Finally, we argue thatdbesides the recovery of additional fossils, the retrieval of paleoproteomic data, and a better integration between cladistics and geometric morphometricsdMiocene ape phylogenetics should take advantage of total-evidence (tip-dating) Bayesian methods of phylogenetic inference combining morphologic, molecular, and chro-nostratigraphic data. This would hopefully help ascertain whether hylobatid divergence was more basal than currently supported.
... Fejfar et al. (1997) and then Bernor et al. (2003) included the locality in the MN12, seeing a parallel between the hipparions from this locality and the ones from Baltavar (Hungary), Vienna basin (Austria), and Baccinello V3 (Italy), believing that these hipparions have a late MN12 age. But Baccinello V3 has a Middle Messinian age (Rook et al., 2011), so the age of Hatvan is uncertain, possibly very close to the MN12/13 boundary, or early MN13 in age. Even if the Hatvan ursid has an Ailuropodina P4 morphology (which is only supposed), the small taxon from Soblay and the large one from Hatvan could have several significant differences, moreover, they are distant from each other in time by at least two million years. ...
With advances in molecular phylogeny, the Ursidae affinity of Ailuropoda is no longer controversial.
However, the early evolution of Ailuropoda and its close relatives (the tribe Ailuropodini) is still unclear. In this study, we
describe a new fossil discovery from Bulgaria, which represents a new taxon of Ailuropodini, ?Agriarctos nikolovi. The
materials of Ailurarctos are restudied and the evolution and dispersal of Ailuropodini are discussed. Early Ailuropodini
split into two lineages, one in Europe as Agriarctos (three species, whose assignment to the same genus is not certain),
and one in southeastern Asia as Ailurarctos and later Ailuropoda. Ailurarctos is a paraphyletic group, with both known
species as successive direct ancestors to Ailuropoda. Subtribe Ailuropodina is proposed here to include Ailurarctos and
Ailuropoda. Turolian European Agriarctos paralleled with Ailuropodina in many aspects, which reflects similar adaptation
towards a specific herbivorous diet.
... Because of the endemic fauna, paleontological methods are commonly insufficient for stratigraphic correlation and paleogeographic reconstruction within and between the western, central, and southeastern European restricted Neogene basins and to the international stratigraphic time scale. To date tectonic, paleogeographic, and climatic events in such circumstances, paleontological methods have been combined with magnetostratigraphic techniques (e.g., Opdyke et al., 1997;Jiang et al., 2007), or in favorable circumstances, with isotope age determination (e.g., Rook et al., 2011;Vasiliev et al., 2011). ...
This study aimed at the magnetostratigraphic age assignment of a 100-m-long drill core penetrating the Miocene lake sediments of the intramontane Turiec Basin of the Inner Western Carpathians and obtaining paleomagnetic constraints for the orientation of the basin during its development. Concerning the azimuthally nonoriented drill core, we documented first the consistency of the paleomagnetic signals, residing mostly in greigite, within “pilot” core segments, thus satisfying the minimum requirement for primary/early diagenetic magnetization. Next, all core segments were oriented with respect to each other by the means of silt intercalations in the mudstone and/or anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility foliation planes. The result was a remarkable clustering of the paleomagnetic vectors. Finally, we proved the suitability of the drill core for magnetostratigraphic purpose with positive inclination only, conglomerate, and regional tilt tests. The latter included the azimuthally fully restored paleomagnetic locality mean direction for the core (fitting the bedding azimuth of the drill core to the one measured close to the drill site) and several geographically distributed localities in the Turiec Basin. Because the drill core was magnetized during a fairly long normal polarity interval, the age of deposition was estimated as 7.7–8.1 Ma, corresponding to chron C4n.2n, taking into consideration also the position of the drill core to a dated volcanic horizon and the gradual intralacustrine evolution of the endemic ostracode fauna. Concerning the orientation of the basin during deposition of the studied sediments, we concluded that they were deposited after the large-scale counterclockwise Miocene rotation of the Western Carpathians.
... Both Plesiogulo and Sivaonyx from LBW, are typical member of the Euroasiatic carnivore guild and have been recognized outside Africa before LBW. Plesiogulo monspessulanus occurred in Western Europe (Alcalá, Montoya & Morales, 1994;Morales, 1984;Rook, Ficcarelli & Torre, 1991;Rook et al., 2011;Montoya, Morales & Abella, 2011), and Sivaonyx spp., were found in older sediments in Africa and Asia Pickford, 2007;Grohé et al., 2013). After the previous dispersal event, an array of new species of large bunodont otter (Sivaonyx and Enhydriodon) and one new species of Plesiogulo diversified in East and South Africa (Haile-Selassie, Hlusko Morales, Pickford & Soria, 2005;Howell & García, 2007;Haile-Selassie, 2008;Haile-Selassie & Howell, 2009;Morales, Pickford & Valenciano, 2016). ...
Giant mustelids are a paraphyletic group of mustelids found in the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America. Most are known largely from dental remains, with their postcranial skeleton mostly unknown. Here, we describe new craniodental and postcranial remains of the large lutrine Sivaonyx hendeyi and the leopard-size gulonine Plesiogulo aff. monspessulanus from the early Pliocene site Langebaanweg, South Africa. The new material of the endemic S. hendeyi, includes upper incisors and premolars, and fragmentary humerus, ulna and a complete astragalus. Its postcrania shares more traits with the living Aonyx capensis than the late Miocene Sivaonyx beyi from Chad. Sivaonyx hendeyi could therefore be tentatively interpreted as a relatively more aquatic taxon than the Chadian species, comparable to A. capensis. The new specimens of Plesiogulo comprise two edentulous maxillae, including one of a juvenile individual with incomplete decidual dentition, and a fragmentary forelimb of an adult individual. The new dental measurements point to this form being amongst the largest specimens of the genus. Both P3-4 differs from the very large species Plesiogulo botori from late Miocene of Kenya and Ethiopia. This confirms the existence of two distinct large species of Plesiogulo in Africa during the Mio/Pliocene, P. botori in the Late Miocene of Eastern Africa (6.1-5.5 Ma) and Plesiogulo aff. monspessulanus at the beginning of the Pliocene in southern Africa (5.2 Ma). Lastly, we report for the first time the presence of both Sivaonyx and Plesiogulo in MPPM and LQSM at Langebaanweg, suggesting that the differences observed from the locality may be produced by sedimentation or sampling biases instead of temporal replacement within the carnivoran guild.
... O. bambolii fossils date back about 8 million years and come from sites in Sardinia and Tuscany (Rook et al., 2011). The varied features within these fossils have made it difficult to determine the evolutionary history of O. bambolii and its relationship to living hominoid species (Harrison and Rook, 1997;Kö hler and Moyà-Solà, 1997). ...
Structures in the inner ear can help determine the evolutionary relationship between extinct and living primates.
... This is also the case of the Hispanopithecus bearing site of Can Llobateres 2 . In Western Europe, only the endemic genus Oreopithecus managed to survive in the Tusco-Sardinian Island, until its connection with the continent at 6.7 Ma (Rook et al., 1999;Alba et al., 2001;Rook et al., 2011;Rook, 2016). ...
... The age of the fossil mammals of the Tusco-Sardinian PB cover a time span of ∼1.6 Ma (∼8.3-6.7 Ma; Fig. 2 ) (Benvenuti et al., 2015;Rook et al., 2011; see also Cirilli et al., 2016). The palaeobioprovince is, however, much older, and late Miocene palaeocommunities were the result of several dispersal events. ...
Fossil lagomorphs are very useful palaeogeographical indicators. In the last 15 years, several papers centered on fossil lagomorphs contributed to improve the Italian late Miocene–Quaternary palaeogeographical setting, solving palaeobiogeographical enigmas debated for decades, and providing new, challenging palaeogeographic data. The high number of endemic fossil lagomorphs of Italy is due in part to its complex tectonic history (insular endemisms), and in part to the semi-isolation and the physiography of the Peninsula (continental endemisms). In Italian lagomorphs, a direct causal relationship between dispersal and turnovers is not observed, except for the Toringian. Actually, species replacements are customarily due to archipelago effect (late Miocene), phyletic speciation (Pliocene of Sardinia and Italian mainland) or occur after the extinction of older congeneric species (early Pleistocene).
... Regarding camelids, this lack of data negatively affects the paleobiogeographic analysis of the genus Paracamelus, the earliest camelin of Eurasia. In Italy, most of the classic vertebrate-bearing late Miocene localities are referred to endemic contexts such as those of the Apulia-Abruzzi or the Tusco-Sardinian provinces (Freudenthal 1971;Engesser 1989;Rook et al. 2011;Patacca et al. 2013;Savorelli et al. 2016). However, in the past decade, several localities of Messinian age have been found in northern and central Italy, expanding our knowledge of the vertebrate fauna of the late Miocene of southern Europe (see Ghetti et al. 2002;Abbazzi et al. 2008;Angelone et al. 2011;Alba et al. 2014;Rook & Bernor 2013;Colombero, Angelone et al. 2014;Colombero et al. 2015;Pandolfi et al. 2015Pandolfi et al. , 2016. ...
In this paper we describe fossil remains of an indeterminate species of the genus Paracamelus (Artiodactyla, Camelidae) from the Messinian post-evaporitic deposits (5.55–5.40 Ma) of Verduno (Piedmont, NW Italy). Camelins dispersed into Eurasia from North America in the late Miocene and almost instantaneously spread in western Europe and Africa. The size and morphology of the fossils found at Verduno are consistent with those of Paracamelus, the earliest Old World camelin. Up to now, the only fossil camels recovered in the Neogene of Western Europe have been found at Venta del Moro and Librilla in Spain at 6.2 Ma. The remains from Verduno represent the first evidence of a camelin in the Neogene of Italy and they considerably expand the paleobiogeographic range of the Old World early camelins. The presence of a camelid at Verduno reinforces and confirms the importance of the fossiliferous deposits of NW Italy in defining the complex paleobiogeographic patterns of Europe during the Messinian, at the end of the Messinian salinity crisis.
... Age of depositional units is as follows: late Serravallian -early Tortonian (st 1 ), early -middle (?)/late Tortonian (tt 1 ), middle (?)/late Tortonian (tt 2 ), early Messinian (ms 1 ), early -middle (?) late Messinian (ms 2 -3 ), and Zanclean (pl 1 ). Data in part from: Cornamusini et al. (2014), section 1; Lazzarotto and Mazzanti (1976), Bossio et al. (1994Bossio et al. ( , 1996Bossio et al. ( , 1998, Foresi et al. (1997Foresi et al. ( , 2000Foresi et al. ( , 2003, Costantini et al. (2002, 2009, and Ielpi (2013), sections 2-4; Bossio et al. (2004) and Cornamusini et al. (2011), section 5; Benvenuti et al. (2001), Rook and Ghetti (1997), and Rook, Oms, Benvenuti, and Papini (2011), sections 6 -7; Bossio et al. (2002), section 8. succession and, through detailed geological mapping, document for the first time a previously ignored basin-scale surface of angular unconformity within the non-marine deposits. In its broader perspective, this work is intended to contribute to the general understanding of Neogene sedimentation in the Northern Apennines. ...
We present a 1:10,000 scale geological map for the southeastern sector of the Volterra Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy), together with supporting stratigraphic-structural data. The Volterra Basin consists of a major structural depression within the Northern Apennines hinterland, NNW-SSE-oriented and filled with more than 2000 m of late Miocene-Quaternary deposits. Its southeastern sector is classically considered as a type area for late Tortonian non-marine strata, here mapped and refined in terms of internal stratigraphy adopting a scheme of depositional and lithostratigraphic units. Stratigraphic assessments helped in redefining the character of the lower boundary of the non-marine succession, as well as in mapping a newly recognized angular unconformity. Deformation structures affecting the basin fill include blind normal faults rooted to a deep detachment, outcrop-scale transtensional faults and clusters of gentle folds. Faults and folds appear to be kinematically linked. Our structural observations largely agree with those present in the literature, supporting a model of post-orogenic crustal stretching.
... A faunal turnover is recorded in the BC Basin sedimentary succession by the Baccinello V3 assemblage (MN13 in the European Land Mammal Biochronology), dated 6.7-6.4 Ma, which comprises a completely different non-endemic fauna fully comparable to other European faunas (Bernor et al., 2001(Bernor et al., , 2011Chesi et al., 2009;Rook et al., 2011). This 6.7 Ma extinction contrasts with most other hominoid extinctions in Spain and Central Europe occurring by 9.5 Ma (Casanovas-Vilar et al., 2011a), although there is evidence further east for hominoids in Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey dating between 9.0 Ma and as late as possibly 7.0 Ma (Sen et al., 2000;G€ uleç et al., 2007;Kostopoulos, 2009;Spassov et al., 2012). ...
Objective:
Oreopithecus bambolii was the last hominoid to survive in Europe. The purpose of this investigation was to reconstruct, through stable isotope analyses, Oreopithecus' habitat, subsistence behavior, and changes in habitat that may have led to its extinction.
Methods:
Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes from inorganic carbonate in tooth enamel from Oreopithecus and its contemporaneous faunas from localities in Tuscany and Sardinia were sampled. Also the fauna from localities in Tuscany shortly after Oreopithecus went extinct were sampled.
Results:
Results indicated that Oreopithecus, compared with most modern hominoids, inhabited forests that probably had a more open canopy. At Tuscan localities, Oreopithecus yields some of the highest carbon isotope values but some of the lowest oxygen, suggesting a diet that may have included tubers or aquatic vegetation. Relatively higher oxygen values in Sardinia suggested that its diet included arboreal foods as well. Among modern and fossil hominoids, Oreopithecus only resembled chimpanzees living outside of rainforests. It also resembled Ardipithecus in carbon isotope values, suggesting possible similarities in feeding strategies concordant with shared skeletal features between Oreopithecus and early hominins. Isotope values from post-Oreopithecus faunas indicated a shift to more forested conditions, unlike other hominoid extinctions associated with loss of forest.
Conclusions:
Isotopic reconstructions of Oreopithecus' habitat and changes associated with its extinction indicated that its paleoecology was unique among hominoids. However, these reconstructions also suggested that like other hominoids, Oreopithecus was susceptible to changes in seasonality of precipitation, and it may have used wetlands as a buffer to seasonal regimes. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:254-271, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... The specimen (without collection number) was collected at Baccinello V3, latest Miocene in age (MN13; Rook et al., 2011). The upper teeth are morphologically very similar to those from Kávás and Lens Lestang as well as to several remain from Montpellier; therefore, the Baccinello specimen can be surely ascribed to "D". ...
In 1979, several specimens of Rhinocerotidae were collected from the Late Miocene deposits of the Zala Subbasin, Pannonian Basin, Western Hungary and were inventoried as Rhinoceros sp. Based on morphological and metric grounds, this material is here referred to ". Dihoplus" megarhinus (de Christol), a species previously known only from Pliocene localities. This is the earliest record of the species in Europe. Our results support the hypothesis that the origin of ". D". megarhinus took place in Asia and that this species successively dispersed towards Western Europe during the end of the Miocene.
... Although its phylogenetic relationships with respect to the European dryopithecines are still debated (Alba, 2012;Begun, 2002;Casanovas-Vilar et al., 2011a;Harrison and Rook, 1997;Moyà-Solà and Köhler, 1997;Wood and Harrison, 2011), Oreopithecus is widely considered an ape displaying a blend of primitive, derived and unique features Rook et al., 1999). It is one of the rare hominoids that persisted in Europe after the Vallesian Crisis (Casanovas-Vilar et al., 2011b;Rook et al., 2011;Spassov et al., 2012), and its evolution in an insular context until ca. 6.7 Ma was likely responsible for the development of a number of craniodental morphological peculiarities and adaptations (Köhler and Moyà-Solà, 2003; Moyà-Solà and which are unique to this "enigmatic anthropoid" (Delson, 1986). ...
Oreopithecus bambolii, a large-bodied fossil ape, lived in the Tusco-Sardinian archipelago during the Late Miocene, until ca. 6.7 Ma. Its dentition, an apparent blend of hominoid and cercopithecoid-like features, has been a matter of discussion since its first description, in 1872. While the height and sharpness of its molar cusps recall some Cercopithecidae, Oreopithecus is currently considered by many as more likely related to dryopithecines. Here, we use microtomographic-based quantitative imaging and histological evidence to link outer and inner tooth structural morphology with enamel development in Oreopithecus permanent teeth. The material consists of 14 teeth/crowns from the sites of Baccinello and Casteani, in Tuscany, and Fiume Santo, in Sardinia. In particular, we add to the record of 2–3D of molar enamel thickness topographic variation and enamel-dentine junction morphology, and using high-resolution replicas of the outer crown and ground sections, comparatively assess molar growth trajectory (crown formation times and enamel extension rates). Our results shed new light on dental development of this “enigmatic anthropoid” and provide additional evidence concerning the still debated question of its evolutionary history.
... "BRS" indicates the fossiliferous locality (=Brisighella); the number following the acronym (e.g., BRS 25) indicates the single karst fissure (Fig. 2), whereas when a second number follows (e.g., BRS 25/1) it indicates the specimen field catalogue number. "BCB V3" refers to Baccinello V3 (latest Messinian, Tuscany; Benvenuti et al., 2001;Rook et al., 2011). ...
We describe the Hippotherium record from the latest Miocene (MN13) vertebrate faunal assemblage of the Monticino gypsum quarry (also known as Brisighella). This small sample would appear to be attributable to a single species of hipparionine horse. The referral to the recently described species Hippotherium malpassii Bernor, Kaiser, Nelson & Rook, 2011 would appear to be the best one possible. The Monticino gypsum quarry specimens correspond to the size of Hippotherium malpassii and show a suite of morphological features that allow their specific attribution. Formal description of the Brisighella hipparion specimens augments the previous knowledge of the Monticino gypsum quarry vertebrate fauna, one of the best-known latest Messinian fossil assemblages of continental Europe.
... Mapping at 1:10,000 scale was supported by stratigraphic and structural assessments on the basin fill. Our results introduce an improved stratigraphic scheme for the late Miocene Lazzarotto and Mazzanti (1976), Bossio et al. (1994Bossio et al. ( , 1996Bossio et al. ( , 1998, Foresi et al. (1997Foresi et al. ( , 2000Foresi et al. ( , 2003, Costantini et al. (2002, 2009, and Ielpi (2013), sections 2-4; Bossio et al. (2004) and Cornamusini et al. (2011), section 5; Benvenuti et al. (2001), Rook and Ghetti (1997), and Rook, Oms, Benvenuti, and Papini (2011), sections 6 -7; Bossio et al. (2002), section 8. ...
We present a 1:10,000 scale geological map for the south-eastern sector of the Volterra Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy), together with supporting stratigraphic-structural data. The Volterra Basin consists of a major structural depression within the Northern Apennines hinterland, NNW-SSE-oriented and filled with more than 2000 m of late Miocene-Quaternary deposits. Its south-eastern sector is classically considered as a type area for late Tortonian non-marine strata, here mapped and refined in terms of internal stratigraphy adopting a scheme of depositional and lithostratigraphic units. Stratigraphic assessments helped in redefining the character of the lower boundary of the non-marine succession, as well as in mapping a newly recognized angular unconformity. Deformation structures affecting the basin fill include blind normal faults rooted to a deep detachment, outcrop-scale transtensional faults and clusters of gentle folds. Faults and folds appear to be kinematically linked. Our structural observations largely agree with those present in the literature, supporting a model of post-orogenic crustal stretching.
... Thus, although the vertebral morphology of Hispanopithecus lacks clear adaptations to pronograde behaviors, its more elongated and flexible lumbar region compared with extant great apes is fully compatible with the retention of a significant degree of above-branch, palmigrade quadrupedalism in this taxon, as inferred from various features of its forelimb and hindlimb (Moy a-Sol a and K€ ohler, 1996b; Alm ecija et al., 2007; Alba et al., 2012a; Tallman et al., 2013). Final mention needs to be made of the late Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii from Tusco-Sardinia (Straus, 1957Straus, , 1963 Hürzeler, 1958; Harrison, 1986; Sarmiento, 1987; Harrison and Rook, 1997; Moy a-Sol a and K€ ohler, 1996a), which represents the last surviving member of the European radiation of apes (Vilar et al., 2011; Rook et al., 2011 ). Oreopithecus displays, like Hispanopithecus , clear extant hominoid-like orthograde features suitable for forelimb-dominated locomotor behaviors (Schultz, 1960; Straus, 1963; Harrison, 1986 Harrison, , 1991 Jungers, 1987; Sarmiento, 1987; Harrsion and Rook, 1997; K€ ohler and Moy a-Sol a, 1997; Ward, 2007; Alba et al., 2011b), including: high intermembral index, wide and shallow thorax (curved ribs, robust clavicle and broad pelvis), modern great ape-like elbow joint (with a very short olecranon process), highly mobile humeral and femoral heads, taillessness, and short lumbar region. ...
... During the latest Miocene, the region presently corresponding to southern maritime Tuscany and Sardinia consisted of a complex of large islands inhabited by the unbalanced 'Oreopithecus fauna' (Rook et al. 2006;Palombo 2009b). The best faunal succession, ranging in age from approximately 8.3 to 6.7 Ma, is provided by the assemblages found in the V0, V1 and V2 fossiliferous levels of the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin (Grosseto, maritime Tuscany [Rook et al. 2011]). The Late Miocene local faunal assemblage (LFA) of Fiume Santo (Sassari, northwestern Sardinia) shows strong similarity with the endemic fauna from the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin, providing evidence of the presence of the so-called Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince (Rook et al. 2006 (Abbazzi et al. 2008). ...
Endemic bovids are intriguing elements of insular faunas. The living species include the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) and the Formosan serow (C. swinhoei), the tamaraw from Mindoro, Philippines, (Bubalus mindorensis) and the anoas (B. depressicornis and B. quarlesi), 2 species of dwarf buffalos endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Fossil endemic bovids are only recorded in some Asian, North American and Western Mediterranean islands. Here we present a comprehensive overview of the changes in body size and evolutionary patterns exhibited by both extant and extinct insular bovids. Our appraisal indicates that each insular representative of Bovidae shows its own peculiar evolutionary model, albeit some parallel trends exist (e.g. reduction in body size, allometric changes in limb bones, alteration of the life history traits). Some changes in morphology (e.g. the simplification of horn cores, the increase in hypsodonty, the acquisition of a 'low-gear' locomotion), for instance, appear as common, albeit not general, patterns triggered by a combination of selective forces. Body size patterns support the 'generality of the island rule' and suggest that biotic interaction had/have a major role in influencing body size evolution in these species, although in different ways on different islands. All things considered, available evidence suggest that a major role in the evolution of insular bovids is played by the structure of the insular community, the nature of available niches and by the dynamics of ecological interactions.
... Oreopithecus bambolii is a Late Miocene ape (ca. 8.2-6.7 Ma; Rook et al., 2000;Casanovas-Vilar et al., 2011;Rook et al., 2011;Matson et al., 2012) first discovered by Cocchi in 1862 in the lignite mines of the Monte Bamboli (Tuscany, Italy), from which the fossil was named (Gervais, 1872;H€ urzeler, 1958;Berzi, 1973). Since then, more remains have been found in several localities of the paleoisland of Tuscany-Sardinia (Rook et al., 2006;Abbazzi et al., 2008). ...
Oreopithecus bambolii is a Late Miocene ape from Italy, first described in the late 19th century. Its interpretation is still highly controversial, especially in reference to its hand proportions and thumb morphology. In this study, the authors provide detailed descriptions of the available Oreopithecus pollical distal phalanx (PDP) specimens, as well as bivariate and multivariate morphometric analyses in comparison with humans, extant apes, selected anthropoid monkeys, and available Miocene PDP specimens. The multivariate results reveal two opposite poles on the hominoid PDP shape spectrum: on one side, a mediolaterally broad and dorsopalmarly short human PDP, and on the other side, the narrow and "conical" PDP of chimpanzees and orangutans. The authors contend that Oreopithecus exhibits intermediate PDP proportions that are largely primitive for hominoids because it shares morphological similarities with Proconsul. Furthermore, Oreopithecus displays a mediolaterally wide tuft for a hominoid, as well as a palmarly elevated attachment for a long tendon of a flexor muscle that is associated at its proximal edge with a proximal fossa and at its distal edge with an ungual fossa. These nonmetrical traits have been associated in humans with their capability to oppose and contact the proximal pads of the thumb and fingers, that is, pad-to-pad precision grasping. These traits reinforce previous studies that indicate a human-like thumb-to-hand length ratio compatible with pad-to-pad precision grasping in Oreopithecus. Although specific hand use is still unresolved in Oreopithecus, the results suggest enhanced manipulative skills (unrelated to stone tool-making) in this taxon relative to other (extant or fossil) hominoids. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Interestingly, the only other Italian record of Tapirus sp. is at the slightly older (6.7e6.4 Ma; Rook et al., 2011) MN13 locality of Baccinello V3 ( Guérin and Eisenmann, 1994), where Mesopithecus sp. is also present ( Rook, 1999Rook, , 2009). Overall, the fauna from Moncucco Torinese associated with primates is indicative of a relatively warm and humid environment, with densely-forested areas and water nearby, although more open and arid environments would probably have been present some distance away. ...
This study reported the body mass (BM) estimates of the Middle Miocene fossil hominoid Nacholapithecus kerioi from Africa. The average BM estimates from all forelimb and hindlimb skeletal elements was 22.7 kg, which is slightly higher than the previously reported estimate of ~22 kg. This study revealed that Nacholapithecus has a unique body proportion with an enlarged forelimb relative to a smaller hindlimb, suggesting an antipronograde posture/locomotion, which may be related to the long clavicle, robust ribs, and some hominoid-like vertebral morphology. Because the BM of Nacholapithecus in this study was estimated to be below 30 kg, Nacholapithecus probably did not have relatively shorter and robust femora, which may result from other mechanical constraints, as seen in extant African hominoids. The BM estimate of Nacholapithecus suggests that full substantial modifications of the trunk and forelimb anatomy for risk avoidance and foraging efficiency, as seen in extant great apes, would not be expected in Nacholapithecus. Because larger monkeys are less arboreal (e.g., Mandrillus sphinx or Papio spp.), and the maximum BM among extant constant arboreal cercopithecoids is ~24 kg (male Nasalis larvatus), Nacholapithecus would be a constant arboreal primate. Although caution should be applied because of targeting only males in this study, arboreal quadrupedalism with upright posture and occasional antipronograde locomotion (e.g., climbing, chambering, descending, arm-swing, and sway) using the powerful grasping capacity of the hand and foot may be assumed for positional behavior of Nacholapithecus.
Anthracotheres are generally considered to have gone extinct in Europe at the end of the early Miocene (summit MN 4 to base MN 5, Burdigalian) whereas they persisted in Africa until the latest Miocene and in India into the Pleistocene. However, in 1910, Stehlin described an anthracothere upper molar in a fragment of the maxilla, reported to be from Monte Massi (Casteani) Italy (late Miocene -Turolian): Anthracotherium (?) meneghinii but its affinities have remained elusive ever since its description, partly due to the fact that the specimen is poorly preserved and the only tooth is deeply worn. The fossil has been described as being somewhat larger than Microbunodon. Herein, an additional fossil anthracothere fossil is described from the lignites of Ribolla, Italy. It comprises a left mandible fragment with well-preserved m/3 and the roots of m/2. It represents a hitherto unknown genus and species of anthracothere, probably related to Microbunodon, and proves the presence of this family of mammals in Europe at the end of the Miocene (Turolian, MN 12).
A dentate mandible and proximal femur of Mesopithecus pentelicus Wagner, 1839 are described from the Shuitangba lignite mine in Zhaotong Prefecture, northeastern Yunnan Province, China. The remains were retrieved from sediments just below those that yielded a juvenile Lufengpithecus cranium and are dated at about ∼6.4 Ma. The mandible and proximal femur were found in close proximity and are probably of the same individual. The lower teeth are metrically and morphologically closely comparable with those of confirmed M. pentelicus from Europe, and on this basis, the specimen is assigned to this species. The anatomy of the proximal femur indicates that the Shuitangba Mesopithecus was a semiterrestrial quadruped that engaged in a range of mostly arboreal activities, including walking, climbing, and occasional leaping, with an abducted hip joint. The Shuitangba Mesopithecus is dentally typical for the genus but may have been more arboreal than previously described for M. pentelicus. M. pentelicus is well known from late Miocene (MN 11–12) sites in Europe and southwest Asia. Its estimated average rate of dispersal eastward was relatively slow, although it could have been episodically more rapid. The presence of a colobine, only slightly lower in the same section at Shuitangba that produced Lufengpithecus, is one of the only two well-documented instances of the near or actual co-occurrence of a monkey and ape in the Miocene of Eurasia. At Shuitangba, M. pentelicus occupied a freshwater-margin habitat with beavers, giant otters, swamp rabbits, and many aquatic birds. The presence of M. pentelicus in southwest China near the end of the Miocene further attests to the ecological versatility of a species long recognized as widespread and adaptable. The modern colobines of Asia, some or all of which are probable descendants of Mesopithecus, have gone on to inhabit some of the most highly seasonal and extreme habitats occupied by nonhuman primates.
There is current debate whether the Homo/Pan last common ancestor (LCA) had a short, stiff lumbar column like great apes or a longer, flexible column observed in generalized Miocene hominoids. Beyond having only four segments, three additional features contribute to lumbar stiffening: the position of the transitional vertebra (TV), orientation of the lumbar spinous processes, and entrapment of lumbar vertebrae between the iliac blades. For great apes, these features would be homologous if inherited from a short-backed LCA but likely functionally convergent through dissimilar phenotypes if evolved from a long-backed LCA. We quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed human, ape, and monkey thoracic and lumbar vertebrae using 3D surface scanning and osteological measurements to compare spinous process morphology and sacral depth. We also used a large sample of hominoid vertebral counts to assess variation in the position of the TV and lumbosacral boundary. All extant hominoids modally place the TV at the ultimate thoracic. However, humans and orangutans place the TV at the 19th postcranial vertebral segment, whereas other apes place the TV at the 20th. Furthermore, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans each have distinct patterns of spinous process angulation and morphology associated with lumbar stiffening, while human spinous process morphology is similar to that of longer backed gibbons, monkeys, and Miocene hominoids Morotopithecus and Pierolapithecus. Finally, chimpanzees are unique compared with other hominoids with a greater sacral depth facilitating lumbar entrapment, and there are differences among African apes with respect to the mechanisms governing variation in the lumbosacral boundary. These differences suggest that lumbar stiffening is convergent among great apes and that human bipedalism evolved from a more generalized long-backed ancestor. Such a model is more consistent with evidence of TV placement in Australopithecus.
Oreopithecus bambolii (8.3–6.7 million years old) is the latest known hominoid from Europe, dating to approximately the divergence time of the Pan -hominin lineages. Despite being the most complete nonhominin hominoid in the fossil record, the O. bambolii skeleton IGF 11778 has been, for decades, at the center of intense debate regarding the species’ locomotor behavior, phylogenetic position, insular paleoenvironment, and utility as a model for early hominin anatomy. Here we investigate features of the IGF 11778 pelvis and lumbar region based on torso preparations and supplemented by other O. bambolii material. We correct several crucial interpretations relating to the IGF 11778 anterior inferior iliac spine and lumbar vertebrae structure and identifications. We find that features of the early hominin Ardipithecus ramidus torso that are argued to have permitted both lordosis and pelvic stabilization during upright walking are not present in O. bambolii . However, O. bambolii also lacks the complete reorganization for torso stiffness seen in extant great apes (i.e., living members of the Hominidae), and is more similar to large hylobatids in certain aspects of torso form. We discuss the major implications of the O. bambolii lower torso anatomy and how O. bambolii informs scenarios of hominoid evolution.
Substantial differences among the pelves of anthropoids have been central to interpretations of the selection pressures that shaped extant hominoids, yet the evolution of the hominoid pelvis has been poorly understood due to the scarcity of fossil material. A recently discovered partial hipbone attributed to the 10 million-year-old fossil ape Rudapithecus hungaricus from Rudabánya, Hungary, differs from the hipbones of cercopithecids and earlier apes in functionally significant ways. Comparisons were made to extant and other fossil anthropoids using combination of non-landmark-based and linear metrics. Measurements were taken on 3D polygonal models of hipbones collected using laser scans. These metrics capture functionally relevant morphology given the incomplete preservation of the Rudapithecus specimen. This fossil displays features that reflect changes in spinal musculature and torso structure found only in extant great and lesser apes among hominoids. Rudapithecus has an expanded cranial acetabular lunate surface related to orthograde positional behaviors, a shallow acetabulum and relatively short ischium like orangutans and hylobatids. It displays evidence of moderately coronally-oriented iliac blades as in all extant apes and Ateles, and flaring iliac blade shape of siamangs and great apes, associated with some level of spinal stiffness. However, this fossil lacks the long lower ilium that characterizes chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, associated with their reduction of the number of lumbar vertebrae. The R. hungaricus pelvis demonstrates that the extreme elongation of the lower ilium seen in extant great apes does not necessarily accompany adaptation to orthograde posture and forelimb-dominated arboreal locomotion in hominoid evolution. Lower iliac elongation appears to have occurred independently in each lineage of extant great apes, supporting the hypothesis that the last common ancestor of Pan and Homo may have been unlike extant great apes in pelvic length and lower back morphology.
The extreme rareness of Sardinian fossil sites older than Middle and Late Pleistocene makes the Monte Tuttavista karst complex (E Sardinia, Italy) very important. Remarkable lagomorph material, recovered from several fissure infillings of Monte Tuttavista referable to the Capo Figari/Orosei 1 and Orosei 2 faunal sub-complexes (early Pleistocene, ~2.1/1.9–1.1 Ma), allowed us to describe a new endemic insular leporid, Sardolagus obscurus n. gen. n. sp. The new taxon is characterized by a peculiar combination of an advanced p3 ( Lepus -type) and a primitive P2 lacking deep flexa. The origin of such discrepancy, unprecedented among continental and insular endemic European leporids, is unclear. It could be the result of: (1) an independent evolution of p3 from an ancestor bearing the primitive P2/p3 (e.g., Alilepus , Hypolagus ), or (2) a selective reversal morphocline from an Oryctolagus / Lepus -like leporine. The lack of data about the phylogenetic origin of the new taxon makes any inference about its possible arrival to Sardinia problematic. Crossing the European leporid records and evidence of migrations to Sardinia, we hypothesize three possible ages in which the ancestor of Sardolagus obscurus could have arrived in Sardinia, restricted to the late Miocene–early/late Pliocene (~8–3.6 Ma). The phylogenetic relationship between Sardolagus obscurus n. gen. n. sp. and the oldest Sardinian leporid, recorded from Capo Mannu D1 and dated at the early/late Pliocene boundary (~3.6 Ma), is unclear at present, however it is quite likely that they pertain to the same lineage.
UUID: http://zoobank.org/ca8e0023-7c9d-4b00-a294-d166c37c5c71
Two Late Miocene intramontane basins of western Tuscany (Central Italy), Baccinello-Cinigiano and Velona, yielded very rich non-marine molluscan assemblages. Five new hydrobiids species recorded from the two basins are described here: Islamia bambolii n. sp. and Mercuria baccinelliana n. sp. from the Upper Tortonian deposits of the Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin; Belgrandia velonae n. sp., Islamia amiatae n. sp., and Socenia antonellae n. sp. from the Lower Messinian of the Velona Basin. It deals of the first record of the genera Islamia RADOMAN 1973, Belgrandia BOURGUIGNAT 1869, Mercuria BOETERS 1971, and Socenia JEKELIUS 1944 from the Italian Miocene.
The Neogene-Quaternary stratigraphic record of the Italian peninsula is a unique archive for high-resolution assessments of some crucial intervals of the recent geological time. These include reconstructions of morphological, climate, faunal and floristic sceneries both at the Mediterranean and
The paper reports a revision of the tectonic-depositional evolution of the continental Cinigiano-Baccinello and Velona basins, located in the Amiata Volcano region, with special emphasis on the Messinian dynamics. Integration of facies analysis, magnetostratigraphy, and structural geology allowed a comparison of the evolution of these basins and a discussion of possible local to regional implications. At a local scale, crustal shortening, accommodated by thrust faults and related anticlines delimiting the basins, determined a dynamic physiographic and hydrographic scenario during the Messinian. Uplift of the tectonically-controlled shoulders was paired with pulses of subsidence in the basins that favoured the development of palustrine-lacustrine settings or endorheic alluvial plains. Stages of quiescent tectonics favoured fluvial incision of structural thresholds and the development of a south-directed drainage system, particularly developed during the late Messinian in coincidence with the Mediterranean Messinian Salinity Crisis. The dominant fluvial and clastic depositional pattern recorded in these basins during such a regional scale event points to local tectonic activity of the Northern Apennines playing a major role than the climatic, eustatic and geodynamic factors that controlled the Mediterranean region.
The goal of this paper is to describe a single upper molar and a fragmented radius of Old World porcupines recently discovered in the latest Messinian localities of Moncucco Torinese and Verduno in the Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy. The available material can be assigned to the large-sized species Hystrix (Hystrix) depereti, rarely found in the late Turolian and early Ruscinian of Europe. A combined comparative and morphofunctional analysis of the fragmented radius suggest that Hystrix (Hystrix) depereti was characterized by a generalized terrestrial locomotory behaviour thus being very similar to extant Old World porcupines. Paleobiogeography and paleoecological consequences are also discussed.
This paper and the associated 1:50,000 geological map are devoted to describe the geological features of the Monte Amiata region. The tectono-stratigraphic setting of Monte Amiata region includes, from bottom to top, 1) the pre-Neogene stack of tectonic units, made up of Tuscan, Sub-Ligurian and Ligurian Tectonic Units, 2) the Neogene sedimentary deposits and 3) the Plei-stocene Radicofani and Monte Amiata volcanoes. The pre-Neogene stack of tectonic units includes, from bottom to top, the Tuscan Nappe, belonging to the Tuscan Domain, and Canetolo Tectonic Unit, belonging to the Sub-Ligurian Domain. These tectonic units, regarded as representative of the thinned continental margin of the Adria plate, are topped by the Santa Fiora and Ophiolitic Tec-tonic Units, interpreted as remnants of the Ligure-Piemontese oceanic basin and its transition to the Adria continental margin. All the tectonic units of the pre-Neogene stack have been affected by folds and thrusts originated during the convergence related to the Europe-Africa motion during the Middle Eocene-Early Miocene. Subsequently, these tectonic units were affected by a widespread reduction of thickness of their successions due to low-angle normal faulting related to the Middle Miocene exten-sional tectonics. The Neogene sedimentary deposits uncon-formably overlie the pre-Neogene stack of tectonic units. They consist of Upper Miocene to Pliocene continental and marine sediments, filling the Cinigiano-Baccinello, Velona, and Siena-Radicofani basins, adopting an informal hierarchy of different stratigraphic units where the first order units are synthems. The Pleistocene Radicofani and Monte Amiata volcanoes are made up by high-K basaltic andesitic to shoshonitic volcanic rocks and by trachydacitic to trachytic and olivine-latitic volcanic rocks, respectively. The geological mapping has provided evidences of a complex tectonic setting resulting from a long-lived history shifting from Cretaceous to Early Miocene compressive events to Middle Miocene extensional tectonics and Late Miocene-Pleistocene con-tractional and extensional events during which the Pleistocene magmatic activity occurred. In this regard, the Monte Amiata region can be regarded as a key area where the final result of a 200 Ma long geological history of the Northern Apennines is exposed. KEY WORDS: Geological map of Monte Amiata region, Tuscan, Sub-Ligurian and Ligurian Tectonic Units, Neogene basins, Monte Amiata-Radicofani volcanoes, petrography and geochemistry.
A fragmentary isolated vertebra from the early Pliocene of Megalo Emvolon (also known Karabournou) in Northern Greece is referred to the gigantic extinct viper Laophis crotaloides Owen. This taxon was originally named on the basis of 13 vertebrae recovered from Megalo Emvolon in 1857, and subsequently lodged in the collection of The Natural History Museum in London. Unfortunately, the type remains have since been lost and the species thus ignored or relegated to a nomen dubium, in spite of its estimated body length having potentially exceeded 3.5 metres. The incomplete and isolated nature of the new Laophis specimen hinders resolution to lower taxonomic levels. However, the fossil can be unequivocally placed within Viperidae because of its proportionally wide cotyle and condyle (the latter being markedly robust), probable presence of a hypapophysis, and most notably its dorsally tilted prezygapophyseal facets. Moreover, a multivariate quantitative approach supports previous assertions of large body size with an estimated maximum length and body mass, comparable to, if not larger than Lachesis muta, the largest extant viperid - a size that distinguish Laophis as amongst the largest extinct or extant venomous snakes ever known. The presence of a colossal viperid within the late Neogene ecosystems of mainland Greece is also significant because it concurs with the distribution of other gigantic Mio-Pliocene reptiles, including the large elapid Naja sp., another substantial but indeterminate species of Vipera, the varanid lizard Varanus marathonensis, and the colossal tortoises Cheirogaster. Similar coeval taxa have been found throughout the Balkan peninsula, southwestern Europe, and Asia Minor, and coincide with the onset of widespread climatic cooling during the late Miocene–late Pliocene. The spread of savannah grasslands throughout Mediterranean Europe during this time has been used to explain increased body sizes in herbivorous tortoises via dietary selection for greater consumption of C4 vegetation. However alternative ecological and/or physiological factors must be sought for large ectothermic predators, which would have had to effectively compete within a trophic system otherwise dominated by a broad range of mammalian carnivores.
The fossil record of cervoid pecoran from the primate Pliocene site of Ivanovce (late Ruscinian, MN 15b) is described and discussed from taxonomical and ecological viewpoints. This rare fossil record represents probably an ancient (Late Miocene?) element surviving in the Early Pliocene
European fauna. Its presence at the site confirms a previous view on the palaeoenvironment, consisting of a humid forestal belt around a broad river valley with a karstified limestone massif, probably surrounded by an open drier habitat in higher elevations.
Significance
The living apes share a number of important morphological similarities of torso and limbs; torsos are broad and shallow, lumbar regions short, and forelimbs adapted to mobility. For more than a century it was assumed that most of these similarities are homologous, reflecting descent from a common ancestor with these features. As the ape fossil record slowly expands, the story becomes more complicated, particularly in the case of the south Asian Miocene ape Sivapithecus . Sivapithecus has facial features resembling specifically the living orangutan, but no postcranial features resembling orangutans. This newly described hipbone differs from that of all living apes. Either postcranial similarities of apes are not fully homologous or the facial similarities of Sivapithecus and orangutans cannot be homologous.
Volcanic sediments are often unsuitable for the fossilisation of both hard and soft organic tissues, however, in some circumstances, they can provide unusual conditions for the preservation of remains. Fossil animal remains preserved within sediments of volcanic origin constituting only ~2% of known bonebeds of Phanerozoic age (Behrensmeyer, 2007).
Here we report an exceptional case of soft tissue fossilization of a Late Pleistocene Eurasian griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) embedded in blocks of the PA ignimbrite, discovered in 1889 in the pyroclastic sequence of the Alban Hills volcanic region (SE Rome, Italy) (Meli, 1889,1892; Manni et al., 2003-2004). CT analyses have revealed an exceptional natural cast of the complete head and neck that preserve extraordinary detail including the fossilized everted tongue, beak, feather insertions and the first record of the nictitating membrane of the eye. This fossilization (superior in detail even to the victims of the AD 79 Plinian eruption of Vesuvius) reveals no evidence of burning and requires re-evaluation of the thermal constraints in operation for the preservation of organic materials within pyroclastic sediments. The analysis of the external morphological features has provided key information regarding the taphonomic processes in operation, the emplacement temperatures of distal pyroclastic flow deposits and the relationships between organic materials and low temperature phreatomagmatic flows.
This sheds light not only on the extremely rare situation of fossilization in volcanic contexts but also provides a new perspective on taphonomic studies of highly detailed casts of fossil vertebrates.
The mammal assemblage of the palaeontological site of Coste San Giacomo is crucial in understanding the palaeoecological conditions in the southern Europe during the Early Pleistocene. Recent excavations and fieldwork (2013 and 2011 respectively) allowed to unearth new fossil remains, in particular microvertebrates bones. Bellucci et al. (2013) considered magnetostratigraphy, pollen and small mammal biochronological data and confirmed the position of the Coste San Giacomo Faunal Unit, focusing the possible age of the mammal assemblage around 2.1 Ma, in a reversed phase before the base of the Olduvai chron.
In this work we present the new data of the carnivores. The guild at CSG consists of a machairodontine felid of the genus Homotherium, hyaenids (few isolated teeth intermediate in size between Pliocrocuta perrieri and Pachycrocuta brevirostris) two species of canids, Canis sp. and Vulpes cf. alopecoides, and the bear Ursus cf. etruscus. The scavenging activity of hyaenids is also documented extensively by more than 200 coprolites, as well as by many fossil bones showing gnaw marks and bite marks.
The occurrence of the genus Canis has a particular biochronological and palaeoenvironmental significance, the spread of this pack hunter marks the beginning of the so-called “wolf event” (Azzaroli, 1983) enjoying an extraordinary development during this period.
During the Plio-Pleistocene the Barbary macaque Macaca sylvanus was widely distributed throughout Europe. European fossil macaques are usually considered as belonging to the M. sylvanus lineage, but there is some uncertainty regarding their specific taxonomic status. Three subspecies are classically recognised in the fossil record of continental Europe: the Pliocene M. sylvanus prisca Gervais, 1859; the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene M. sylvanus florentina Cocchi, 1872; and the Middle to Late Pleistocene M. sylvanus pliocena Owen, 1846. The Plio- Pleistocene fossil record from the Italian peninsula includes cranio-mandibular fragments, isolated teeth or fragmentary postcranial bones. The best preserved and complete material comes from the Late Pliocene site of Villafranca D'Asti (Piedmont), and from the Early Pleistocene sites of Upper Valdarno (Tuscany) and Pietrafitta (Umbria). The Middle Pleistocene fossil record is documented in central Italy and in particular in Latium, where the Barbary macaque is recorded in the Roma area (Polledrara di Cecanibbio, and Torre in Pietra - around 0.3 ma - Casal Selce, around 0.6 ma, and Monte Sacro), and in the Frosinone area (Cava Pompi and Fontana Ranuccio, Anagni basin, around 0.4 ma).
The rodents from the Upper Messinian deposits of Moncucco Torinese (MCC) (Piedmont, NW Italy) are described. Stratigraphic considerations indicate that the fossiliferous deposits exposed at MCC date back to the post-evaporitic phase of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.40–5.33 Ma). Thirteen rodent taxa belonging to the families Cricetidae Fischer, 1817, Muridae Illiger, 1811, Gliridae Thomas, 1897 and Sciuridae Fischer, 1817 are recognized based on 1177 teeth. The occurrence of Centralomys benericettii (De Giuli, 1989), Paraethomys meini (Michaux, 1969) and Apodemus gudruna van de Weerd, 1976 allows to compare MCC with other latest Messinian localities of northern Italy, such as Brisighella and Verduno. The rodent assemblages described herein and, more particularly, the taxa A. gudrunae, Muscardinus vireti Hugueney & Mein, 1965 and Glirulus lissiensis Hugueney & Mein, 1965, suggest that MCC can be referred to the Late Turolian (MN13). Moreover, the presence of taxa commonly found in Pliocene localities of western and central Europe (Occitanomys brailloni Michaux, 1969, Micromys bendai van de Weerd, 1979, Neocricetodon magnus (Fahlbusch, 1969) and Sciurus warthae Sulimski, 1964) indicates that some typical Ruscinian elements were already present at the end of the Miocene at least in southern-central Europe. The rodent assemblages of MCC also include Apodemus atavus Heller, 1936, Eliomys aff. intermedius Friant, 1953, Glis minor Kowalski, 1956, and Pliopetaurista pliocaenica (Depéret, 1897). Overall, the fossil assemblages documented in this paper remarkably expand our knowledge on the Late Miocene rodent communities of Italy, also providing useful data for the interpretation of biogeographic relationships between western and eastern Europe at the end of the Messinian.
Eurygnathohippus is a genus of hipparionine horse that evolved in and was confined to the African continent
from the late Miocene to Pleistocene interval. Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli is a new species from Aramis, Ethiopia, dated
between 4.4 and 4.2Ma. The hypodigm is currently restricted to 157 specimens from 14 Aramis localities and one nearby Gona
locality. We nominate a mandible as the type and a maxillary dentition and two complete metacarpal IIIs as paratypes. Our
analysis reveals that Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli is derived compared with late Miocene Eurygnathohippus feibeli in its
overall size, cheek tooth crown height, mandibular symphysis length, and robusticity of distal limb elements. It is primitive in
mandibular symphysis length and robusticity of distal limb elements compared with the more advanced medial Pliocene species
Eurygnathohippus hasumense. A study of Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli’s paleodiet as measured by two mesowear methods,
corroborated by carbon isotope studies, reveals that it was a dedicated grazer with a coarse C4 diet akin to that of modern
zebras, wildebeests, and white rhinoceroses.
We describe a new viverrid species (Viverra howelli n. sp.). Viverra howelli n. sp. is identified in Late Miocene (Messinian) localities in the circum Mediterranean area (Italy and Lybia) and in East Africa (Kenya). Morphologically, the new species is characterized by a relatively small size and a lower carnassial with short talonid.
The phylogenetic status of Oreopithecus bambolii from the late Miocene of Italy has been a source of much debate since the species was first described in 1872. This observation in itself is hardly surprising, since most fossil primates known since the end of the last century have acquired a complicated history of ideas on their taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. What is so unusual about Oreopithecus,however, is that this debate has continued to the present,
This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Johannes Hürzeler (1908–1995) whose profoundly important contribution to the study of Oreopithecus and the Baccinello faunas has influenced both of us to follow the same path. The “keeper of the abominable coalman” may no longer be with us, but his remarkable discoveries will undoubtedly continue to inspire and excite the imagination of future generations of vertebrate paleontologists.
and there are no indications from the current literature that its phylogenetic status is close to being resolved (e.g., Delson, 1988; Harrison, 1991; Andrews, 1992; Begun, 1994). The problem is especially perplexing because Oreopithecus is one of the best-known fossil primates. It is easy to comprehend how researchers might have difficulties establishing the relationships of fossil taxa based on one or two isolated teeth or just a few jaw fragments, but Oreopithecus is known from an almost complete subadult skeleton, several partial skeletons, and dozens of relatively complete mandibles and crania. We find ourselves, therefore, in the uncomfortable position of not being able to rely on the excuse favored by most paleontologists in this situation, that the solution to the problem lies in finding more and better material. In the case of Oreopithecus we have all the material we need; the shortcomings are not in the available evidence, but in the way that we view it. So why is it that several generations of primate paleontologists have failed to agree on the evolutionary status of Oreopithecus? A review of the literature clearly shows that part of the problem is as much sociological as it is scientific, involving a complex interplay of different philosophies, politics, and personalities that are difficult to tease apart from the purely empirical evidence. The consequence of these and other contributing factors is that Oreopithecus is perceived to be an “enigmatic anthropoid” (Delson, 1987), one that does not readily conform to our expectations of extinct hominioids based on other lines of evidence. However, is it really that Oreopithecus represents a piece of the puzzle that does not fit, or is it simply because the limitations that we impose on our expectations of hominoid evolution are too narrow, and that Oreopithecus is being made to fit the wrong puzzle altogether? We suspect that it is the latter that represents the crux of the Oreopithecus problem. Of the various factors that have served to confound recent attempts to resolve the phylogenetic relations of
Oreopithecus, three can be identified that we believe have had a particularly profound impact.
We consider here the paleogeographic and paleoecologic contexts of the endemic late Miocene hominid, Oreopithecus bambolii. We review the physical geologic record as well as the mammalian paleontologic record supporting previous and current claims of Oreopithecus' endemicity. We analyse a 15 locality data set with regards to regional and temporal trends in ungulate relative crown height and genus-level faunal resemblance indices and find that there is a divergence of late Miocene North African, Arabian and Southwest Asian mammalian communities from penecontemporaneous Central and Western European faunas by the early Vallesian age (ca. 11-10 Ma); the former communities apparently evolved a megafauna with higher percentages of hypsodont feeders than the latter and were apparently adapted to more seasonal open country habitats than the Central and Western European mammal faunas. We discuss the contrasting adaptations of the arboreal soft fruit-eating form Dryopithecus and the (apparent) terrestrial hard object frugivores Kenyapithecus, Griphopithecus, Ouranopithecus, Ankarapithecus, Sivapithecus and Lufengpithecus and conclude that there is no reason to hypothesize that they are derived from a single common ancestor, or that the Eurasian forms are derived from a single dispersal event out of Africa. We accept Oreopithecus' closest phylogenetic relationship with Dryopithecus and posit a biogeographic extension into Central and Western Europe separate from the Griphopithecus and Sivapithecus entries into Eurasia; we support the plausibility of a multiple "out of Africa" dispersal hypothesis for Miocene Eurasian apes. We conclude that Oreopithecus bambolii evolved its peculiar dietary and locomotor behavior over approximately 3 m.y., in isolation within the Tusco-Sardinian bioprovince.
Several stratigraphic sections have been measured in the Rencine and Ponsano area to define, trough sedimentary and ichnofacies analysis, the depositional paleoenvironment of the late Serravallian-early Tortonian Ponsano Sandstone formation. The section of Rencine is characterized mainly by medium-fine sandstones (Sm facies). Few and thin layers of conglomerate are interbedded with sandstones. No sedimentary structures have been recognized except for few remnants of planar cross- beds. In the section of Ponsano, the Ponsano Sandstone can be subdivided into two parts. The lower part is characterized by marlstones (Ms facies) at the bottom and medium-fine sandstones (Sm facies) in the middle and upper parts. The upper part is characterized by Ms at the bottom, Sm in the middle, and an alternation of pebble conglomerates (Cp), coarse conglomerates (Cb) and coarse sandstones (Sc) at the top. Fossils concentrations (f) occur throughout. The sandstone facies are highly bioturbated, and most primary sedimentary structures are obscured: only remnants of even lamination, cross bedding and hummocky cross stratification could be recognized locally. Trace fossils are indicative of the mixed Cruziana-Skolithos and the Skolithos icnofacies. Sedimentary and ichnofacies data indicate that the Ponsano Sandstone was deposited in shallow- water environment. The marlstone facies are indicative of inner shelf, the sandstone facies of shoreface. Conglomerates are referred to a fluvio- deltaic environment.
A multi-disciplinary study has been carried out on a Late Neogene succession exposed in the SE portion of the Valdelsa Basin (Strolla Creek, Central Italy). The succession consists of upper Tortonian-Messinian sediments, unconformably overlain by uppermost Messinian-Pliocene deposits, accumulated in alluvial, lacustrine and marine environments. Previous studies on this succession hypothesized a sudden marine flooding of the upper Messinian Lago-Mare realm in the earliest Zanclean in apparent agreement with the Mio-Pliocene transition recorded elsewhere in the Mediterranean Basin. Data from this study suggest a more complex stratigraphy recording a local depositional evolution possibly driven by interference between uplift, relief denudation and eustacy. The sediments encompassing the Mio-Pliocene transition have been included into the Borro Strolla synthem, furtherly subdivided into three sub-synthems. The Borro Strolla synthem has been dated as uppermost Messinian-earliest Zanclean based on the integration of physical stratigraphy, facies analysis and biochronology of non-marine fossil assemblages in part documented for the first time. The occurrence in the lower Borro Strolla Synthem of the gerbil Debruijnimys sp. and the murid Stephanomys aff. S. donnezani (Depéret, 1890) with Pliocene affinity represents the most important novelty in the composition of a mammal fauna otherwise similar to other Italian late Messinian sites. The co-occurrence of terrestrial molluscs from the same sediments gives further biochronologic constrains supporting the calibration of the Borro Strolla synthem to the latest Messinian-earliest Zanclean. The Borro Strolla stratigraphic section then is discussed in the framework of local to regional events which marked the transition from the Messinian to Pliocene. © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
Several species of mammals endemic to the late Miocene faunas of the Maremma region of Tuscany in Italy are known to have undergone a significant degree of morphological change during the time interval between the deposition of V-1 and V-2 horizons at Baccinello. This raises the interesting question of whether or notOreopithecus, which occurs in association with both V-1 and V-2 faunas, exhibits corresponding morphological change or taxonomic differentiation through time. Detailed comparisons of theOreopithecussample from Baccinello V-1 (and from the biostratigraphically equivalent sites of Ribolla, Casteani and Montemassi) with the type material ofO. bamboliifrom the site of Monte Bamboli, tentatively correlated with Baccinello V-2, indicate that there are no morphological or metrical differences by which to distinguish them. The recovery of a small sample ofOreopithecusspecimens from the Trasubbie River valley near Baccinello, derived from horizons stratigraphically above those yielding a V-1 fauna, allows, for the first time, direct comparisons of material from different strata within a single depositional basin. The material consists of a newly discovered partial mandible (IGF 4883V) from the F1 horizon, and four isolated teeth, a malar fragment, and a patella from the V-2 horizon. IGF 4883V is very similar toOreopithecusspecimens from Baccinello V-1, although it differs in having a more molariform P3and relatively larger cheek teeth. However, given the extent of variation inOreopithecus, and the fact that the mandible almost certainly belonged to a male individual, these minor differences do not seem to be significant, and are best interpreted as being due to intraspecific variation. This conclusion is further supported by comparisons with Baccinello V-2 specimens, which appear to be indistinguishable from the large sample of specimens from Baccinello V-1. Although the sample ofOreopithecusspecimens from horizons located above V-1 remains small, there is sufficient material to conclude that there is no evidence of morphological change or taxonomic differentiation inOreopithecusduring the time interval of about 2 Ma between Baccinello V-1 and V-2.
Genus Crocodylus is considered to have originated in Africa during the Early Miocene but it is only in the Late Miocene that there are evidences of dispersal toward Europe, where tomistomines and the alligatoroid Diplocynodon were widespread since the Paleogene. Revision of the type material of Crocodylus bambolli Ristori, 1890, a Tortonian crocodylian from the renowned Oreopithecus localities in central Italy, excludes it from Diplocynodon. The morphology of the remains, combined with chronology and biogeography, confirms its identity as cf. Crocodylus. The validity of the species Crocodylus bambolli is however not supported by the available morphological characters so that a solid differential diagnosis cannot be realized. It is therefore here proposed to consider Crocodylus bambolii as a nomen dubium. The European Late Miocene distribution of short-snouted crocodylians sees only alligatoroids in western Europe and, curiously, only crocodylids in the Central Mediterranean area. The Tusco-Sardinian and the Apulo-Abruzzi paleobioprovinces, whose lands are nowadays part of the Italian peninsula, are apparently the only European areas inhabited by short-snouted crocodylids, which are at the same time among the last crocodylians of the continent. The isolated teeth from Fiume Santo and Scontrone, two localities of these palebioprovinces, are also not Diplocynodon-like, but further material is needed to identify their owners with confidence.
The occurrence of freshwater turtle remains in the late Miocene lignites of southern Tuscany (Montebamboli and Casteani, Italy) has been known since the nineteenth century. Three chelonian species were recognized by Ristori in 1891: Emys depressa, E. campanii, and E. parva. Revision of their type material, together with the study of new fossils from a different but correlated locality, Pian Calcinaio (Scansano), allows one to state that they can be referred to the genus Mauremys and that they belong to one single species. The new combination M. campanii (Ristori, 1891) is here proposed. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that M. campanii is closely related to the modern post-Miocene group of Mauremys species and shows a sister-group relationship with the Plio-Pleistocene M. gaudryi. The remains of M. campanii come from an insular setting which progressively lost its endemic mammal fauna, defined as the Oreopithecus Zone Fauna. enabling us to compare the pattern of survival of the chelonians with that of the mammals. In contrast to the radical turnover Suffered by mammals, softshell turtles (Trionyx sp.) and terrapins (M. campanii) are present both in the pre-Messinian V1-V2 and Messinian V3 assemblages. Terrestrial tortoises (Testudo amiatae Pantanelli, 1893, Testudo s.l.) show a different pattern, because they appear only in the V3 assemblage, possibly because they apparently dispersed into Italy as recently as the Messinian. M. campanii represents the southernmost evidence of the genus Mauremys in the uppermost Miocene of Europe, filling a gap in the palaeogeographic and chronological distribution of this genus.
Extant apes (Primates: Hominoidea) are the relics of a group that was much more diverse in the past. They originated in Africa around the Oligocene/Miocene boundary, but by the beginning of the Middle Miocene they expanded their range into Eurasia, where they experienced a far-reaching evolutionary radiation. A Eurasian origin of the great ape and human clade (Hominidae) has been favored by several authors, but the assessment of this hypothesis has been hampered by the lack of accurate datings for many Western Eurasian hominoids. Here we provide an updated chronology that incorporates recently discovered Iberian taxa and further reevaluates the age of many previously known sites on the basis of local biostratigraphic scales and magnetostratigraphic data. Our results show that identifiable Eurasian kenyapithecins (Griphopithecus and Kenyapithecus) are much younger than previously thought (ca. 14 Ma instead of 16 Ma), which casts serious doubts on the attribution of the hominoid tooth from Engelswies (16.3-16.5 Ma) to cf. Griphopithecus. This evidence is further consistent with an alternative scenario, according to which the Eurasian pongines and African hominines might have independently evolved in their respective continents from similar kenyapithecin ancestors, resulting from an early Middle Miocene intercontinental range extension followed by vicariance. This hypothesis, which would imply an independent origin of orthogrady in pongines and hominines, deserves further testing by accurately inferring the phylogenetic position of European dryopithecins, which might be stem pongines rather than stem hominines.
A magnetobiostratigraphically calibrated mammal scale for the Neogene of Western Europe is presented in this paper.
The Mammal Neogene MN units originally proposed by Mein [Report on activity RCMNS-Working groups] 1975 have
been re-defined here on the basis of first appearances of selected small and large mammal taxa. The chronology of the lower
boundaries of each unit had been established mostly after the significant magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in
the last decade in a number of Spanish basins: Ebro, Calatayud-Daroca, Vallès-Penedès, Teruel, Fortuna, Cabriel and Guadix-Baza. In the case of the early and middle Miocene particularly, MN 1, MN 2 and MN 3 , the authors have also
taken into account the magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in the North Alpine Foreland Basin. Some alternative
correlations of the magnetostratigraphic data from this last basin are proposed in order to achieve a higher degree of
consistence with the data from the Iberian basins. A quite well established magnetostratigraphic calibration of the MN
boundaries can be proposed for most of the Neogene, from Middle Miocene to Late Pliocene. On the other hand, the
chronological boundaries of the Early Miocene MN units are still poorly constrained due to: (1) scarcity of well-studied,
continuous, thick magnetostratigraphic sections; (2) the difficulty in defining the boundaries of the MN zones for this
time-span due to the relative homogeneity and persistence of the fossil rodent faunas and the absence of significant large
mammal dispersal events. Some of the troubles which arise with the application of the MN units strengthen the need to take
into account the palaeobiogeographical meaning of these units and their real suitability to date and correlate through
extensive geographic areas.
The great ape and human clade (Primates: Hominidae) currently includes orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. When, where, and from which taxon hominids evolved are among the most exciting questions yet to be resolved. Within the Afropithecidae, the Kenyapithecinae (Kenyapithecini + Equatorini) have been proposed as the sister taxon of hominids, but thus far the fragmentary and scarce Middle Miocene fossil record has hampered testing this hypothesis. Here we describe a male partial face with mandible of a previously undescribed fossil hominid, Anoiapithecus brevirostris gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Miocene (11.9 Ma) of Spain, which enables testing this hypothesis. Morphological and geometric morphometrics analyses of this material show a unique facial pattern for hominoids. This taxon combines autapomorphic features--such as a strongly reduced facial prognathism--with kenyapithecine (more specifically, kenyapithecin) and hominid synapomorphies. This combination supports a sister-group relationship between kenyapithecins (Griphopithecus + Kenyapithecus) and hominids. The presence of both groups in Eurasia during the Middle Miocene and the retention in kenyapithecins of a primitive hominoid postcranial body plan support a Eurasian origin of the Hominidae. Alternatively, the two extant hominid clades (Homininae and Ponginae) might have independently evolved in Africa and Eurasia from an ancestral, Middle Miocene stock, so that the supposed crown-hominid synapomorphies might be homoplastic.
Comparative morphological and functional analyses of the skeletal remains of Oreopithecus bambolii, a hominoid from the Miocene Mediterranean island of Tuscany-Sardinia (Italy), provides evidence that bipedal activities made up a significant part of the positional behavior of this primate. The mosaic pattern of its postcranial morphology is to some degree convergent with that of Australopithecus and functionally intermediate between apes and early hominids. Some unique traits could have been selected only under insular conditions where the absence of predators and the limitation of trophic resources play a crucial role in mammalian evolution.
Functional and allometric analyses of the hand of the late Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii (Tuscany, Italy) reveal a series of features that reflect an improved grasping capability including firm pad-to-pad precision gripping that apes are unable to perform. Related features such as hand length, relative thumb length, a deep and large insertion area for the tendon of the long thumb flexor, and the form of the metacarpal 2/capitate articulation are not present in extant or fossil apes. In these features, the Oreopithecus hand closely matches the pattern of early hominids, presumably as a response to similar functional demands.
Textural properties and functional morphology of the hip bone cancellous network of Oreopithecus bambolii, a 9- to 7-million-year-old Late Miocene hominoid from Italy, provide insights into the postural and locomotor behavior of this fossil ape. Digital image processing of calibrated hip bone radiographs reveals the occurrence of trabecular features, which, in humans and fossil hominids, are related to vertical support of the body weight, i.e., to bipedality.
An international team of over forty stratigraphic experts have helped to build the most up-to-date international stratigraphic framework for the Precambrian and Phanerozoic. This successor to A Geologic Time Scale 1989 by W. Brian Harland et al. (CUP 0521 387655) begins with an introduction to the theory and methodology behind the construction of the new time scale. The main part of the book is devoted to the scale itself, systematically presenting the standard subdivisions at all levels using a variety of correlation markers. Extensive use is made of isotope geochronology, geomathematics and orbital tuning to produce a standard geologic scale of unprecedented detail and accuracy with a full error analysis. A wallchart summarising the whole time scale, with paleogeographic reconstructions throughout the Phanerozoic, is included in the back of the book. The time scale will be an invaluable reference source for academic and professional researchers and students.
The first part of this note presents a litholigic description of a stratigraphie section through the lignitiferous Upper Miocene. The base of the series corresponds to the Oreopithecus beds, and Pontian-type Hipparion is found at intermediate levels. The second part deals with the rich molluscan fauna which occurs in levels 9, 20 and 21. This fauna includes Limnocardium of Pontian type, but of Sarmatien age.
This chapter deals with the post-Oligocene history of the western hinterland of the Apenninic chain (Fig. 21.1). The evolution of these areas is connected with the build-up of the orogen. The pre-middle to late Miocene shortening episodes with Adriatic or African vergence are coeval with the generation of the Western Mediterranean back-arc basin and with drifting and rotation of the Corsica—Sardinia block, while the middle-late Miocene to Recent evolution of the Apennines is coeval with the generation of the Tyrrhenian basin, characterized by thinned continental and oceanic crust (Sartori et al., 1987).
This paper proposes a new interpretation of the cranial and dental anatomy of Oreopithecus bambolii from Tuscany (Italy) from the angle of the evolution of ontogenetic development (heterochrony). The most important anatomical characters of the cranium and the dentition are suggested to result from a selective process favouring an extremely shortened (paedomorphic) face by way of neoteny. The limited space for the dentition as a morphological result of this process is considered one of the reasons why the peculiar dental anatomy of Oreopithecus has been selected. Comparison with the recent findings on Dryopithecus laietanus (Can Llobateres, Spain) showed a series of important morphological similarities suggesting a close phylogenetic relationship between the two apes.
When the car ferry “Rethymnon” sails from Piraeus towards Crete one can already feel the strong endemic atmosphere of the island. Rethymnon itself is a beautiful historical town on Crete in an area containing many Pleistocene fossil mammal localities which have yielded endemic deer, elephants and murids. A striking thing on board the ferry are notices written in Japanese which suggest that the ship was probably not launched under the name Rethymnon and served in her earlier days on the Japanese islands. For a paleontologist this is a remarkable coincidence since the Pleistocene of Japan has also yielded unbalanced endemic faunas with a very uniform composition of elephant and deer like the fauna of Crete.
Alilepus meini nov. sp., a new leporid known only from the Early Messinian of central-western Italy (Baccinello-Cinigiano basin, V3 faunal assemblage; Tuscany), is described here. A. meini nov. sp. is an endemic taxon – not inherited from the older Tusco-Sardinian assemblages – of the continental and balanced BCB V3 fauna. The peculiarities of A. meini nov. sp. mainly reside in the occlusal surface of p3 (very large anteroconid, extremely short talonid, deep and crenulated posterior flexids, extremely thin protoisthmus) and P3 (wide hypoflexus). A. meini nov. sp. seems closely related to Alilepus turolensis, as testified by shared morphological characters (globous anteroconid and deep protoflexid, very thin protoisthmus). Palaeobiogeographical evidences support morphological data as A. meini nov. sp. and A. turolensis are the only two species of the genus present in western Europe.
This paper reports the results of palaeoecological analyses on fossil ostracod communities of the Tortonian and Messinian deposits cropping out in the Baccinello–Cinigiano Basin, a Tuscan (central Italy) post-collisional continental basin. Through multivariate analyses, such as Cluster Analysis (UPGMA) and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), several physico-chemical variations in the water body have been recognised. The more ancient (Middle–Late Tortonian) lacustrine environment was characterised by a shallow proximal and a deep distal facies with oligo-mesohaline waters. During this stage, the salinity of the lake water was controlled by the dissolution of Triassic evaporites buried at shallow depth in the basin. Instead, the subsequent lower Messinian fluvio-lacustrine environment was characterised by shallow freshwater habitats with variable water flow conditions. During the uppermost lower Messinian, the lake was deep and contained brackish water again. These reconstructions add new information on the variability of several ecological parameters such as depth, salinity and water flow conditions and help to clarify the autoecology of poorly known fossil ostracods. Within the fossil genus Tavanicythere, the species Tavanicythere irregularis, Tavanicythere parva and Tavanicythere sp. Q are adapted to deep and saline waters, Tavanicythere lepida is a shallow and less saline water inhabiting species, while Tavanicythere nodosa occupies an intermediate position with respect to palaeodepths and palaeosalinities. Within the genus Loxoconchissa, Loxoconchissa (Loxoconchissa) kinoi and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) tuberosa are characteristic of an oligohaline and deep environment, while Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) nuda and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) sp.1 are more halophile species. Potamocypris gracilis is a polyrheophilic and rather profundal species that can tolerate shallower depths. Paralimnocythere bicornis is a freshwater to slightly halophylic and reophobic species. Vestalenula sp. is one of the few known Vestalenula species that can withstand slightly saline waters.
This paper presents the results of research carried out on the paleogeographic and geodynamic post-collisional evolution of the peri-Tyrrhenian area from the Southern Alps to Sicily.During this post-collisional evolution a back arc area-thrust belt-foredeep system developed, in which the following tectono-sedimentary zones can be distinguished, from the external to the internal ones: the foreland zone, connected to the foredeep through a slope generally controlled by normal faults; the foredeep, an assymmetric depression with strong subsidence, related to the compressional activity of the thrust zone; the chain, whose outward migration from the late Oligocene onward was discontinuus, with important stages of crisis partially connected to the mechanical response of different crustal thicknesses existing in the foreland; the discontinuous satellite basins, developed within the thrust belt; the back arc basins, developed in the inner part of the chain, where the superposition of the extensional tectonics over previous compressional domains causes the fragmentation of the thrust belt, leading to its destruction.According to this model, seven palinspatic maps are discussed, regarding the following time intervals: late Oligocene (25-24 m.y.), Burdigalian (22-20 m.y.), Langhian (17-16 m.y.), Serravallin (15-13 m.y.), Tortonian (10-9 m.y.), late Messinian (5.5-5.3 m.y.) and early Pliocene (5.3-4.6 m.y.).During five of these time intervals significant geodynamic modifications occurred in the whole peri-Tyrrhenian area, leading to paleogeographic changes.In any case the geodynamic evolution of the whole area seems clearly controlled by the activity of important bundles of tectonic lines transversal to the chain which, in the same time interval, in the outermost part of the thrust belt separated areas with different values of shortening, and in tthe most internal zones separated segments having different amount of extension.These tectonic lines certainly have a crustal significance and have probably acted along previous formed discontinuities.
The Pre-Messinian land mammal localities of Italy contribute substantial information for reconstructing the complex history of the land masses of the central Mediterranean. At the present state of knowledge the available paleogeographic maps do not have the adequate time resolution for providing an effective picture of the evolution of the physiographic and of the oceanographic characteristics of the area. This can only be accomplished through detailed comparative analyses of the geology and of the land and marine faunas in the course of the Miocene. The Pre-Messinian Late Miocene land mammals localities of Italy document the existence of three distinct bioprovinces. Two of the latter are characterised by faunas with manifestly endemic features, thus attesting to the occurrence of isolated emerged areas. One of these areas is called the Abruzzi–Apulia paleobioprovince; it was located on the Adriatic side of Apennines. The other one is the so-called Tusco–Sardinian paleobioprovince and was located in the peri-Tyrrhenian side of Italy. A third bioprovince, testified by sites in Calabria and Sicily, is characterised by non-endemized mammals, counterparts of which were identified in North Africa and Europe. This area was therefore, at least in part, a northern extension of the Late Miocene Mediterranean border of the African plate. These three areas belong to completely different tectonic domains and kept separated for a considerable time span and each one has a peculiar biogeographic and tectonic history.
Extensional and compressional regimes exist at the same time in adjacent parts of the Northern Apennines (Italy), and the former regime succeeded the latter at the same place as the thrust mountain front moved eastward since Miocene times. Numerous extensional basins have developed west of the present mountain divide. The westernmost ones formed over attenuated continental crust since Late Miocene and have been subjected to several subsidence and uplift events, with rates of subsidence generally faster than rates of sedimentation. They contain continental deposits overlain by gypsum-bearing Upper Miocene marine sequences and siliciclastic, marine Pliocene deposits. These basins were affected by shallow magmatism and are still experiencing high geothermal gradient and late to post-magmatic activities, such as in the renowned thermal region of Larderello. To the east, closer to the present mountain divide, the extensional basins formed later, from Pliocene to Quaternary, contain continental (fluvial and lacustrine) deposits and have not experienced near-surface magmatic activities.The sedimentary fill architecture of the Apennine extensional basins is similar to that of other European, American and African extensional or transtensional systems. For instance, a common characteristic is the prevalence of large alluvial fan deposits at the hanging-wall shoulder of half-grabens, coarser, smaller, alluvial fans at the footwall shoulder, and some fluvial deposits introduced longitudinally. Unlike the African rifts though, the sedimentary facies distribution of extensional basins which developed in active orogenic zones such as in the Apennines, may be strongly affected by uplifting, steep mountain slopes and can have large, thick, coarse alluvial fans also on the footwall side of the half-grabens.
A magnetobiostratigraphically calibrated mammal scale for the Neogene of Western Europe is presented in this paper. The Mammal Neogene (MN) units originally proposed by Mein [Report on activity RCMNS-Working groups (1975)] have been re-defined here on the basis of first appearances of selected small and large mammal taxa. The chronology of the lower boundaries of each unit had been established mostly after the significant magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in the last decade in a number of Spanish basins: Ebro, Calatayud–Daroca, Vallès–Penedès, Teruel, Fortuna, Cabriel and Guadix–Baza. In the case of the early and middle Miocene (particularly, MN 1, MN 2 and MN 3), the authors have also taken into account the magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in the North Alpine Foreland Basin. Some alternative correlations of the magnetostratigraphic data from this last basin are proposed in order to achieve a higher degree of consistence with the data from the Iberian basins. A quite well established magnetostratigraphic calibration of the MN boundaries can be proposed for most of the Neogene, from Middle Miocene to Late Pliocene. On the other hand, the chronological boundaries of the Early Miocene MN units are still poorly constrained due to: (1) scarcity of well-studied, continuous, thick magnetostratigraphic sections; (2) the difficulty in defining the boundaries of the MN zones for this time-span due to the relative homogeneity and persistence of the fossil rodent faunas and the absence of significant large mammal dispersal events. Some of the troubles which arise with the application of the MN units strengthen the need to take into account the palaeobiogeographical meaning of these units and their real suitability to date and correlate through extensive geographic areas.
Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Basel, 1968.
This paper reports the results of a study of more than 2400 specimens in the collection of fossil vertebrates from Fiume Santo in north-west Sardinia. This locality represents the westernmost documentation of the Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince, which was in existence during the late Tortonian in the North Tyrrhenian area. During the Tortonian, the region that presently corresponds to southern Tuscany and the Sardinian Massif (Central Italy) was occupied by a complex of large islands characterised by endemic vertebrate populations. Morphological features, adaptations and trophic structure (e.g. low diversity and scarce carnivore taxa), mainly in the mammal faunas, attest to a long period of isolation from the continental palaeobioprovinces of the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The greatest numbers of fossil remains of the well-known endemic Oreopithecus fauna of the so called V0–V2 assemblages, are found at several sites in southern Tuscany (e.g. Montebamboli, Casteani, Baccinello). In Sardinia this endemic fauna occurs only at the Fiume Santo locality, from which 11 taxa have been recognized: Crocodylia indet., Chelonii indet., Oreopithecus bambolii , Mustelidae indet., Eumaiochoerus cf. E. etruscus , Umbrotherium azzarolii gen. et sp. nov., Tyrrhenotragus gracillimus , Bovidae gen. et sp. indet. (?Neotragini), Maremmia cf. M. lorenzi , Etruria viallii gen. et sp. nov., Turritragus casteanensis gen. et sp. nov. Analysis of these fossils and comparison with material from localities in Tuscany has led to a re-evaluation of the latter and to the description of three new endemic taxa among the ruminants.
This paper reports on new finds and re-discovered old collections of the latest Miocene colobine Mesopithecus from Italian localities. New finds are reported from the Baccinello V3 faunal assemblage and from the Monticino gypsum quarry (Brisighella) and newly rediscovered teeth from the Casino basin are herein described. The latter two samples are attributed to the species Mesopithecus pentelicus, while the allocation of the Baccinello V3 sample is unclear and for the moment is attributed to Mesopithecus sp. indet. A fourth Italian locality that yielded Mesopithecus remains is Gravitelli. Unfortunately the latter specimens are lost, and from the literature it is impossible to furnish an accurate specific attribution. The taxonomic allocation of latest Miocene Mesopithecus species is briefly discussed.
Les hominoides europeens du Miocene ont generalement disparu aux alentours de 9,6 Ma, en reponse a l'orogene alpine a la fin du Miocene. Cependant, des datations K/Ar de depots volcaniques contenant des echantillons d'Oreopithecus Bambolii permettent de proposer des âges d'envion 7,5 Ma pour la faune Oreopitheque. Ceci montre que des Oreopithecus Bambolii ont pu survivre plus longtemps en Italie, probablement a cause de conditions climatiques plus chaudes.
We present here a study of European Neogene primate occurrences in the context of changing humidity. We studied the differences of primate localities versus non-primate localities by using the mammal communities and the ecomorphological data of the taxa present in the communities. The distribution of primates is influenced by humidity changes during the whole Neogene, and the results suggest that the primates track the changes in humidity through time. The exception to this is the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea which shows a wider range of choices in habitats. All primate localities seem to differ from non-primate localities in that the mammal community structure is more closed habitat oriented, while in non-primate localities the community structure changes towards open-habitat oriented in the late Neogene. The differences in primate and non-primate localities are stronger during the times of deep environmental change, when primates are found in their preferred habitats and non-primate localities have faunas better able to adapt to changing conditions.