scholarly journals Suidae Transition at the Miocene-Pliocene Boundary: a Reassessment of the Taxonomy and Chronology of Propotamochoerus provincialis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Iannucci ◽  
Marco Cherin ◽  
Leonardo Sorbelli ◽  
Raffaele Sardella
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Messinian Salinity Crisis ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Faunal Assemblages ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Changes ◽  
Species Diagnosis ◽  
Eurasian Species

Abstract The Miocene-Pliocene (Turolian-Ruscinian) transition represents a fundamental interval in the evolution of Euro-Mediterranean paleocommunities. In fact, the paleoenvironmental changes connected with the end of the Messinian salinity crisis are reflected by a major renewal in mammal faunal assemblages. An important bioevent among terrestrial large mammals is the dispersal of the genus Sus, which replaced all other suid species during the Pliocene. Despite its possible paleoecological and biochronological relevance, correlations based on this bioevent are undermined by the supposed persistence of the late surviving late Miocene Propotamochoerus provincialis. However, a recent revision of the type material of this species revealed an admixture with remains of Sus strozzii, an early Pleistocene (Middle Villafranchian to Epivillafranchian) suid, questioning both the diagnosis and chronological range of P. provincialis. Here we review the late Miocene Suidae sample recovered from the Casino Basin (Tuscany, central Italy), whose taxonomic attribution has been controversial over the nearly 150 years since its discovery. Following a comparison with other Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Eurasian species, the Casino Suidae are assigned to P. provincialis and the species diagnosis is emended. Moreover, it is recognized that all the late Miocene (Turolian) European Propotamochoerus material belongs to P. provincialis and that there is no compelling evidence of the occurrence of this species beyond the Turolian-Ruscinian transition (MN13-MN14).

An intriguing middle-sized horse from Coste San Giacomo (Anagni Basin, central Italy)

2017 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rita Palombo ◽  
Maria Teresa Alberdi ◽  
Luca Bellucci ◽  
Raffaele Sardella
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Mammalian Fauna ◽  
Taxonomic Rank ◽  
Limb Bones ◽  
Faunal Assemblages ◽  
Italian Site

AbstractVarious species and ecomorphotypes of the genus Equus are recorded in several southern European Early Pleistocene local faunal assemblages (LFAs), though their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships, and chronological distribution are still a matter of debate. This article aims to increase knowledge on the European pre-Olduvai stenonoid horses by describing and discussing the equid sample from the middle Villafranchian (Gelasian) Italian site of Coste San Giacomo (CSG; Anagni). Although horse remains from CSG are scanty, the morphological traits, dimensions, and proportions of teeth and some limb bones suggest some affinities with middle-sized European stenonoid horses, in particular with Equus senezensis, as supported by statistical analysis. This opens a new window on the possible phylogenetic relationships of the middle-sized, slender middle Villafranchian horses, although some questions about their actual taxonomic rank cannot be firmly answered based on available data. The complex relationship among environment, structure of the accompanying mammalian fauna, and the presence in the Early Pleistocene LFAs of only one equid, large or middle-sized, or even of more horse species with different size is briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Mediterranean freshwater budget throughout the late Miocene: New implications for sapropel formation and the Messinian Salinity Crisis

2017 ◽  
Vol 472 ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Simon ◽  
Alice Marzocchi ◽  
Rachel Flecker ◽  
Daniel J. Lunt ◽  
Frits J. Hilgen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Messinian Salinity Crisis ◽  
Freshwater Budget ◽  
The Mediterranean

The Late Miocene-Early Pliocene out-of-sequence thrusting event: new insights into the tectonic evolution of the southern Apennines (Italy)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitale Stefano ◽  
Prinzi Ernesto Paolo ◽  
Francesco D'Assisi Tramparulo ◽  
Sabatino Ciarcia
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Southern Apennines ◽  
Campania Region ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
Upper Miocene ◽  
Thrust System ◽  
Tectonic Windows

<p>We present a structural study on late Miocene-early Pliocene out-of-sequence thrusts affecting the southern Apennine chain. The analyzed structures are exposed in the Campania region (southern Italy). Here, leading thrusts bound the N-NE side of the carbonate ridges that form the regional mountain backbone. In several outcrops, the Mesozoic carbonates are superposed onto the unconformable wedge-top basin deposits of the upper Miocene Castelvetere Group, providing constraints to the age of the activity of this thrusting event. We further analyzed the tectonic windows of Giffoni and Campagna, located on the rear of the leading thrust. We reconstructed the orogenic evolution of this part of the orogen. The first was related to the in-sequence thrusting with minor thrusts and folds, widespread both in the footwall and in the hanging wall. A subsequent extension has formed normal faults crosscutting the early thrusts and folds. All structures were subsequently affected by two shortening stages, which also deformed the upper Miocene wedge top basin deposits of the Castelvetere Group. We interpreted these late structures as related to an out-of-sequence thrust system defined by a main frontal E-verging thrust and lateral ramps characterized by N and S vergences. Associated with these thrusting events, LANFs were formed in the hanging wall of the major thrusts. Such out-of-sequence thrusts are observed in the whole southern Apennines and record a thrusting event that occurred in the late Messinian-early Pliocene. We related this tectonic episode to the positive inversion of inherited normal faults located in the Paleozoic basement. These envelopments thrust upward crosscut the allochthonous wedge, including, in the western zone of the chain, the upper Miocene wedge-top basin deposits. Finally, we suggest that the two tectonic windows are the result of the formation of an E-W trending regional antiform, associated with a late S-verging back-thrust, that has been eroded and crosscut by Early Pleistocene normal faults.</p>

scholarly journals Evidence of Predation on Early Pleistocene Freshwater Ostracods (Umbria, Central Italy)

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 416
Author(s):  
Angela Baldanza ◽  
Roberto Bizzarri ◽  
Francesco Posati ◽  
Manuel Ravoni
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Short Time Interval ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Confined Environment ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Lake Deposits ◽  
Freshwater Ostracods

Although drillholes in modern and ancient ostracods are known, the record is relatively scarce when compared to other taxa, and mainly exist with reference to the marine environment. Moreover, less is known about perforated ostracods, and more generally, about bioerosion in freshwater environments. Traces of predation on freshwater ostracods are reported for the first time in deep-lake deposits belonging to the early Pleistocene Fosso Bianco Unit, and outcropping in the Cava Nuova section (Umbria, central Italy). Deposits are mainly clay to silty clay and sand; the fossil record is sparse, and is mainly comprised of very rare gastropods and bivalves, ostracods and plant remains (leaves, seeds and wood’s fragments). The association of ostracods consists of Candona (Neglecandona) neglecta, Caspiocypris basilicii, Caspiocypris tiberina, Caspiocypris perusia, Caspiocypris tuderis, Caspiocypris posteroacuta, and Cyprideis torosa. The Caspiocypris group, considered to be endemic to the grey clays of the Fosso Bianco Unit, present the majority of specimens affected by predation, with a prevalence of predated female valves and a comparable number of right and left predated valves, while only a few of Candona(N.) neglecta (adult and juvenile) valves are perforated. Traces of predation for nourishment, represented by microborings of different types, were abscribed to the ichnospecies Oichnus paraboloides Bromley 1981, Oichnus simplex Bromley 1981, Oichnus gradatus Nielsen and Nielsen 2001, Oichnus ovalis Bromley 1993, and Dipatulichnus rotundus Nielsen and Nielsen 2001. Microboring affected both adult and juvenile specimens, evidencing prey–predator coexistence in the same environment over a long period of time. This report makes a fundamental contribution to the knowledge of predation in this peculiar confined environment, also suggesting prey–predator relations over a relatively short time interval (80–160 ka).

scholarly journals Petrochirus sp. (Anomura, Paguroidea, Diogenidae) from the early Pleistocene of the Podere dell’Infrascato, Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Alessandro Garassino
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Genus Distribution

We report <em>Petrochirus</em> sp. (Diogenidae Ortmann, 1892) from the early Pleistocene of the Podere dell’Infrascato, Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy). The record of <em>Petrochirus</em> sp. in this peculiar environment (upper bathyal zone) is significant due to the scarce knowledge about the genus distribution in the paleo-Mediterranean area.

One Person's Food: How and Why Fish Avoidance May Affect the Settlement and Subsistence Patterns of Hunter-Gatherers

2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Malainey ◽  
R. Przybylski ◽  
B. L. Sherriff
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Faunal Assemblages ◽  
Fat Malabsorption ◽  
Winter Grazing ◽  
Fish Avoidance ◽  
Newborn Animals

Foraging strategies of modern hunter-gatherers may not accurately model resource use of specialized big-game hunters. Historic accounts from the Northern Plains of North America indicate that utilization of spring-spawning fish when large mammals were fat-depleted was not universally beneficial. Three independent reports from Europeans and Americans show that a sudden switch from a prolonged diet of lean red meat to fish produces symptoms consistent with lipid (fat) malabsorption. It is hypothesized that plains-adapted hunter-gatherers formed their camps in grassland environments and hunted big game throughout the winter The effects of eating lean meat alone were avoided by utilizing fetal and newborn animals and through the use of stored carbohydrate-rich foods. Groups associated with wooded environments wintered along the margins of the winter grazing range. They followed a diverse strategy with opportunistic use of big game and were able to exploit spring-spawning fish. Archaeological remains from 18 sites from the plains, parkland, and forests of Western Canada were used to test these hypotheses. The faunal assemblages, tools, and identifications of lipid residues from pottery vessels were consistent with the proposed strategies.

scholarly journals Baffin Bay late Neogene palynostratigraphy at Ocean Drilling Program Site 645

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83
Author(s):  
Aurélie M.R. Aubry ◽  
Anne de Vernal ◽  
Paul C. Knutz
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Ocean Drilling Program ◽  
Cold Surface ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Ocean Drilling ◽  
Tundra Vegetation ◽  
Late Neogene

Analyses of marine and terrestrial palynomorphs of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 645 in Baffin Bay led us to define a new biostratigraphical scheme covering the late Miocene to Pleistocene based on dinocyst and acritarch assemblages. Four biozones were defined. The first one, from 438.6 m below sea floor (mbsf) to 388 mbsf, can be assigned a late Miocene to early Pliocene age (>4.5 Ma), based on the common occurrence of Cristadinium diminutivum and Selenopemphix brevispinosa. Biozone 2, spanning from an erosional unconformity to a recovery hiatus, is marked by the highest occurrences (HOs) of Veriplicidium franklinii and Cristadinium diminutivum, which suggest an early Pliocene age >3.6 Ma (∼4.5 to ∼3.6 Ma). Biozone 3, above the recovery hiatus and up to 220.94 mbsf, corresponds to a late Pliocene or early Pleistocene age based on occurrences of Bitectatodinium readwaldii, Cymatiosphaera? icenorum, and Lavradosphaera canalis. Finally, between 266.4 and 120.56 mbsf, Biozone 4, marked by the HO of Filisphaera filifera, Filisphaera microornata, and Habibacysta tectata, has an early Pleistocene age (>1.4 Ma). Our biostratigraphy implies that horizon b1 of the Baffin Bay seismic stratigraphy corresponds to the recovery hiatus at ODP Site 645, which suggests a very thick Pliocene sequence along the Baffin Island slope. Dinocyst assemblages and terrestrial palynomorphs in our records indicate that the late Miocene and (or) early Pliocene were characterized by relatively warm coastal surface waters and boreal forest or forested tundra vegetation over adjacent lands. In contrast, the early Pleistocene dinocyst assemblages above the recovery hiatus indicate cold surface waters, while pollen data suggest reduced vegetation cover on adjacent lands.

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