Découverte de Deinotherium (Proboscidea) dans le Néogène de Crète

Près du village Maroniá, en Crète orientale, une formation marine miocène a livré une mandibule incomplète de Proboscidien. Ce fragment comprend une première molaire (m1) de grande dimension attribuable à l’espèce Deinotherium giganteum. La présence d’un Déinothère dans la faune des mammifères miocènes de l’île de Crète montre qu’à cette époque il existait une liaison relativement large et durable avec le continent.This paper reports the discovery of an incomplete proboscidean mandible near the village of Maroniá in eastern Crete. The fragment described here includes the first molar (m1) of a deinothere, that because of its large size is identified as Deinotherium giganteum. The specimen was found in shallow-water marine sediments. The presence of Deinotherium on the island, together with other Miocene vertebrate faunas, suggests that during that epoch Crete was connected to the mainland by a wide land bridge

Beyond the walls: the design and development of the Petralona Cave virtual museum utilising 3D technologies

The Petralona Cave, which local inhabitants discovered by chance in 1959, is a remarkable natural and cultural landmark close to the village of Petralona, in the Chalkidiki peninsula of Greece. The site has gained global recognition for the discovery of a remarkably well-preserved Palaeolithic human skull, unearthed in 1960; it also holds archaeological and palaeontological significance. In this paper, the researchers introduce the Petralona Cave Virtual Museum: an innovative project whose mission is to increase public awareness and comprehension of the site. Our approach goes beyond mere replication of the physical museum located close to the cave; instead, the objective is to create an independent and comprehensive experience that is accessible to all visitors, irrespective of their ability to visit the site in person. Our methodology involved the documentation of the site and its history, analysis of user requirements, development of use cases to steer the design process, as well as architectural designs creation, itineraries and findings digitisation, and architectural structure finalisation. The Virtual Museum provides a well-organised frame structure that serves as an efficient gateway to the content, making navigation easy for visitors. Thanks to various presentation methods, including videos, high-quality images, interactive maps, animated content, interactive 3D models, plus searchable item libraries, among others, users are empowered to create a highly personalised navigation plan; thus the Virtual Museum experience is comparable to visiting the physical museum or cultural site. Cutting-edge digitisation techniques were employed to create highly detailed 3D models of the site. The Petralona Cave Virtual Museum is expected to offer an immersive experience, engaging diverse audiences; the interactive and educational exploration provides highly innovative access to archaeological knowledge. The visibility of the Petralona site is amplified and there is a significant contribution to knowledge dissemination about this important cultural heritage site

On a Deinotherium (Proboscidea) finding in the Neogene of Crete

This paper reports the discovery of an incomplete proboscidean mandible near the village of Maroniá in eastern Crete. The fragment described here includes the first molar (m1) of a deinothere, that because of its large size is identified as Deinotherium giganteum. The specimen was found in shallow-water marine sediments. The presence of Deinotherium on the island, together with other Miocene vertebrate faunas, suggests that during that epoch Crete was connected to the mainland by a wide land bridge

A Villafranchian Hipparion-Bearing Mammal Fauna from Sésklo (E. Thessaly, Greece): Implications for the Question of Hipparion–Equus Sympatry in Europe

Recently collected fossil material in the Villafranchian locality of Sésklo, as well as a re-evaluation of a pre-existing, partly-published museum collection, allow the recognition of a lower faunal level in the locality, older than the main Equus-dominated fossil assemblage, dated in the Early Pleistocene (MNQ17). The lower level yielded, instead, an advanced hipparion, referred to the species Plesiohipparion cf. shanxiense, and a small number of associated taxa: an ostrich (Struthio cf. chersonensis), an unidentified proboscidean, the pig Sus arvernensis, two antelopes (Gazella cf. bouvrainae and Gazellospira torticornis), a large bovid (Bovini indet.), and a rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus sp.). The lower-level fauna is dated in the latest Pliocene (MN16) and indicates a rather open and dry palaeoenvironment. The faunal sequence in Sésklo shows that the hipparion did not co-occur with the stenonid horse, at least in this region. Previous reports on sympatry of these taxa may result from faunal mixing, requiring re-examination of the available samples

Nouvelles données sur l'<i>Equus stenonis</i> Cocchi, 1867 de la localité pliocène de Sésklo (Thessalie, Grèce)

Dans l\u27article présent, l\u27équidé de la localité pliocène de Sésklo (Thessalie, Grèce) est décrit et comparé. Il appartient à une forme d\u27Equus stenonis large et assez robuste, qui a des caractères morphologiques communs avec les échantillons de Saint-Vallier, La Puebla de Valverde et Olivola, ainsi qu\u27avec des échantillons déjà connus d\u27autres localités grecques (Dafneró et Vólax). Ses caractères morphologiques principaux s\u27observent sur le crâne et sur les membres de grandes dimensions, les protocônes sont courts et l\u27émail den-taire est faiblement plissé. Les équidés sténoniens grands et relativement robustes sont fréquents dans les faunes grecques du Pliocène supérieur.The equid material from the late Pliocene locality of Sésklo (Thessaly, Greece) is described and compared in this article. It belongs to a large and fairly stout Equus stenonis form, which shares many morphological characters with the species samples from Saint-Vallier, La Puebla de Valverde and Olivola, as well as with already known Equus stenonis samples from other Greek localities (Dafneró, Vólax). Its main features are the big skull and limbs, the short protocones and the very simple enamel plication in the teeth. Large sized and relatively robust stenonid horses are common elements of the late Pliocene faunas of Greece.</p