BIOCHRONOLOGY OF SELECTED MAMMALS, MOLLUSCS AND OSTRACODS FROM THE MIDDLE PLIOCENE TO THE LATE PLEISTOCENE IN ITALY. THE STATE OF THE ART

The Authors have elaborated four range charts of mammalian (large and micro), molluscs and fresh-water and brackish ostracodes faunas, for the selected Plio-Pleistocene fossiliferous localities of the Italy. A new Mammal Age (Aurelian) correlatable to late Middle and Late Pleistocene has been defined. Inside this age two Faunal Units (Torre in Pietra and Vitinia) have been defined as characteristic for Early and Middle Aurelian, while no gisements have been chosen for the late Aurelian. Biochronological units are calibrated on magnetostratigraphic and isotopic scales and by radiometric datings.   &nbsp

BIOCHRONOLOGY OF SELECTED MAMMALS, MOLLUSCS AND OSTRACODS FROM THE MIDDLE PLIOCENE TO THE LATE PLEISTOCENE IN ITALY. THE STATE OF THE ART

The Authors have elaborated four range charts of mammalian (large and micro), molluscs and fresh-water and brackish ostracodes faunas, for the selected Plio-Pleistocene fossiliferous localities of the Italy. A new Mammal Age (Aurelian) correlatable to late Middle and Late Pleistocene has been defined. Inside this age two Faunal Units (Torre in Pietra and Vitinia) have been defined as characteristic for Early and Middle Aurelian, while no gisements have been chosen for the late Aurelian. Biochronological units are calibrated on magnetostratigraphic and isotopic scales and by radiometric datings.   &nbsp

Segnalazione di mammiferi pleistocenici nell’area di Colfiorito (Appennino umbro-marchigiano) e valutazione della potenzialità del giacimento con metodi geofisici.

The paleontological deposits has yielded an assemblage of Hippopotamus antiquus, Dicerorhinus etruscus, Elephas sp. two cervid species, an equid, a quite evolved bovid and a hyenid. Their occurence suggest an age comprised between the uppermost Early Pleistocene and the lowermost Mid Pleistocene. from the palaecological poit of view, the assemblage seems to belong to a moist and open forest environment

The Colle Curti Mammal Site in the Colfiorito area Umbria-Marchean Apennine, Italy): geomorphology, stratigraphy, paleomagnetism and palynology

An approximately90 mthicksequencehasbeenstudiedinthe ColleCurtibasin(Colfioritoarea,Umbria-MarcheanApennine).Itwasdepositedin adrainagesystemcharacterizedbya‘mature’landscapewithouta clearwatershedseparatingtheAdriaticandTyrrheniansides.Closetotheendof the Early Pleistocene this landscape was dismembered by the activation of extensional faults, linked to an uplifting of the chain that reached its greatest magnitude at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. From a sedimentological point of view the sequence can be roughly divided into threeparts,withgraveldepositionin abraidplainenvironmentdominatingthelowerandupperparts,and aphaseof claydepositionina lacustrine environmentseparatingthese.AnAr/Aranalysisonthesanidinecontainedinavertisolintheupperpartofthesequencegaveanagenotolderthan 427 ka. An early Galerian fauna was collected in clay layers where the Jaramillo palaeomagnetic event was recognized. Cold periods are documented in the lower and upper part of the sequence, although in the latter the intense weathering caused by the development of a soil with tropical features precludes further investigations. The palynological data supported by sedimentological and palaeomagnetic evidence indicate that the sequence can be related to a large part of the Bavelian and part of the Menapian. In the middle part, where clay layers outcrop, two cool and humid phases are followed by colder and drier periods. Biological and geological evidence suggests that around 1My the basin of Colle Curti was probably located at an elevation of about 600 m

Fossil elephants from buia (Northern Afar depression, Eritrea) with remarks on the systematics of Elephas recki (Proboscidea, Elephantidae)

A succession of five fossiliferous levels near Buia in the northern Danakil (Afar) Depression of Eritrea has produced an abundant early Pleistocene fauna including a ca. 1.0 Ma cranium of Homo. Elephas is well represented at many sites; with one exception the entire Buia Elephas sample represents a relatively derived member of the Elephas recki lineage. Univariate and multivariate analysis of dental characters demonstrates that the Buia sample is intermediate between E. recki ileretensis (Koobi Fora, Ileret) and E. r. recki (Beds 3 and 4 at Olduvai). The biologic reality of the separation of E. recki into five chronologically successive subspecies is questionable. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that E. r. ileretensis and E. r. recki form a single phyletic lineage. © 2003 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

The last occurrence of Pleistocene megafauna in the Ecuadorian Andes

The latest Pleistocene Ð Holocene megafauna extinction is a global event, particularly dramatic in the Americas. In a previous paper the authors hypothesised a scenario for this extinction event in South America, where mastodonts ®rst su\u80ered from the changing climate environment, followed by the mylodonts and equids. These di\u80erent latest Pleistocene Ð Holocene megafauna extinction ``waves'' in Ecuadorian Andes have been dated using 14C methods on material from selected sites in north and central Ecuadorian Interandean Depression. An outline of the physiographic evolution of the Interandean Depression in Ecuador is o\u80ered and the stratigraphic setting of the fossiliferous sites is discussed. The present results con®rm the author's hypothesis on the megafauna extinction pattern, previously published in terms of relative age. The importance of climatic changes during Last Glacial Maximum at low latitudes is discussed