21 research outputs found
Messinian rodents from Moncucco Torinese, NW Italy: palaeobiodiversity and biochronology
FIG. 8. — Isolated teeth of Sciuridae Fischer, 1817 from Moncucco Torinese: A, B, Pliopetaurista pliocaenica (Depéret, 1897); A, MGPT- PU 128220, M3 dex.; B, MGPT-PU 128221, m1 dex.; C, D, Sciurus warthae Sulimski, 1964; C, MGPT-PU 128347, M3 dex.; D, MGPT- PU 128218, m1 sin. Scale bar: 1 mm.Published as part of Colombero, Simone, Pavia, Giulio & Carnevale, Giorgio, 2014, Messinian rodents from Moncucco Torinese, NW Italy: palaeobiodiversity and biochronology, pp. 421-475 in Geodiversitas 36 (3) on page 455, DOI: 10.5252/g2014n3a4, http://zenodo.org/record/453856
First joint record of Mesopithecus and cf. Macaca in the Miocene of Europe
Cercopithecid fossil remains from the post-evaporitic Messinian (5.40-5.33 Ma, MN13, latest Turolian, latest Miocene) locality of Moncucco Torinese (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy) are described. A talus is assigned to the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus, while a proximal fragment of ulna and a male lower canine are attributed to cf. Me. pentelicus. An isolated I2 and M3 are assigned to the papionin cf. Macaca sp., and two cercopithecid phalanges are left unassigned even to the subfamily level. The record of Mesopithecus at Moncucco Torinese agrees well with the previously-known range of this species in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, whereas that of cf. Macaca constitutes only the second occurrence of macaques in the Miocene of Eurasia. Although the co-occurrence of these two genera in a single locality had been previously reported in the Pliocene, this is the first instance in which macaques are associated with the Late Miocene M. pentelicus instead of Mesopithecus monspessulanus. The record of cf. Macaca and Mesopithecus-and especially the latter's talar morphology, similar to that of extant arboreal colobines-fits well with paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Moncucco Torinese based on the associated fauna, which indicate a humid and densely-forested environment, probably with more open and drier habitats nearby. From a paleobiogeographic viewpoint, the record of Macaca at Moncucco Torinese, together with the previously reported occurrence at Almenara-Casablanca M (Spain), supports the contention that macaques dispersed from Africa into Europe during the latest Miocene (ca. 5.9-5.3 Ma) at the same time as the sea level drop associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis
Late Messinian mollusks and vertebrates from Moncucco Torinese, north-western Italy. Paleoecological and paleoclimatological implications
Late Messinian mollusks and vertebrates from Moncucco Torinese, north-western Italy. Paleoecological and paleoclimatological implications
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
OLD WORLD PORCUPINE (RODENTIA, HYSTRICIDAE) REMAINS FROM THE LATE MESSINIAN OF PIEDMONT, NW ITALY
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