The European badger Meles meles from Middle Pleistocene to Early Holocene of Italian Peninsula

• The first occurrence of Meles meles is form the late Early Pleistocene (1.3 Ma). • European badger is widely widespread across Europe during the Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene. • The size variability of Meles meles is not linked to evolutionary trend through the Middle Pleistocene to Early Holocene and/or considered as response to climatic changes

Body-mass estimation from Middle Pleistocene fallow deer of Europe

• Analysis of a sample covering a period of time ranging from 700,000 to 250,000 years ago. • Body mass comparison between fallow deer species of the Middle Pleistocene. • Comparison of the overall averages obtained for each site considered. • Considerations on the correlation between size variability and climatic situation

Braincase With Natural Endocast of a Juvenile Rhinocerotinae From the Late Middle Pleistocene Site of Melpignano (Apulia, Southern Italy)

Cranial remains of juvenile fossil rhinoceroses are rarely described in literature and very few is known about the ontogenetic development of their inner anatomy. In this study, we report the first CT based description of a juvenile braincase and its natural brain endocast of a late Middle Pleistocene Rhinocerotinae from Melpignano (Apulia, Italy). The specimen belongs to an individual about 12–18 months old, representing to date the youngest Pleistocene rhinoceros of Mediterranean Europe documented by neurocranial material. Through digital visualization methods the neurocranium has been restored and the anatomy of both the brain and the paranasal sinuses has been obtained and compared with those of juvenile and adult Pleistocene rhinoceroses. We evidence a different morphological development of the inner cranial anatomy in fossil and extant African species

The Quaternary paleontological research in the Campagna Romana (central Italy) at the 19th- 20th century transition. Historical overview

The Rome Basin, including the historical region of Campagna Romana, is considered as one of the most important sedimentary basin of Peninsular Italy for a paleontological viewpoint. A very high number of fossiliferous findings were collected from deposit which have a strong relationship with the evolution of the Tiber River fluvio-deltaic evolution (the “Paleo-Tiber” system). This evolution is the result of complex geological processes including tectonic, volcanism and glacio-eustatic fluctuations. A myriad of fossils were recovered during the end of 1800 and the beginning of 1900, mainly thank to the intense urbanization which affected the city of Rome. The majority of these historical fossil collection are today stored at “Museo Universitario di Scienze della Terra”, Sapienza, University of Rome (MUST), whereas sporadic specimens are kept in the scientific cabinets of several high school of the city or Latium villages. Several personalities of that time played a key role in the study of Quaternary fossiliferous deposits describing stratigraphical succession and fossil remains. The knowledge of these researchers and their histories have a crucial importance to reconstruct the storytelling of the historical fossil collection and to get more information on fossiliferous deposit today destroyed by urbanization or buried below anthropogenic deposits

Cuon alpinus (Pallas, 1811) from the Late Pleistocene site of Ingarano (Foggia, southern Italy) and insights on the Eurasian Middle to Late Pleistocene record

In this study, we report for the first time the presence of Cuon alpinus from the Late Pleistocene site of Ingarano (Foggia, southern Italy), represented by an right upper first molar. Considering the intricate and debated taxonomy of fossil dholes, our comparative analyses on dental samples (P4, M1, and M1) of the extant and Middle to Late Pleistocene dholes from Europe, has been performed evidencing a relevant degree of morphological variability and a biometric uniformity of the considered teeth. Our results indicate the lack of clear morphological and biometric features for a reliable teeth-based classification of fossil dholes, questioning the validity of the fossil taxa currently proposed in the literature. Finally, to avoid the propagatio

An introduction to the early Holocene eolian deposits of Grotta Romanelli, Apulia, Southern Italy

Due to its geographic position and geomorphological configuration, Grotta Romanelli acted as a sediment trap since at least MIS 5. The so-called 'terre brune' sequence is a deposit mainly of eolian origin bearing upper Palaeolithic artefacts and fossil re-mains of vertebrate fauna; it was deposited during the Glacial-Interglacial transition and the Holocene. Sedimentology and mineralogy of this deposit are investigated. The stratigraphic sequence provides a promising archive within which both human and climatic impacts can be studied

Stratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli sheds light on Middle-Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and human settling in the Mediterranean

During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chronostratigraphical reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs 5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary

Stratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli sheds light on Middle-Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and human settling in the Mediterranean

During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chrono-stratigraphical reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs 5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary

Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy, Apulia): legacies and issues in excavating a key site for the Pleistocene of the Mediterranean

Grotta Romanelli, located on the adriatic coast of southern apulia (Italy), is considered a key site for the Mediterranean Pleistocene for its archaeological and palaeontological contents. The research team had to deal with the consequences of more than 40 years of inactivity in the eld and the combined effect of erosion and legal, as well as illegal, excavations. In this paper, we provide a database of all the information published during the rst 70 years of excavations and highlight the outstanding problems and contradictions between the chronological and geomorphological evidence, the features of the faunal assemblages and the limestone artefacts

A REAPPRAISAL OF THE PLEISTOCENE MAMMALS FROM THE KARST INFILLING DEPOSITS OF THE MAGLIE AREA (LECCE, APULIA, SOUTHERN ITALY)

The karst fissures known as “ventarole”, located in the Salentine Peninsula (southernmost part of Apulia, Italy), were first studied by Mirigliano in 1941. These fissures are generally filled with reddish sediments or “terre rosse” in the lower part, and with brownish sediments or “terre brune” in the upper one. Both deposits are particularly rich in vertebrate remains. The mammal assemblages collected within the “terre rosse” from Melpignano and San Sidero are chronologically referred to the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5), whereas those from the “terre brune” are referred to the Late Pleistocene – Early Holocene (MIS 2/1) transition. These ages were estimated from correlation with the similarly reddish and brownish sediments cropping out in Grotta Romanelli and with other Apulian local faunal assemblages. However, no detailed textural or mineralogical characterization has been carried out on the “ventarole” deposits. Moreover, the presence of several species led to a hypothes of persistence of Middle Pleistocene taxa during the Late Pleistocene in Apulia. In addition, the fauna of Melpignano was proposed as a Faunal Unit of the late Aurelian Land Mammal Age. In the last two decades, a team from the Department of Earth Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome have carried out fieldwork in this fossiliferous area. The rich fossil sample recovered is here presented, coupled with a reassessment of the remains collected since the 1900s. The updated faunal lists of Melpignano and San Sidero include several new species here identified for the first time, in particular Dama clactoniana, Equus mosbachensis and Lynx pardinus. New biochronological and paleoenvironmental data for southern Italy are presented, deriving from the analyses of the mammal remains from Melpignano and San Sidero and their comparison with those from other Middle-Late Pleistocene Apulian sites. Finally, textural and mineralogical analyses performed on several “ventarole” samples allow for a better description of the characteristics of the “terre rosse” and “terre brune”