some preliminary data on two small mammal bearing

ORYCTOS,
Vol. 3 : 85 - 94,Décembre
2000
SOMEPRELIMINARY
DATAONTWOSMALLMAMMALBEARINGPALEOSOLS
FROMTHETYRRHENTAN
ANDADRIATICSIDESOFITALY
FedericaMARCOLINI, Giovanni ZANCHETTA and FrancescoPaoloBONADONNA
Dipartimento
di ScienzedellaTerra,Universitàdi Pisa,Via S. Maria53,Pisa,Italy
Abstract : Two Middle Pleistocenepaleosolsfrom the Tyrrhenian(Campaniquarry,Pisa,Lower Valdarno)and
Adriatic (Catignano,Pescara)sidesof Italy, both coveredby tephralayers,were studiedfor their paleontological
content(molluscsandsmallmammals).At Campaniquarrythe volcanicashlevel was datedby fissiontracksboth
on glass(0.59+0.08Ma; 0.62+0.07Ma) and on the apatites(0.46+0.05Ma). Stratigraphicevidencessuggesta
Middle Pleistoceneage for Catignanopaleosol.However,age determinationon the apatitesbelongingto the
Catignanovolcaniclevel is currentlyunderway.
The Campaniquarrypaleosolyieldeda rich assemblage
of land molluscscharacterised
by high speciesdiversity
indicatingthat a woodedenvironmentdevelopedin conditionsof mild climate.The small mammalassemblage
is
dominatedby murids,confirmingthepresence
of a developedwood cover.Catignanopaleosolshowsa lower number for speciesof both smallmammalsandmolluscs,the latterdominatedby opengroundandsteppetaxa.A comparisonbetweenthesetwo Middle Pleistocene
levelsshowsthat molluscsand small mammalsdataagreesuggesting that differentenvironmentalconditionsprevailedwhenthe two paleosolsdeveloped.
Key Words:Biochronology,Smallmammals,Molluscs,Middle Pleistocene,CentralItaly
Considérationspréliminaires sur deux paléosolsavecmicromammifères
desparties tyrrhénienne et adriatique de I'Italie
Résumé : Deux paléosolsdu PléistocèneMoyen de la partie tyrrhénienne(CarrièreCampani)et adriatique
(Catignano)de l'Italie, couvertsd'un niveaude tephra,ont fait I'objet d'une étudepaléontologique
(mollusqueset
petitsmammifères).
La couchevolcaniquede la carrièreCampania été datêeavecla méthodedesfiacesde fission
sur les velres (0.59t0.08Ma; 0.62+0.07Ma) et sur les apatites(0.46+0.05Ma). Des argumentsstratigraphiques
montrentque le paléosolde Catignanopeut être d'âgePléistocèneMoyen aussi.Les apatitesde la couchevolcaniquede Catignanosontactuellement
en train d'être étudiéespour obtenirunedatation.
Une riche association
desmollusquescontinentauxcaractérisée
par uriediversitéspécifiqueélevéea étédécouverte dansle paléosolde la Carière Campani.Cettediversitéspécifiquetémoignedu développement
d'un environnement boisé dansune phaseclimatiquetempérée.Les petits mammifèressont dominéespar les muridés,ce qui
confirmela présence
d'unecouvertureforestière.Dansle paléosolde Catignano,le nombred'espèces
depetit mammifèreset de mollusquesestinférieur.Lesmollusquessontdominéspar les espèces
steppiques
et d'environnements
ouverts.Une comparaisonentreles deux paléosolsmontreque les mollusqueset les petits mammifèressont en
accordpour suggérerdes différencesde conditionsclimatiquespendantle développement
des deux niveauxdu
Pléistocène
Moyen.
Mots clés: Biochronologie,PetitsMammiftres,Mollusques,Pléistocène
Moyen,Italie Centrale
85
ORYCTOS,
Vol.3,2000
INTRODUCTION
Paleosols,which usually have a defined stratigraphicposition, are cortmonly considereda powerful tool in continentalbiochronologicreconstructions
becauseoftheir fossil content,evenif scantyor badly
preserved (Bown &, Kraus, 1981). Moreover,
valuableresultscan be achievedwhen datablevolcanic levels overlie them.
Two paleosols covered by pyroclastic levels
were sampledin orderto obtain a betterinsight on the
chronologyof the Italian Pleistocenesmall mammal.
So far, only for IserniaLa Pinetasite radiometricdata
are available(Delitala et aI.,1983). In the paleosolof
Campaniquarry (Pisa,Lower Valdarno,Tirscany)the
volcanic-ashlevel has been dated by fission tracks
both on glass(0.59+0.08Ma; 0.62+0.07Ma) and on
apatites(0.46t0.05 Ma) (Bigazzi et a1.,2000).The
apatites sampled from the pyroclastic level that
covers the paleosol studied at Catignano (Pescara,
Abruzzo) are currently under study.
The presenceof terrestrialmollusc assemblages
in both paleosols allows the paleoenvironmental
informations given by them and that of small mammals to be compared.
À
ct1
'\/
(l
{I
.
E Flg. I
OFl g. I c
b
LO\ryER VALDARNO
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
Campaniquarryis locatedin the Lower Valdarno
area on the orographic left-hand of the Arno River
(fig. lb) betweenthe west sideof the Elsa grabenand
the easternborderof the Era graben.Six sedimentary
units outcrop on the left-hand side of the Arno:
Middle Pliocenemarine "Sabbie Gialle" Formation,
representingthe end of the Pliocenemarine cycle in
Lower Valdarno;Lower Pleistocenemarine "Sabbie
e Argille ad Arctica islandica " and "Sabbie di
Nugola Vecchia" Formations, which represent the
transgressiveand regressivedepositsof Pleistocene
marinecycle, respectively;Middle Pleistocenecontinental terraced deposits ("Cava Erta" and "S.
Romano" Units) and Upper Pleistocene"Sabbie e
Limi di Vicarello" Formation (Zanchettaet al,1998;
Tani & Gazzeno,1999).
86
Figure.I : a. Geographiclocationof the two sites.
b. Schematicgeologic map of Lower Valdamo.A: Pre-Neogene;
B: Pliocene; C: Lower Pleistocene(marine deposits);D: Lower
Pleistocene(continentaldeposits;Late Villafranchian);E: Middle
Pleistocene(Cava Erta and San Romano Units, undifferentiated);
F: UpperPleistocene.
c. Schematicgeologic map of Cellino Basin. A: Pre-Messinian;
B: GessosoSolJiferaFormation (Messinian);Ct Laga Formation
(Upper Messinian-LowerPliocene, undifferentiated);D: Cellino
Formation@1: Arenaceous-pelitic
associationand basalarenaceous
member,undifferentiated;
D2: Basalpelitic association,
undifferentiated); E: Middle Pliocene-Pleistocene
marine deposits;F: Middle
Pleistocene
continentaldeposits;G: Faultsandoverttrusts.
Figure.1 : a. Localisationdesdeuxgisements.
b. Carte géologiqueschématiquedu Valdarno inférieur. A : PreNéogène;B : Pliocène;C : Pléistocèneinférieur(dépôtsmarins);D :
Pléistocèneinférieur (dépôtscontinentaux;Villafranchiensupérieur);
E : Pléistocène
moyen(Unitésde CavaErta et SanRomano,non différenciées);D : Pléistocènesupérieur;
c. Carte géologiqueschématiquedu Bassin du Cellino. A : PreMessinien; B : Formation Gessoso-Solfifera(Messinien);
C : ForrnationLaga (Messiniensupérieur-Pliocène
inférieur,non différencié);D : FormationCellino (1: Associationarenacéo-pélitique
et
membrebasal,non différentiés;2: Associationbasalepelitique,non
différenciée); E : Pliocène moyen-Pléistocène(dépôts marins);
F : Pléistocène(dépôtscontinentaux);G : Failleset suglissements.
MARCOLINI, ZANCTIETTA& BONADONNA - SMALL MAMMALS FROMITALY
Campani quarry
The Middle Pleistocenesequenceof Campani
quarry (Zanchettaet aI., 1998) studiedin this work
belongsto the S. RomanoUnit (fig. 2). This sequence consists of two members.The lower member
consistsoffluvial gravelsand is describedin Tani &
Gazzeno (1999) and Zanchettaet aI. (1998). Sandy
sedimentsenclosedin the basal gravelly body of the
lower memberyielded an oligotypical assemblageof
land molluscs,which suggestssemi-aridand cold climatic conditions.The upper memberis characterised
by finer grainedfacies,namely sands,silty sandsand
laminatedclays.Laterally continuousbodiesof massive sandyclays with abundantroot tracesand carbonatenodulesareinterbeddedwithin the finer levelsof
the upper portion. Someof them yielded large mammal bony fragmentsand continentalmolluscs.These
bodies have been interpreted as poorly developed
soils (Zanchettaet aI., 1998).The upper member of
Campani quarry can be related to an alluvial plain
and channelbelt depositionalenvironment.The ash
level, repeatedlydatedat about0.5 Ma (Arias et aL,
1980; Bigazzi et aI., 1994; Bigazzi et al., 2000)
occursat the top ofthe sequence(fig. 2).
A detailedstudy of non marinemolluscsfrom all
the paleosolsof the CampaniQuarry sectionis given
inZanchettaet al. (1998).The highestpaleosol,identified asF in fig. 2, containsa rich assemblage
of land
molluscs (tabl. 1) and some small mammal remains.
The mollusc species,typical of a woody environment
(ecologicalgroup 1and2), prevail both in numberof
species(57,2Vo)and specimens(47,2Vo).In particular
Argna biplicata, Vitrea subrimata, Macrogastra
lineolata, Clausilia cruciata, Discus rotundatus and
Hygromia cinctella indicate a moist woody environment. The mesophilousspecies(ecologicalgroup 7)
are fairly well represented(l8Vo). Within this group
Lauria cylindracea, Punctumpigmaeum, Orychilus
draparnaudi prefer moist places.The aquaticspecies
arevery scanty(0.2Vo).The hygrophilousgroup (8) is
well representedby the two speciesCarychium tridentatum and Succineaoblonga. living in very wet
places, which represent 29.2Voof the assemblage.
Moreover,Carychiumtridentatumis often associated
with shadedconditions. The.high speciesdiversity
and the ecology of the speciespoint to a wooded and
probably moist environment.Large mammals have
been recoveredfrom other paleosolsof the section
87
Table I
Ecological
Group
I
Species
name
N" ofindividuals Percentages
Platyla sp.
|
0.2
Vertigo pusillus
23
5.2
Pagodulina sp.
|
0.2
Argna biplicata
36
8.1
Acanthinula aculeata
5
1.1
Vtrea subrimata
7L
16
Macrogastra linoleata
5
1.1
Clausilia cf. C. cruciata
15
3.4
Helicodonta obyoluta
10
2.2
Pomatias elegans
18
4.1
Discus rotundatus
16
3.6
Hygromia cinctella
4
0.9
Cepaea nemoralis
5
1.1
5
Vertigo pygmaea
l0
2.2
7
lnuria cylindracea
2
7'
8
10
TOTAL
5
1.1
Punctumpygmaeum
|
0.2
Orychilusdraparnaudi
32
7.2
Testacella
haliotidea
42
9.5
Milax sp.
3
0.7
Limaxsp.
10
2.2
Carychium tridentatum
125
Succinea oblonga
5
28.t
1.1
Bithynia leachi
I
0.2
444
99.9
Table. I : Campaniquarry non marinemolluscsspeciesgroupedby
ecologicalclasses;numberof individualsandtheir percentages
are
indicated.Ecologicalclasses:1) Forestspecies;2) Semi-forestspecies; 4) Steppe species;5) Open land species;7) and 7')
Mesophilousspecies;8) Hygrophilousspecies;10)Freshwaterspecies.(Modifiedfrom: Zanchettaet a1.,1998).
TableI : Espèces
de mollusquesnon-marinsde la CarrièreCampani
groupéspar classesécologiques;
le nombred'individuset leur pourcentagedansl'associationsont indiqués.Classesécologiques:1)
Espèces
de forêt;2) Espèces
semi-forestières;
4) Espèces
de steppe;
5) Espècesd'espacesouverts;7) et 7') Espècesmésophiles;8)
Espèceshygrophiles;10) Espècesd'eau douce.(Modifié d'après:
Zancbettaet al., 1998).
ORYCTOS,
Vol.3,2000
(paleosolB and A fig. 2). A fragmentalright mandible of Susstrouii, bearing part of the M1 and the
anterior part^ofthe M2, and the talons of both the left
and right MJ, have been found in B. An incomplete
left humerusof Dama clactonianalacking the proximal epiphysiscomesfrom paleosolA. The latter finding is significant from a biochronologic point of
view, since its occurrencein Europe is limited to
middle to late Middte Pleistocene.On the contrary,
Susstrouii, also according to its very bad state of
preservation,is most likely a reworkedelementin the
sequence.According to Zanchettaet al. (1998), the
whole Campaniquarry sequencecould be correlated
with stage13 of the marine isotopescale.
All the paleosolshave also beeninvestigatedfor
small mammals,but rodent and insectivoreremains
were found only in paleosolF
ashlevel
paleosolF
Campani Quarry small mammals
Insectivores and rodents of level F are very
important becauseof their stratigraphic situation.
The ash level, covering paleosolF, allows its fauna
to be dated. It representsthe second example of
radiometrically datedlocal fauna in Italy, but unfortunately this assemblageis not well preservedand
specimensare quite scarce (30 identifiable specimens). Therefore, identifications are sometimes
limited to a genericrange.
Small mammals are representedby: Crocidura
sp.,Muscardinusavellanarius,Arvicola sp.,Pliomys
sp.,Terricola gr. savii (rtg.4), Apodemuscf. A. sylvaticusffiS.a).
Order ft.ispcrrvoRAGray, 1827
Family Sonrcnar Fischervon Waldheim, 1817
GenusCnoaount Wagler, 1832
Cnouount sp.
Three molars and an incisor belonging to the
genus Crocidura were found. The first representatives of this insectivoreare known from Pirro Nord
(Pino FaunalUnit), which is correlatedwith the late
Early Biharian (Gliozzi et al., 1997). Presentday
Crocidura live in wooded environmentsof temperate areas.
paleosolE
paleosolD
paleosolC
Order RooeN"flABowdich, 1821
Family Glnnar Thomas, 1897
GenusMuscenotwusKaup, 1829
(Linnaeus,1758)
MuscenotwusAvELrA.NARrus
paleosolB
The few molars of the glirid found in Campani
quarry level F clearly belong to the extant speciesof
Muscardinus.This arborealspeciesalsofirst appea.rs
in Italy in the Pirro Nord Faunal Unit (F.U.) and is
indicative of an openwooded environment.
paleosol
A
Family Anvrcornlr Gray, 1821
GenusTnnrucou.Fatio, 1867
Tnnrucou, sr. sAvrr
gravers
(MiddlePtestocene)
Figure. 2 : Schematc sketchof Campaniquarry
Middle Pleistocene
succession.
marinesandyclays
(MiddbPliocene)
Figure.2 : Sectionschématique
de la succession
du PléistocèneMoyen de la CarrièreCampani.
88
MARCOLIM, ZANCHETTA& BONADONNA - SMALL MAMMALS FROMITALY
Very few completeM1 were recovered(Table3),
but the morphology of this rootlessarvicolid is clearly pitymyan. A morphometric analysis was tried
using Brunet-Lecomte(1988) method, although the
amountof recoveredmaterial was scanty.The specimens of Campani quarry are similar to T. multiplex
FArro, 1905 and to T. savii De SÉlvs LoNccHAMps,
1838 (Brunet-Lecomte,pers.com.), accordingto the
size and to the relative length of the anterior part.
However, the pitytmyan rhombus' low inclination
and the anterior loop width show a closerrelation to
the group savli.
GenusAnwcore Lacépède,t7 99
Anvtcott sp.
Only two second lower molars were found,
neverthelessthe size strongly suggeststheir attribution to the genusArvicola. According to Maul et al.
(1997), the SDQ index (Heinrich, 1978; Van
Kolfschoten, 1990) of theseM2 (of lI7-I2l) seems
to point out to Arvicola cantianus (Hn"roN, 1910),
the Arvicola specieswidespreadin Italy before 0.5
Ma ago (GIiozzi et a1.,1997).
GenusPuouys Méhely, 1914
Puouvs sp.
A left M1, lacking the anteriorpart of the occlusal surfaceand with evidenceof roots and a typical
Anteroconid Complex, was found. It is attributedto
the genusPliomys,alsoconsideringthe enamelthickness.
Family Munnae llliger, 1815
GenusApoonuus Kaup, 1829
Apoonuus cf. A. syruencus
Several molars are attributed to the genus
Apodemus.On the basis of their morphology and
size, they can be referredto the group sylvaticus-flavicollis. Argenti (1998) reviewed the italian fossil
Apodemusand the dimensionsof our specimensfall
within the variantion range of both species.Since
very few M1 were recovered,the discriminationbetweenA. sylvaticus(Lnwarus, 1758) andA. flavicollls (Mrrcrnon, 1854) is very hard (Pasquieq1974),
but the Ml small dimensionsseemsto point out to a
89
closerrelationshipto A. sylvaticus(Argenti, 1998).
Cellino Basin - Geological setting
The area between the Pescaraand Tavo Rivers
(fig. 1c), in Eastern Abruzzo (Cental Apennines),
representsthe southward extension of the Cellino
Basin. It hasbeeninterpretedas a turbiditic foredeep
basin migrating toward east and northeast
(Centamoreet al., 1,992).The Upper Messinian Lower Pliocenesequenceof the Laga Formationoutcrops on the Middle Messinian Gessoso-Solfifera
Formation and it is mainly coveredby the foredeep
turbiditic deposits of the Cellino Formation, Early
Pliocenein age.The depositsof the Middle PliocenePleistocenemarine ingression only outcrop in the
easternpart of the area.The latter depositsare discontinuosly covered by continental Middle
Pleistocenedeposits.
Catignano paleosol
The fossiliferous site (fig. 3) is located near
Catignanovillage,at CasePicconetto(336 m. a.s.l.),
on the orographic right-hand side of Nora Creek.
Apatites were separatedfor fission track dating from
the pyroclastic level, which overlays a silty clay
paleosol(Berti et al., 1992) and consistsof volcanic
ash,lava fragmentsand pyroxenecrystals.
The paleosol yielded many land snails (tabl.2)
and severalsmall mammals.
Continental molluscs were studied using the
Lozek (1964) and Puisségur(1976) methods,already
appliedby Esu (1978; 1981),Esu & Girotti (1991),
Zanchettaet al. (L998) and Di Yito et aI. (1999) to
Centraland SouthernItaly assemblages.
About 50 kg.
of sedimentswere sievedusing 71, 325, and500 pm
mesh screens.All identifiable shells and fragments
were considered.
The malacologicalassociationconsistsof a low
numberof land mollusc species:Jaminia malatestae,
J. quadridens, Granaria frumentum, Truncatellina
cylindrica, Vitrea contracta, Pupilla muscorum,
Vallonia pulchella, Vertigo angustio4 V pigmaea,
Orcula cf. O. doliolum. Al1 theseland snail species
are still living in the Italian peninsula, with the
exceptionof the extinct speciesJ. malatestae,endemic in Italy during Middle to Late Pleistocene(Esu,
1988;Esu & Girotti, 1991).
ORYCTOS,
Vol.3,2000
Table 2
present-day
soil
Ecological
Group
sandand clayswith
reworkedvolcanic
ashes
I
pyroclastic
level
+q
4
0.6
7.6
Granariafrumenturn
172
12.7
Truncatellinacylindrica
Vertigopygmaea
194
14.3
6
0.4
Pupilla muscorutn
206
15.2
Valloniapulchella
608
44.8
7
Vitrea conffacta
56
4. 1
8
Vertigo angustior
5
*Q r'
_
0.1
Gyrauluscrista
I
0.1
Gyraulusalbus
2
0.15
13s8
100.1
Table.2 : Catignanoland snailsand freshwatermolluscsspecies
groupedby ecologicalclasses;numberof individualsandtheir percentagesare indicated.Ecologicalclasses:1) Forest species;4)
Steppespecies;5) Openland species;7) Mesophilousspecies;8)
Hygrophilousspecies;l0) Freshwaterspecies.
Table2: Espèces
de mollusquescontnentauxde Catignanogroupés
par classesécologiques;
le nombred'individuset leur pourcentage
dansI'associationsontindiqués.Classesécologiques:
l) Espèces
de
forêt; 4) Espècesde steppe;5) Espècesd'espacesouverts; 7)
Espècesmésophiles;8) Espèceshygrophiles;10) Espècesd'eau
douce.
i--o-- -s -^l
_
0.1
103
TOTAL
--v-v-
1
8
clayswithcarbonate
nodules
-
Orcula cf. O. doliolum
Jaminia quadridens
10
u
Ni ofindividuals Percentages
Jaminia malatestae
fossiliferoussoil
muddysandswith
arenaceouspebbles
Species
IJ
Figure. 3: Schematic sketch ofCatignano succession.
Figure. 3 : Section schématiquede la successionde Catignano.
The youngest finding of J. malatestaecomes
from a SouthernItaly level datedabout 18-20ka (Di
Yito et al., 1999). A few individuals of freshwater
molluscs (Gyraulus crista and G. albus) were also
recoveredwithin Catignanoassemblage.
Open ground (ecologicalgroup 5) taxa and steppe til(a (ecologicalgroup 4) dominatethe assemblage, when both speciesand individuals are considered
(tab. 2). Among these two groups, the remains of
Jaminia
malatestae, Granaria frumentum,
Truncatellina cylindrica, Pupilla muscorum and
Vallonia pulchella represent 94.57o of the fauna.
90
Mesophilousspeciesof ecologicalgroup 7 arcrepresented only by Vitrea contracta (4.7Vo),while the
forest group (ecological group 1) is representedby
only the last whorl of one Orculidea (Orcula cf..O.
doliolum).
These data suggestthat open ground environment dominated during the soil development. Cool
conditions may be hypothesisedsince many land
snail speciesof this assemblage
reachnowadayshigh
latitudes and/or high altitude on mountains.
Moreover,many of thesespecies(suchas G.frumentum, P. muscontm, V pulchella and ./. malatestae)
MARCOLINI, ZANCIIETTA& BONADONNA - SMALL MAMMALS FROMITALY
characterisethe land mollusc assemblages
of the cool
and arid phasesof Middle to Upper Pleistocenelevels
of Central and Southern Italy (Esu & Girotti, 1991).
On the other hand, the presenceof Vîtreacontracta,
which prefersmesophilousenvironments,and that of
J. quadridens, a more termophilous element
(Zanchettaet aL.,1998), attenuatethe cold character
we attributeto Catignanoassemblage.
Catignano small mammals
Seventy-fivepercent of the remains are arvicolids. The remaining 25Voaremurids and insectivores
for a total amountof about 30 specimens.The small
mammal assemblageshows a very low number of
species, as well as the molluscs assemblage.
Preliminary data seemto show only one speciesof
arvicolids, one of murids and one of insectivores.
The recognised mammals are: Crocidura sp.,
Terricola gr. savii (fig. 4), and Apodemusgr. sylvaticus-flavicollis (fig. 4).
Order lNsncrrvona Gray, 1827
Family Sorucnlr Fischervon Waldheim, 1817
GenusCnoaounq,Wagler, 1832
Cnocnune sp.
Only two molars were attributed to the genus
Crocidura, the shrew widespreadin Italy since the
late Early Biharian (Gliozzi et al., 1997).Given the
limited amountof material,no specific attribution is
possible.This insectivorelives in a temperatewooded habitat and is nowadays present in the
Mediterraneanareas,in Northern Italy, in Sardinia
and Sicilv.
1838(Brunet-Lecomte,
pers.com.).Somecharacters,
such as the inclination of the Pitymyan Rhombusin
theAnteroconid Complex of M1 and the width of the
triangles of M3 seemsto be môrphologically closer
to savii group.
Table 3
Risc 1
Risc 11
Cat I
Cat 13
L
2.9
2.53
2.75
2.88
\ry
0.99
0.98
1.08
1.04
0.98
A
1.48
1.23
t.43
1.55
1. 38
B
0
0.03
0.03
0
0.04
C
0.15
0.15
0.1
0.13
0. 11
NL
51.03
48.62
52
53.82
B/W
0
3.06
2.78
0
4.08
c/w
15.15
15.31
9.26
12.5
1t.22
Cat 8
Table. 3 : Principal measurements
of M1 of the arvicolids of
Campaniquarry and Catignanooutcrop.
Table3 : MesuresprincipalesdesM1 desarvicoldesde la Carrière
Campaniet de Catignano.
Family Munmas Illigea 1815
GenusApoonuus Kaup, 1829
Apoo nu us gt. syLuAT
rcus-Fr.4vrcoLLrs
Order RooBn-ru Bowdich, 1821
Family AnvrcomaB Gray, 1821
GenusTnnntcot-sFatio, 1867
Tnnrucou x. sAvrI
Several rootless *ur.o"Ud *, and M3 were
found. The morphologyis not clearly pitymyan, since
the pitymyan rhombus is not entirely developedin
some specimens.However, a morphometricanalysis
using the Brunet-Lecomte(1988) method indicates,
as in Campani quarry specimens,a pitymyan morphology that is intermediate between T. multiplex
FArIo, 1905 and T. savii DB SÉr,vsLoNccrrues.
9l
Very few molars are attributed to the genus
Apodemus.Also in this case,their morphology and
size suggestthey belong to the group sylvaticus-flavicollis. Both speciesare widespreadin Europesince
Early Pleistocene.First upper molars allows A. sylvaticus (LINNenus, 1758) and A. flavicollis
(Mnrcuon, 1854) to be distinguished (Pasquier,
L974), but a more precise attribution could not be
done,becauseof the lack of theseteethin the assemblage.
ORYCTOS,
Vol.3,2000
il
I
é3
I
Il
I
6
Iil
10
ffi
11
12
Figure.4: CampaniquarryandCasePicconettosmallmammals.Campaniquarry:1-2:Terricolagr. saviiRISC I left M1, RISC 1l right M1;
3: Pliomyssp. RISC 3 left M1; 7-9; Apodemuscf. A. sylvaticusRISC 16 right Ml, RISC l0 left M2, RISC 11 left M2. Catignano:4-6:
Terricolagr saviiCAT I right M1, CAT 13 right M1, CAT 8 part of right M1; 10-12:Apodemusgt. sylvaticus-flavicollis
CAT 16 left M3,
CAT 17 right M2, CAT 35 right MJ .
Figure.4 : Petitsmammifèresde la CarrièreCampaniet de Catignano:CarrièreCampani.l-2: Terricolngr. saviiRISC 1 M1 gauche,RISC
1 1M1 dr oit e; 3: P lio m y s s p .R ISC 3 M l g a u c h e ;7 -9 :A podemus
cf.A . syl vati cus
R IS C 16Ml droi te,R IS C l 0M2gauchi, RI SCllM 2
gauche.Catignano.4-6 : Teticola gr savii CAT 1 Ml droite,CAI 13 M1 droite,CAT 8 Ml droite(pars);L0-L2: Apodemusgr. sylvaticusflavicollis CAT 16M3 gauche,CAT 17 M2 droite,CAT 35 M3 droite.
DISCUSSION
We have identified the Tërricola as Terricola. gr.
savii even though the morphometric data indicate a
relationship with both multiplex and savii groups.
However, the Anteroconid Complex characters are
closer to the latter group, thus the specimensfrom
Campani quarry and Catignano are identified as
Terricola. gr. savii.T}lLesmall mammals of Catignano
were found also in Campani quarry level F, where
there is a higher number of species.Murids represents40Voof the whole assemblageat Campani quarry. In contrast, at Catignano there is a marked dominance of arvicolids and a very few number of
murids.The relative abundanceof murids and the presence of glirids (absent at Catignano) at Campani
quarry suggests a wood cover, in agreement with
molluscs data. In fact, non-marinemolluscs of level
F indicate a wooded envfuonmentin a mild climate.
92
MARCOLINI, ZANCIIETTA& BONADONNA - SMALL MAMMALS FROMrIALY
This mild climatic phasewas datedaround0.5 Maby
the ageof the volcanic ash.The studiedpaleosolsare
thought to have sameage as the volcanic-ashlayers
as they were found underneaththem (Bigazzi et aL,
2000).
Preliminarydatafrom the oligotypical molluscan
assemblageof Catignano suggest prevailing open
land and relatively colder conditionsthan paleosolF
of Campani Quarry.Very few considerationscan be
madeon the basisof small mammaldata.The scantinessof murid andthe dominanceof arvicolid remains
suggestan open ground environment,with a scarce
wood cover.Moreover,the presenceof only one species of arvicolidsand the oligotypical characterof the
mammal assemblage,as well as the land snails
assemblage,are remarkable.
These data support different environmental
conditions were presentduring the formation of the
two paleosols.The differencesfrom both paleosols
may arise from two different climatic phase and in
this casemay indicate different agesfor their formation. This differenceneedsto be confîrmedby dating
the pyroclasticlevel from Catignano.
Finally, the different geographic location and
altitude of the two levels might also have played an
important role. Both sites are quite close to the sea,
but Campani quarry is at about 50 m a.s.l., whereas
Catignanois at about 300 m. Moreover, Catignano
siteis enoughcloseto Maiella massifandto Southern
Apennine chain to be influencedby them so that the
different environment could be the results of the different geographical setting and not due to different
climatic phase.
Mollusc and small mammal assemblages
appear
to be in good agreementboth for Catignano,and for
the Campani quarry assemblages.Molluscs, being
the more abundant and the longer studied in both
cases,give a betterinformation than small mammals.
These studiesshow how the comparedstudy of
vertebrateand invertebrateassemblages
in paleosols
can be usedas a powerful tool for paleoenvironmental reconstructions,even if paleosols are typically
characterisedby a low number of vertebratefossils
and with a bad stateof preservation.
As far as the small mammals found in both the
outcrops, further investigations are certainly needed
in order to increase the number of determined species.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Dr. Patrick BrunetLecomte, University of Bourgogne,for the helpful
review of the Terricola material. Prof. Ernesto
Centamore,University of Rome La Sapienza,drew
Catignanosite to our attentionand helped us during
field work. Prof. T. Kotsakis who encouragedone of
us (F. M.) in the study of small mammals.
This work was financially supportedby MURST
607o(F.P.Bonadonna).
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