volume dei riassunti - Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e

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VOLUME DEI RIASSUNTI
A cura di
Maria Marino, Angela Girone, Rafael La Perna, Patrizia Maiorano
Bari, 11-13 giugno 2014
Salone degli Affreschi, Palazzo Ateneo, Università egli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Piazza Umberto, 1 - Bari
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Museo di Scienze della Terra, Via E. Orabona, 4 - Bari
Giornate di Paleontologia XIV edizione - Bari, 11-13 giugno 2014 - Volume dei Riassunti
Comitato organizzatore
Ruggero Francescangeli, Rafael La Perna, Angela Girone, Patrizia Maiorano, Maria Marino
Comitato Scientifico
Lucia Angiolini, Diana Barra, Adele Bertini, Giorgio Carnevale, Miriam Cobianchi, Rodolfo
Coccioni, Cristiano Dal Sasso, Stefano Dominici, Rafael La Perna, Maria Marino, Edoardo
Martinetto, Simonetta Monechi, Maria Rita Palombo, Isabella Premoli Silva, Roberto Rettori,
Antonietta Rosso, Raffaele Sardella, Andrea Tintori
Collaborazioni e patrocini
DIPARTIMENTO DI
SCIENZE DELLA TERRA E
GEOAMBIENTALI
Regione Puglia
Regione Puglia
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PROGRAMMA
Mercoledì 11 giugno
8:00-9:00 - Registrazione e affissione poster
9:00-10:00 - Apertura dei lavori e saluti delle autorità
10:00-10:30 - Comunicazione ad invito
Cherchi A., Schroeder R. - Early Cretaceous orbitolinids from the Apulian Platform and their evolutionary
trends within southern Neo-Tethyan margin.
10:30-11:30 SESSIONE 1 (Chairman Isabella Premoli Silva)
h 10:30-10:45
Persico D., Billia E. M. E., Sala B., Ravara S. - The skull of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839)
(Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from Spinadesco (Cremona, Lombardia, Northern Italy): morphological
analyses and taxonomical remarks.
h 10:45-11:00
Bellucci L., Empler T., Sardella R. - What’s app: Palaeontology meets new technology.
h 11:00-11:15
Ruscito V., Pepe C., Mazzini I., Di Bella L., Sadori L., Mancini M., Giraudi C. - Gli ultimi 2000 anni di
evoluzione del delta del Tevere attraverso l’analisi multidisciplinare dei sedimenti del Porto di Traiano
(Fiumicino, Lazio).
h 11:15-11:30
Tsikaridze N., Rook L., Raia P., Lordkipanidze D., Carotenuto F. - Homo erectus dispersal patterns for
“Out of Africa” model I.
11:30-12:00 - Coffee break e sessione poster
Manzi G. - Lo scheletro umano "arcaico" di Lamalunga (Altamura, Italia): vent'anni dopo.
12:30-13:30 - SESSIONE 2 (Chairman Miriam Cobianchi)
12:30-12:45
Gariboldi K., Cantalamessa G., Di Celma C.N., Gioncada A., Landini W., Lambert O., Malinverno E.,
Tinelli C., Urbina M., Bianucci G. - Diatomaceous mudstones of the Mio-Pliocene Pisco Formation, Peru:
implications on vertebrate preservation and role of volcanic ashes in fertilizing ocean surface.
12:45-13:00
Toti F., Bertini A., Vivarelli M., Costagliola P., Benvenuti M., D’Orefice M., Foresi L.M., Fedi M. - Il
contributo palinologico alla ricostruzione dei paleoambienti e dell’impatto umano all’Isola d’Elba durante il
medio e tardo Olocene: dati e nuove strategie di ricerca.
13:00-13:15
Carbonara K., Villa G., Melis R., Morigi C. - Paleoceanographic evolution in the Barents Sea during the
Holocene..
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13:15-13:30
Bianucci G., Cantalamessa G., Di Celma C., Malinverno E., Gariboldi K.1, Gioncada A., Lambert O.,
Landini W., Tinelli C., Urbina M. - Taphonomy and stratigraphical distribution of Miocene marine
vertebrates from the Pisco Formation (Peru).
13:30 -14:30 - Pausa pranzo e sessione poster
Dal Sasso C., Maganuco S. - Anatomia di Scipionyx samniticus (e delle sue prede).
15:00-16:00 - SESSIONE 3 (Chairman Simonetta Monechi)
15:00-15:15
Angiolini L., Crippa G., Garbelli C. - B & B Fossil shells as archives of global change.
5:15-15:30
Barchetta A., Petrizzo M.R. - The early Aptian OAE1a in Italy and in the Pacific Ocean: microfacies and
planktonic foraminifera quantitative analyses.
15:30-15:45
Coccioni R., Sabatino N., Frontalini F., Gardin S., Sideri M., Sprovieri M. - A new standard reference
section for the latest Aptian–early Albian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b in the Umbria-Marche Basin (Italy).
15:45-16:00
Carnevale G. - Notes on the anatomy and relationships of Gasterorhamphosus zuppichinii, a Cretaceous
syngnathoid fish from Nardò (Southern Italy).
16:30-17:45 – SESSIONE 4 (Chairman Antonietta Cherchi)
16:30-16:45
Iurino D.A., Bellucci L., Sardella R. - Il felino di Ingarano (Pleistocene Superiore, Puglia) e l'origine del
gatto selvatico (Felis silvestris) nella penisola italiana.
16:45-17:00
Lin C. H., Girone A., Nolf D. - Preliminary data on Tortonian fish otoliths from Borelli (Moncucco
Torinese, northern Italy).
17:00-17:15
Cobianchi M., Mancin N., Lupi C., Bordiga M., Hayward B. - Effects of oceanic circulation and volcanic
ash-fall on calcite dissolution in bathyal sediments of the last 550 ka (Chatham Rise; SW Pacific Ocean).
17:15-17:30
Mancin N., Basso E., Lupi C., Cobianchi M., Hayward B.W. - The agglutinated foraminifera from the SW
Pacific bathyal sediments of the last 550ka: relationship with the deposition of tephra layers.
17:30-17:45
Vazzana A., Vertino A., La Perna R. - I coralli pleistocenici di Gallina (Reggio Calabria, Italia
meridionale).
20:30 – cena sociale (Bari)
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Giovedì 12 giugno
7:45-20:30 – Escursione congressuale
Partenza da Bari, via G. Capruzzi (h 7:45)
Cava Colonnella (tra Bisceglie e Corato) – Livello Corato, un intervallo stratigrafico nel Calcare di Bari ricco in gusci di
rudiste e stratigraficamente sovrastante alla facies a orbitolinidi
Cava S. Leonardo (Molfetta) - Orme di dinosauro in una successione del Calcare di Bari
Trani, pausa pranzo nei pressi della Cattedrale
Lamalunga (Altamura) - sito che conserva l’Uomo di Altamura
Pulo di Altamura
Rientro a Bari (h 18:00-18:30) e visita al Museo di Scienze della Terra: Mostra fotografica del materiale tipo di
foraminiferi bentonici mesozoici dalla collezione della Professoressa Elena Luperto Sinni; esposizione di Scipionyx
samniticus.
Rientro h 20:00-20:30 - via G. Capruzzi
Venerdì 13 giugno
9:00-9:30 - video a cura di Paleontologist in progress
9:30-11:00 – SESSIONE 5 (Chairman Rodolfo Coccioni)
9:30-9:45
Bianucci G. , Post K., Lambert K. - From the seafloor to desert valleys: discovering fossil remains of
mysterious beaked whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae).
9:45-10:00
Caracausi S., Sineo L., Martorana R., Obradovic M., Battaglia G. - New Data from Pleistocene deposit
of S. Ciro cave, Palermo.
10:00-10:15
D’Amico C., Bracone V., Cipollari P., Cosentino D., Esu D., Faranda C., Frezza V., Gliozzi E., Grossi
F., Guerrieri P., Iadanza A., Kotsakis T. Associazioni fossili della biofacies “Lago-Mare” (Messiniano
superiore) di Cava Stingeti (Appennino Meridionale, Guglionesi, Molise).
10:15-10:30
De Bortoli L., Hladilová Š. - Badenian oysters from Czech Republic: taxonomy, taphonomy and
paleoecological features .
10:30-10:45
La Perna R., D’Abramo M. - Systematics and palaeobiogeography of a genuine European genus,
Europicardium Popov, 1977 (Bivalvia, Cardiidae).
10:45-11:00
Vuolo I., Balini M., Nicora A. - Permian conodont biostratigraphy of central Iran.
11:30-13:00 – SESSIONE 6 (Chairman Edoardo Martinetto)
11:30-11:45
Bernardi M., Kustatscher E., Bauer K., Petti F.M, Franz M., Wappler T., Van Konijnenburg-van
Cittert J.H.A. - Reconstruction of a Lopingian (Late Permian) ecosystem from the Dolomites (Bletterbach,
Northern Italy).
11:45-12:00
La Perna R., Vazzana A. - Marginelliform gastropods from the Early Pleistocene of Gallina (Reggio
Calabria, Southern Italy).
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12:00-12:15
Bertini A., Toti F., Ciaranfi N. - Climate stratigraphy insight for the marine isotope stage 19 at the
Montalbano Jonico section (South Italy).
12:15-12:30
Melis R., Bazzaro M., Celio M., Pugliese N., Varagona G. - Monitoraggio ambientale nel Golfo di Trieste
(Adriatico settentrionale) attraverso l’utilizzo interdisciplinare di dati abiotici e micro faunistici.
12:30-12:45
Roghi G., Dal Corso J., Kustatscher E., Preto N., Gianolla P., Manfrin S., Mietto P. - Middle-Triassic
palynological analyses in the Dolomites and Valsugana area (Southern Alps, Italy).
12:45-13:00
Marramà G., Carnevale G. - Eocene clupeoid fishes from Bolca, Italy.
13:00-14:30: pausa pranzo e sessione poster (contestualmente Consiglio SPI e votazione Concorso Giovani)
14:30-15:30 SESSIONE 7 (Chairman Raffaele Sardella)
14:30-14:45
Balini M., Jenks J.F., Martin R., McRoberts C.A., Orchard M.J., Silberling N.J. - Not only
ichthyosaurs: first paleontological investigations at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, after 60 years from the
discovery (Upper Triassic, central Nevada, USA).
14:45-15:00
Petruzzelli M. - First report of Bos sp. fossil tracks in Pleistocene sands of the Bradanic Trough (Spinazzola,
Apulia, Italy).
15.00-15:15
Bernardi M., Klein H., Petti F.M. - Integrating skeletal and footprint data: new hints on the origin and early
radiation of archosaurs.
15:15-15.30
Tomasovych A., Dominici S., Zuschin M., Merle D. - Macroevolutionary emergence of onshore-offshore
gradients in community turnover.
16:00-18:00 - Adunanza generale, premiazione concorso giovani, presentazione candidatura sede prossime
Giornate di Paleontologia e chiusura dei lavori.
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RELAZIONI A INVITO
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EARLY CRETACEOUS ORBITOLINIDS FROM THE APULIAN PLATFORM AND
THEIR EVOLUTIONARY TRENDS WITHIN SOUTHERN NEO -TETHYAN
MARGIN
Cherchi A.*, Schroeder R.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, via Trentino, 51, 09126 Cagliari; [email protected]
** Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Senckenberg - Anlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
One of fundamental problems in Early Cretaceous shallow-water carbonate systems is
the low biostratigraphy resolution, which is due to the slow evolutionary rate of most taxa
living in these environments. Exceptions to this rule are rudists and orbitolinids, the latter of
which are the aim of this communication.
Evolutionary trends in the embryonic structures of orbitolinids allow to recognize
several phylogenetic lineages: (a) Montseciella – Rectodictyoconus, (b) Eopalorbitolina –
Palorbitolinoides and (c) Praeorbitolina – Mesorbitolina.
These lineages, first established in the northern Neo-Tethyan margin was later on
recognized also in the southern Neo – Tethyan realm.
The Praeorbitolina / Palorbitolinoides Association is evident in the late Early Aptian of
the Apulian and Adriatic platforms as well as the eastern Arabian Plate, underlying the
importance of orbitolinids for biostratigraphic correlations.
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ANATOMIA DI SCIPIONYX SAMNITICUS (E DELLE SUE PREDE)
Dal Sasso C.*, Maganuco S.**
* Museo di Storia Naturale, Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano; [email protected]
** Museo di Storia Naturale, Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano; [email protected]
Sul fossile di Scipionyx samniticus (primo dinosauro italiano, che ha reso ancora più
famoso il giacimento cretacico di Pietraroja) è stata possibile una vera e propria paleoautopsia, grazie all’eccezionale fossilizzazione degli organi interni. Tecniche di studio
innovative, quali la fotografia in luce UV, la TAC e la microscopia elettronica a scansione
(SEM) affiancata alla microanalisi degli elementi, hanno rivelano che i tessuti molli di
Scipionyx sono conservati in modo incomparabile anche a livello cellulare e subcellulare,
tanto da poterne vedere, dopo 110 milioni di anni, fibre muscolari, vasi sanguigni, capillari, e
addirittura i batteri contenuti nell’intestino. La conservazione dell’apparato digerente e di
numerosi resti di cibo in esso contenuti ha anche permesso di identificare le prede e, caso
unico per un fossile, di ricostruire in che ordine sono state ingerite. Una lunga lista di caratteri
anatomici legati ad immaturità dell’animale ha permesso di verificare che questo piccolo
compsognatide morì pochi giorni dopo la nascita.
Through a real palaeo-autopsy, the authors provide a detailed description of Scipionyx
samniticus, which represents the first dinosaur unearthed in Italy (Pietraroja, Benevento
Province) and a unique specimen within the fossil record of Mesozoic vertebrates, thanks to
its remarkably preserved internal organs. Investigation through ultraviolet-induced
fluorescence photography, computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy coupled
with element microanalysis, revealed that the soft tissues of Scipionyx are exceptionally
preserved even at cellular and subcellular levels - to a point that, after 110 million years,
muscle fibres, blood vessels and intestinal bacteria can be seen. Outstandingly, the
preservation of internal organs has permitted an analysis of the relative position of the food
remains in the digestive apparatus and, thus, reconstruction of a feeding chronology for this
specimen, an insight that is usually impossible to obtain for fossils. A long list of “neonatelike” characters has revealed that Scipionyx was few days old at the time of death.
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LO SCHELETRO UMANO "ARCAICO" DI LAMALUNGA (ALTAMURA, ITALIA):
VENT'ANNI DOPO
Giorgio Manzi*
* Direttore del Polo museale Sapienza; Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università La Sapienza di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5,
00185 Roma; [email protected]
Sono passati ormai vent’anni dalla scoperta della grotta di Lamalunga e del suo prezioso
contenuto: lo scheletro fossile del cosiddetto "uomo di Altamura".
In tutto questo tempo, lo straordinario reperto preistorico ha rappresentato un vero e
proprio “totem”, quasi un vanto per la gente di Altamura, ma è diventato anche un “tabù”, una
sorta di monumento intoccabile. Lo ha scritto Marcello Piperno, introducendo il volume
pubblicato nel 2010 dalla Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali della Puglia. Anche per
questi motivi il monumento-tabù è ancora in grotta – quasi fosse prigioniero delle concrezioni
carsiche che lo avevano in vario modo inglobato – mentre la comunità scientifica
internazionale attende da tempo di sapere se e quando i resti dell'uomo di Altamura, con tutta
la loro portata informativa, saranno disponibili per la ricerca.
Ora però c’è qualcosa di nuovo, visto che registriamo una diversa sensibilità da parte
delle Autorità della Regione, della Soprintendenza Archeologica e dello stesso Comune di
Altamura, motivate a coordinarsi fra loro per sostenere nuove iniziative di studio, tutela e
valorizzazione. Questo nuovo clima ha consentito di voltare pagina, tanto che da alcuni anni
sono in corso analisi che già stanno dando importanti risultati: l’inedita e tanto attesa
datazione del fossile, i primi dati quantitativi sulla morfologia dello scheletro, ancorché su di
una limitata porzione della scapola, i positivi esiti preliminari dell’estrazione di DNA dal
medesimo reperto. In estrema sintesi, i risultati ottenuti al momento confortano alcune delle
valutazioni sommarie effettuate in precedenza sulla morfologia complessiva dello scheletro, e
in particolare del cranio, suggerendo nitide affinità morfologiche e genetiche con Homo
neanderthalensis, che coesistono con segnali riconducibili a varianti arcaiche della stessa
specie e/o a forme precedenti. Si viene così a comporre una combinazione di caratteri che può
avere un notevole interesse filogenetico, biocronologico e/o biogeografico.
E’ dunque al momento possibile dire che la conoscenza, la tutela e la valorizzazione
dell’uomo di Altamura sono finalmente alla nostra portata e lo saranno ancora di più se, con
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tutte le cautele e le tecnologie del caso, potremo estrarre (temporaneamente?) e analizzare
(adeguatamente!) l’elemento più interessante e forse più accessibile dello scheletro, cioè il suo
cranio. Solo così saremo in grado di dare anche un volto – in tutti i sensi – alla più
sensazionale scoperta paleoantropologica del nostro Paese.
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RIASSUNTI
COMUNICAZIONI ORALI
12
B & B FOSSIL SHELLS AS ARCHIVES OF GLOBAL CHANGE
Angiolini L.*, Crippa G.*, Garbelli C.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra ‘Ardito Desio’, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Mangiagalli 34, 20133, Milano;
[email protected]
Reconstructing past climate conditions has important implications for tracing
environmental variables over long periods of time and understanding current climate changes.
Bivalved organisms (e.g. brachiopods and bivalves) dominate marine benthic communities all
over the Phanerozoic and their shells have a high preservation potential, allowing to
reconstruct their life histories from individual to community level. Because their physiology
constrains these organisms to change in response to environmental variations, they represent a
powerful archive of past climatic variations. Also, their episodic growth patterns provide a
sequential record of growth increments which can then be analyzed as morphostructural and
geochemical proxies for tracing environmental variables even at seasonal scale. B & B can
thus be considered excellent proxies for the study of ancient ocean condition.
Two case studies are being considered:
Resolving past excess CO2 worlds: the end Permian example
Resolving seasonality during glaciations in the distant and recent past, using three
different approaches:
(1) faunal composition. Intervals of rapid climatic change cause taxonomic composition
of marine faunal associations to shift, as exemplified by sequential turnover of boreal and
warm guests in the Mediterranean during the Pliocene-Pleistocene;
(2) shell biomineralization. Mineralized shell secretion imposes non-static cost-benefit
ratio to the organism which is strongly related to the environmental condition. For example a
change in calcium carbonate saturation of seawater can affect the ratio between organic and
inorganic shell content, producing a detectable change in the biofabric, as seen in the
uppermost Permian brachiopods;
(3) geochemical signature of the shell. Brachiopods and bivalves precipitate their shells
in chemical equilibrium with the seawater in which they thrive. For example seasonal
temperature variation occurring during the life of an organism can be revealed by changes in
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the oxygen isotope ratio across the growth pattern of its shell, as seen in Carboniferous
Gigantoproductinae brachiopods and in Pleistocene bivalves.
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NOT ONLY ICHTHYOSAURS: FIRST PALEONTOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
AT BERLIN-ICHTHYOSAUR STATE PARK, AFTER 60 YEARS FROM THE
DISCOVERY (UPPER TRIASSIC, CENTRAL NEVADA, USA)
Balini M.*, Jenks J.F.**, Martin R.*, McRoberts C.A.***, Orchard M.J.****,
Silberling N.J.*****
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Milano, via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano; [email protected]
** 1134 Johnson Ridge Lane, West Jordan, Utah 84084, USA
*** Department of Geology, P.O. Box 2000, State University of New York at Cortland 13045 USA
**** Natural Resources Canada-Geological Survey of Canada, 1500-605 Robson St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 5J3, Canada
***** US Geological Survey (retired)
The Upper Carnian-Lower Norian (Upper Triassic) Luning Formation at BerlinIchthyosaur State Park (BISP) in central Nevada (USA) has been sampled utilizing for the
first time the bed-by-bed approach for ammonoids, pelagic bivalves and conodonts, more than
50 years after its first description by Silberling (1959). BISP is historically important for the
definition of the uppermost Carnian of the North American Triassic chronostratigraphic scale
and is known worldwide as one of the most important ichthyosaur fossil-Lagerstätte because
of its extraordinary record of 37 articulated large sized specimens of Shonisaurus popularis.
Nearly 190 ammonoids were collected from two stratigraphic sections, documenting all
the latest Carnian to Early Norian ammonoid faunas previously described by Silberling.
Halobiids were collected from five levels and the first report of conodonts from BISP includes
faunas from 13 levels. The ~340 m thick Brick Pile section, the most complete in the study
area, includes the uppermost Carnian Macrolobatus Zone, which provides conodont faunas of
the lower primitia zone and Halobia septentrionalis. The 200 m thick lowermost Norian
Kerri Zone, which begins 52 m above the Macrolobatus Zone, yields conodonts of the upper
primitia zone in its lower part, together with H. cf. beyrichi and H. cf. selwyni.
The ichthyosaur bearing interval, whose stratigraphic position has been interpreted quite
differently by previous authors, is documented in the uppermost Carnian Macrolobatus Zone
and is characterized by rich Tropites-dominated ammonoid faunas and by the onset of
Halobia.
Although the C/N boundary at the Brick Pile section lies within a 52 m interval that
presently lacks paleontologic data, this succession is included in a small group of sections that
15
are expected to contribute to the definition of the GSSP of the Norian stage. Correlation of the
Brick Pile with the best Carnian/Norian sections in northeastern British Columbia is
discussed. Compared to British Columbian Juvavites Cove and the GSSP candidate Black
Bear Ridge sections, the Brick Pile section exhibits an ammonoid and Halobia record that is
slightly more similar to that of the Tethyan sections.
16
THE EARLY APTIAN OAE1a IN ITALY AND IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN:
MICROFACIES AND PLANKTONIC FORAMINIFERA QUANTITATIVE
ANALYSES
Barchetta A.*, Petrizzo M.R.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “A. Desio”, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Mangiagalli 34, 20133, Milano;
[email protected]; [email protected].
The Selli Level (Early Aptian) is a regional marker-bed identified in the UmbriaMarche area (central Italy) at the transition between the Maiolica and Marne a Fucoidi pelagic
formations. It consists of laminated black shales rich in organic matter and low carbonate
content, alternated with radiolarian silts. The Selli Level is regarded as the sedimentary
expression of the OAE1a (Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a) and is marked by a δ13C anomaly,
consisting of a pronounced negative shift followed by a long positive excursion.
A detailed and quantitative documentation in terms of species identification and distribution,
variation of shell size, diversity and abundance of the planktonic foraminifera across the Selli
Level equivalent is presented from the 24 m-thick stratigraphic section of the Cismon core
(southern Alps, Italy) and in the 60 m-thick stratigraphic interval from DSDP Site 463 (MidPacific Mountains).
Foraminiferal quantitative and morphometric analyses were conducted on washed
residues and thin sections. Species richness and shell size measurements on selected species
were performed on washed residues and absolute abundances were obtained from thin
sections.
Results from the Cismon Core allow identification of three intervals (below, within and
above the Selli Level equivalent) each of them characterized by minor to major changes in
species richness and specimens abundance. Planktonic foraminifera are common and
diversified below the Selli Level being the assemblage composed by hedbergellids, few
leupoldinids and globigerinelloidids. A similar composition in terms of species richness is
recorded within the Selli Level, whereas specimens abundance show a marked decline. The
planktonic foraminiferal assemblage above the Selli is characterized by the occurrence of
common hedbergellids, clavate hedbergellids, leupoldinids and both globular and elongate
globigerinelloidids. An increase in shell size of the planispiral taxa is also observed.
17
At Site 463 planktonic foraminifera are generally poor preserved below the Selli Level
equivalent, and very poor or absent within it. Above the OAE1a planktonic foraminifera show
a marked increase in abundance.
Microfacies analysis reveals similarities between sections: 1) mudstone and wackestone
facies rich in radiolarians typify the intervals with low to moderate abundance of planktonic
foraminifera (below the Selli Level); 2) black shale, wackestone and packstone rich in
radiolarians are restricted to the intervals in which planktonic foraminifera show the lowest
abundance (within the Selli Level); 3) wackestone is the dominant lithology in the intervals
characterized by moderate to high abundance of planktonic foraminifera and low radiolarians
content (above the Selli Level).
18
WHAT’S APP: PALAEONTOLOGY MEETS NEW TECHNOLOGY
Bellucci L.*, Empler T.**, Sardella R. *
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza - Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Storia, Disegno e Restauro dell'Architettura, Sapienza - Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma
In the 2012, the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MIUR) financed a project
coordinated by the Authors of the Italian Institute of Human Palaeontology (IsIPU) for the
dissemination of scientific culture. The Project named “Virtual and physical valorisation of
the prehistoric sites of the Anagni Basin” was continued during the 2013. In collaboration
with Archimedes 181 (Architecture Media Design) for the “Virtual component” of the project
an application software (app) for iOS systems has been designed and created. This app is
downloadable for free at https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/isipu/id743901181?mt=8.
The app focuses on two significant paleontological Pleistocene sites of the Anagni
Basin: Coste San Giacomo (CSG) and Fontana Ranuccio (FR). The mammal assemblage
from CSG has been recently referred to 2.1 Ma BP; the site of FR is younger with an age of
458 ky BP. These sites are crucial in understanding the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the
Italian peninsula during the Pleistocene.
The main purpose of this project is to develop a new way to preserve and disseminate
palaeontology for the younger generations. In this project, technologies such as 3D modelling
and Augmented Reality, not routinely applied in palaeontology, have been utilized for the
fossil sites. In the app the sites are GPS localised and have a historic and palaeontological
summary with a rich photo gallery. There is a list of the most characteristic animals, an
“Augmented Reality” and a “Time Bubble” views for each site.
Every animal information sheet is characterised by a brief paleontological summary and
an image gallery with photos and reconstructions. Some animals have a 3D model. The
“Augmented Reality” view has geolocalised icons where the fossil remains have been found
during the excavations. It is also possible to recall informative sheets and images contained in
the app. Finally the “Time Bubble” allows to have a 360° panoramic view of the site as it is
today and it is possible through a scrolling time bar to go back to the Pleistocene with the
palaeoenviromental reconstruction.
19
Many collaborations with Museums, with the “Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni
Archeologici di Roma”, with the “Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio” and
Research Centers are already in progress to increase and develop this innovative project.
20
INTEGRATING SKELETAL AND FOOTPRINT DATA:
NEW HINTS ON THE ORIGIN AND EARLY RADIATION OF ARCHOSAURS
Bernardi M.1,2, Klein H.3, Petti F.M.1
1 MUSE – Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza, 3 , 38123 Trento, Italy; [email protected]; [email protected]
2 School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
3 Saurierwelt Paläontologisches Museum, Alte Richt 7, D-92318 Neumarkt, Germany; [email protected]
During the Mesozoic, archosaurs became the most successful vertebrates on land,
radiating into virtually all habitats. Both palaeontologists and molecular biologists seek for a
better understanding of archosaur early evolution, and especially of its timing, given that our
knowledge of the macroevolutionary history of this group depends on a reliable understanding
of its beginning. A better knowledge of early archosaur palaeobiogeography could provide
hints into plesiomorphic ecological preferences of early forms and, if compared with an
independent source of data, may reveal biases in the record. Furthermore, the geographical
distribution pattern of fossil localities may help predicting future discoveries thus helping
focusing our research efforts.
The fossil record has documented numerous stem group archosaurs of Permian and
Triassic age: protorosaurids, proterosuchids, erythrosuchids, euparkeriids, doswelliids,
proterochampsids and phytosaurs. The origin and the early diversification of archosaurs can
therefore be investigated only by looking at the paleontological evidence which should
comprehend, if possible, all available source of information.
The possible contribution of trace fossils, however, has never been taken into account
when studying the origin of archosaurs. Trace fossils are notably more abundant than body
fossils, and may be preserved in environments not conducive to the preservation of bone, but
former ichnological investigation, often based on extramorphological (substrate-related)
rather than anatomical features, prevented many researchers from considering the track record
as a reliable source of data. Only recently, studies appeared that analyse trackmaker identity
based on cladistic criteria such as synapomorphies of autopodia as reflected in the footprints.
By using a cladistic approach, trace fossil occurrences, can in fact be used as a reliable source
of data in macroevolutionary studies on biomechanics and locomotion, palaeobiogeography
and palaeoecology, timing and chronology, and other fundamental paleobiological aspects.
21
In this communication we review the Late Permian and Early Triassic archosaur record
considering both ichnological and skeletal records. We newly report the presence of archosaur
footprints in Upper Permian deposits of the Southern Alps (Trentino - Alto Adige) using a
strictly synapomorphy-based approach for their identification. Being the oldest archosaur
footprints documented globally we discuss their significance in the light of the oldest skeletal
taxa, which have comparable age. Ichnological data suggest that the first radiation of
archosaurs in the Late Permian was more diverse than previously known, and included groups
thus far not documented by body and ichno- fossils before the late Early Triassic.
Furthermore, we integrate track and bone records for the Early Triassic highlighting the
increased knowledge deriving from complementary evidence. We suggest that the large body
size evident in some Early Triassic archosaur lineages may have been inherited from medium
to large Late Permian ancestors.
With this communication we provide an example of full integration of skeletal and track
data with the final aim of building a holistic, “total-evidence”, understanding of archosaur
early evolutionary history.
22
RECONSTRUCTION OF A LOPINGIAN (LATE PERMIAN) ECOSYSTEM FROM
THE DOLOMITES (BLETTERBACH, NORTHERN ITALY)
Bernardi M.1,2, Kustatscher E.3,4,5, Bauer K.3,4, Petti F.M.1, Franz M.6, Wappler T.7,
Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert J.H.A.8
1
Museo delle Scienze di Trento, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38123 Trento, Italy; [email protected]; [email protected]
2
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
3
Naturmuseum Südtirol, Bindergasse 1, 39100 Bolzano/Bozen, Italy; Evelyn; [email protected]
4
Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Paläontologie und Geobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Richard-Wagner-
Straße 10, 80333 München, Germany; [email protected]
5
Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geobiologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 München, Germany
6
Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Bernhard-von-Cotta-Straße 2, 09599 Freiberg,
Germany; [email protected]
7
Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany; twappler@uni-
bonn.de
8
Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD Utrecht and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, PO Box 9517, 2300RA
Leiden, The Netherlands; [email protected]
Palaeoecological reconstructions of terrestrial ecosystems from the Permian are rare. If
well preserved floras are meagre in Europe and North America, their co-occurrence with body
or trace fossils is even more uncommon. The Arenaria di Val Gardena/Gröden Sandstone
cropping out in the Bletterbach gorge (western Dolomites, NE Italy), one of the most famous
Lopingian outcrops of Europe, yielded numerous specimens of both plant megafossils and
vertebrate tracks. This enabled to hypothesize plant-animal interactions and trophic network
within a late Permian ecosystem at the western border of the Paleotethys.
In the Bletterbach Gorge Permian volcanites are overlain by a thick sedimentary
succession of the Arenaria di Val Gardena, characterized by fluvial siliciclastics, evaporites
and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic deposits reflecting environments of alluvial fans, braided
rivers, shallow channels, coastal sabkhas and evaporitic lagoons.
The 1882 plant remains so far collected belong to the horsetails, seed ferns
(Sphenopteris, Germaropteris), putative cycadophytes (Taeniopteris), ginkgophytes (Baiera,
Sphenobaiera),
Dicranophyllum-like
leaves
and
conifers
(Ortiseia,
Pseudovoltzia,
Quadrocladus, Pagiophyllum; see Kustatscher et al., 2012, in press; Bauer et al. submitted).
The flora is dominated by ginkgophyte remains closely followed by the conifers, while the
seed ferns, putative cycadophytes and sphenophytes are rare elements in the association. The
23
ichnofauna is represented by thirteen ichnotaxa belonging to various groups such as
pareiasaurs (indicated by the presence of Pachypes), therapsids (indet.), captorhinids
(Hyloidichnus), neodiapsids as younginiformes (Rhynchosauroides, Ganasauripus), and
archosauriformes (chirotheriids) (see Avanzini et al., 2011; Bernardi et al., submitted).
Bletterbach ecosystem therefore was characterized by large-sized primary consumers
(pareiasaurs, herbivorous therapsids) that possibly fed on high-fibrous plants, such as
ginkgophytes and conifers, that would have constitute the largest part of the floral association.
Small herbivores (captorhinids) would have been effective in shredding and crushing plant
material. Carnivorous predators (archosauriformes, some therapsids) seem to be less
abundant, even though preservational bias cannot be excluded. Small secondary consumers
(undetermined neodiapsids) were probably carnivorous-insectivores and would have fed on
the well diversified entomofauna documented by foliage insect feeding traces. Although not
abundant, the foliar damage data represent (with the exception of mining), all of the
fundamental ways in which insect and probably mite herbivores consume plants in the
modern world (external foliage feeding, piercing & sucking, oviposition, galling, seed
predation, wood boring, fungal infection). In about 2.4% of the Bletterbach samples evidence
of plant-arthropod interactions was observed; the most common are external foliage feeding
and hole feeding. The highest damage was recorded on taeniopterid and ginkgophyte leaves.
In this contribution we present an overview of the Bletterbach Lopingian association
providing evidence for a well diversified terrestrial ecosystem with a complex vegetation and
trophic network.
Avanzini M., Bernardi M. & Nicosia U. (2011). The Permo-Triassic tetrapod faunal diversity in the
Italian Southern Alps. In Ahmad Dar I. & Ahmad Dar M. (Eds.), Earth and Environmental Sciences, InTech:
591-608.
Bernardi M., Petti F.M., Klein H., & Avanzini M. (submitted). The origin and early radiation of
archosaurs: integrating skeletal and footprint record. PlosOne.
Bauer, K., Kustatscher, E., Butzmann, R., Fischer, T.C., Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A., T.C. &
Krings, M. (submitted). Ginkgophytes from the upper Permian of the Bletterbach gorge (northern Italy). Rivista
Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia.
Kustatscher, E., Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A., Bauer, K., Butzmann, R., Meller, B., & Fischer,
T.C. (2012). A new flora from the Upper Permian of Bletterbach (Dolomites, N-Italy). Review of Palaeobotany
and Palynology, 182: 1-13.
Kustatscher, E., Bauer, K., Butzmann, R., Fischer, T.C., Meller, B., Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert,
J.H.A., & Kerp, H. (in press). Sphenophytes, pteridosperms and possible cycads from the Upper Permian of
Bletterbach (Dolomites, N-Italy). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.
24
CLIMATE STRATIGRAPHY INSIGHT FOR THE MARINE ISOTOPE STAGE
19 AT THE MONTALBANO JONICO SECTION (SOUTH ITALY)
Bertini A.*, Toti F.*, Ciaranfi N.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via G. La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze; [email protected], [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari; [email protected]
Pollen quantitative analyses have been performed at the Montalbano Jonico section
(MJS) through the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 18-21 interval in order to obtain reliable
evidence on paleoenvironmental changes and patterns during MIS 19, which is the midPleistocene warm interglacial including the Matuyama-Brunhes (MB) paleomagnetic reversal
(MBB). The palynological study, implemented by a set of different stratigraphic evidence
already available for the section, has provided significant new paleoclimate data. The
comparison between paleoclimate proxies at the MJS and global signals of past climate
changes allows to interpret results in terms of major paleoenvironmental modification
occurred through MIS 21-MIS 18 at the orbital and suborbital scale. The main climate-related
vegetational changes have been associated to fluctuations of
18
O curve and selected peaks in
the eastern Mediterranean aeolian dust and Northern Atlantic Ice Rafted Detritus (IRD)
patterns.
As a whole pollen assemblages show successive vegetational changes; they are
expressed now by the dominance of a mesophilic vegetation typical of warm and relatively
humid climate, now by wooded steppes to steppes, when cold and dry conditions prevail. At
present, significant expansions of microthermic coniferous forest taxa have not been recorded.
The warmest phase throughout the MJS correlate to MIS 19 and the intercalated cold phase
marks the MIS 19.2 just above the volcaniclastic layer V4; while the coldest peak occurred in
the uppermost MIS 20, correlated with a significant cold and arid climate phase of wide
significance in the North Hemisphere, as documented by the close peaks in the North Atlantic
IRD and Mediterranean aeolian dust records. Moreover millennial scale climate variability
during MIS 19 is evidenced by two abrupt short-term cool pollen events within MIS 19.3 that
could also be evaluated as related to geomagnetic field low during the MB transition before
the MBB. The pollen distality index (Pinus vs Caryophyllaceae, Amaranthaceae-
25
Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra) has been used as an indirect proxy of sea-level fluctuations to
indicate changes in distality. Its fluctuations, (e.g. its higher values during MIS 19), contribute
in the reconstruction and interpretation of paleodepth changes attested by previous records in
marine fauna assemblages at the glacial-interglacial scale.
As a whole this new pollen record for MJS contributes in the understanding of the
vegetational and climate patterns during MIS 19 as well as to the discussion which concerns
the MJS as a potential reference section for the GSSP (Global Stratigraphical Section and
Point) of the Middle Pleistocene.
26
TAPHONOMY AND STRATIGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF MIOCENE
MARINE VERTEBRATES FROM THE PISCO FORMATION (PERU)
Bianucci G.1, Cantalamessa G.2, Di Celma C.2, Malinverno E.3, Gariboldi K.1, Gioncada A.1,
Lambert O.4, Landini W.1, Tinelli C.1, Urbina M.5
1
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, via Santa Maria, 53, 56126 Pisa; [email protected]
2
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Via Gentile III da Varano, 62032 Camerino (MC)
3
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e del Territorio e di Scienze della Terra, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 4, I-
20126 Milano
4
5
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Historie de la Vie, 29 Rue Vautier, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Departamento de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural – UNMSM, Avenida Arenales 1256, Lima 14, Peru
The Mio-Pliocene Pisco Formation (Ica Desert, Peru) is known for its vast outcrops,
which preserve one of the richest concentrations of fossil marine vertebrates on Earth. During
the last thirty years, punctual studies carried out on several exceptionally well preserved
individual specimens highlighted the extraordinary diversity of vertebrates that populated the
area: cetaceans, pinnipeds, turtles, sea birds, and fishes are just a few examples.
Through our successive fieldwork campaigns, for the first time a detailed taphonomic
and stratigraphic study of the fossil assemblages from localities of the oldest strata (middlelate Miocene) of the Pisco Fm. was undertaken. Stratigraphy was used to correctly assign
specimens to well-defined strata and, consequently, to evaluate the temporal variation in the
composition and concentration of the fossils along the investigated stratigraphical sequence.
GPS data were collected for all the fossil vertebrates and a preliminary systematic
determination was carried out in the field for all the specimens, while the most interesting and
well-preserved ones were taken in laboratory for preparation and detailed study. Taphonomic
observations were also carried out: orientation of the skeletons, skeletal completeness, bone
articulation, associated invertebrates, associated shark teeth, and evidence of bioerosion.
Sediment samples enclosing the fossils were collected along the continuous vertical
diatomaceous mudstone sequences and were examined through different analyses (grain size
analyses, micropalaeontological analyses, major and minor elements analyses, etc.) to
understand the condition of burial and to obtain a more precise dating of the fossiliferous
layers, using calcareous nannoplankton (where present), diatoms, silicoflagellates,
radiolarians, and dinoflagellates as biostratigraphic markers. Some of these microfossils were
27
also used to measure as proxies to infer on paleo-depth and water paleo-temperature. Samples
for radiometric Argon-Argon dating were collected in discrete tephra-beds identified in some
of the investigated sequences.
All the information obtained through stratigraphical and taphonomic analyses will be
used and integrated to better understand the context, both physical and ecological, in which
these exceptional fossil assemblages were deposited and preserved.
28
FROM THE SEAFLOOR TO DESERT VALLEYS: DISCOVERING FOSSIL
REMAINS OF MYSTERIOUS BEAKED WHALES (CETACEA, ODONTOCETI,
ZIPHIIDAE)
Bianucci G. *, Post K.**, Lambert K.***
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, via S. Maria, 4, I-56126 Pisa, Italy; [email protected]
** Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, P.O. Box 23452, NL-3001 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
***Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Historie de la Vie, 29 Rue Vautier, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Among extant cetaceans, beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) are the most mysterious
family, due to their deep-sea habitat, elusive habits, and apparent low abundance. Despite
their relatively large size (4-12 m in length) and high diversity (at least 22 extant species),
these toothed whales are one of the least known groups of mammals. Their skull and teeth
exhibit specialized morphological features linked to the suction feeding behaviour (e.g.,
reduction of the functional dentition) or to sexual dimorphism (e.g., mandibular tusks, rostral
pachyostosteosclerosis in the genus Mesoplodon, and great development of rostral maxillary
crest in Hyperoodon).
Their fossil record, scarce until recently, is now one of the best documented among
cetaceans. Our current research, on specimens from inland deposits and phosphorite layers
outcropping on the bottom of deep oceanic areas, resulted in the description of 16 new genera
and 21 new species.
Inland deposits yielded the oldest ziphiid records, from early and middle Miocene of
Ecuador and Belgium, as well as many other specimens from the Neogene of Belgium, Italy,
the eastern coast of U.S.A., and Peru. In particular, from the Pisco Formation (Peru), we
described (or reviewed) the best preserved ziphiid remains, referred to the species
Messapicetus gregarius, Ninoziphius platyrostris, and Nazcacetus urbinai.
From phosphorite deposits, we described several new genera and species recovered by
trawling and long-line fishing activities on the Indian and Atlantic ocean floors off the coasts
of South Africa, Portugal, and Spain. Additional material under study was collected off the
Chilean coast. Two main features distinguish the fossil ziphiid assemblages recovered from
the ocean floor: 1) an unexpectedly high diversity (10 new genera and 14 new species) and 2)
29
the presence of unusual, aberrant traits (for example the enormous spherical rostral
premaxillary protuberance of Globicetus hiberus).
This large amount of new data allowed us to investigate several aspects of the ziphiid
evolutionary history: trends in dental reduction, development of mandibular tusks, and
increase of body size.
The worldwide record of these fossils also raises questions about their
palaeobiogeography. Most of the taxa recorded in the North Atlantic are different from those
of the southern hemisphere, suggesting the presence of a warm-water equatorial barrier
reducing dispersal possibilities. A similar barrier is proposed to explain the antitropical
distribution observed in the modern genera Berardius and Hyperoodon. Members of the fossil
genera, Africanacetus and Pterocetus, exhibit a circum-Antarctic distribution, as do most of
the extant ziphiid species of the southern hemisphere.
Finally, our phylogenetic analyses support the monophyly of this family, and the
arrangement of most extant species in the subfamilies Berardinae (Berardius spp.),
Hyperoodontinae (Hyperoodon spp. and Mesoplodon spp.) and Ziphiinae (Ziphius). At least
one extinct stem ziphiid clade is currently recognized.
Considering the wealth of material from a limited number of localities, it is reasonable
to infer an even higher past ziphiid diversity; many extinct species are probably not yet
known and this should stimulate further research on the evolutionary history of this
fascinating cetacean group.
30
NEW DATA FROM PLEISTOCENE DEPOSIT OF S. CIRO CAVE, PALERMO.
Caracausi S.*, Sineo L.*, Martorana R.**, Obradovic M.***, Battaglia G. ****
* Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie biologiche chimiche e farmaceutiche, LabHomo-Laboratori di Antropologia, Università di Palermo,
Via Archirafi, 18, 90123, Palermo
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università degli studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 26, 90123 Palermo
*** Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Palazzo di Turchi di Bagno
corso Ercole I d'Este 32, 44122 Ferrara
**** Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. Via Calvi, 13 90139, Palermo
Quaternary fossil sites in Sicily have been known for a long time and all of them have a
common story of human predation and manipulation. Hence, we illustrate the first electrical
tomography applied to the study of a fossiliferous deposit in a cave in Sicily. The site
investigated is the deposit inside the cave of San Ciro-Maredolce, near Palermo. This study
aims to answer the following questions: is the geoelectric survey applicable to quaternary
deposit of caves? is the deposit still existing or has been completely emptied? Here we show a
ERT model (Electrical Resistivy Tomography) of deposit and possible anthropogenic
interactions (presence of historic and\or illegal excavations) with the deposit.
Therefore, use of this technique allows to obtain information to geometry of deposit and
the presence of historical and abusive excavations. In San Ciro cave, residual deposit that
appears to be altered in several places. However the absence of high resistivity values in the
central part of the cave indicates that the maximum depth of the deposit has not yet been
reached. In addition, we found many low resistivity anomalies as a consequence of the high
interaction between cave and human activities. However, we found a very interesting anomaly
for its geometric conformation within residual deposit.
To sum up, electrical tomography is a new technique applicable to study of the Sicilian
Quaternary deposits because we obtain information to geometry, thickness and the presence
of irregular anomalies on fossiliferous deposits.
31
PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC EVOLUTION IN THE BARENTS SEA DURING THE
HOLOCENE
Carbonara K. *, Villa G.*, Melis R.**, Morigi C.***
* Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra “M. Melloni”, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 157/A, 43124 Parm;
[email protected]; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Trieste, via Weiss 2, 34128 Trieste; [email protected]
*** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italia; [email protected]
*** Department of Stratigraphy, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
The Storfjorden sedimentary system (western Svalbard, NW Barents Sea) was
investigated during the EGLACOM (Evolution of GLacial Arctic Continental Margin: the
southern Svalbard ice stream-dominated sedimentary system) cruise, conceived within the
International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007-2009, in combination with the IPY-Spanish SVAIS
project.
Four sediment cores have been collected in glaciomarine sequences from the Svalbard
shelf and continental slope areas; a multidisciplinary approach to core analyses includes
radiographs and multi-sensor core logger for physical properties, definition of sediment
facies, paleomagnetic and rock magnetic investigations, clay mineral content, microfossil
biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic interpretations. Planktonic
and benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil studies were performed on the cores.
The Svalbard slope is characterized by the presence of a warm current that influences
the oceanographic features of this polar region; modifications in the current system determine
a change in the phytoplankton and zooplankton assemblages. The sedimentary sequence from
the shelf contains IRD-rich sediments; the biogenic fraction is well preserved and contains
foraminifera, nannofossils, molluscs, ostracods and sponge spiculae. On the upper slope
coarser-grained sediments (IRD-rich facies) overlain a sequence of laminated mud,
interbedded with silt layers, having badly preserved and reworked biogenic fraction.
On the lower slope abundant planktonic and benthic foraminifera reflect open-ocean
conditions, similar to present days. The calcareous nannofossil assemblage indicates this
facies deposited within the Emilianiahuxleyi Acme Zone, though it contains common
reworked coccoliths. The assemblage variations of foraminiferal species and calcareous
nannofossils indicate strong variability in the proprieties of the upper water column.
32
Quantitative data from the calcareous nannofossil association show abundance
fluctuations in the assemblage: higher abundance corresponds to warmer periods, whereas
scarcity or absence of calcareous phytoplankton are related to cold-glacial phases.
The high diversity of the planktonic foraminiferal assemblage, the presence of benthic
foraminifera and the presence of common nannofossils suggest seasonal ice-free conditions
and strong bottom currents indicating an early Holocene climatic optimum, terminating with
the 8.2 Kyr climatic deterioration event. The presence of reworked nannofossil species
corresponds to highest abundance of IRD and may be the result of terrigenous input,
corresponding to a deglaciation phase.
The last cold period is recorded at 3.4 kyr, afterward warm surface waters influence
diversity increasing trend of the planktonic assemblage (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma dx
and Globigerina bulloides) and nannofossil total abundance.
Regional and global holocenic millennia cooling events and changes in ocean
circulation in the North Atlantic lead to changes in the calcareous plankton assemblages and
benthic community.
Following the EGLACOM project, additional research projects have been funded (e.g.
DEGLABAR, PNRA-MELTSTORM); lastly the CORIBAR cruise of the R/V Maria S.
Merian led by MARUM-University of Bremen has been launched. The scientific aim of the
project is the reconstruction of the last stage of deglaciation in the Barents Sea and the
evaluation of the effects of the release of turbid meltwater on paleoenvironment and
continental margins, over Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 5 (6) to 1. The marine sediments
retain information on the past ice sheet dynamics during glacial advances/retreats and on the
associated paleoceanographic conditions.
Findings from the study of sediments collected during CORIBAR cruise will allow to
improve the sedimentary models of polar areas and to evaluate the oceanographic changes
that could follow from a potential increase of ice melting in response to present global
warming.
33
NOTES ON THE ANATOMY AND RELATIONSHIPS OF GASTERORHAMPHOSUS
ZUPPICHINII, A CRETACEOUS SYNGNATHOID FISH FROM NARDO’
(SOUTHERN ITALY)
Carnevale G.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso, 35, 10125 Torino; [email protected]
With slightly less than 18.000 living species, the Percomorpha is by far the largest
vertebrate clade, representing about one-third of the present vertebrate diversity. Recent
comparative studies demonstrated that this highly diverse clade is characterized by an
enormous increase of diversification rates relative to the other gnathostomes (Alfaro et al.,
2009). The amazing diversity of this clade is also reflected by a variety of bodyplans and a
vast array of anatomical, physiological, ecological and behavioural adaptation.
What appears to be the oldest fossil percomorph fish, Plectocretacicus clarae from
Hakel (Lebanon), dates back to Cenomanian. The Cretaceous history of this group is scarcely
documented in the record, at least concerning the articulated skeletal remains. A moderately
diverse percomorph assemblage, however, has been recognized among the fish material
collected from the inframillimetrically laminated layers of the Calcari di Melissano cropping
out in three different localities in the nearby of Nardò, in the Lecce Province, southern Italy.
The ichthyolitiferous deposits of Nardò were traditionally considered of latest Campanianbasal Maastrichtian age (e.g., Sorbini, 1981), but a recent chronostratigraphic study (Schlüter
et al., 2008) suggested that the Calcari di Melissano originated between the Coniacian and the
base of the Campanian.
The percomorph assemblage of Nardò includes at least some “perciforms” (e.g., Sorbini
& Bannikov, 1991), a stem-tetraodontiform (Tyler & Sorbini, 1996) and the syngnathiform
Gasterorhamphosus zuppichinii. The latter was described by Sorbini (1981), and interpreted
as a member of the extant family Macrorhamphosidae. This conclusion was criticized by
Patterson (1993), who considered it as stem-syngnathiform. Gasterorhamphosus zuppichinii
is the earliest representative of the order Syngnathiformes. A recent revision of the anatomy
of the single known specimen, however, resulted in a new interpretation of several crucial
anatomical features that suggest that this fish is well nested within the crown-group
34
Syngnathiformes and can be confidently considered as a stem-centriscoid, representing the
sister group of a clade containing the families Macrorhamphosidae, Centriscidae and
Gerpegezhidae (see Bannikov & Carnevale, 2012).
The peculiar anatomy and derived phylogenetic position of Gasterorhamphosus
zuppichinii clearly indicate that a remarkable disparity characterized the percomorphs in the
Cretaceous and that part of the extraordinary proliferation of new morphologies and the
exploitation of new ecological strategies took place well before the K-Pg extinction.
Alfaro ME., Santini F., Brock C., Alamillo H., Dornburg A., Rabosky D.L., Carnevale G., Harmon L.J.,
2009. Nine exceptional radiations plus high turnover explain species diversity in jawed vertebrates. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106: 13410-13414.
Bannikov A.F., .G, 2012. A long-bodied centriscoid fish from the basal Eocene of Kabardino-Balkaria,
northern Caucasus, Russia. Naturwissenshaften, 99: 379-389.
Patterson C., 1993. An overview of the early fossil record of acanthomorphs. Bulletin of Marine Science,
52: 29-59.
Schlüter M., Steuber T., Parente M., 2008. Chronostratigraphy of Campanian-Maastrichtian plaform
carbonates and rudist associations of Salento (Apulia, Italy). Cretaceous Research, 29: 100-114.
Sorbini L., 1981. The Cretaceous fishes of Nardò. I° Order Gasterosteiformes (Pisces). Bollettino del
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona, 8: 1-27.
Sorbini L., Bannikov A.F., 1991. The Cretaceous fishes of Nardò. II. An enigmatic spiny-rayed fish.
Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 30: 239-249.
Tyler J.C., Sorbini L., 1996. New superfamily and three new families of tetraodontiform fishes from the
Upper Cretaceous: The earliest and most morphologically primitive plectognaths. Smithsonian Contributions to
Paleobiology, 82: 1-59.
35
EFFECTS OF OCEANIC CIRCULATION AND VOLCANIC ASH-FALL ON
CALCITE DISSOLUTION IN BATHYAL SEDIMENTS OF THE LAST 550 KA
(CHATHAM RISE; SW PACIFIC OCEAN)
Cobianchi M.*, Mancin N.*, Lupi C. *, Bordiga M. *,**, Hayward B. ***
*
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; [email protected]
**
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala Universitet, Villavägen, 16, 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden
***
Geomarine Research, 49 Swainston Rd, St Johns, Auckland, New Zealand
The effects on calcite dissolution of both volcanic ash-fall and oceanic circulation were
evaluated in lower bathyal sediments from the last 550 ka record of the core MD 97-2114,
recovered on the northern slope of the Chatham Rise (east of New Zealand, SW Pacific
Ocean). This area was involved, during the Late Pleistocene, by the local activity of the
Taupo Volcanic Zone and by the main changes of ocean chemistry and circulation following
the end of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition.
Several micropaleontological dissolution proxies, based on planktonic foraminifera and
calcareous nannofossils (FI%, TFI%, NDI) were obtained by new analyses in order to
evaluate the calcium carbonate dissolution on the deep-sea sediments. Geochemical and
micropaleotological proxies of primary productivity (e.g.
13
Cp–b and foraminiferal
Epifauna/Infauna ratio) complete the dataset. The data collected from the studied core were
then compared with those of the nearby deeper ODP 1123 and shallower 1125 sites, both
located north of the Chatham Rise, in order to reconstruct the glacial-interglacial CaCO3
dissolution history, at different depths, during the last 550 ka.
Results demonstrate that: (1) the CaCO3 dissolution/preservation cycles at the studied
site show periodicities at G-I scale that match the Pacific-style CaCO3 cycles of Naidu and
Malmgren (1999); (2) several short-term dissolution events do not follow this general scheme
and some of them occur during tephra deposition; (3) the dissolution related to the tephra
deposition seem to affect mostly calcareous nannofossils, thus we hypothesise that the
reduction of the surface water pH (below 7.8) induced by the ash-fall influences above all the
calcite precipitating organisms inhabited the more surficial ecological niches. On the contrary,
the planktonic foraminifera seem to be mostly affected by dissolution within the water
column and at the sea floor with respect to calcareous nannofossils which dissolve far more
36
slowly than foraminifera for settling through fecal pellets. (4) The other short-term dissolution
events not related to tephra deposition seem to be driven by slowing of the deep sea
circulation that bears our site to be immersed in the aged Pacific Deep Water (PDW) and by a
minimum Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) strength flow. Finally (5) a possible
driven mechanism for the dissolution episodes involving at the same time all the three
considered sites could be related to global events as the Heinrich-type events. The probable
addition of melt-water in the North Atlantic, which reduces the North Atlantic Deep Water
(NADW) formation, could have important consequences in the southern hemisphere
circulation. The decrease in ventilation of the deep South Pacific and the NADW weakening
enhances the mixing of the Upper and Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), the PDW
formation strengthens so that the water column bathing the Northern side of Chatham Rise
becomes entirely aggressive with respect to calcite.
Naidu P.D. & Malmgren B.A. (1999). Quaternary carbonate record from the equatorial Indian Ocean and
its relationship with productivity changes. Marine Geology, 161: 49–62.
37
A NEW STANDARD REFERENCE SECTION FOR THE LATEST
APTIAN–EARLY ALBIAN
OCEANIC ANOXIC EVENT 1B IN THE UMBRIA-MARCHE BASIN (ITALY)
Coccioni R.*, Sabatino N.**, Frontalini F.*, Gardin S.***, Sideri M.*, Sprovieri M.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo", Campus Scientifico, Loc.
Crocicchia, 61029 Urbino, Italy; [email protected]
** IAMC-CNR, 91021 Torretta Granitola, Trapani, Italy
*** CNRS-UMR7207CR2P, Université Paris VI, Paris, France
The late Aptian to early Albian transition (AAT) (~114-109 Ma) represents a crucial
period during Earth’s history, with a major evolution in the nature of mid–Cretaceous
tectonics, sea level, climate, and marine plankton communities. Interestingly, it also contains
multiple prominent black shale horizons that are the sedimentary expression of oceanic anoxic
event (OAE) 1b. However, due to a set of geological, stratigraphic, and taxonomic difficulties,
the poor definition of this OAE may sometimes lead to mislead correlation. The uppermost
Aptian–lower Albian central–western Tethyan complete pelagic section at Poggio le Guaine
(central Italy), with the remarkable occurrence of all of the prominent black shale horizons
that record OAE 1b carbon cycle perturbations, has provided a unique opportunity to address
the shortcomings referred to above.
High-resolution geochemical proxies (CaCO3, TOC, and δ13C), along with planktonic
foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils, were used to establish an integrated and robust
global stratigraphic framework in order to: i) precisely correlate the prominent black shale
horizons of OAE1b in different marine environments (the Vocontian Basin in southeast
France, Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 545 and Ocean Drilling Program Site 1049 in the
eastern and western North Atlantic, respectively); and ii) provide an effective tool to
reconstruct, in short time-scales, the paleobiological, paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic
changes at the AAT. The δ13C stratigraphy of the Poggio le Guaine section is proposed herein
as a new standard reference δ13C record for the uppermost Aptian to the lower Albian.
38
ASSOCIAZIONI FOSSILI DELLA BIOFACIES “LAGO-MARE” (MESSINIANO
SUPERIORE) DI CAVA STINGETI (APPENNINO MERIDIONALE, GUGLIONESI,
MOLISE)
D’Amico C.*, Bracone V.*, Cipollari P.**, Cosentino D.**, Esu D.***, Faranda C.**, Frezza
V.***, Gliozzi E. **, Grossi F.**, Guerrieri P.****, Iadanza A.**, Kotsakis T.**
* Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, C.da Fonte Lappone, 86090 Pesche (IS);
[email protected], [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Largo S. Leonardo Murialdo, 1, 00146 Roma;
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
*** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected];
[email protected]
**** Saint-Gobain PPC Italia S.p.A, via Ettore Romagnoli 6, 20146, Milano; [email protected]
La fine del Miocene nell’area Mediterranea coincide con la Crisi di Salinità Messiniana
(MSC). Tale evento è testimoniato dalla generale presenza di depositi evaporitici sia
affioranti, sia sepolti sotto i fondali marini. La formazione delle evaporiti è legata al
movimento di convergenza tra la placca apulo-africana e quella europea che ha portato
durante il Miocene superiore alla progressiva chiusura dei corridoi marini Betico (Spagna
meridionale) e Rifano (Marocco settentrionale) e all’isolamento del Mediterraneo
dall’Atlantico.
Il termine Lago-Mare fa riferimento a una particolare biofacies della MSC
corrispondente all’intervallo stratigrafico compreso tra il top dei depositi evaporitici
messiniani e la base dei depositi del Pliocene inferiore; questi ultimi testimoniano il ripristino
delle normali condizioni marine nel Mediterraneo. I depositi di Lago-Mare sono caratterizzati
dalla presenza di faune a molluschi e ostracodi con affinità paratetidea indicative di acque
oligo-mesoaline poco profonde.
A Cava Stingeti (CB, Molise) è stata individuata una successione sedimentaria
affiorante dello spessore di circa 80 m che registra gli eventi della MSC in un bacino di
thrust-top evolutosi al di sopra dell’unità alloctona molisana. La successione è costituita da
gessi riferibili alla fase evaporitica, su cui poggiano depositi argillosi, argilloso-sabbiosi e
sabbiosi post-evaporitici. In particolare, sono stati individuati 6/7 cicli di gessi primari
(Evaporiti inferiori); al top dei gessi, separati da una superficie erosionale associata a una
39
discordanza angolare (Messinian Erosional Surface, MES), sono presenti calcari autigeni e
brecciati la cui formazione è legata a migrazioni di fluidi (fluid seeps). La successione
continua verso l’alto con depositi marnosi, argillosi e argillo-sabbiosi contenenti abbondanti
associazioni a molluschi (Lymnocardiinae, Dreissena, Theodoxus, Melanoides, Melanopsis,
Saccoia, Cepaea, Limacidae, Parmacella) e ostracodi (Amnicythere spp., Camptocypria sp. 1,
Caspiocypris sp., Cyprideis spp., Cytherura pyrama, Euxinocythere (Maeotocythere)
praebaquana, Fabaeformiscandona sp., Ilyocypris sp., Loxocauda limata, Loxoconcha spp.,
Loxocorniculina djafarovi, Mediocythereis (Sylvestra) sp., Tyrrhenocythere pontica,
Zalanyiella venusta) la cui presenza è riconducibile all’evento Lago-Mare. In particolare, in
un livello argilloso nerastro spesso ca. 30 cm, associati ai molluschi e agli ostracodi, sono stati
rinvenuti resti di piccoli mammiferi (Mikrotia, Hattomys). Nei depositi di Lago-Mare sono
altresì presenti abbondanti foraminiferi planctonici rimaneggiati (Globigerina bulloides,
Globigerinoides quadrilobatus, Globorotalia spp., Neogloboquadrina acostaensis, Orbulina
universa, Turborotalita quinqueloba) e rari foraminiferi bentonici rappresentati da taxa tipici
di ambienti infralitorali (Ammonia beccarii, Lobatula lobatula) o tolleranti ampie variazioni
di salinità (Ammonia parkinsoniana, Ammonia tepida). La successione sedimentaria è chiusa
da depositi sabbiosi pliocenici (biozona MPl 2), discordanti rispetto ai depositi messiniani
sottostanti, con associazioni a molluschi (pectinidi e ostreidi) e ostracodi (Aurila cicatricosa,
A. punctata, Cimbaurila cimbaeformis, Callistocythere flavidofusca) che indicano un
ambiente marino infralitorale.
I risultati delle analisi stratigrafiche e paleontologiche effettuate a Cava Stingeti
suggeriscono che il sito ha grandi potenzialità per il miglioramento delle conoscenze riguardo
gli eventi che hanno caratterizzato la catena appenninica e più in generale l’area mediterranea
durante il Messiniano finale; sono infatti registrati molti degli eventi chiave caratterizzanti la
MSC, rappresentando un unicum nel panorama del territorio nazionale: infatti, negli stessi
livelli riferibili all’evento Lago-Mare si trovano in associazione molluschi, ostracodi e piccoli
mammiferi il cui studio integrato ha importanti implicazioni paleobiogeografiche e
biocronologiche.
40
BADENIAN OYSTERS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC: TAXONOMY, TAPHONOMY
AND PALAEOECOLOGICAL FEATURES
De Bortoli L.*, Hladilová Š.**
* Faculty of Education, Palacky University Purkrabská 2, 77140 Olomouc, Czech Republic. [email protected]
** Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Institute of Geological Sciences, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
This work is aimed at palaeontology of Ostreoidea with a special attention paid to
systematic, taphonomic and palaeoecologic analyses of Badenian oysters from the Carpathian
Foredeep in Moravia, based on museum collections in Czech Republic. The oyster samples
(Vlastivědné Muzeum of Olomouc and Muzeum Prostějovska of Prostějov) come from three
main areas: Vienna Basin (VB), south part of Carpathian Foredeep in Moravia (SMCF)
(Olomouc Region); the most representative being Guntersdorf (VB), Luleč (SMCF), Slatinky,
Laškov, Hluchov and Myslejovice (MMCF).
More than twenty species oyster taxa were represented within those samples from the
investigated areas, but they have a dated or incorrect nomenclature as in the case of Ostrea
cyathula, Ostrea cymbularis, Ostrea cochlear or Ostrea postvescicularis. Therefore during
the first phase of this work we have analyzed and determined the oysters.
The revised oyster fauna is mostly represented by: Crassostrea gryphoides, Hyotissa
squarrosa, Neopycnodonte navicularis, Ostrea crassicostata, Ostrea lamellosa, Ostrea cf.
fimbricata, Ostrea spp.. Crassostrea gryphoides is the most abundant species in the study
material. Actually, frequent oyster accumulations with large shells of Crassostrea gryphoides
are mentioned in the Neogene (Harzhauser et al., 2003; Hoşgör, 2008; Gramigna et al., 2008).
According to Jimenez et al. (1991), in the past, Crassostrea banks developed basinward of
coral reefs, very different from the modern style of life, in shallow-intertidal to shallow sea
water with lowered salinity. These communities are generally relatively very poor in species
in dependence on environmental conditions (water depth, water dynamics, light, aeration,
salinity).
The oyster shells keep a good state of preservation, favored by their resistance to
diagenetic processes, in particular way in the larger size oysters. The alterations are more
evident along the margins of the valves and along the areas affected by bioerosional traces.
41
The presence of ichnogenera is brought out in the samples from MMCF especially by
Entobia, Caulostrepsis, Meandropolydora, Gastrochaenolites (boring ichnotaxa) and by
barnacles, sponges, bryozoans, worms, gastropods and bivalves (encrusting organisms). These
organisms have affected the oysters, highlighting structures and furrows along the entire
extension of their shells with reticular, channel shaped and punctuate structures. Entobia is
the most widespread (40%) in all the samples compared to the other ichnogenera, which
probably took turns in different life cycles of the oysters (pre- and post-mortem); this activity
could indicate several reworking episodes, related to burial and exhumation.
Gramigna P., Guido A., Mastandrea A., & Russo F. (2008). The paleontological site of Cessaniti: a
window on a coastal marine environment of seven million years ago (Southern Calabria, Italy). Geologica
Romana, 41: 25-34.
Harzhauser M., Mandic O. & Zuschin M. (2003). Changes in Paratethyan marine molluscs at the
Early/Middle Miocene transition: diversity, palaeogeography and palaeoclimate. Acta Geologica Polonica, 53
(4): 323-339.
Hoşgör İ. (2008). Presence of Crassostrea gryphoides (Schlotheim) from the lower Middle Miocene
sequence of Kahramanmaraş Basin (SE Turkey); its taxonomy, paleoecology and paleogeography. Bulletin of the
Mineral Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey, 136: 17-28
Jimenez A.P., Braga J.C. & Martin J.M. (1991). Oyster distribution in the Upper Tortonian of the
Almanzora Corridor (Almeria, S.E. Spain). Geobios, 24 (6): 25-734.
42
DIATOMACEOUS MUDSTONES OF THE MIO-PLIOCENE PISCO FORMATION,
PERU: IMPLICATIONS ON VERTEBRATE PRESERVATION AND ROLE OF
VOLCANIC ASHES IN FERTILIZING OCEAN SURFACE.
Gariboldi K.1, Cantalamessa G.2, Di Celma C.N.2, Gioncada A.1, Landini W.1, Lambert O.3,
Malinverno E.4, Tinelli C.1, Urbina M.5, Bianucci G.1
1
2
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Via Gentile III da Varano, 62032 Camerino (MC)
3
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Historie de la Vie, 29 Rue Vautier, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
4
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e del Territorio e di Scienze della Terra, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 4, I-
20126 Milano
5
Departamento de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural – UNMSM, Avenida Arenales 1256, Lima 14, Peru
Laminated diatomaceous mudstones are the most characteristic lithology of the MioPliocene Pisco Formation, Ica desert, Peru; discrete tuff layers intercalate to them. The Pisco
Fm. deposited during the Neogene in the East Pisco Basin, one of the Andean forearc basins
which run eastward of the Peru-Chile trench. Nowadays, the Pisco Fm. is one of the most
famous Fossillagerstätte in the world. Its popularity is due to the great abundance of
exceptionally well preserved marine vertebrates, especially cetaceans, lying in the
diatomaceous mudstone. Many specimens are indeed fully articulated and often concentrated
in horizontal accumulation layers.
This study is meant to understand how diatom deposition may have positively interfered
in the genesis of this Fossillagerstätte, by:
1) analyzing diatom laminae and their different assemblages and obtaining information on the
seasonality affecting the water column during deposition of the Pisco Fm.;
2) recognizing and evaluating any evidence of exceptional harmful algal blooms (HABs)
coinciding with the fossil vertebrate accumulation levels; HABs were recently evoked to
explain four discrete horizons showing fossil marine vertebrates accumulation in the late
Miocene of Atacama desert, Chile (Pyenson et al., 2014);
3) investigating the hypothesis that diatom and diatom mats deposition may have favored the
preservation of vertebrates by lowering the level of dissolved oxygen on the sea floor;
indeed, these conditions would have prevented the development of a whale-fall community
43
that generally leads to the fast decay of the carcasses and the final disarticulation of
skeletons;
4) evaluating the sedimentation rates of the diatomaceous mudstones to understand how long
it would have taken for a carcass to be completely buried, thus, verifying whether fossil
preservation is mainly due to the high sedimentation rates of diatomaceous mudstones as
suggested by Brand et al. (2004);
Moreover, we are investigating diatom assemblages close to tuff levels to verify
whether the deposition of volcanic ashes may have enhanced primary production in the Pisco
Fm.; indeed, anomalous algal blooms recently observed on the ocean surface following
volcanic explosive events have been related to the release of macronutrients such as Fe, NH+4,
NO-3, NO-2, PO3-4, Si by volcanic ashes reaching the ocean surface (Duggen et al., 2007).
Brand L.R., Esperante R., Chadwick A.V., Poma O. & Alomia M. (2004). Fossil whale preservation
implies high diatom accumulation rate in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation of Peru. Geology, 32: 165–168.
Duggen S., Croot P., Schacht U., Hoffmann L. (2007). Subduction zone volcanic ash can fertilize the
surface ocean and stimulate phytoplankton growth: evidence from biogeochemical experiments and satellite
data. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L01612, doi:10.1029/2006GL027522.
Pyenson N.D., Gutstein C.S., Parham J.F., Le Roux J.P., Carreño Chavarría C., Little H., Metallo A.,
Rossi V., Valenzuela-Toro A.M., Velez-Juarbe J., Santelli C.M., Rubilar Rogers D., Cozzuol M.A. & Suárez
M.E. (2014). Repeated mass strandings of Miocene marine mammals from Atacama Region of Chile point to
sudden death at sea. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281: 20133316.
44
IL FELINO DI INGARANO (PLEISTOCENE SUPERIORE, PUGLIA) E L'ORIGINE
DEL GATTO SELVATICO (FELIS SILVESTRIS) NELLA PENISOLA ITALIANA
Iurino D.A.*, Bellucci L.**, Sardella R.***
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “ La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “ La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
*** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “ La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma;
[email protected]
Nella penisola italiana i resti fossili del gatto selvatico (Felis silvestris) risalenti al
Pleistocene Superiore sono rari e per lo più rappresentati da denti e frammenti dello scheletro
postcraniale. Tale condizione rende difficile ricostruire i tempi e i modi della comparsa e della
diffusione di questo felino in Italia nel corso del Pleistocene Superiore e i rapporti filetici tra
le forme attuali.
I dati della biologia molecolare indicano che la specie attuale si sia originata circa 50
mila anni fa (Yamaguchi et al., 2004). I resti fossili di un gatto selvatico provenienti dal sito
del Pleistocene Superiore di Ingarano (Puglia), da depositi datati circa 40.000 ± 2.000 anni
con il metodo 39TH/234U (Bedetti & Pavia, 2007), sono stati analizzati e studiati, oltre che
con le consuete metodologie biometriche, mediante l'utilizzo di immagini tomografiche e
ricostruzioni 3D.
Il m
un cranio intero completo di mandibola (ING 2000/17), privo solo dell'arcata zigomatica
sinistra e dei canini e degli incisivi superiori. Al momento è il cranio fossile più completo e
meglio conservato di gatto selvatico, per il Pleistocene Superiore dell'Italia. Il fossile è stato
sottoposto a sezioni virtuali di immagini derivate da TAC (tomografia assiale computerizzata)
ed elaborate con software dedicati che hanno permesso la realizzazione di endocast
dell'encefalo e dei seni frontali che forniscono ulteriori elementi di analisi. Il confronto del
felide fossile con specie attuali come Felis chaus, Felis silvestris e Felis lybica mette in
evidenza un set di caratteri peculiari che contraddistinguono il felino di Ingarano che potrebbe
rappresentare una forma ancestrale di gatto selvatico europeo.
Bedetti C. & Pavia M. (2007). Reinterpretation of the Late Pleistocene Ingarano cave deposit based on the
fossil bird associtations (Apulia, South-Eastern Italy). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 113: 487507.
45
Yamaguhi N., Driscoll C.A., Kitchener A.C., Ward J.M & Macdonald D.W. (2004). Craniological
differentiation between European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), African wildcats (F. s. lybica) and Asian
wildcats (F. s. ornata): implications for their evolution and conservation. Biological Journal of the Linnean
Society, 83: 47–63.
46
SYSTEMATICS AND PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHY OF A GENUINE EUROPEAN
GENUS, EUROPICARDIUM POPOV, 1977 (BIVALVIA, CARDIIDAE)
La Perna R.*, D’Abramo M.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari;
[email protected]
** Via San Pietro 8, 72028 Torre Santa Susanna (BR)
Europicardium Popov, 1977 was introduced for some Cenozoic cardiids from Europe
(Schneider, 2002). In most literature, even in the most recent, this genus has been overlooked
or confused with Trachycardium Mörch, 1853, which is a distinct genus living in the tropical
American waters. The best known Europicardium species is E. multicostatum (Brocchi,
1814), type species. The present work, though at a preliminary stage, tries to review the fossil
species of Europicardium, and to outline the palaeogeography of the genus.
According to Schneider (2002), Europicardium includes four Neogene species of
Europe and North Africa: E. multicostatum (Brocchi, 1814), E. polycolpatum (Cossmann &
Peyrot, 1911), E. pseudomulticostatum (Zhizhchenko, 1934) and E. badeniense (Kókay,
1996). Three living species are known from the tropical West Africa, E. caparti (Nickles,
1955) being the best known.
The present revision allowed the distribution of E. multicostatum to be better defined,
i.e. Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of the circum-Mediterranean area, excluding the older
records reported in literature, and to put E. polycolpatum in synonymy with E. miorotundata
(Sacco, 1899), originally described as a Miocene variety of Trachycardium multicostatum. It
is known from the Early Miocene of Aquitaine, Middle Miocene of Paratetheys and paleoMediterranean. E. pseudomulticostatum is from the Middle Miocene of Crimea, Ciscaucasia
and Transcaucasia (Eastern Paratethys), whereas E. badeniense is from the Middle Miocene
of Hungary (Central Paratethys). Another Paratethyan species, from the Vienna basin,
misidentified as multicostatum since Hoernes (1862), proved to be distinct and will be
described as new. Other possible distinct species are the varieties mioangulata and
miocaudata, both described by Sacco (1899) on scarce and fragmentary material from the
Miocene of the Turin Hill.
47
The oldest records of Europicardium are from the Early Miocene of the Aquitaine
basin. This supports Schneider's (2002) hypothesis of strong relations with Loxocardium
Cossmann, 1886, from the Paris basin. From the Aquitaine basin, Europicardium widely
spred into the paleo-Mediterranean and Paratehtys, reaching a remarkable diversity in the
Middle Miocene, probably thanks to the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. Since the closure
of Paratethys and the Pliocene climate deterioration, Europicardium became confined to the
Mediterranean, with E. multicostatum, until the Early Pleistocene. Finally, the strong
Quaternary climate changes led the genus to withdraw to southern areas, in the tropical waters
of Western Africa.
Hörnes M., 1862. Die fossilen Mollusken des Tertiärbeckens von Wien. Band II: Bivalvia. Abhandlungen
der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Geologischen Reichsanstalt, 4 (2): 117-214.
Schneider J.A., 2002. Phylogeny of cardiid bivalves (cockles and giant clams): revision of the Cardiinae
and the importance of fossils in explaining disjunct biogeographical distributions. Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society, 136: 321-369.
Sacco F., 1899. I molluschi dei terreni terziari del Piemonte e della Liguria. Parte 27. Cardiidae. Carlo
Clausen, Torino, 25 pp.
48
MARGINELLIFORM GASTROPODS FROM THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE OF
GALLINA (REGGIO CALABRIA, SOUTHERN ITALY)
La Perna R.*, Vazzana A.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari;
[email protected]
** Via Str. Giuffrè I 32, 89122 Reggio Calabria
Marginelliforms are an informal group of marine gastropods including two families:
Marginellidae Fleming, 1828 and Cystiscidae Stimpson, 1865. They are convergent families,
mainly distributed in warm to warm-temperate waters, particularly difficult to be identified at
species level, because of the their smooth, featureless shell. The present-day Mediterranean
hosts a fairly diverse marginelliform fauna, but the genera with stronger tropical affinity, such
as Marginella Lamarck, 1799, are missing since the Early-Middle Pliocene.
Gallina is a fossiliferous locality on the Calabrian side of the Messina Strait. Its rich
fossil fauna was studied by Seguenza (1879), who reported hundreds of species, mainly
molluscs. He also remarked the unusual character of this “Astian” deposit as “facies misto”,
as its rich assemblage consists of a mixture of shallow- and deep-water species. For this
locality, Seguenza reported six species of marginelliforms.
A small, poorly exposed outcrop, was recently discovered near Gallina. The outcrop
contains a richly fossiliferous bed, 20 cm thick, consisting of clayey sands (level B), whose
fauna corresponds to that studied by Seguenza. It overlays a clayey sandy bed with the Boreal
Guest Pseudamussium septemradiatum (level A), and is overlaid by a poorly fossiliferous
silty-sandy bed (level C). The nannoplankton assemblage from level A points to the large
Gephyrocapsa Zone, while the assemblage from level C is indicative of the small
Gephyrocapsa Zone (Early Pleistocene). The nannoplankton assemblage from the richly
fossiliferous level B turned out to be totally reworked. All the three levels, particulalry the
intermediate one (B), are interpreted as formed via gravitative flows.
The marginelliform fauna from the “Seguenza level” (B) consists of some specie of the
genus Granulina Jousseaume, 1888, two species of Gibberula Swainson, 1840 and one
species of Marginella. One of these species corresponds to Marginella ovulaeformis
49
Seguenza, 1879, described from Gallina. It seems a valid species, as Granulina ovulaeformis
(Seguenza), but further studies are needed.
The occurrence of a Marginella species at Gallina was quite unexpected, as none of the
species reported by Seguenza can be actually referred to such a genus (widely used in the past
literature). Furthermore, the species is relatively large (ca 10 mm in shell height) and fairly
frequent in the assemblage. The abundant material (about 70 shells) is well preserved and
reworking from older sediments is excluded. Most probably, it is an undescribed species,
markedly different from the large sized M. aurisleporis (Brocchi, 1814), the last
representative of Marginella in the Mediterranean Pliocene. It is worth remarking that several
species of Marginella were reported from the Early-Middle Pliocene of Estepona, near the
Gibraltar Strait (Landau et al., 2006). The Marginella species from Gallina testifies the local
survival of this thermofilic genus through the Early Pleistocene in a Mediterranean
“sanctuary”. Indeed, since the Pleistocene at least, the Messina Strait accommodates a high
abundance and diversity of species, with many endemisms and primarily Atlantic species
forming rich populations.
Landau B., La Perna R. & Marquet R. (2006). The Early Pliocene Gastropoda(Mollusca) part.10
Marginellidae, Cystiscidae. Palaeontos, 39 pp.
Seguenza G. (1879). Le formazioni terziarie della provincia di Reggio (Calabria). Memorie della Reale
Accademia dei Lincei, Cl. Sc. Fis.,Mat. e Nat., s. 3, 6: 1-446.
50
PRELIMINARY DATA ON TORTONIAN FISH OTOLITHS FROM BORELLI
(MONCUCCO TORINESE, NORTHERN ITALY)
Lin C. H.*, Girone A.*, Nolf D.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy;
** Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, 29, Rue Vautier, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; [email protected]
The fish otoliths from the fossiliferous Borelli locality (Moncucco Torinese, Piedmont,
northern Italy) are herein analysed. The studied section, Tortonian in age (Festa et al., 2009),
belongs to the lower portion of Sant’Agata Fossili Formation (Festa et al., 2009). The study
allows the reconstruction of a fauna of 90 taxa of which 67 have been identified at species
level. The present data improve the previous knowledge on the composition and distribution
of Tortonian teleostean fauna in the Mediterranean realm.
The benthic-benthopelagic component is predominantly represented by neritic and
bathyal fishes, among which the gadids and macrurids are the most abundant and diversified.
Gadiculus argenteus and Micromesistius planatus are the best represented gadids.
The
mesopelagic fishes, especially the myctophids, also show a high diversity. In this group, the
true Miocene taxa such as Benthosema fitchi, Hygophum derthonensis and Diaphus
pedemontanus are the most abundant. Extant mesopelagic taxa Benthosema suborbitale,
Diaphus aff. splendidus and Lampadena dea, worldwide distributed in the modern tropicalsubtropical waters of Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans also occur. The Tortonian fauna
include taxa, already documented in the lower Miocene Atlantic realm, and that seem to move
in the Mediterranean at this time. Similarly, the temperate taxa Benthosema aff. glaciale,
Notoscopelus elongatus and Notoscopelus bolini, seem to appear in the Mediterranean during
the Tortonian. Analysing the fish otoliths from Borelli, it is possible to conclude that the
Tortonian teleostean fauna is essentially characterised by circumglobal oceanic taxa although
it starts to be influenced by Atlantic realm.
Festa A., Dela Pierre F., Irace A., Piana F., Fioraso G., Lucchesi S., Boano P., Forno M.G. (2009). Note
illustrative della Carta Geologica D’Italia alla scala 1:50.000 del foglio 156 “Torino Est”. Servizio Geologico
d’Italia. Litografia Geda – Torino.
51
THE AGGLUTINATED FORAMINIFERA FROM THE SW PACIFIC BATHYAL
SEDIMENTS OF THE LAST 550KA: RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DEPOSITION
OF TEPHRA LAYERS
Mancin N.*, Basso E.*, Lupi C.*, Cobianchi M.*, Hayward B.W.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, via Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia; [email protected]
** Geomarine Research, 49 Swainston Rd, St Johns, Auckland, New Zealand
The agglutinated foraminifera content from the last 550ka record of the IMAGES core
MD 97-2114 (Chatham Rise, New Zealand) was analysed in order to detect the possible
linkage existing between the composition of the grains forming the agglutinated tests and the
deposition of tephras. The studied core has been collected east of New Zealand, about 680 km
far from the active Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) located on the North Island. Therefore, the
core contains numerous macro- and microscopic tephra layers regionally documented.
Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analyses were
carried out on entire agglutinated foraminifera as well as on sectioned specimens, sampled
above, below, and within the tephra layers. The analyses show that the studied foraminifera
built structurally complex tests, picking and selecting minerals and biogenic particles
according to their availability and abundance in the substratum, as well as their composition,
size and shape. In most of the studied species, the composition of the agglutinated grains does
not change when the deposition of the tephra layer strongly enriched in volcanic glass shards
the substratum. Only the species Karreriella novangliae changed significantly its grain
composition, selecting volcanic glass fragments. Nevertheless, the tephra deposition seems to
influence the wall microstructure of the agglutinated test. The textulariid specimens, coming
from the volcanoclastic layers, show a thinner wall which was also characterised by less
abundant calcareous matrix with respect to the specimens sampled under or upon the tephra
layer.
We hypothesise that the volcanic ash deposition probably interfered with the normal
agglutinating process also favouring the development of more aggressive waters at the sea
floor which, in turn, could have enhanced carbonate dissolution. Our data also suggest that the
sediment type of the substratum is not the only one controlling factor on the construction of
52
the agglutinated foraminifera test and grain selection, which appears primarily as speciesdependent.
53
EOCENE CLUPEOID FISHES FROM BOLCA, ITALY
Marramà G., Carnevale G.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso, 35, 10125 Torino; [email protected];
[email protected]
The Clupeoidei is one of the most abundant and widespread group of teleost fishes,
including over 300 extant species of small to medium size fishes like herrings, sardines,
shads, sprats, round herrings and anchovies. Remains of clupeoid fishes are rather abundant in
the Eocene fossiliferous limestone of Bolca, representing by far the most common group of
this celebrated locality. However, despite of their abundance, these fishes have been scarcely
investigated up to date.
A broad analysis of about 300 well-preserved clupeoids from Bolca, housed in several
institutions and previously referred to the repository genus Clupea, has revealed the presence
of at least three taxa, representing three different subfamilies belonging to two families.
More than 95% of the available material belongs to different developmental stages of a
single taxon of the family Clupeidae traditionally referred to as †Clupea catopygoptera
Woodward. A new genus of clupeid fish was erected to contain †Clupea catopygoptera
Woodward from the Eocene of Bolca (Marramà and Carnevale, submitted). Comparisons
with extant and fossil genera of the family Clupeidae genus demonstrate that this new Eocene
genus exhibits a unique combination of characters (head length contained approximately three
to four times in the standard length; skull roof with 10–14 fronto-parietal striae; mouth
terminal; two supramaxillae; jaws and palate edentulous; complete series of about 20–22
abdominal keeled scutes with ascending arms; dorsal scutes absent; five to six branchiostegal
rays; eight supraneurals; 40–42 vertebrae and 20–22 pleural ribs; three epurals).
Almost 5% of the specimens belong to the new genus and species †Trollichthys
bolcensis, representing the first report of subfamily Dussumieriinae in the Eocene of Bolca,
and, more generally, the earliest confirmed record of this group. Fishes of the subfamily
Dussumieriinae, also known as round herrings, constitute a small subgroup of the family
Clupeidae inhabiting tropical and subtropical marine coastal waters. This new round herring
taxon exhibits a unique combination of features, including the possession of two
supramaxillae; jaws and palate edentulous; possession of 41–42 preural vertebrae and 22–24
54
pleural ribs; pleural ribs-preural vertebrae ratio ranging from 0.52 to 0.57; possession of five
or six supraneurals; dorsal-fin origin located at about mid–length of the body; dorsal fin with
about 16 rays; two postcleithra; pelvic-fin insertion at the level of the mid length of the
dorsal-fin base; and pelvic fin with eight rays (Marramà and Carnevale, in press).
Finally, a single specimen is assigned to the family Engraulidae based on the possession
of several diagnostic features, including a forward inclined suspensorium, prominent
mesethmoid, and snout pig-like. The specimen is distinguished from other living and fossil
engraulids by having the following combination of characters: seven branchiostegal rays; 41
preural vertebrae and 17 pleural ribs; pleural ribs-preural vertebrae ratio 0.42; small prepelvic
and postpelvic scutes present; single dorsal scute, spine-like, in front of the dorsal fin; seven
supraneurals; dorsal-fin origin at about mid-length of the body well behind the pelvic-fin
origin; dorsal fin with about 16 rays; pelvic fin with seven rays; anal-fin origin slightly behind
the posterior end of dorsal fin; anal fin with 19 rays. This is the earliest record of the family
Engraulidae, at least based on skeletal remains, and the first report of a fossil engraulid in the
Eocene of Bolca (Marramà and Carnevale, in prep.).
Paleobiological considerations suggest that the presence of a very large number of the
shooling clupeoids is consistent with the hypothesis that the fish-bearing sediments were
deposited close to the coast in a context subject to the ecological influence of the open sea
(Landini and Sorbini, 1996).
Landini W, Sorbini L. (1996). Ecological and trophic relationships of Eocene Monte Bolca (Pesciara) fish
fauna. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, Special Volume 3:105-112.
Marramà G, Carnevale G, in press. Eocene round herring (Teleostei: Clupeidae) from Monte Bolca, Italy.
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica..
Marramà G, Carnevale G, submitted. The Eocene sardine †Bolcaichthys catopygopterus (Woodward,
1901) from Monte Bolca, Italy: osteology, taxonomy and paleobiology. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
55
MONITORAGGIO AMBIENTALE NEL GOLFO DI TRIESTE (ADRIATICO
SETTENTRIONALE) ATTRAVERSO L’UTILIZZO INTERDISCIPLINARE DI
DATI ABIOTICI E MICROFAUNISTICI.
Melis R.*, Bazzaro M. *, Celio M.**, Pugliese N. *, Varagona G. *
* Dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze, Univ. di Trieste, Italy; [email protected]
** Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale (ARPA FVG), Palmanova (Ud), Italy
La salute ambientale dei sistemi marini costieri mediterranei è attualmente di notevole
interesse, sia per l’aumentato utilizzo da parte dell’uomo di questi ambienti, che per una
maggiore consapevolezza ambientale.
La scelta dei bioindicatori biologici che permettano lo studio di questi sistemi complessi
risulta ancora incompleta. Il monitoraggio di un ambiente marino richiede bioindicatori facili
da raccogliere e identificare, che rispondano rapidamente alle modifiche antropiche e che
preferibilmente lascino un record fossile, utile alla comparazione con le fasi pre-antropiche.
Fra gli indicatori microfaunistici, i foraminiferi sono stati recentemente proposti secondo un
preciso protocollo (Schönfeld et al., 2012), ma non c'è ancora accordo sull’utilizzo gli altri
possibili microrganismi. Finora pochi studi hanno cercato di combinare più gruppi
tassonomici per monitorare lo stato attuale e la storia passata di alterazioni antropiche.
Il progetto propone uno studio di biomonitoraggio stagionale di durata annuale, basato
sullo studio integrato di foraminiferi ed ostracodi condotto in due stazioni nel Golfo di
Trieste, una in prossimità di scarichi urbani fognari (stazione A4) e l’altra nell’ambiente
naturale della Riserva Marina di Miramare (C1), entrambi scelti in collaborazione con ARPA
FVG. I mesi selezionati per il campionamento sono stati gennaio, maggio, agosto e novembre
2013.
La campionatura ha riguardato la raccolta di sedimenti superficiali tramite un KC haps
bottom corer (KC-Denmark) seguendo il rigoroso protocollo di procedura analitica del gruppo
internazionale FOBIMO (Schönfeld et al., 2012). Per ogni sito di campionatura sono state
eseguite tre repliche. Per ogni carota sub-campionata con l’utilizzo di tubi in perspex sono
state ricavate fette di 1 cm di spessore fino alla profondità di 5 cm. I campioni per
foraminiferi e ostracodi stati conservati in soluzione di Rosa-Bengala per la preservazione
delle forme vive al momento del prelievo.
56
Sugli stessi livelli di una sola sottocarota per stazione sono state eseguite analisi
tessiturali e geochimiche (TOC, C/N ed alcuni metalli pesanti). La colonna d’acqua è stata
monitorata attraverso la misura di temperatura, salinità, pH, ossigeno disciolto e profili di Chl
a, misurate in ogni periodo di campionamento attraverso l’utilizzo di una sonda
multiparametrica Idronaut.
Il prodotto principale di questo progetto sarà un database applicabile ad altri settori delle
coste mediterranee per stabilire la potenzialità dei microrganismi scelti come possibili
bioindicatori di inquinamento urbano attraverso i seguenti punti:
• identificazione delle comunità faunistica dei siti prescelti e documentazione dei loro
cambiamenti stagionali.
• definizione della natura del cambiamento, dalla situazione naturale a quella antropica.
• verifica della validità dei modelli di risposta dei diversi taxa a stress ambientali.
• creazione di un modello utile al monitoraggio dello stato di salute dell’ambiente
costiero in esame.
Le analisi micropaleontologiche sono in fase di ultimazione, ma i primi risultati
premettono già di evidenziare una forte predominanza della biocenosi a foraminiferi rispetto a
quella ad ostracodi, la quale si compone in genere di un numero limitato di specie ed
individui. La distribuzione dei microrganismi evidenzia comunque una certa differenza fra i
due siti indagati; il sito naturale presenta sempre una maggiore ricchezza specifica ed anche
una maggiore numerosità di individui in biocenosi rispetto a quello situato in prossimità degli
scarichi urbani. Tuttavia anche in quest’ultimo non si evidenzia un eccessivo impatto
antropico, soprattutto da parte dei foraminiferi.
Schönfeld J., Alve E., Geslin E., Jorissen F., Korsun S., Spezzaferri S. & Members of the FOBIMO group
(2012). The FOBIMO (FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring) initiative - Towards a standardised protocol for softbottom benthic foraminiferal monitoring studies. Marine Micropaleontology, 94-95: 1-13.
57
THE SKULL OF STEPHANORHINUS KIRCHBERGENSIS (JÄGER, 1839)
(MAMMALIA, RHINOCEROTIDAE) FROM SPINADESCO (CREMONA,
LOMBARDIA, NORTHERN ITALY): MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSES AND
TAXONOMICAL REMARKS.
Persico D.*, Billia E. M. E.**, Sala B.***, Ravara S.****
*Università degli Studi di Parma, Via Usberti, 43124, Parma, Italy; [email protected]
** via Bacchiglione 3, I-00199 Roma, Italy; [email protected]
*** Universià degli Studi di Ferrara, via Savonarola 9, Ferrara, Italy; [email protected]
**** Museo Paleoantropologico del Po di San Daniele Po (Cr) – Via Fareverzani 11, 26046 San Daniele Po (Cr) Italy;
[email protected]
The exceptional discovery of a complete and extraordinary well-preserved skull of
Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis on an alluvial bar of the Po River near Spinadesco (Cremona,
Lombardia, Northern Italy) in June 2013 presented us with the opportunity for reporting on
the specimen. The thorough morphometric and morphological analyses carried out on the
specimen (including dentition) revealed typical characteristics of the Stephanorhinus
kirchbergensis – also known as “Merck's rhinoceros”. These peculiar tracts highlighted
distinctive taxonomic characteristics which are useful for reassessing the classifications of
some specimens found in adjacent areas up to now (Caccia, 1928; Cantaluppi, 1969; CigalaFulgosi, 1976; Anfossi et Cantaluppi G., 1988).
Stephanorhinus, genus still controversial in the literature, is here in synonymy with
Dicerorhinus/Dihoplus.
Up to now, S. kirchbergensis appears to be a rather rare species of the vast Eurasian
landmass as few fossils have been found in a relatively limited number of localities (Billia,
2011). Furthermore, there is often no available chrono or biostratigraphic data.
In this study, the distinguishing characters are discussed privileging the morphological
features rather than the metrical characteristics also if the dimensions of the skull are
significative.
Anfossi G. & Cantaluppi G. (1987). Rinvenimento di un cranio di rinoceronte nelle alluvioni quaternarie
pavesi. Atti Ticinesi di Scienze della Terra, XXXI: 463-468.
Billia E.M.E. (2011). Occurrences of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) (Mammalia,
Rhinocerotidae) in Eurasia – An account. Proceedings of the 7th Romanian Symposium of Palentology, ClujNapoca, Romania, October 22-24, 2009. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae, VII: 17-40.
58
Caccia V. (1928). Su un cranio fossile di Rhinoceros Merchianus Etruriae (Falconer) rinvenuto in
territorio di S. Colombano al Lambro con particolare considerazione dell’apparato dentale. Nuova Rassegna di
Odontoiatria, III: 1-16.
Cantaluppi G. (1969). Il rinoceronte di S. Colombano al Lambro. Atti dell’Istituto di Geologia
dell’Università di Pavia, 20: 67-81.
Cigala-Fulgosi F. (1976). Dicerorhinus hemitoechus (Falconer) del post-Villafranchiano fluviolacustre del
Torrente Stirone (Salsomaggiore, Parma). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 15 (1): 59-72.
59
FIRST REPORT OF BOS SP. FOSSIL TRACKS IN PLEISTOCENE SANDS OF THE
BRADANIC TROUGH (SPINAZZOLA, APULIA, ITALY)
Petruzzelli M.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari, collaborator esterno; [email protected]
On a hill of the Bradanic Trough, 1 km north of Spinazzola and in the vicinity of the
Murge area, few bovid fossil tracks were found. The tracks were observed on two blocks of
hardened reddish sand (ca 40x30x2 cm), coming from a nearby outcrop, about 4 m in height.
The outcrop is referred to the upper part (continental) of the Bradanic Trough cycle (sensu
Pieri et al., 1996) and are Pleistocene in age.
The tracks consist of 3 artiodactyls footprints, about 10 cm in diameter, fairly well
preserved and could be tentatively attributed to Bos sp. Their morphology was investigated by
means of 3D laser scanner.
They are the first bovid tracks so far described for the region. There are skeletal records
of Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 from the Pleistocene of Apulia and Basilicata (Caloi &
Palombo, 1979; Crezzini, 2007; Pandolfi et al, 2011). An almost complete skeleton of this
extinct bovid was also found on a fluvial terrace, probably belonging to the Riss-Wurm
interglacial stage (Caldara, 1991), some tens of km away from the Spinazzola outcrop. Based
on these records, Bos primigenius could be tentatively assumed as the tracemaker of the
Spinazzola footprints.
Caldara M. (1991). Segnalazione di Bos primigenius Bojanus nei depositi terrazzati di Lamalunga (Bassa
Valle dell'Ofanto). Il Quaternario, 4(1b): 249-254.
Caloi L. & Palombo M.R. (1979). La fauna quaternaria di Venosa: Bovidi. Bollettino del Servizio
Geologico d’Italia, 100: 101-140.
Crezzini J. (2007). Studio sulla distribuzione delle tracce antropiche sui resti di ungulati del Gravettiano
antico di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, FG): il trattamento delle frazioni distali degli arti di Bos
primigenius. Annali dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara. Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, vol. spec.
2007: 11 pp.
Pandolfi L., Petronio C. & Salari L. (2011). Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 from the Early Late
Pleistocene deposit of Avetrana (Southern Italy) and the variation in size of the species in Southern Europe:
preliminary report. Journal of Geological Research, vol. 2011, 11 pp.
Pieri P., Sabato L., Tropeano M. (1996). Significato geodinamico dei caratteri deposizionali e strutturali
della Fossa Bradanica nel Pleistocene. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana, 51: 501-515.
60
MIDDLE-TRIASSIC PALYNOLOGICAL ANALYSES IN THE DOLOMITES AND
VALSUGANA AREA (SOUTHERN ALPS, ITALY)
Roghi G.*, Dal Corso J. **, Kustatscher E.***, Preto N. **, Gianolla P.****, Manfrin S.**,
Mietto P.**
*Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse CNR, via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy); [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy)
*** Museo di Scienze Naturali dell’Alto Adige, via Bottai 1, 39100 Bolzano (Italy)
****Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, via Saragat 1, 44100, Ferrara (Italy)
Integrated biostratigraphy with ammonoids and sporomorph has been carried out in
some Anisian and Ladinian sections of the Southern Alps (N-Italy) allowing the calibration of
the sporomorph assemblages with ammonoid zonation. Here we report the biostratigraphy of
the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Palus-San Marco section in the Dolomites and of the coeval Rio
dei Carrari and Val di Centa sections (Valsugana area, Trento).
The upper Anisian TrSM-A assemblage is marked by the co-occurrence of
Stellapollenites
thiergartii,
Dyupetalum
vicentinense,
Cristianisporites
triangolatus,
Staropollenites antonescui, and Ovalipollis spp., whereas the TrSM-B assemblage is
characterized by the first occurrence of Cannanoropollis scheuringii and the presence of
Cristatisaccus margaritatus, Microcachrydites sittleri, Infernopollenites parvus, Illinites
kosankei and other ornamentated spores. The boundary between the TrSM-A and TrSM-B
assemblages falls in the Ambata Formation, upper part of the reitzi ammonoid subzone
(Hungarites zone). The TrSM-A and TrSM-B assemblages have been compared and
correlated with other existing sporomorph biozonations for the northwestern Tethys,
Germanic Basin and the Barents Sea. The oldest occurrence of the Triassic genus Ovalipollis
is here identified.
Quantitative palynological analyses of the studied sections show a shift from
hygrophytic to xerophytic elements in the Anisian trinodosus-lower reitzi ammonoid
subzones. This change from humid to arid environment can be recognised in other coeval
sections in the northwestern Tethys (i.e. Hungary), but it seems to have preceded a similar
shift recorded in the Boreal realm.
61
GLI ULTIMI 2000 ANNI DI EVOLUZIONE DEL DELTA DEL TEVERE
ATTRAVERSO L’ANALISI MULTIDISCIPLINARE DEI SEDIMENTI DEL PORTO
DI TRAIANO (FIUMICINO, LAZIO)
Ruscito V.*, Pepe C.**, Mazzini I.***, Di Bella L.*, Sadori L.**, Mancini M.**, Giraudi
C.****
* Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università “La Sapienza” di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
* * Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università “La Sapienza” di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
***IGAG CNR Area della Ricerca di Roma RM 1 e Montelibretti, Via Salaria Km 29.300, C.P. 10, 00016 Monterotondo Stazione, Roma
**** ENEA C.R. Saluggia, strada per Crescentino, 41, 13040 Saluggia (VC);. [email protected]
L’evoluzione del delta del Tevere è di particolare interesse per la stretta relazione che
intercorre nell’area tra cambiamenti ambientali ed attività umane, in particolare durante
l’epoca romana. I cambiamenti in apporto sedimentario, le variazioni climatiche e, più
recentemente, le attività umane hanno giocato un ruolo fondamentale nello sviluppo del delta
soprattutto durante l’attuale “highstand” (Bellotti et alii, 2011; Mazzini et al. 2011). Essendo
il Tevere la via preferenziale di trasporto delle merci dal Mediterraneo a Roma, il delta è
anche ricco di resti dei bacini portuali Romani, come la città di Ostia, il cui porto naturale è
probabilmente il primo attracco a servizio di Roma, e la città di Portus con i due bacini
artificiali di Claudio e Traiano. La storia di questi due porti comincia nel 42 AD quando
l’imperatore Claudio ordina la costruzione di un porto artificiale. Circa 50 anni più tardi, il
destino del porto è compromesso dall’interramento e da una spaventosa tempesta che,
secondo Tacito, distrusse oltre 200 navi. Per queste ragioni, il successore di Claudio,
l’imperatore Traiano, decise di allargare il porto verso terra scavando un bacino esagonale. La
struttura ordinata da Traiano ha un’importanza paragonabile al Colosseo o al Palatino ed è il
più vasto sistema portuale dell’antichità ancora oggi intatto. Il bacino ospita uno spessore di
sedimenti di circa 5 m che costituiscono un archivio sedimentario degli ultimi 2000 anni.
Nel “lago di Traiano” sono stati effettuati 7 sondaggi, fino alla profondità di 4.5 m. Il
presente lavoro riguarda l’analisi multidisciplinare del sondaggio LT6, attraverso analisi
sedimentologiche e micropaleontologiche. In totale, sono stati analizzati 204 campioni per le
62
analisi micropaleontogiche e da questi sono stati prelevati ostracodi, foraminiferi e resti di
vegetali quali semi e legni. L’associazione ad ostracodi è costituita da 13 specie, con
Cyprideis torosa ed Heterocypris salina dominanti. L’associazione a foraminiferi è
oligotipica, dominata da Haynesina depressula. In generale, l’ambiente del lago di Traiano
evolve da una laguna interna con fasi a salinità iperalina, a uno stagno costiero caratterizzato
da fauna dulcicola o tollerante a salinità ridotte. Sono state evidenziate fasi in cui l’influenza
di acque dolci (fiume Tevere) era più forte e fasi invece in cui specie tipicamente marine
invadevano l’area (probabili tempeste).
I dati di suscettività magnetica e le curve di densità di specie caratteristiche di ostracodi
e foraminiferi, hanno permesso di evidenziare variazioni di apporto sedimentario, di salinità e
anche di profondità della lama d’acqua. La correlazione tra queste variazioni ed eventi
storicamente noti, quali ad esempio opere di bonifiche, aperture di canali di drenaggio e
inondazioni, ha permesso di datare indirettamente l’intero sondaggio e di distinguere eventi
naturali ed attività antropiche. Il sondaggio del Lago di Traiano costituisce un archivio
dettagliato che include l’Antropocene, sensu Certini & Scalenghe (2011) e come tale
rappresenta una opportunità unica per valutare l’attività umana come agente modificatore del
paesaggio dall’epoca romana ad oggi.
Bellotti P., Calderoni G., Rita F.D., D’Orefice M., D’Amico C., Esu D., Magri D., Martinez M.P., Tortora
P., Valeri P., 2011. The Tiber River Delta Plain (Central Italy): Coastal evolution and implications for the
Ancient Ostia roman settlement, The Holocene, 21: 1105–1116.
Certini G. & Scalenghe R. (2011). "Anthropogenic soils are the golden spikes for the Anthropocene". The
Holocene, 21 (8): 1269–74. doi:10.1177/0959683611408454
Mazzini I., Faranda C., Giardini M., Giraudi C., & Sadori L. (2011). Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental
evolution of the Roman harbour of Portus, Italy. Journal of Paleolimnology, 46(2): 243-256.
63
MACROEVOLUTIONARY EMERGENCE OF ONSHORE-OFFSHORE
GRADIENTS IN COMMUNITY TURNOVER
Tomasovych A.*, Dominici S.**, Zuschin M.
, Merle D.
* Geological Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84005 Bratislava, Slovakia; [email protected]
** Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italia; [email protected]
Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; [email protected]
Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 8, rue Buffon, F-75005, France; [email protected]
We compare marine molluscan paleoecological commmunity data (i.e., data composed
of species counts from multiple sample sites) from the Eocene and Pliocene-Pleistocene in
order to test for differences in compositional turnover through time in onshore versus offshore
environments. Previous work has indicated that taxa and evolutionary novelties are more
likely to first appear in onshore settings and then expand into offshore settings over geologic
timescales. Onshore environmental conditions are more variable in time (at a variety of
scales) and have steeper latitudinal environmental gradients than offshore settings.
We measure turnover at a <1 Myr timescale by comparing different environments from
a succession of depositional sequences in Eocene and Plio-Pleistocene basins, and evaluate
turnover at the >10 Myr timescale by comparing communities with shared genera and
families between the Eocene and the Plio-Pleistocene. Overall, we find that there is no
significant difference in turnover in four distinct depositional environments when compared
between sequences, from either the Eocene or the Plio-Pleistocene successions. However,
when comparing the composition of different communities from the Eocene and PlioPleistocene, there is much greater compositional dissimilarity in shallower/onshore habitats
than deeper/offshore habitats. This finding indicates that the difference in community
composition between the Eocene and the Plio-Pleistocene is not simply an extrapolation of
small, incremental changes that can be observed from sequence to sequence within a basin,
but rather, more likely reflect substantial environmental shifts that occur at timescales that are
not incorporated into species’ adaptive range. In addition, it indicates that onshore settings are
more compositionally volatile in terms of the lineages they incorporate than offshore settings.
64
We then evaluate onshore-offshore shifts in the occurrence of genera and families. We
find that Plio-Pleistocene taxa are more represented in onshore settings than the same taxa in
the Eocene. This finding implies that although onshore settings are more volatile
compositionally over 10s of Myr, the taxa they contain are more likely than not to have
immigrated from more offshore settings.
Lastly, using the frequency distributions of species per genus, we find that onshore
environments have higher relative genus origination rates and higher species extinction rates
than offshore environments in the Eocene, but not in the Plio-Pleistocene. We attribute the
differences between the Eocene, which was tropical, and the Plio-Pleistocene, which was
warm-temperate, to a higher proportion of bathymetric generalists in the younger timeslice. In
other words, the Eocene environmental gradient was steeper than that of the Plio-Pleistocene,
so differences in taxonomic composition and the nature of the turnover dynamic (origination
and extinction) are less extreme at opposite ends of the gradient.
Essentially, conditions in deep water were more similar during the two timeslices, so
there was less change; the long-term (10s of Myr) stability allowed deepwater stenotopes to
expand their environmental range into shallower environments.
65
IL CONTRIBUTO PALINOLOGICO ALLA RICOSTRUZIONE DEI
PALEOAMBIENTI E DELL’IMPATTO UMANO ALL’ISOLA D’ELBA DURANTE
IL MEDIO E TARDO OLOCENE: DATI E NUOVE STRATEGIE DI RICERCA
Toti F.*, Bertini A.*, Vivarelli M.*, Costagliola P.*, Benvenuti M.*, D’Orefice M.**, Foresi
L.M.***, Fedi M.****
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze;
**ISPRA, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Servizio Geologico d’Italia, Via Brancati, 60, 00144 Roma;
***Dipartimento di Scienze fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina, 8, 53100 Siena;
****INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, sezione di Firenze, Via Sansone, 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze)
I sondaggi geognostici realizzati nel 2011 da ISPRA nelle piane costiere dell’Elba
centro-meridionale (zona di Marina di Campo) e centro-settentrionale (Piana di San
Giovanni-Portoferraio) hanno permesso di ricostruire i cambiamenti ambientali e
vegetazionali avvenuti sull’isola durante l’Olocene medio e superiore. Le indagini svolte su
tre carote selezionate tra quelle prelevate comprendono analisi sedimentologiche,
paleontologiche (molluschi), micropaleontologiche (foraminiferi), palinologiche e datazioni
mediante il radiocarbonio, corredate da puntuali dati sui macroresti vegetali.
Nell’area di Marina di Campo, le porzioni di carote fertili da un punto di vista
paleontologico – quelle sommitali – sono composte prevalentemente da limi e argille di
ambiente lagunare-salmastro. Le analisi palinologiche, svolte con un’alta risoluzione
stratigrafica (in media 70-90 anni), documentano, unitamente alle altre associazioni
paleontologiche, l’impostazione di una laguna salmastra nel Golfo di Campo (il primo
episodio è datato a ~6500 anni cal. BP) e la sua scomparsa per interrimento. Fenomeno,
quest’ultimo, articolato in tempi diversi e conclusosi definitivamente a ~2100 anni cal. BP.
Dieci eventi aridi, alternati ad altrettante fasi più umide, sono stati registrati con cadenze,
durate e intensità irregolari durante l’intervallo di deposizione lagunare, e sono marcati dal
restringimento delle foreste miste a prevalenza di querce e dalla concomitante espansione
della vegetazione erbacea e di macchia bassa. L’episodio arido estremo sembra collocarsi
attorno a 4200 anni cal. BP, in corrispondenza della maggiore crisi di aridità globale
dell’Olocene. Alcuni caratteri dell’associazione palinologica (contenuto in micro-carboni,
abbondanza di marker antropogenici) suggeriscono, a partire da ~2500 anni cal. BP, la
66
presenza locale di insediamenti umani e l’inizio dell’influenza antropica sul paesaggio
vegetazionale attraverso il disboscamento e l’incendio. Tuttavia, la scarsa presenza di taxa
coltivati (ad es. Juglans, Vitis, Castanea) porta a escludere l’intenso sfruttamento agricolo del
territorio locale, dove probabilmente il maggiore impatto era legato alla raccolta di legname
necessario per le attività metallurgiche (civiltà etrusca). È quindi di estremo interesse e utilità
indagare i dettagli composizionali dei sedimenti analizzati, in modo da individuare eventuali
livelli arricchiti in micro-scorie o altri prodotti di lavorazione, al fine di stabilire una
correlazione con le fasi archeologiche conosciute per l’isola. Un set di analisi geochimiche su
campioni appositamente selezionati è stato programmato al fine di evidenziare le variazioni
nel contenuto in Fe, S e metalli in traccia (ad es. As, Pb, Co, Ni): tutti potenziali proxies
dell’attività metallurgica.
Nei pressi di S. Giovanni è stata recuperata una carota che documenta la porzione più
recente di Olocene. Essa registra, negli ultimi 5 metri, variazioni paleoambientali dal
medioevo fino al recente, nel contesto di un paesaggio fortemente antropizzato, come
attestano le discrete abbondanze di alcuni taxa legati ad attività agricole (cereali, Olea) e
ruderali (Plantago e Rumex). Tale sito è ubicato in un’area chiave per la sua vicinanza ad
insediamenti romani (alcuni in corso di scavo) e a depositi, talvolta affioranti, di scorie
metallurgiche della stessa epoca, segno evidente di una forte attività di produzione di metalli e
della presenza di forni di fusione. Lo studio multidisciplinare in corso è mirato a definire i
rapporti tra le attività umane avvenute negli ultimi tre millenni (in particolare l’industria di
scorificazione dei minerali ferrosi) e i cambiamenti paleoambientali in parte già evidenziati
dalle analisi micropaleontologiche e palinologiche.
67
HOMO ERECTUS DISPERSAL PATTERNS FOR “OUT OF AFRICA” MODEL I
Tsikaridze N.*, Rook L.**; Raia P.***, Lordkipanidze D.*****, Carotenuto F.***
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Università degli studi di Firenze via G. La Pira, 4 ,50121 Firenze; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Universita degli studi di Firenze via G. La Pira, 4 ,50121 Firenze; [email protected]
***Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli Federico II, Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138
Napoli; [email protected]
**** Georgian national museum, via A. Purtseladze, 3, 0105 Tbilisi; [email protected]
***** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli Federico II, Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli;
[email protected]
Before discoveries in Georgia and China, early evidence supported a relatively late
initial migration after about 1 Ma, consistently with the idea that for Homo erectus dispersal,
Acheulean technological innovation was decisive an aspect. Today, a wealth of available data
suggests that the first H. erectus dispersal out of Africa happened at least 1.9 Ma. If this is
correct, such an early dispersal may be better envisioned as driven more strongly by
biological and ecological factors (Leonard et al. 1999) than by technological breakthroughs
(Gabunia at al. 2002). At some 2 million years ago, when Homo first arose, the relationship
between humans and carnivores also began to change, slowly at the beginning but much faster
later. This process passed through strong environmental changes and faunal turnovers,
intermingled with major migrations of the Paleartic fauna. Now, there is a general agreement
that Homo erectus evolved in Africa, and then spread throughout Eurasia. Taking into account
the mosaic morphology of archaic and modern traits of hind limbs, such as increased length
for decreasing the energy cost of walking and running, it is evident that Homo erectus was
fully bipedal and was able to cover long distances (Ponzer et. Al. 2010). In this study we
aimed to understand the sinecological dynamics of the first hominine species dispersal out of
Africa into Eurasia. It is essential to assess which kind ecological scenario Homo erectus
dispersal took place into, and what were the most likely routes this ancestor of ours went
through.
We prepared a database of Pleistocene mammalian fossil localities, taken from the
literature, developing and fulfilling information from known web-based, accessible databases
that
are:
the
Paleodb
(www.fossilworks.org),
the
NOW
(http://www.helsinki.fi/science/now/) and the databases we published elsewhere.
68
database
As first step, we performed a geographical analysis for H. erectus distribution and
“movement” via the computation of a “preferred” route for the “Out of Africa” dispersal. To
draw routes, we simplified H. erectus historical patterns of geographical distribution
considering only by the most important steps, by computing a least-cost path route. A leastcost path is the minimum cost track that a species can walk through for minimizing energy
consumption, given a particular function for energy preservation. For H. erectus we computed
a least-cost path on the basis that this species should have avoided very high altitudes
territories to disperse throughout Eurasia.
Additionally, we involved large mammals in this “Out of Africa” scenario. We drew for
carnivores and herbivores species separately, a probability map of large mammal abundance
trough the Indicator Kringing method, using automap package of statistical software R
(CRAN). To perform indicator Kringing we first divided Homo erectus dispersal in two
waves: the first from Africa toward Asia from 2.0 to 1.5 Ma and the second from Asia minor
to Europe from 1.5 to 1.0 MA. For each wave we performed separately carnivorous and
herbivorous species abundance analysis to understand what a relationship (if any) there was
between humans and animals (separately to each taxon) during dispersal.
According to Homo erectus dispersal least-cost distance and route calculation, during
the Early Pleistocene the easiest way to get out of Africa was so called “Sinai bridge”. In Asia
the uplift of the Himalayan plateau played as a barrier stretching the direction of dispersal
passage towards south-east and east Asia. There in East Asia the route splits into different
directions and become more complicated. Following computed probability maps, the dispersal
of Homo erectus out of Africa was directly connected with high probability of encountering
large herbivorous species. On the opposite, humans and carnivores were avoiding each other.
It is currently believed that the presence of humans didn’t have profound effect on herbivore
populations until very recently. Conversely, as we see in our maps, humans had a strong
influence on the distribution of carnivores and/or vice versa during the early Pleistocene,
either by means of interference of competitive exclusion.
The emergence of grassland about 5-2 Ma may had very important consequences for
Homo dispersal, but since dispersal spread over quite different environments, we argue that if
early Homo used a greater range of habitats, or more variable habitats, a culture would have
allowed these hominins to process and consume foods that would have been otherwise
unavailable. Perhaps H. erectus was the first hominin which left Africa because it was the
first with sufficient dietary versatility to allow it to do so (Ungar, 2013). Unfortunately
69
present day information is insufficient to reconstruct real image of this processes but it is a
good developing tendencies for future research of dispersal.
Gabunia L., S. C. Anton; D. Lordkipanidze, A. Vekua, A. Justus and C.C. Swisher III (2001). Dmanisi
and Dispersal; Evolutionary Anthropology 10(5):158–170
Pontzer H., Rolian C., Rightmire G.P., Jashashvili T., Ponce de León M.S., Lordkipanidze D., Zollikofer
C.P.. (2010). Journal of Human evolution Locomotor anatomy and biomechanics of the Dmanisi hominins;
58(6):492-504
Leonard W.R., Anton S.C., Robertson M.R. (1999). An ecomorphological model for the dispersal of H.
erectus. ; American Journal of Physical Anthropology 43(6):773-85.
Ungar P. S., Grine F. E., and. Teaford M. F (2006). Diet in Early Homo:A Review of the Evidence and a
New Model of Adaptive Versatility; Annual Review Anthropology 35(1):209-228.
70
I CORALLI PLEISTOCENICI DI GALLINA (REGGIO CALABRIA, ITALIA
MERIDIONALE)
Vazzana A.*, Vertino A.**, La Perna R.***
*Ass.-Museo di Biologia Marina e Paleontologia di Reggio Calabria (MBMPRC), via Str. prima Giuffrè 32, 89122 Reggio Calabria;
[email protected]; www.museopaleomarino.org.
** Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche e Geotecnologia, Università Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 4, 20126 Milano;
[email protected]
*** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari;
[email protected]
Nella ricerca in Calabria delle località tipo e delle faune plio-pleistoceniche citate
nell’enciclopedico lavoro di Giuseppe Seguenza (1879) (Le Formazioni Terziarie nella
provincia di Reggio Calabria), è stato individuato, nell’attuale periferia S-E di Reggio
Calabria in località Gallina, il livello pleistocenico a “facies misto” in cui Seguenza aveva
riscontrato 497 taxa di cui 187 che definisce “speciali” e, tra queste, 300 Mollusca e 5
Antozoa.
Questa nota riguarda il gruppo faunistico dell’ordine Cnidaria riscontrato in un livello
sedimentario a sabbie fini argillose spesso circa 20 cm, corrispondente alla facies altamente
fossilifera descritta da Seguenza (1879). Gli esemplari raccolti e studiati appartengono a 12
specie, undici dell’ordine Scleractinia ed una della classe Hydrozoa. Quest’ultima è
rappresentata dallo Stylasteridae Errina aspera, oggi vivente esclusivamente su substrati duri
in aree con forti correnti, come lo Stretto di Messina e lo Stretto di Gibilterra. La maggior
parte degli esemplari di Scleractinia è invece ascrivibile a specie solitarie, tipiche di substrati
mobili, attualmente viventi in Mediterraneo e/o in Atlantico nord-orientale. Tra queste specie,
la più abbondante è Balanophyllia irregularis, attualmente vivente solo in alcuni settori del
Mediterraneo occidentale, a profondità comprese tra 80 e circa 300 m. Specie relativamente
comuni nel livello fossilifero di Gallina sono anche Conotrochus typus, Flabellum laciniatum,
Caryophyllia polymorpha e Paracyathus arcuatus, taxa apparentemente estinti in
Mediterraneo alla fine del Pleistocene (Vertino 2003, Vertino et al. 2014) ma ancora viventi
in Atlantico nord-orientale. Le altre specie riscontrate sono piuttosto rare ed alcune tra queste
sembrano essere rimaneggiate da depositi più antichi.
71
Nel complesso, i taxa che compongono l’associazione a coralli studiata sono ascrivibili
a diversi ambienti deposizionali: circalitorale, circalitorale-batiale o prettamente batiale.
Nonostante l’ottimo stato di preservazione della maggior parte degli esemplari, almeno alcune
specie sembrano essere state risedimentate o rimaneggiate nelle sabbie fini argillose di
Gallina.
Seguenza G. (1863). Disquisizioni paleontologiche intorno ai corallari fossili delle rocce terziarie del
distretto di Messina. Mem Reale Accad Sci Torino, Cl Sci Fis Mat, ser. 2, 21: 399-560.
Vertino A. (2003) Sclerattiniari plio-pleistocenici ed attuali del Mediterraneo. Unpublished
PhD thesis, Messina Univ, 306 pp.
Vertino A., Stolarski J., Taviani M., Bosellini F. (2014). Chapter 14. Mediterranean Corals: from Miocene
to Recent. In Goffredo S., Dubinsky Z. The Mediterranean Sea: Its History and Present Challenges. Springer,
257-274.
72
PERMIAN CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF CENTRAL IRAN
Vuolo I., Balini M., Nicora A.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “Ardito Desio”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano;
[email protected]
Permian period was full of drastic changes in paleoclimate and paleogeography: this
results in a great provincialism in flora and fauna and consequently causes problems in
biostratigraphical correlations. In the Lower Permian, during the assemblage of
supercontinent Pangea, some microcontinents broke off form the northern margin of
Gondwana and started to move northward for all the Permian and the Triassic colliding with
the southern margin of Laurasia, as a result of the opening of Neothethys and closure of
Paleotethys. This microcontinents were called Cimmerian Blocks and represent a very
important
study
area
for
paleogeography,
paleoclimatology,
biostratigraphy
and
paleoecology.
Central Iran was one of this Cimmerian Blocks and its peculiar geological evolution led
to a complex and fascinating evolution of faunal association of this area. During Permian
three major paleobioprovinces was detected for the marine environment. The Northern Cool
Water Province (NCWP) to the north, the Equatorial Warm Water Province (EWWP) and the
Peri-Gondwana Cool Water Province (PGCWP) to the south.
Transitional zones are very rare and Central Iran (as other Cimmerian terranes like
Tajikistan) is one of them. Due to their wide distribution conodonts are a key-group for
biostratigraphy and to make correlations among different provinces.
Within DARIUS Project several sections were studied (collecting sedimentological,
paleomagnetical, paleoecological and biostratigraphic data) in Central Iran. One of them is the
Bagh-e-Vangh section, North of Tabas which is very rich in conodonts. Its age ranges from
Lower (Asselian) to Middle Permian (Late Wordian/ Lower Capitanian) and the conodont
assemblages are very important for correlations among cold and warm bioprovinces.
Particularly interesting is the Streptognathodus/ Sweetognathus assemblage occurring at the
base of the section which show the Asselian/ Sakmarian faunal change.
In the upper portion of the section, the Mesogondolella assemblage of Late
Wordian/Lower Capitanian shows strong affinity with the coeval SE Pamir fauna, confirming
73
paleogeographical reconstruction of displacements of the two Cimmerian Blocks based on
paleomagnetical data.
74
RIASSUNTI POSTER
75
FISH OTOLITHS FROM THE MESSINIAN OF ZAKYNTHOS ISLAND (IONIAN
SEA, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN)
Agiadi K.*, Karakitsios V.*, Antonarakou A.*, Kontakiotis G.*, Kafousia N.*
* Department of Historical Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens, Panepistimioupolis 15784, Athens, Greece; [email protected]
The teleost fish otoliths, found in the Messinian pre-evaporitic sequence of Kalamaki
area on Zakynthos Island (eastern Ionian Sea) are herein identified. Kalamaki section is
located in the south-eastern coast of Zakynthos Island, on the eastern edge of Laganas coast.
The section begins with massive and laminated marls, slumped and folded upwards, followed
by a thick evaporitic unit, incorporating six cycles, and a transitional clastic formation leading
to the “trubi” carbonate formation on the top of the section.
Biostratigraphic analysis of this pre-evaporitic sequence indicated that the stratigraphic
interval below the gypsum units may be attributed to the late Messinian. Turborotalita
multiloba is very abundant and dominates the assemblages from the base of the section, along
with Neogloboquadrina acostaensis dextral coiling specimens. Sinistral coiled specimens of
N. acostaensis are very rare, indicating that the base of the section may be placed within the
MMi 13c Turborotalita multiloba interval Zone, dated above the age of 6.36 Ma. The
recognized bioevents, such as the influxes of Globorotalia scitula gr. and sinistral coiled N.
acostaensis, indicate that the pre-evaporitic sequence of Kalamaki area ranges up to 6.0 Ma.
Overall seventeen teleost fish taxa may be identified, from bulk samples obtained
throughout the lower and upper part of Kalamaki section, including the ‘trubi’ formation, as
well as in each of the marl beds in between the evaporite sequence. The lower part of the
section yielded the most significant findings, namely Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus,
1758), Maurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1789), Vinciguerria poweriae (Cocco, 1838),
Ceratoscopelus maderensis (Lowe, 1839), Diaphus befralai Brzobohaty and Nolf, 2000,
Diaphus cavallonis Brzobohaty and Nolf, 2000, Diaphus cf. pedemontanus Robba, 1970,
Diaphus rafinesquii (Cocco, 1838), Diaphus rubus Girone et al. 2010, Diaphus taaningi
Norman, 1930, Myctophum coppa Girone et al. 2010, Physiculus aff. huloti Polli, 1953,
Gadiculus argenteus Guichenot, 1850, Gadiculus labiatus (Schubert, 1905), Lepidopus sp.
and Bothidae indet.
76
The Messinian Kalamaki area presents a well diversified fauna, comprising both
abundant pelagic and benthic-benthopelagic fish. The continuous presence of gobiids and the
occurrence of Bothidae suggest rather shallow water depths before the onset of gypsum
deposition. The tropical benthopelagic species Physiculus aff. huloti indicates rather small
depths, while the great number of Diaphus species and specimens, as well as the presence of
gadids show that the area was not secluded, and depths certainly greater than 50 may be
expected. However, Maurolicus muelleri is continuously present in great abundances. Thus a
paleodepth around 300 m seems more likely for the basal sequence of Kalamaki section.
Very significant may be the record, in Kalamaki samples, of euryhaline Engraulis
encrasicolus, which is very abundant today in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The
presence thus of E. encrasicolus at this basal level may indicate that the major
paleoenvironmental perturbation had not yet taken place.
Acknowledgements. This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF)
and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: THALIS – UOA – “Messinian Salinity
Crisis: the greatest Mediterranean environmental perturbation and its repercussions to the biota”.
77
BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSIL CHANGES AT THE
PALEOCENE EOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM OF SITE 1266C (WALWIS RIDGE,
SOUTH ATLANTIC).
Angori E., * Monechi S.*
*
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via LaPira, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy
During the last two decades many studies have been achieved on the response of
calcareous nannofossils at the PETM, a transient (∼170 kyr) global warming event, associated
with a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The onset of this global carbon isotope
excursion has been chosen to define the marker event of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.
Ocean Drilling Program Leg 208 (Walwis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic Ocean) recovered
continuous PETM intervals at five sites along a transect of 2.2 km. Site 1266 represents one
of the mid-depth sites and yields one of the most continuous and relatively expanded
Paleocene/Eocene boundary. Site 1266 has been drilled on the flank of the Walvis Ridge at
3798 water depth.The onset of the CIE is marked by a clay layer, resulting from the CCD rise
(Zachos et al. 2005).
This study presents the results of a high-resolution analysis on calcareous nannoflora
across the PETM of ODP Site 1266. Our aims are to document the succession of the events
and the variability in the structure of the calcareous nannofossil communities during this
hyperthermal event. An interval of ca 3 meters across the PETM has been investigated with
a sample spacing that varies from 1cm to 3cm. Semiquantitative and quantitative analyses
have been performed for index species and very rare species (Biscutum, Discoaster,
Fasciculithus, Rhomboaster, Thoracosphaera, Zygrablithus) in a preselected area for a length
raw of 10-31 mm. Quantitative analyses have been carried out following the methodology of
Bralower (2002).
The results of counting show several distinct biostratigraphic marker events, which
characterize different phases before, during and after the PETM. The succession of these
biohorizons, comprises calcareous nannoplankton origination events and environmental
changes. At Site 1266 a Carbon Dissolution Interval (CDI) is present and it marked by a
severe decrease of
the calcareous nannofossil content. Few specimens of deformed
discoasterids have been found at the CIE onset. The increases in abundance of Discoaster,
Fasciculithus and Zygrhrablithus reflect rise of temperature, dissolution and trophic changes.
78
Bralower T.J. (2002). Evidence of surface water oligotrophy during the Paleocene-Eocene termal
maximum: Nannofossil assemblage data from Ocean Drilling Program Site 690, Maud Rise, Weddell Sea.
Paleoceanography, 17(2): 1023
Zachos J. C., Röhl U., Schellenberg S. A., Sluijs A., Hodell D. A., Kelly D. C.,Thomas E., Nicolo M.,
Raffi I., Lourens L. J., McCarren H. & Kroon D. (2005). Rapid acidification of the ocean during the Paleocene–
Eocene thermal maximum. Science 308: 1611–1615.
79
PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL AND PALAEOCLIMATIC APPROACH TO THE
HEINRICH EVENT 1 FROM MIRADOR CAVE (SIERRA DE ATAPUERCA,
BURGOS, SPAIN)
Bañuls-Cardona S.*, López-García J.M. *, Cuenca-Bescós G. **, Vergés J.M. ***
* Gruppo di Ricerca di Paleobiologia e Preistoria, Università di Ferrara, Ercole I d’Este 32, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy;
**Área de Paleontología, Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza. C/ Pedro Cerbuna 12, E-50009
Zaragoza, Spain; [email protected]
***IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, C/Escorxador s/n, E- 43003 Tarragona, Spain . Àrea de Prehistòria,
Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, E-43002 Tarragona, Spain;. [email protected]
The Mirador cave is located in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Ibeas de Juarros, Burgos,
Spain). This site represents an extensive archaeo-paleontological sequence extending from the
latest Pleistocene to the ancient Holocene (Vergès et al., 2002; Angelucci et al., 2009). In this
paper we have studied the latest Pleistocene levels, MIR50 and MIR51. In MIR51 was
documented an anthropic hearth, from which some charcoals were taken for radiocarbon
AMS dating, showing an age for this level between 13488± 112 (BETA-220915) and
13383±112 (Cal Pal 2007 HULU). Using the systematic paleontological method, we
identified 10 small mammal taxa, pertaining to 105 bone remains in both levels: Crocidura
russula, Sorex gr. coronatus-araneus, Myotis myotis-blythi, Miniopterus schreibersii,
Chionomys nivalis, Microtus oeconomus, Microtus agrestis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus
(Terricola) duodecimcostatus, Apodemus sylvaticus (Cuenca-Bescós et al. 2008; LópezGarcía, 2008).
These taxa have been analyzed using the Habitat weighting method (Andrews, 2006
modified by Blain et al., 2008, López-García et al., 2011b). This method consists in distribute
each taxon according to their habitat requirements. This analysis allow us to observe a rapid
woodland development (50% in MIR50 y 58.7% in MIR51) and a slighty increase of moisture
in the landscape from MIR51 to MIR50.
Moreover, our taxa have been distributed in their respective chorotypes according to
their climatic requirements (López-García et al., 2010). In the case of MIR50, the 75% of the
identified taxa belongs to the chorotype 3 (strictly and not so strictly Mediterranean
requirements) and the 25% belongs to the chorotype 1 (Euro-Siberian requirements). On the
other hand, in MIR51, the 80.6% of the identified taxa belonging to the chorotype 1, the
80
16.1% belongs to the chorotype 3 and 3.2% belongs to the chorotype 2 (Euro-Siberian
species tolerant to Mediterranean conditions).
The palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatical data obtained with the small mammal
assemblage show that the level MIR51 may be probably related with a cool moment from the
end of the latest Pleistocene. Taking into account, the absolute dating for this level, this
moment could be corresponds to the Heinrich Event 1 (H1). This event, dated between 14,000
to 16,000 years BP, is globally characterized for being a generally cold moment, as detected
at the level MIR51, but with small peaks of climatic amelioration, as it is detected in the level
MIR50.
Andrews P. (2006). Taphonomic effects of faunal impoverishment and faunal mixing. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 241 (3-4): 572-589.
Angelucci D.E., Boschian G., Fontanals M., Pedrotti A. & Vergès J.M. (2009). Shepherds and karst: the
use of caves and rock-shelters in the Mediterranean region during the Neolithic. World Archaeology, 41 (2): 191214.
Blain H.-A., Bailon S. & Cuenca-Bescós G. (2008). The Early-Middle Pleistocene palaeoenvironmental
change based on the squamate reptile and amphibian proxy at the Gran Dolina site, Atapuerca, Spain.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 261 (1-2) : 177-192.
Cuenca-Bescós G., González Morales M. R. & García Pimienta J. C. (2008). Paleoclima y paisaje del
final del cuaternario en Cantabria: los Pequeños mamíferos de la cueva del Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria).
Revista Española de Paleontología, 23 (1): 91-126.
López-García J.M. (2008). Evolución de la diversidad taxonómica de los micromamíferos en la Península
Ibérica y cambios Paleoambientales durante el Pleistoceno Superior. Ph. D. thesis, Universitat Rovira i Virgili,
Tarragona, 407 p.
López-García, J. M., Blain, H.-A., Allué, E., Bañuls, S., Bargalló, A., Martín, P., Morales, J. I., Pedro,
M., Rodriguez, A., Solé, A., Oms, F. X. (2010). First fossil evidence of an “interglacial refugium” in the
Pyrenean region. Naturwissenschaften 97: 753–761.
López-García J.M., Cuenca-Bescós G., Finlayson C., Brown K. & Giles Pacheco F. (2011).
Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic proxies of the Gorham’s cave small mammal sequence, Gibraltar,
southern Iberia. Quaternary International, 243 (1): 137-142.
Vergès J.M., Allué E., Angelucci D.E., Cebrià A., Díez C., Fontanals M., Manyanós A., Montero S.,
Moral S., Vaquero M. & Zaragoza J. (2002). La Sierra de Atapuerca durante el Holoceno: datos preliminares
sobre las ocupaciones de la Edad del Bronce en la Cueva de El Mirador (Ibeas de Juarros, Burgos). Trabajos de
Prehistoria, 59 (1): 107-126.
81
RESTAURO DI UN REPERTO CON RESTI DI TARTARUGA DEL MIOCENE
SUPERIORE DEL BACINO DI BACCINELLO-CINIGIANO (GROSSETO)
Bartolini S.*, Cirilli O.*, Depaoli A.*, Landucci F.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via La Pira 4; [email protected]
Tra le varie metodologie del restauro di materiale paleontologico, questa comunicazione
presenta gli interventi che hanno permesso il restauro di un reperto contenente resti
appartenenti a uno o più esemplari di tartaruga rinvenuti nei pressi di Baccinello (GR).
Il fossile è stato recuperato dal bacino neoautoctono di Baccinello-Cinigiano, in
sedimenti che hanno restituito la associazione faunistica detta V0 (Engesser 1983) e affioranti
lungo il Fosso della Fittaia. Questa parte della successione è riferita al Miocene superiore,
(MN 11, Turoliano; Engesser 1983, 1989).
Il reperto analizzato è incluso in un sedimento di contesto deposizionale fluvio-lacustre
(Benvenuti et al. 2001), composto da argille in una matrice marnosa, più competente e più
resistente alla rottura rispetto alle prime. L’analisi mineralogica del sedimento ha evidenziato
la presenza di Quarzo (SiO2), Calcite (CaCO3) ed Oligonite [Fe(Mn,Zn)(CO3)2]; con la stessa
analisi diffrattometrica effettuata in un campione del fossile, sono stati individuati Quarzo
(SiO2), Goetite (Fe2O3∙H2O), Calcite (CaCO3), Oligonite [Fe(Mn,Zn)(CO3)2] e Fluorapatite
[Ca5(PO4)3F]. Questi risultati indicano che esiste una certa uniformità tra la roccia inglobante
e i resti fossili.
Inizialmente, il reperto si presentava scomposto in più parti, i frammenti di ossa e delle
placche del piastrone erano disposti su piani diversi, e solo in pochi punti era possibile vedere
una precisa connessione anatomica tra i vari elementi.
Lo scopo del restauro è stato quindi quello di porre il reperto nella miglior condizione
possibile per poter essere studiato, e il lavoro di restauro ha compreso cinque fasi: pulitura,
consolidamento, ricomposizione, integrazione e verniciatura.
La prima fase è stata la pulitura, operazione delicata in quanto irreversibile, che consiste nella
rimozione e asportazione del sedimento che ricopre il fossile, attraverso l’utilizzo di
un’applicazione meccanica ad aria compressa che genera delle vibrazioni; segue il
consolidamento delle singole parti, attraverso l’utilizzo di prodotti e materiali reversibili, e
82
l’adesione di parti degradate al substrato sano, dando così una maggiore compattezza al
fossile. La ricomposizione avviene tramite incollaggio delle parti disgiunte, dopo averle
ricollocate nella loro corretta posizione originale; a questa fa seguito l’integrazione, per
colmare lacune e discontinuità presenti sul reperto ed assicurargli maggiore stabilità nel
tempo; come ultima procedura è stata effettuata una verniciatura al reperto.
Queste operazioni hanno permesso di evidenziare la morfologia delle singole parti
scheletriche e di quelle del piastrone, in modo da portare il pezzo nello stato ottimale per uno
studio tassonomico e paleontologico.
Benvenuti M., Papini M. & Rook L. (2001). Mammal biochronology, UBSU and paleoenvironment
evolution in a post-collisional basin; evidence from the late Miocene Baccinello Cinigiano Basin in southern
Tuscany, Italy. Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana, 120 (1): 97-118.
Engesser B. (1983). Die jungertertiären Kleinsäuger des gebietes der Maremma (Toskana, Italien). I teil:
Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia). Eclogae Geologica Helvetica. 76: 763-780.
Engesser B. (1989). The Late Tertiary small mammals of the Maremma region (Tuscany, Italy). II Part:
Muridae and Cricetidae (Rodentia, Mammalia). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 29: 227-252.
83
THE DIFFUSION OF BOS PRIMIGENIUS IN THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE IN
EUROPE: EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN FOSSIL RECORD
Bellucci L.**, Patrizi G.* , Rubinato G.*, Sardella R.**
*
Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, via Ercole I d'Este 34 – 45120- Ferrara
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5 - 00185 Roma; [email protected]
In the early Middle Pleistocene Italian sites the occurrence of large bovids has been
documented. The fossil evidence are fragmentary and incomplete, mostly represented by
isolated teeth and metapodials. Traditionally these remains were assigned to primitive bisons
and aurochs. Ambrosetti et al. (1972) referred to Bos primigenius a hemimandible from Ponte
Galeria Fm (Roma) and this attribution had been considered the earliest occurrence of the
aurochs in Europe for a long time. Petronio and Sardella (1998) in describing the new species
“Bos” galerianus on the basis of a partial skull at Casal Selce (Roma, early Middle
Pleistocene levels, approx. 0.7 Ma, “Ponte Galeria Formation”) pointed out that no evidence
of Bos primigenius could be found in the “Ponte Galeria Formation” and, therefore, the
biochronology of the diffusion of aurochs in Europe had to be reconsidered. Later on
Martínez-Navarro and Palombo (2004) reassigned the Casal Selce bovid to the genus
Hemibos, a Pliocene taxon previously known only in Asia.
Bellucci and Sardella (2012) put in evidence that the early Middle Pleistocene bovids
from Italy are represented by bisons and bubaline bovids, and metapodials previously referred
to Bos primigenius probably have to be readdressed to Hemibos galerianus or to closely
related forms. Due to the fragmentary nature of the fossil record, the taxonomy of the
European Hemibos is based on cranial remains morphology, but the revision of the large
bovid limb bones will provide a more detailed framework. An African origin for the genus
Bos has been recently claimed by Martínez Navarro et al. (2010). Moreover the occurrence of
a skull of Bos primigenius dated to about 0,7 Ma at Wadi Sarrat (Tunisia) seems to provide
further evidence to the hypothesis that the diffusion of the aurochs in Europe took place
during the Middle Pleistocene, possibly related to the spread of humans with Mode 2 tools
(Martínez Navarro et al. 2014). Evidence of the auroch is documented in the Roma area in the
Middle Pleistocene “San Cosimato Formation” and in almost coeval site of Fontana Ranuccio
84
(Anagni basin, central Italy). In addition early Bos primigenius remains can be considered
those from Valdemino (Savona, NW Italy) and Visogliano (Trieste, NE Italy).
In order to clarify taxonomy, biochronology and dispersals of bovids in sourthern
Europe, we present here data on the most important early Middle to the Late Pleistocene sites
with bovid remains of Italy.
Ambrosetti P, Azzaroli A, Bonadonna FP, and Follieri M (1972) A scheme of Pleistocene chronology for
the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy. Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana, 91: 169–184.
Bellucci and Sardella (2012). Long before mozzarella. RiassuntiGiornate di Paleontologia XII edizione –
Catania, 24-26 Maggio 2012.
Martínez-Navarro B. & Palombo M.R., 2004. Occurrence of Indian genus Hemibos (Bovini, Bovidae,
Mammalia) at the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in Italy. Quaternary Research, 61(3), 314-317.
Martínez-Navarro B., Rook L., Papini M., Libsekal Y. (2010). A new species of bull from the Early
Pleistocene paleoanthropological site of Buia (Eritrea): Parallelism on the dispersal of the genus Bos and the
Acheulian culture. Quaternary International, 212 (2010): 169–175.
Martínez-Navarro B., Karoui-Yaakoub N., Oms O., Amri L., López-García J.M., Zerai K., Blain H.-A,
Mtimet M.-S., Espigares M.-P, Haj Ali N. B., Ros-Montoya S., Boughdiri M., Agustí J., Khayati-Ammar H.,
Maalaoui K., Om El Khir M., Sala R., Othmani A., Hawas R., Gómez-Merino G., Solè À., Carbonell E.,
Palmqvist P. (in press, 2014 online). The early Middle Pleistocene archeopaleontological site of Wadi Sarrat
(Tunisia) and the earliest record of Bos primigenius. Quaternary Science Reviews, 90: 37-46.
Petronio C., Sardella R. (1998). Bos galerianus n. sp. (Bovidae, Mammalia) from the Ponte Galeria
Formation (Rome, Italy). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, 5: 269– 284.
85
TRIDENTINOSAURUS IS BACK.
BEGINNING A COMPLETE REEXAMINATION OF THE OLDEST REPTILE OF
THE ALPS
Bernardi M.1,2, Kearns S.2, Zorzi F.3, Lorenzetti A.4, Fornasiero M.5
1
MUSE – Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3 , 38123 Trento, Italy; [email protected]
2
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, U; [email protected]
3
Dipartimento Di Geoscienze Università di Padova, via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy; [email protected]
4
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Padova, via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy; [email protected]
5
Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Padova, via Giotto 1, 35121 Padova, Italy; [email protected]
Being Early Permian in age, Tridentinosaurus antiquus Leonardi 1959 is one of the
oldest Italian fossil vertebrate and one of the very few skeletal remains of this age. It is
represented by a single specimen found in 1931 near Stramaiolo (Altopiano di Pinè, Trento
Province, NE Italy) within a sedimentary intercalation of the Athesian Volcanic Group (AVG;
Avanzini et al., 2010). Although never studied in detail, the specimen has been referred by
different authors to various reptiles such as “lacertids” (Dal Piaz, 1932), araeoscelids
(Leonardi, 1950) and protorosaurs (Dalla Vecchia, 1997). However the peculiar style of
fossilization, with skeletal anatomy not directly visible and outline of the body (possible softtissue) being the best preserved part, did not facilitate the study of the specimen. Furthermore,
although cited in nearly all accounts of Italian fossil vertebrates (e.g., Altichieri, 1980; Dalla
Vecchia, 2000; Nicosia, 2005), the specimen has never been properly studied, neither from a
stratigraphic (age), sedimentological (environment), nor taphonomic or anatomical point of
view. Integrating the use of new techniques of investigation with the classical methods of
analysis may solve the numerous, still open, controversies regarding Tridentinosaurus. A new
multidisciplinary project has just begun, unrevealing the nature of this mysterious specimen.
Given that no locality of origin was available from museum archives, several Lower
Permian localities in the Trentino Alto Adige region were surveyed. This allowed to gain a
more precise picture of the palaeoenvironment in which the reptile lived, and to precisely
pinpoint the original site. Standard petrographic analysis and elemental analysis through
Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) allowed identification of structures and mineral
phases of the specimen-bearing slab and of other specimens both from historical museum
collections and from newly sampled horizons within the AVG. Furthermore, the specimen
86
was studied using different methods of analysis that include UV fluorescence, and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM). Chemical-physical analyses (Raman spectroscopy and Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, FTIR) were performed in order to analyse the composition
and the degree of preservation of the soft tissues and to identify restoring activities that could
have altered the original anatomical detail.
The first results reveal that the supposed “tuff layers” which would have imbedded the
specimen (Dal Piaz, 1932) do not contain ash or other pyroclastic products. Some regions of
the “body outline” preserve fine details of the soft tissue (e.g., scales) and, possibly, skeletal
parts underneath (e.g., axial skeleton, hind limbs). Some other regions appear to be highly, if
not completely, artefact. The first instrumental analysis highlighted also the near-impossibility
to recover an original chemical composition from the tissues as their signal appears to have
been altered by the massive “protective” treatments (varnishes, glues) used in the past to
consolidate the specimen.
Altichieri L. (1980). Il Tridentinosauro. In Aa. Vv., Vertebrati fossili italiani. Catalogo della Mostra. pp.
49-50, Verona.
Avanzini M. et al. (2010). Note Illustrative della Carta Geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50000, Foglio 060
Trento, ISPRA Servizio geologico d'Italia.
Dalla Vecchia F.M. (1997). Mesozoic amphibia and reptilia stored at the museum of paleontology of the
university of padua. Natura Nascosta, 15: 34-43.
Dalla Vecchia M. (2000). I reperti ossei dei tetrapodi continentali Paleozoici e Mesozoici in Italia. In
Leonardi G. & Mietto P. (ed.) Dinosauri in Italia. Le orme giurassiche dei Lavini di Marco (Trentino) e gli altri
resti fossili italiani, pp. 321-335. Accademia Editoriale, Pisa-Roma.
Dal Piaz G.B. (1932). Scoperta degli avanzi di un rettile (lacertide) nei tufi compresi entro i porfidi
quarziferi permiani del Trentino. Atti della Società Italiana per il Progresso delle Scienze, XX riunione, pp. 280281.
Leonardi P. (1950). Stratigrafia e geologia storica. In Dal Piaz GB, Corso di geologia per allievi dei corsi
di laurea in Scienze naturali, Scienze geologiche e Scienze biologiche, 2 vol. 341 pp., CEDAM, Padova.
Nicosia U. et al. (2005). I vertebrati continentali del Paleozoico e Mesozoico. In Bonfiglio L. (ed.)
Paoleontologia del Vertebrati in Italia – Evoluzione biologica, significato ambientale e paleogeografia. Memorie
del Museo Civico di Storia naturale di Verona, II serie, sez., Sci. Terra, 6: 41-60.
87
PALYNOLOGICAL APPLICATION IN THE STUDY OF A HUMAN OCCUPATION
CAVE DURING THE BRONZE AGE IN SARDINIA (WESTERN
MEDITERRANEAN)
Buosi C.*, Pittau P.*, Paglietti G. **, Scanu G. G.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Via Trentino 51, 09127 Cagliari; [email protected];
** Dipartimento di Storia, Beni culturali e Territorio, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, P.zza Arsenale 1, 09100 Cagliari; [email protected]
Palynological analysis was carried out into different layers of a cave in southern
Sardinia (Italy) in which human occupation has been attested during the Early Bronze Age
(EBA) and Middle Bronze Age (MBA). The palynological and archaeobotanical analysis of
the cave sediments has enabled to explore the subsistence of the community that inhabited the
cave. It has been also possible to obtain additional information about the use of the cave. It is
possible to hypothesize that the studied site was used occasionally during the EBA, as
evidenced by the pollen content and the absence of fruits and seeds, as a shelter for animals
and as a place of recovery for shepherds. In the MBA, the pollen assemblage and the
archaeological remains found in the deposits like fragments of pottery, burnt bones (Prolagus,
pork and birds), sea-urchin shells (Paracentrotus lividus) besides molluscs, obsidian
instruments, large amounts of carbonized seeds and some centimetric slags, indicate a
continued human presence related to rural (cultivation, storage) and domestic activities
(ceramic, metallurgy). During the MBA, the human group that inhabited this cave practiced
agriculture and carried out domestic activities (food preparation, storage, metal work). This
community had a plant diet based on the consumption of cereals, legumes and wild fruits like
figs. Whereas, the sheep farming was documented in the EBA by the presence in the sediment
of coprophilous fungi belonging to Sordariaceae. During the permanent occupation of the
cave, climate and vegetation around the site were similar to present day. The pollen spectra
are dominated by Iridaceae, Liliaceae, Poaceae and Caryophyllaceae, while the arboreal/shrub
component is slight minority and represented by Ericaceae (Arbutus and Erica), Fagaceae
(Quercus), Cupressaceae (Juniperus) and Pinaceae (Pinus). The composition of the pollen
grain assemblages indicate the presence of an open area around the site and shady glades and
shrubland, which also fit with the presence of Cyperaceae and Selaginellaceae. The
88
herbaceous dominance is also coherent with climatic strong seasonality and land use by
human occupation. The minority presence of pollen grains that are representative of arboreal
plants could suggest also in Sardinia during the MBA a deforestation phase climate-induced
and emphasized by anthropogenic land use. The degraded landscape is reflected in this cave
through the great abundance of Ericaceae pollen grains, the presence of nitrophilous plants
(Asphodelus) and the consequent reduction of the arboreal pollen component such as
Quercus, Juniperus and Pinus with respect to the herbaceous pollen component.
These results increase the knowledge of past vegetation of Sardinia during the Bronze
Age, for a region and a period scarcely investigated from an archaeobotanical point of view.
Sardinia appears as a blank area in terms of micro- and macro-plant remains within the central
Mediterranean region; the investigated cave represents one important site where it is possible
apply the study of palynology in archeological contexts.
Acknowledgments. Gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional Government for the financial support (P.O.R.
Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Programme of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, European Social Fund 20072013 - Axis IV Human Resources, Objective l.3, Line of Activity l.3.1 “Avviso di chiamata per il finanziamento
di Assegni di Ricerca”).
89
NUOVI RECUPERI NEL SITO DEL PLEISTOCENE INFERIORE DI ELLERA DI
CORCIANO (PERUGIA)
Cherin M.*, Baldanza A.*, Barchi M.R.*, Bizzarri R.*, Buratti N.*, Caponi T.**, Grossi
F.***, Pandolfi L.***, Pazzaglia F.*
* Dipartimento di
Fisica
e
Geologia,
Università
di
Perugia, Via
A.
Pascoli,
06123
Perugia;
[email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
*** Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146, Roma;
Il sito a vertebrati fossili di Ellera di Corciano è stato scoperto nell’Aprile del 2011
durante alcune ricognizioni di carattere archeologico in un cantiere edile dov’è in corso di
realizzazione un grosso centro commerciale. Gli scavi sono stati finanziati e diretti dalla
Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Umbria, con il supporto tecnico-scientifico del
Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia dell’Università di Perugia.
L’area di Ellera di Corciano, pochi km a Sud-Ovest di Perugia, è parte di un bacino
sedimentario formatosi nel Pleistocene Inferiore e andato incontro a un progressivo
isolamento dal grande Bacino Tiberino, localizzato più a Est. Tale evoluzione è stata
controllata da tettonica sin-sedimentaria in regime estensionale. La sezione stratigrafica
esposta nel sito paleontologico dai lavori di movimento terra ha uno spessore totale di circa
16 m ed è caratterizzata dall’alternanza di depositi carbonatici continentali (calcareous tufa
fitoermali, fitoclastici e micritici) e depositi argillosi, argilloso-siltosi e argilloso-sabbiosi. I
resti di vertebrati fossili erano concentrati nei livelli argillosi. Questi ultimi si presentavano
sovente più o meno pedogenizzati, con abbondanti tracce di radici, materia organica e noduli
pedogenici di carbonato di calcio. I depositi sono stati sottoposti ad analisi preliminari di
carattere sedimentologico, geotecnico, palinologico e micropaleontologico. L’integrazione di
tali analisi permette di ipotizzare l’alternanza di due tipologie di ambienti deposizionali: piane
alluvionali periodicamente allagate, con corpi d’acqua poco profondi più o meno effimeri
(deposizione dei depositi argillosi) e ambienti lacustri/palustri (deposizione dei carbonati).
I recuperi paleontologici hanno seguito passo dopo passo i lavori edili di costruzione
della nuova struttura commerciale. Nel corso della prima fase di scavi (Aprile-Agosto 2011),
ci si è concentrati sulla porzione Est del cantiere. Durante questa fase sono stati recuperati più
90
di 200 resti ossei di vertebrati, prevalentemente rappresentati da macromammiferi. La seconda
fase di scavi (Agosto 2012-Luglio 2013) ha invece avuto luogo nella porzione Ovest del
cantiere, dove è in corso di realizzazione un secondo grande edificio del complesso del centro
commerciale. Data la minore abbondanza di livelli argillosi esposti dall’attività delle ruspe, il
numero di reperti rinvenuti in questo lotto è risultato decisamente inferiore. Ciononostante,
nel corso dell’estate del 2013, è stato recuperato un secondo scheletro parziale di
proboscidato, dopo quello rinvenuto nel lotto Est nel 2011. Lo scheletro, composto da alcune
ossa lunghe degli arti anteriori e posteriori e due costole, si presentava nel complesso in
buono stato di conservazione. Grazie alla collaborazione dello Studio Geologico Intogeo di
Perugia, prima del recupero lo scheletro è stato sottoposto a un rilievo tridimensionale tramite
un laser scanner ad alta risoluzione.
Il restauro e lo studio dell’associazione faunistica di Ellera di Corciano sono tuttora in
corso. I seguenti taxa di vertebrati sono stati identificati fino a questo momento: Emydidae
indet., Soricidae indet., Arvicolidae indet., Mammuthus sp., Equus sp., Acinonyx pardinensis,
Hippopotamus antiquus, Pseudodama farnetensis, Praemegaceros cf. P. verticornis, Bison
degiulii. Dal punto di vista biocronologico, la fauna può essere riferita all’inizio del Galeriano
e datata quindi a poco più di 1 Ma, nella seconda parte del Pleistocene Inferiore.
91
BACCINELLO V0: NUOVE EVIDENZE DALLA PIÙ ANTICA FAUNA ENDEMICA
A VERTEBRATI DELLA SUCCESSIONE DI BACCINELLO (MIOCENE
SUPERIORE, GROSSETO)
Cirilli O.*, Benvenuti M.*, Papini M.*, Rook L.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via G. La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze; [email protected]
La fauna detta “V0” è la più antica associazione a vertebrati del bacino neoautoctono di
Baccinello-Cinigiano (Miocene superiore, Tortoniano – Messinano) in provincia di Grosseto
(Benvenuti et al. 2001, Rook et al 2011). Noto per la scoperta del primate ominoide endemico
Oreopitecus bambolii, il bacino è caratterizzato da una successione stratigrafica di
deposizione fluvio-lacustre e palustre che ha restituito quattro associazioni a vertebrati fossili
in sequenza stratigrafica, ognuno di questi con una precisa associazione faunistica, e noti in
letteratura come V0, V1 , V2 , e V3 (Hürzeler & Engesser, 1976).
La associazione faunistica proveniente dalla parte più bassa della successione
stratigrafica (Baccinello V0) comprende principalmente resti di micromammiferi, ed è stata
scoperta e studiata negli anni ‘80 del secolo scorso, da ricercatori del Naturhistorisches
Museum di Basilea. In letteratura, sono riportate come riconosciute le seguenti specie:
Huerzelerymis vireti, Anthracoglis marinoi, Paludotona sp., Chiroptera indet., Soricidae
indet., Tyrrhenotragus sp. (Engesser 1983, 1989).
Nei mesi di Giugno e Luglio 2013, durante alcuni sopralluoghi finalizzati ad acquisire
nuovi dati per una maggiore conoscenza geologica della zona, è stato eseguito un
campionamento dei sedimenti che hanno restituito tale fauna. Nello specifico il
campionamento è stato effettuato lungo il Fosso della Fittaia, affluente di sinistra del Torrente
Trasubbie. Quest’ultimo delimita la parte a meridionale del Bacino, dove affiorano le porzioni
stratigraficamente più basse della succesione del bacino di Baccinello-Cinigiano.
Setacciatura e selezione seguiti al campionamento hanno consentito di arricchire la
documentazione nota con nuovi reperti. Questi, oltre ai già segnalati Huerzelerymis vireti e
Anthracoglis marinoi, comprendono due denti (m3) di un ghiro di taglia molto grande
(probabilmente il “Gliridae nov. gen. et nov. sp.” segnalato nel Engesser nel 1983 decrivendo
i gliridi del livello V1), alcuni elementi dentali di Soricidae indet. (due resti mandibolari e tre
92
denti isolati), diversi reperti di erpetofauna (Anura indet., Lacertidae indet., Anguidae indet.,
Serpentes indet., Testudinae indet.), ed una mandibola di pesce.
Benvenuti M., Papini M. & Rook L. (2001). Mammal biochronology, UBSU and paleoenvironment
evolution in a post-collisional basin: evidence from the Late Miocene Baccinello–Cinigiano basin in southern
Tuscany. Italy. Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana, 120 (1995): 97-118.
Engesser B. (1983). Die jungtertiären Klinsäuger des Gebietes der Maremma (Toskana, Italien. 1.Teil:
Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia). Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae, 76: 763-780.
Engesser B. (1989). The Late Tertiary small mammals of the Maremma region (Tuscany, Italy): II part.
Muridae and Cricetidae (Rodentia, Mammalia). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 29: 227–252.
Hürzeler J. & Engesser B. (1976). Les faunes des mammifères néogènes du Bassin de Baccinello
(Grosseto, Italie). Compes Rendus de l’Academie de Sciences de Paris, sér. 2D, 283: 333-336.
Rook L., Oms O., Benvenuti M. & Papini M. (2011). Magnetostratigraphy of the Late Miocene
Baccinello-Cinigiano basin (Tuscany, Italy) and the age of Oreopithecus bambolii faunal assemblages.
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 305: 286-294.
93
“TABERINA” BINGISTANI HENSON (FORAMINIFERA), UN FOSSILE GUIDA PER
I DEPOSITI DI PIATTAFORMA CARBONATICA PROSSIMALE DEL
CENOMANIANO
Consorti L.*, Frijia G.**, Vicedo V.***, Caus E.*
* Departament de Geologia, Unitat de Paleontologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Campus UAB 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés.
Spain; [email protected]; [email protected]
** Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Germany
***Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Paleontologia), Parc de la Ciutadella s/n, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Henson (1948) descrisse un nuovo foraminifero proveniente dai depositi del
Cenomaniano del Kuh-i-Bingistan (SW Iran), attribuendolo al genere Taberina con il nome di
T. bingistani. Senza dubbio, a partire dalla descrizione originale, il posizionamento
tassonomico della nuova specie al genere Taberina (Paleocene) è stato contestato più volte in
quanto fu riportata nei lavori di geologia del Medio Oriente indistintamente come Taberina,
Pseudorhapydionina o Pseudorhipidionina. Questa specie, che si credeva ristretta ai soli
domini del Medio Oriente, è stata citata recentemente nel Cenomaniano medio-superiore di
Polignano a Mare (Puglia) come “T.” bingistani (Borghi & Pignatti, 2006).
Nuove ricerche condotte in Iran (Chenareh Gorge, SW del paese) in livelli stratigrafici
equivalenti a quelli della località tipo di “T.” bingistani, hanno fornito una ricca associazione
a macroforaminiferi tra cui abbondanti esemplari di “Taberina”. Questi esemplari ci hanno
permesso di proporre un dettagliato studio architetturale. Lo studio è stato completato con
materiale aggiuntivo, gentilmente fornito dal Prof. J. Pignatti (Roma), proveniente dalla
località pugliese di Polignano a Mare.
“Taberina” bingistani è un foraminifero con parete porcellanata,
morfologia
subcilindrica e apertura crivada multipla. Le camere si dispongono secondo una geometria
planispirale involuta nello stadio giovanile, acquisendo in seguito una disposizione uniseriale.
La parte marginale del lumen della camera è divisa da partizioni radiali, le quali sono a loro
volta perpendicolari alla periferia del setto. Le partizioni appaiono allineate tra due camere
consecutive. La parte centrale della camera è occupata da pilastri regolarmente distribuiti e
alternati alle aperture. I pilastri più periferici sembrano crescere come continuazione delle
partizioni radiali.
94
Queste
caratteristiche
permettono
di
separare
“T.”
bingistani
dai
generi
Pseudorhapydionina De Castro, 1972, (emended De castro, 1985) e Pseudorhipydionina De
Castro, 1972, con i quali è frequentemente associata. I due generi presentano simili partizioni
radiali nella parte marginale della camera, ma sono carenti di pilastri nella parte centrale.
Lo studio comparativo dei campioni dal Medio Oriente e dall’Italia dimostra che i due
taxa presentano differenze in alcuni parametri, le quali sono da considerarsi discriminanti a
livello specifico. L’attribuzione di “T.” bingistani del Cretacico medio della Tetide al genere
del Paleocene dei Caraibi è attualmente tema di indagine.
Lo studio di stratigrafia isotopica del carbonio, eseguita parallelamente nella località
iraniana con uno studio micropalentologico, ha permesso l’ancoraggio dell’età di “T.”
bingistani ad un Cenomaniano medio – Cenomaniano superiore p.p.
Borghi M., Pignatti J.S. (2006) “Taberina” bingistani HENSON, 1948 (foraminifera) from the upper
Cenomanian of Apulia (southern Italy): a new record. Geologica Romana 39, 89-94.
De Castro P. (1971-72).Osservazioni sui generi Rhapydionina STACHE e Rhipidionina STACHE
(Foraminiferida). Atti Acc.Pont.; vol.21, pp.1-4, 2 tavv., (Napoli).
De Castro P. (1985). Les grands Foraminifères du Crètacè moyen de la règion
mèditerranèenne, Geobios, Mèm. spèc. n.7, p.23-27, 86-97, 102-109, 123-138, fig. 1-3, 9, 15-17, tab. 2-11, tav.
7, 39-45, 49-50, 63-66 (Lyon).
Henson F.R.S. (1948). Larger imperforate Foraminifera of south-western Asia. Families Lituolidae,
Orbitolinidae and Meandropsinidae. 126 pp. British Museum (Natural History), London.
95
3D CAVE BEARS: THE SKULL OF U. DENINGERI AND U. SPELAEUS FROM
VENETO REGION (NORTH ITALY)
Crozi M.*, Rossi M.**, Santi G.*, Zorzin R. **
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia, via A. Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia; [email protected];
[email protected]
** Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, Lungadige di Porta Vittoria 9, 37129 Verona;
Cave bears are characterized by a complicated phyletic tree and more species have been
recently individuated: Ursus deningeri Von Reichenau, 1906, U. spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794,
U. ladinicus Rabeder et al., 2004, U. ingressus Rabeder et al., 2004 and U. eremus Rabeder et
al., 2004. Others species are identified in the Urals caves and a part of Asia. It is particularly
difficult to divide U. deningeri from U. spelaeus. Beyond the traditional methods
(morphometry, morphology) using the “Structure from Motion” or “sfm” technique, a 3D
analysis on the U. deningeri and U. spelaeus skulls from Grotta del Cerè and Covoli di Velo
(Verona), has been elaborated to better distinguish the two species of cave bears. The
digitization of the skulls is a tool that minimizes the damage to the fossils and allows great
virtual handling.
“Sfm” reconstructs the object form with the automatic collimation of points from
different photos, crossed the recognizable points on more pictures and finds their spatial
coordinates. It builds a points clouds with a same colour forming a solid photo of the object
and successively a high-resolution Digital Surface Model (DSM); then “Sfm” may
superimpose a photo texture, extracted from the initial photos, thus creating a threedimensional model of the objects.
A series of both morphometric measures and several sections of the skulls are also
useful to differentiate between the two species of cave bears.
96
CHELONIAN REMAINS FROM THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE OF MULHULI AMO
(ERITREA)
Delfino M.*,**, Carnevale G.*, Coppa A.***, Ghinassi M.****, Papini M.*****, Pavia M.*,
Scarciglia F. ******, Rook L. *****
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy;
[email protected]
** Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Edifici ICP, Campus de la UAB s/n, E-08193
Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
*** Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, La Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 4, I-00195 Roma, Italy
**** Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, via Gradenigo 6, I-35121 Padova, Italy
***** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121, Firenze, Italy
****** Dipartimento di Biologia, Ecologia e Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci - Cubo 15B, I-87036
Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
The presence of chelonian remains in the Early Pleistocene outcrops of the Dandiero
Basin (Danakil Depression, Eritrea) was reported first by Delfino et al. (2004) on the basis of
an isolated entoplastron from Wadi Alaad and then by Rook et al. (2013) thanks to several
isolated shell fragments subsequently collected in the same locality. The morphological
characters of the material is congruent with the serrated hinged terrapin, Pelusios sinuatus
(Smith, 1838), a pleurodiran turtle still present in Eritrea. However, since the comparative
morphology of the 17 living species of Pelusios is largely ignored, this fragmentary material
has been formally referred to Pelusios cf. P. sinuatus. New Pelusios material has been
recently collected (09 Dec. 2010 - DRT 204) from Mulhuli Amo, a locality of the same Basin
4.7 km south of the Wadi Alaad Homo site, stratigraphically and palaeonvironmentally
correlatable with the upper part of the Alat Formation (Ghinassi et al, 2009). The new remains
provide further information on the morphology of the only chelonian from the early
Pleistocene of the Dandiero Basin, confirming its referral to the serrated hinged terrapin. DRT
204 is a partial shell and a fragmentary pelvic girdle probably belonging to the same
individual. A few shell elements are joined together, but most of them are isolated and their
surface is covered by concretion or highly altered. Nevertheless the following morphological
features allow to better characterize this taxon: the costal elements are significantly bent
(carapace flattened or concave between the vertebrals); the pleuro-marginal sulci are located
on the peripheral bones, far from the costo-peripheral suture; the peripheral elements involved
97
in the bridge have a modest keel; the epiplastra do not develop a marked epiplastral lip; the
general shape of the entoplastron is congruent with that previously found at Wadi Alaad; a
hinge and not a suture separates the hyoplastra and the mesoplastra; xiphiplastra host a clear
sutural scar for the suture with the pubis and the ischium; the tip of the xiphiplastra are
modestly bent downward; the anal notch is well developed.
Project supported by PRIN 2012 (2012MY8AB2 - Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della
Ricerca), the Italian Ministero degli Affari Esteri (DGSP-VI), and by CGL2011-28681 (Spanish Ministerio de
Economía y Competitividad).
Delfino M. et al. (2004). Fossil reptiles from the Pleistocene Homo-bearing locality of Buia (Eritrea,
Northern Danakil Depression). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 110 (supplement): 51-60.
Ghinassi G. et al. (2009). Palaeoenvironments of the Buia Homo site: high-resolution facies analysis and
non-marine sequence stratigraphy in the Alat formation (Pleistocene Dandiero Basin, Danakil depression,
Eritrea). Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 280: 415-431.
Rook L. et al. (2013). Stratigraphic context and paleoenvironmental significance of minor taxa (Pisces,
Reptilia, Aves, Rodentia) from the late Early Pleistocene palaeoanthropological site of Buia (Eritrea). Journal of
Human Evolution, 64: 83-92.
98
FIRST EVIDENCE OF PLANT-ANIMAL INTERACTION FROM THE PERMIAN
OF THE SOUTHERN ALPS (TREGIOVO, TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE)
Forte G.1, Wappler T.2, Bernardi M.3,4, Kustatscher E.1,5
1 Museo di Scienze Naturali dell’Alto Adige, Via Bottai 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy; [email protected]; [email protected]
2 Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany; [email protected]
3 MUSE – Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza, 3 , 38123 Trento, Italy; [email protected]
4 School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
5 Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Paläontologie und Geobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, and Bayerische
Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 München, Germany
Investigations into plant-insect associations from Late Palaeozoic floras from
Euramerican, Cathaysian Realms and Gondwana yielded surprisingly good results. At the
floras from Western Europe, however, no quantified analyses were performed so far .
The discovery of a rich Kungrian (early Permian) plant assemblage near Tregiovo in the
Southern Alps, enabled to study in detail the diversity of this flora as well as the plant-animal
interactions. The Tregiovo area is well known for its intravolcanic sedimentary succession
(floodplain to lacustrine environment) and for its tetrapod footprints (for more details see
Marchetti et al., submitted). The newly collected plant fossils, however, picture a much more
diversified flora than known from literature (e.g., Remy & Remy, 1978). On more than 340
slabs, shoots, leaves and reproductive organs were recognised, belonging to the lycophytes,
sphenophytes (Annularia), ferns or seed ferns (e.g., Germaropteris, Peltaspermum,
Sphenopteris), ginkgophytes (e.g., Sphenobaiera, Baiera, Esterella), taenopterids, cordaitales
(Cordaites) and conifers (e.g., Walchia, Feysia, Pseudovoltzia, Quadrocladus, Dolomitia). A
Morphotype 1 was also distinguished (see Forte et al. submitted). Only 3.5% of the plant
remains showed damages (in other coeval floras the damage is 15-31%), 11% of which were
damaged in more than one fashion. We have identified: (1) extensive margin-feeding; (2)
circular hole-feeding; (3) small, hemispherical galls characterized entirely by featureless,
dark, thickened carbonized material and avoidance of primaries and secondary veins; (4)
concave or convex styletal puncture characterized by an infilling of dark, carbonized material
and a central depression; and (5) lenticular to ovoidal oviposition scars. Importantly, while
fern and seed ferns are only the second most frequent plant group, they harbour 44.4% (8/18)
99
of the herbivory. The Morphotype 1 seems to be the preferred target, with a frequency of
26.3% of attack of foliar elements from insect herbivore. By comparison, the frequency of
foliar attack is relatively low for the conifers, at 2.3%. Nevertheless, the dominance of seedplant herbivory during the Permian is a pattern that began during the Late Mississippian and
sporadically documented throughout the Pennsylvanian but well established at Tregiovo.
Traces recorded by interaction with the sediment collected from the same beds as the
plant material are dominated by arthropod traces (e.g., Gordia, Helminthopsis, appendage
marks, Octopodichnus). Invertebrate ichnoassociation (i.e., trails and burrows) is therefore
consistent with the presence of mandibulate insects such as insects and arachnids in the
Tregiovo ecosystem.
Forte, G. & Kustatscher, K. (submitted). Lopingian plants in the Cisuralian flora of Tregiovo (NE Italy).
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.
Marchetti L., Forte G., Bernardi M., Wappler T., Hartkopf–Fröderf C., Krainer K., Kustatscher E.
(submitted). Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a late Cisuralian (early Permian) continental environment:
palaeontology and sedimentology from Tregiovo (Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy). Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Remy, W. & Remy, R. (1978). Die Flora des Perms im Trompia-Tal und die Grenze Saxon/Thuring in
den Alpen. Argumenta Palaeobotanica, 5: 57-90.
100
BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES AND BIOTOPES IN
A COASTAL LAKE:
THE CASE STUDY OF LAKE VARANO (SOUTHERN ITALY)
Frontalini F.*, Coccioni R.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo", Campus Scientifico, Loc.
Crocicchia, 61029 Urbino; [email protected]
The benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Lake Varano (southern Italy) have been
investigated in detail. Statistical analyses enable us to recognize two main biotopes and five
sub-biotopes that reflect different ecological and environmental conditions. The assemblages
mainly seem to be influenced by the hydrological (namely salinity) and sediment conditions
in the lake. These biotopes are characterized by specific sub-assemblages and variations in
relative species’ abundances. The Outer Lake Biotope is affected by marine influence and is
dominated by the foraminiferal species: Ammonia beccarii, Ammonia parkinsoniana and
Aubignyna perlucida, which are more common in open water environments. In contrast, the
Inner-Marginal Lake Biotope reflects more restricted conditions where low salinity values
and sand are associated with high numbers of miliolids. These two main biotopes are thus
subjected to different degrees of confinement and water residence times, both of which are
related to the water exchange time of the lake with the Adriatic Sea. In addition five subbiotopes (Intermediate Marine, Mixing, “Urban”, Marginal, and Innermost) represented by
particular foraminiferal assemblages are identified that characterize particular subenvironments. These sub-biotopes are, to some extent, separated by salinity gradients as well
as the grain-size and the organic matter of sediments.
101
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE LOWER PLEISTOCENE BATS (CHIROPTERA,
MAMMALIA) FROM SIMA DEL ELEFANTE (ATAPUERCA, SPAIN)
Galán J.*, Cuenca-Bescós G.*, López-García J.M.**
* Grupo Aragosaurus-IUCA, Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle P. Cerbuna, 12,
50009 Zaragoza (Spain); [email protected]
** Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Corso Ercole I
d’Este, 32, 44100 Ferrara
The Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) is well known due to its very complete
quaternary stratigraphic and paleontological record. The deposits—cave filling sediments in a
complex karst system—has been precisely studied and dated, and some of the oldest
European hominin remains have been found there. The stratigraphic section of Sima del
Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is divided into the lower red unit TELRU ( Early
Pleistocene), a middle white unit, and the upper red unit TEURU (Middle Pleistocene). Here
we described the bat fossil association from the fossiliferous levels of TELRU (TE7 - TE14).
They belong to the Allophaiomys lavocati biozone, with an age estimated ca. 1.5 - 1.1 Ma
(Cuenca-Bescós et al., 2013). Since bat assemblages are not necessarily originated by the
same processes as other small mammal assemblages, they provide a valuable independent
source of palaeoenvironmental information.
Here we studied disarticulated cranial and postcranial bat remains collected by waterscreening the rock matrix excavated at the Sima del Elefante TELRU site in years 1996-2007.
A total of 315 remains were picked up corresponding to a minimum number of 49
individuals; 301 were determined to species level. Each TELRU level has been studied as
independent assemblages so we can compare the evolution of the bat assemblages from the
bottom to the top of the TELRU stratigraphic sequence.The identification of the dental and
mandibular remains were based on Sevilla (1988) criteria. Variations in diversity were
analyzed with the Shannon index (H’) which is suitable in the study of bat and other small
mammal assemblages (Cuenca-Bescós et al., 2011). The Habitat Weighting method was
applied to our bat fossil association (López-García et al., 2012) for the palaeoenvironmental
approach. The age-sorting of the specimens were determined according to Sevilla (1986)
teeth-wear criteria.
102
The taphonomic study indicates that the accumulation were due to natural death in the
cave of the individuals of a bat colony, according to the high representation of different
anatomical parts, low fragmentation, lack of digestion evidences and age-sorting (LópezGarcía & Sevilla, 2012).
The identified bat taxa are: Myotis gr. myotis/blythii, Miniopterus schreibersii,
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. gr. euryale/mehelyi, Pipistrellus sp. and Chiroptera indet.
Levels TE11, TE13 and TE14 lack bat remains. TE7c, TE7b, TE9a and TE12 contain
less than 10 bat remains per level, which may bias the statistical analysis.
M. gr. myotis/blythii is the dominant taxon, followed by M. schreibersii; they both are
present almost constantly through TELRU except in levels with no bat presence, levels TE7c
and TE12 for M. gr. myotis/blythii and TE9a for M. schreibersii. The remaining taxa have a
scarce, very low presence. Diversity is maximum at TE9a+ (H’=1.5) and minimum at TE9b
(H’=0.65). In TE9c, TE10 and TE12 yearlings and old individuals appear in similar amount
and both groups dominate over the adult individuals, which is typical of a hibernating-colony
thanatocenosis. In the remaining levels, the presence of yearlings is close to 100% suggesting
a nursery-colony instead.
Previous reported data indicate that TELRU was deposited during a warm and humid
period (Blain et al., 2010; Cuenca-Bescós et al., 2013). Here we have typically Mediterranean
species of which M. schreibersii and R. gr. euryale/mehelyi are markedly thermophilic. Our
landscape approach with bats shows little variation through TELRU and generally agrees with
previous studies (Blain et al., 2010) where woodland and open-woodland areas alternates with
open lands and rocky surfaces although open lands appear underrepresented in our results.
The general trend of this bat assemblage is to diminish the number of remains throughout the
upper-half of TELRU from a maximum in TE9c to a total absence in TE13 and TE14. This
phenomenon may be related to periods of woodland regression reported by Blain et al. (2010)
which eventually could put an end to the bat roosting at the cave even considering a recovery
of the woodland masses towards TE13 and TE14. We were not able to compare data from
basal levels (TE7 - TE8) as no published reports are available yet concerning detailed studies
of their small vertebrate assemblage.
Aknowledmentes. J. Galán is the recipient of a Ph.D. fellowship from the Gobierno de Aragón. J.M. LópezGarcía is the recipient of a Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral fellowship (2011BP-A00272) from the Generalitat de
Catalunya co-funded by the EU through the Marie Curie Actions of the 7th Framework Program for R+D. The
Atapuerca research has been supported by MICINN Project CGL2009-12703-C03-03, Fundacion Atapuerca,
103
Fundacion Ancestros. Comments provided by Joaquín Arroyo Cabrales were precious in our early attemps to
classify the Sima del Elefante bats.
Blain H-A., Bailon S., Cuenca-Bescós G., Bennàsar M., Rofes J., López-García J.M., Huguet R., Arsuaga
J.L., Bermúdez de Castro J.M., & Carbonell E. (2010). Climate and environment of the earliest West European
hominins inferred from amphibian and squamate reptile assemblages: Sima del Elefante Lower Red Unit,
Atapuerca, Spain. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(23): 3034-3044.
Cuenca-Bescós G., Melero-Rubio M., Rofes J., Martínez I., Arsuaga J. L., Blain H-A., López-García
J.M., Carbonell E., & Bermúdez de Castro J. M. (2011). The Early–Middle Pleistocene environmental and
climatic change and the human expansion in Western Europe: a case study with small vertebrates (Gran Dolina,
Atapuerca, Spain). Journal of human evolution, 60(4): 481-491.
Cuenca-Bescós G., Rofes J., López-García J.M., Blain H-A., Rabal-Garcés R., Sauqué V., Arsuaga J.L.,
Bermúdez de Castro J.M. & Carbonell E. (2013). The small mammals of Sima del Elefante (Atapuerca, Spain)
and the first entrance of Homo in Western Europe. Quaternary International, 295: 28-35.
López‐García J.M., Blain H-A., Sanz M. & Daura J. (2012). A coastal reservoir of terrestrial resources
for neanderthal populations in north‐eastern Iberia: palaeoenvironmental data inferred from the small‐vertebrate
assemblage of Cova del Gegant, Sitges, Barcelona. Journal of Quaternary Science, 27(1): 105-113.
López-García J.M., & Sevilla P. (2012). La contribución de los fósiles a la reconstrucción de las
dinámicas de población de murciélagos. Barbastella, 5 (1): 12-18.
Sevilla P. (1986). Identificación de los principales quirópteros ibéricos a partir de sus dientes aislados.
Valor sistemático de los caracteres morfológicos y métricos dentarios. Doñana. Acta Vertebrata, 13: 111-130.
Sevilla P. (1988). Estudio Paleontológico de los Quirópteros del Cuaternario español. Paleontologia i
Evolució, 22: 113-233.
104
THE OLIGOCENE ANTHRACOTHERES (ARTIODACTYLA, MAMMALIA) FROM
MONTEVIALE (VICENZA, NORTHEASTERN ITALY): PRELIMINARY
MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND TAXONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Ghezzo E.*, Vianello P.**, Giusberti L.***
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via G. La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze; [email protected]
** P. Vianello, Via Canestrini 143, I-35128 Padova, Italy; [email protected]
*** Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova; [email protected]
In order to reevaluate and promote the most important Oligocene vertebrate sites of
northern Italy, we morphologically describe Anthracotherium monsvialense, Anthracochoerus
stehlini, and Anthracochoerus fabianii from the Rupelian-MP21 (Lower Oligocene) of
Monteviale (Vicenza Province, northeastern Italy), housed in the Museum of Geology and
Paleontology of the University of Padua.
The exploitation of lignite mines at Monteviale during the XIX and XX centuries
revealed an extraordinarily diversified faunal assemblage with several vertebrate taxa,
including fishes (Gobius papyraceous), herpetofauna (Palaeobatrachus cf. vicentinus,
Trionyx italicus, Bergouniouxchelys vallesnerii, Diplocynodon sp.), and mammals, with bats
(Archaeopteropus transiens, Epapheliscus italicus), carnivores (Dyspterna helbingi), and
several
herbivorous
(Epiaceratherium
bolcense,
Propalaeochoerus
paronae,
Anthracochoerus stehlini, Anthracochoerus fabianii, Anthracotherium monsvialense, cfr.
?Bothriodon sp. , Haliterium sp.).
After the descriptions of Anthracotherium monsvialense by De Zigno (1888) and Dal
Piaz (1932), later works about this taxon have been merely based on casts of the specimens
from Monteviale and few materials from other European sites.
Anthracochoerus Dal Piaz (1931) is also a quite problematic taxon. It is known only for
few remains just from the deposit of Monteviale and shows features that distinguish it from
all the other anthracotheres, making a taxonomical assignment doubtful.
Our comparative analysis focused on teeth and autopodial elements, and is aimed to
evaluate the diets of these species, within the depositional context of the lignite beds.
Paleoecological considerations are based on the postcranial characteristics in comparison to
other artiodactyls, the geological context and bibliographic data.
105
Through the detailed description of dental and post-cranial features, our revision also
allows to discuss relationship within the members of the family. This analysis allows
improving our knowledge on the first members of Anthracotheriidae, a group that appeared in
Europe at the beginning of the Oligocene.
Dal Piaz G. (1931). I mammiferi dell'Oligocene veneto: Anthracochoerus n. g., A. stehlini n. sp., A.
fabianii n.sp. Memorie dell’Istituto Geologico della Reale Università di Padova, 9: 1-36
Dal Piaz G. (1932). I mammiferi dell’Oligocene Veneto: Anthracotherium monsvialense. Memorie
dell’Istituto Geologico della Reale Università di Padova, 10: 1-66
De Zigno A. (1888). Antracoterio di Monteviale. Memorie dell’Istituto Veneto di Scienze, 23:1–35
106
EXCEPTIONALLY RICH MOLLUSCAN FAUNA FROM MASS FLOW DEPOSITS
OF THE LOWER PLIOCENE OF CRETE (GREECE)
Giamali Ch.*, Koskeridou E.*, Delrieu B.**
* Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology and
Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15784, Athens, Greece; [email protected], [email protected]
** Independent Geologist; [email protected]
Early Pliocene macrofaunistic content from deposits of the eastern Mediterranean are
relatively unknown (Dornos & Wilson, 1999; İslamoğlu et al., 2012). In order to improve our
knowledge, the palaeobiodiversity and palaeoecology of mollusc fauna of a Zanclean
succession in central Crete are here studied.
Voutes section is located southwest of the village Voutes, 15 km south of the Heraklion
(Crete). The section consists of more than 50 m - thick marls and sandy marls. In the basal
part, gravity flows formed a series of sand lenses into the marls, whereas in the upper part
three diatomite horizons are observed. Zanclean age is assigned to the deposits through
calcareous nannoplankton biostratigraphy (Agiadi et al. 2013).
Our study focuses on the malacofauna (bivalves and gastropods) of the mass flow
deposits at the basal part of the section. 164 molluscan species (bivalves and gastropods) are
recorded from the totality of the section. Marls gave a faunistic context composing mostly by
deep water elements, whereas sand lenses present rich malacofauna (150 species)
characterizing different depth range and different type of substratum. Precisely, species
characterizing vegetated, rocky and muddy sand bottoms from the infralittoral, circalittoral
and the upper bathyal zone were identified. Among others, species which are common in the
Pliocene assemblages of the western and central Mediterranean also occur in the sand lenses
of the Voutes section and indicate rather a Zanclean age.
Correlation with the ecostratigraphic units (MPPMUs) of the Western Mediterranean
eastern Atlantic, based on molluscan extinction events in the Mediterranean Plio-Pliostene,
has been done. Although the molluscan fauna of Zanclean age in the Mediterranean and
Atlantic region is characterized by thermophilic taxa, such as Strombus coronatus, thickshelled venerids and high taxonomic diversity of Conidae, Terebridae, Mitridae (Raffi &
Monegatti, 1993; Monegatti & Raffi, 2001; Landau et al., 2011), in the study area only S.
107
coronatus, Conolithes antidiluvianus, Conus deshayesi and few specimens of Callista italica
and Pelecyora gigas are present. The gastropod S. coronatus is often used as a key-taxon for
the characterization of MPPMU1 in the Mediterranean (Raffi & Monegatti 1993; Monegatti
& Raffi, 2001; Landau et al., 2011). Thus, the presence of S. coronatus along with the Conus
species and bivalves mentioned above, allows us to consider that the molluscan assemblages
fall into the MPPMU1 (between 5.0-3.0 Ma), matching well with the calcareous
nannoplankton biostratigraphy.
Agiadi, K., Koskeridou, E., Triantaphyllou, M., Girone, A., & Karakitsios, V., 2013. Fish otoliths from
the Pliocene Heraklion basin (Crete, eastern Mediterranean). Geobios, 46: 461-472.
Dornbos, Q.S. & Wilson, M.A., 1999. Palaeoecology of a Pliocene coral reef in Cyprus: Recovery of a
marine community from the Messinian Salinity Crisis. N. Jahrb. Geol. Palaeontol. Abh.,213 (1): 103 -118.
İslamoğlu, Y., Tekin, E., Varol, B. & Sözeri, K., 2012. Molluscan assemblages and Ecostratigraphic –
paleobiogeographical implications of the Early Pliocene deposits fron the easternmost Mediterranean region
(Hatay Basin, SE Turkey). RCMNS Interim Colloquium, 27-30 September, Bucharest, 62 – 64.
Landau, B.M., Silva C.M. Da, Mayoral, E., 2011. The lower Pliocene Gastropods of the Huelva Sands
Formation, Guadalquivir Basin, Southwestern Spain.Palaeofocus, 4: 1- 90.
Monegatti, P. & Raffi, S., 2001. Taxonomic diversity and stratigraphic distribution of Mediterranean
Pliocene bivalves.Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,165: 171–193.
Rafﬁ, S. & Monegatti, P. 1993. Bivalve taxonomic diversity throughout the Italian Pliocene as a tool for
climatic oceanographic and stratigraphic inferences. Ciências da Terra, 12: 45-50.
108
SCHELETRO PARZIALMENTE ARTICOLATO DI MEGANTEREON WHITEI
(CARNIVORA, FELIDAE) DEL MONTE ARGENTARIO (TOSCANA):
ANALISI TOMOGRAFICA E DENTI SOPRANNUMERARI
Iurino D.A.*, Sardella R.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “ La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “ La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma;
[email protected]
Lo scheletro di Megantereon whitei recuperato negli anni '50 presso un deposito carsico
del Monte Argentario (Toscana), rappresenta ad oggi il reperto più completo di questa specie
(Sardella et al., 2008). Lo scheletro in parziale connessione anatomica è costituito dalla
porzione rostrale del cranio, da una emimandibola, dall'arto anteriore sinistro, alcune vertebre
cervicali ed entrambe le scapole il tutto incluso in una breccia ossifera con una compatta
matrice di sedimento rossastro riferibile al Pleistocene Inferiore (Villafranchiano Superiore)
(Sardella et al., 2008). Il fossile è stato sottoposto a scansione tomografica con l'obiettivo di
verificare la presenza di ulteriori frammenti ossei inclusi nel blocco e non visibili in
superficie. I risultati delle analisi hanno prodotto due importanti scoperte: la prima, riguarda
la presenza di ulteriori ossa incluse nella breccia appartenenti all'individuo studiato; la
seconda, riguarda l'identificazione di due alveoli dentali posizionati simmetricamente tra il
canino superiore e il terzo premolare superiore. Tramite l'utilizzo di software medici per la
Diagnostica di Immagini, è stato possibile appurare che gli alveoli in questione appartengono
ai secondi premolari superiori, mai osservati fino ad oggi nel genere Megantereon.
Data la morfologia e la posizione degli alveoli, l'ipotesi più probabile per spiegare
l'origine di questi denti soprannumerari è che sia dovuta da un fenomeno biologico conosciuto
come atavismo, ossia la ricomparsa di caratteri fenotipici apparentemente persi durante il
corso dell'evoluzione di un dato taxon (Peterkova et al., 2006). Nel presente lavoro, oltre a
discutere il significato evolutivo di questo fenomeno nel genere Megantereon, grazie alle
immagini tomografiche è stato possibile effettuare studi di carattere tafonomico, ricostruendo
gli eventi immediatamente successivi alla morte del Megantereon whitei
Argentario.
109
del Monte
Peterkova R., Lesot H. & Peterka M. (2006). Phylogenetic memory of developing mammalian dentition.
Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 306(3): 234-250.
Sardella R., Petrucci M. & Rook L. (2008). The African species Megantereon whitei from the Early
Pleistocene of Monte Argentario (South Tuscany, Central Italy). Comptes Rendus Palevol, 7(8): 601-606.
110
THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF OPHIUROIDS (OPHIUROIDEA,
ECHINODERMATA) IN THE EARLY TRIASSIC OF LOMBARDY (NORTHERN
ITALY)
Jaselli L.*
* [email protected]
Early Triassic ophiuroid findings are quite rare worldwide and the discovery of a dense
ophiuroids assemblage can be therefore considered an exceptional event. This discovery is a
new evidence of how these organisms inhabit the Paleo-Tethys shallow sea after the great
Permo-Triassic extintion event. Examples of gregarious dense communities were found in
slabs showing great monotaxic assemblages coming from Northern Italy and Nevada (US).
Both sites in Early Triassic were located at similar paleolatitudes even if on opposite sides of
Pangea (Twitchett et al., 2005).
This ophiuroids assemblage outcropped in the fields surrounding Passo San Marco in
the province of Bergamo, Lombardy (Northern Italy), at an altitude of about 1740 meters
(GPS coordinates 46.036152, 9.62981) and was collected from debris with other specimens of
benthic fauna as gastropods (Natiria costata), bivalves (Bakevellia sp.) and ammonoids
(Tirolites sp.). Due to this faunal content and facie characteristics we can say that all these
specimens are coming from the Myophoria beds of the Servino formation.
Myophoria beds of the Servino formation is a bioclastic and oolitic limestone,
intercalated by brown to green marls with common siderite mineralization. According with
Sciunnach (1999) the Myophoria beds should be roughly equivalent to the Val Badia mb.
(First occurrence of Tirolites and Natiria costata), and the lower part of the Cencenighe mb.
of the Werfen formation (aged to Spathian) of the Dolomites (Northern Italy).
Ophiuroid Praeaplocoma hessi from the Val Badia member of the Werfen formation
was firstly discovered and described by Broglio Loriga & Berti Cavicchi (1967, 1969) and
mentioned in wth subsequent works of Twitchett et al. (2005), but in literature we can't find
any other evidence of early Triassic ophiuroid findings in Northern Italy. So this first
occurrence in Lombardy could be remarkable.
111
This ophiuroids assemblage coming from Passo San Marco show a dense community of
monotaxic organisms that carpet the slabs with tens of individuals concentrated in a small
area. These organisms share several characters in common with the genus Praeaplocoma. By
the way, significative weathering and poor preservation status prevent us to clearly identify
these records at a genus level, and on the base of observations these speciments were
referenced to the Ophiurinae subfamily (Ophiuridae). A more specific reference could be only
speculative, as ophiuroid systematics is based almost exclusively on external characters of the
calcitic skeleton (Thuy et al., 2012).
In conclusion, this ophiuroid assemblage from the Servino formation and aged to
Spathian shows a dense, gregarious community of monospecific ophiuroids assigned to the
subfamily of Ophiurinae. This is the first ophiuroid record coming from the Early Triassic of
Lombardy. Poor status of conservation prevents a more detailed classification and for this
reason the genus remains undetermined. In the future, the discovery of new and better
preserved occurrences of these same ophiuroids could improve the conclusions of the present
work.
Broglio Loriga C. & Berti Cavicchi A. (1967). Eccezionale reperto di un gruppo di Ofiuroidi nel
Werfeniano delle Dolomiti Occidentali (Gruppo d. Costabella), Rendiconti della Classe di Scienze fisiche,
matematiche e naturali della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 43: 91–94.
Broglio Loriga C. & Berti Cavicchi A. (1969). Praeaplocoma hessi n. gen., n. sp: un'Ofiura del
Werfeniano (Trias inf.) del Gruppo della Costabella Dolomiti. Memorie Geopaleontologiche dell’Università di
Ferrara, 2 (1): 185–197.
Broglio Loriga C., Masetti D. & Neri C. (1983): La Formazione di Werfen (Scitico) delle Dolomiti
occidentali: Sedimentologia e biostratigrafia. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 58: 501-598.
Broglio Loriga C., Neri C. & Posenato R. (1986). The early macro faunas of the Werfen Formation and
the Permian–Triassic boundary in the Dolomites (Southern Alps, Italy). Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali, 62:
3–18.
Sciunnach D., Garzanti E., Posenato R. & Rodeghiero F. (1999). Stratigraphy of the Servino Formation
(Lombardy, Southern Alps): towards a refined correlation with the Werfen Formation of the Dolomites.
Memorie di Scienze Geologiche, 51 (1): 103-118.
Twitchett R.J., Feinberg J.M., O'Connor D.D., Alvarez W. & McCollum L. (2005). Early Triassic
Ophiuroids: Their Paleoecology, Taphonomy, and Distribution. SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology.
PALAIOS, 20 (3): 213-223.
112
REVISION OF FOSSIL COLLECTIONS OF NATICIDAE FROM GREECE USING
UV LIGHT AS A TAXONOMIC TOOL
Koskeridou E 1, Thivaiou D.1
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Department of Hist. Geology – Paleontology;
1
The present study aims at the correct identification of some species of Naticidae from
Neogene and Quaternary of the Hellenic region and new specimens from Southern Greece,
included in the collections of fossil molluscs of the Museum of Palaeontology and Geology of
the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (N.K.U.O.A.). This is accomplished by
using UV light, in order to distinguish directly the specimens from one another, as well as
biometrical analysis for more precise results. The UV light reveals the residual coloration of
the shells, which shows the colour patterns of each species (Caze, 2010, Merle et al., 2008,
Thivaiou, 2008, Koskeridou & Thivaiou, 2012). This character, combined with the
morphology of the shell and the protoconch – whenever the state of preservation allows it –
help identify successfully the material.
A biometric statistical analysis was carried out. The measurements were taken following
the methodology of Solsona & Martinell (1999): total height, height of the last whorl, height
of the aperture, maximum diameter. The regression factors in the biometric analyses were
satisfactory for most samples (close to 1), but in some cases was not informative especially as
far as the protoconch measurements were concerned. This could be a consequence of different
factors: the material might be mistakenly identified as a species and actually belonging to
more than one species, also the state of preservation of the specimen makes it harder to
correctly observe the material, or the size of it, in which case the use of scanning electronic
microscope would be best.
The results of the residual colour patterns show that some species that cannot be
distinguished morphologically and/or biometrically (such as Natica stercusmuscarum
(Gmelin, 1791) and Natica raropunctata (Sassi, 1827): the first presents small dots and the
second presents medium-sized spaced dots, in comparable preservation conditions) are more
likely to be distinguished under UV light. Other species in good preservation condition were
also identified: Naticarius stercusmuscarum (Gmelin, 1791), Neverita josephinia Risso, 1826,
113
Notocochlis tigrina (Röding, 1798), Euspira catena (da Costa, 1778), Euspira fusca
(Blainville, 1825), Cochlis vittata (Gmelin, 1791), Cochlis raropunctata obliquicallosa
Pedriali & Robba 2005. It is important to note that these last few species were differenciated
relatively recently by Pedriali & Robba (2005) in a review of the Italian fossil representatives
of the family Naticidae.
Caze B. (2010). Intérêt systématique de l’étude des motifs colorés résiduels chez les mollusques
(Mollusca) du Cénozoïque d’Europe. PhD thesis, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. 558 pp.
Koskeridou E., Thivaiou D. (2012). Problematic species: color patterns revealed by UV light as a
character for systematics in mollusc fossils – an example from the Hellenic region. Symposium of Oceanography
and Fisheries, Athens, 2012.
Merle D., Pacaud J.-M., Kriloff A. & Loubry P. (2008). Les motifs colorés résiduels des coquilles
lutétiennes du bassin de Paris In Merle D. Stratotype Lutétien. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
Biotope, Mèze, BRGM, Orléans, pp. 182-227, pls. 18-35.
Pedriali L., Robba E. (2005). A revision of the Pliocene Naticids of Northern and Central Italy. I. The
subfamily Naticinae except Tectonatica. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 111, 1, pp. 109-179.
Solsona M., Martinell J. (1999). Protoconch as a taxonomic tool in Gastropoda systematics. Application
in the Pliocene mediterranean Naticidae of Northern Italy. Geobios, 32(3): 409-419.
Thivaiou D. (2008). Études de la morphologie, des motifs de coloration et analyses morphométriques chez
deux bivalves (Mollusca) du Lutétien de Grignon (bassin de Paris) : Glycymeris pulvinata (Lamarck, 1805) et
Glycymeris dispar (Defrance, 1826). Master’s thesis, Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Muséum National
d’Histoire Naturelle, 22pp.
114
COCCOLITHOPHORE ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE IODP SITE U1385
(“SHACKLETON SITE”, WEST IBERIAN MARGIN) THROUGH MARINE
ISOTOPE STAGE 16-11
Maiorano P.1, Marino M.1, Balestra B.2, Flores J.-A.3, Hodell D.A.4
1
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy; [email protected]
2
Institute of Marine Sciences University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
3
Departamento de Geología Grupo de Geociencias Oceánicas (GGO), Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
4
Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Quantitative study was carried out on coccolithophore assemblage at the Integrated
Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1385 through Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 16-11.
Core was drilled during the IODP Expedition 339 in a water depth of 2578 m using advanced
piston corer. The site location is on the continental slope of the Iberian margin (37°34.285′N,
10°7.562′W), a key region for the Pleistocene paleoclimate reconstruction at the orbital and
millennial scale. Lithology mainly consists of nannofossil muds and nannofossil clays, with
varying proportions of biogenic carbonate and terrigenous sediment (Expedition 339
Scientists, 2013); average sedimentation rate is of about 10 cm/kyr.
In the investigated interval, Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica and small Gephyrocapsa are
the most important taxa in terms of coccolithophore production (number of coccoliths/g of
sediment) within the assemblage: specifically, small gephyrocapsids (< 3
m) dominate
through MIS 16-15, while G. caribbeanica (> 3 m) becomes the relevant component from
MIS 15 upwards, with a prominent increase from the lowermost MIS 13. Total
coccolithophore abundance (number of coccoliths/g) displays considerable variations and
highlights an important increase from MIS 15 upwards. This significant modification in the
coccolith abundance is concomitant with a relevant change in the assemblage that is the
beginning of the medium-sized Gephyrocapsa (3-4
m) dominance interval (mainly
Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica) of the mid-Brunhes interval. Through MIS 13-11 the pattern of
coccolithophore production distinctly reflects glacial/interglacial cycles, with higher values
during interglacials; evidences of stadial/interstadial-type oscillations are also observed.
During MIS 13, coccolithophore abundance reaches maximun values and high frequency
115
variability. A cumulative curve of warm water taxa is obtained which displays high amplitude
fluctuations during interglacials.
Abundance of reworked coccolith taxa, which may provides an indication of detrital
input at the site, is also evaluated. This proxy shows sharp peaks during MIS 16 and relevant
spikes do also occur within MIS 12. Abundance peaks of Coccolithus pelagicus pelagicus and
reworked taxa together with concurrent lowest values of total coccolithophore abundance and
of warm-water taxa seem to highlight few millennial-scale cold events through the record.
Results represent a preliminary coccolithophore data-set for the understanding of
climatically induced sea surface water paleonvironmental changes through the end of mid
Pleistocene Transition and the mid-Brunhes interval at Site U1385.
Expedition 339 Scientists: Site U1385, in: Proc. IODP, 339: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Management International, Inc.). In: Stow, D. A. V., Hernández-Molina, F. J., Alvarez Zarikian, C. A., and the
Expedition 339 Scientists, doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.339.103.2013, 2013.
116
THREATS FOR THE CONSERVATION IN SITU OF THE BONES EXPOSED AT
LA POLLEDRARA DI CECANIBBIO (ROMA, ITALY).
Marano F.*, Di Rita F.**
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma. Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Roma; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma. Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Roma , [email protected]
La Polledrara di Cecanibbio, found near Rome in 1984 within a program of territorial
surveys promoted by the “Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di Roma”, is the most
important among the Italian musealized palaeontological sites due to the amount of fossil
remains and their exceptional conservation. To date a museum structure covers a palaeosurface of about 900 m2 where nearly 10,000 bones are exposed. It is, among the other
musealized sites in Italy, the most extended.
The exposed bones mostly belong to large mammals as bovids (Bos primigenius and
Bubalus murrensis) and elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), while only a few remains
belong to other ungulates, such as deer, rhinoceroses, horses and boars.
The exhibition in situ permits a complete fruition of the palaeontological site in its
depositional context inducing a major tourist feedback; but it exposes these cultural heritage
to a series of potential pollutant agents, both atmospherical and biological. Hence both the
scientific value and the emotional impact of the exposed bones could be compromised.
Therefore the exposed bones require suitable conservation strategies that might be sometimes
in contrast with the in situ exhibition.
At La Polledrara museum, the instability of the inside environmental conditions, mostly
influenced by changes in the relative humidity, seasonal temperature, sun irradiation, as well
as by the presence of people working at the site, caused both the development of biofilms and
the expansion of saline efflorescence on the surface of the deposit and on fossil bones.
The aims of this study is to assess the development of the biofilm covering the palaeosurface and bones through a qualitative and quantitative study of its components; and verify if
the microbial activity may represent a real threat for the preservation of La Polledrara fossil
record. Several samples of both bones and organic material growing on bones have been
carried out through a non-invasive methodology. The samples were analyzed by microscopic
117
observation (stereo-microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope) and by X Ray diffraction
analysis.
The analyses show that the most extensive bio patina is composed of photosynthetic
cyanobacteria and microalgae often associated to fungi, mosses and diatoms growing in
proximity of the windows and the entrances of the museum. Therefore, the white patina
observed on the bones surface exposed in situ over more than 15 years consists of calcium
and sulphur as commonly found in artwork stone materials (e.g. building and sculpture
exposed for long time at atmospherical agents).
Although it is difficult to estimate the extent of the degrading action of bio-attack, the
serious damages caused by the saline efflorescence and its gradual and permanent activity
cannot be disputed. The stricken bones show structural weakness, and the exterior surface of
the exposed bones shows detachment and corrosion on external parts.
Ongoing researches will allow to find appropriated methods and strategies to prevent
the proliferation of biomasses that affect the attractiveness of the site and limit the fruition of
its cultural value.
118
VERTEBRATE AND INVERTEBRATE ICHNOFAUNA FROM EARLY PERMIAN
TO TRIASSIC IN N. ITALY: RECENT UPDATES AND IMPLICATIONS
Marchetti L.*, Avanzini M.**, Nicosia U.***, Ronchi A.****, Santi G. ****
* Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Gardenigo, 6, 35131 Padova; [email protected]
** Muse, Museo di Scienze Naturali dell’Alto Adige, Via Bottai 1, 39100 Bolzano; [email protected]
***Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università La Sapienza, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00195 Roma; [email protected]
****Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia, via Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia; [email protected];
[email protected]
Since many years vertebrate and invertebrate traces from the early Permian to Triassic
of Italy are known, but a careful revision work and new important discoveries allowed the
reconstruction of a better framework on the composition and distribution of the
ichnoassociations. Particularly, some Triassic sites have recently yielded new material which
helped to characterize the variation in the biodiversity.
The recognition of the ichnotaxa Hyloidichnus bifurcatus and Limnopus heterodactylus
completes the ichnological framework of the Early Permian vertebrate ichnofauna of the
Southern Alps (Marchetti et al., 2013). Radiometric data give a strong age constraint to the
ichnoassociation
(Kungurian),
allowing
stratigraphic
correlations
to
contemporary
ichnofaunas.
Also the invertebrate ichnoassociations of the Orobic (Gerola and Brembana Valleys),
Val Trompia and Monte Luco basins have been revised and enriched with new ichnospecies
(Avanzini et al., 2011; Marchetti et al., 2013b). These considerations are undertaken: 1) the
low ichnospecies number of the Gerola Valley could be due to a bias, but could also reflect a
real scarcity in the ichnobiodiversity; 2) At present, the arthropods ichnogenera
(Dendroidichnites, Diplopodichnus and Diplichnites) are more diversified than the burrowing
organisms (Helminthoides), while in the other Lower Permian basins of the Southern Alps,
the ichnofauna is more balanced; 3) observing the three ichnoassociations, a certain
homogeneity of ichnogenera occurs.
The ichnological record of the Triassic of both the Southern Alps and the Ligurian
Briançonnais domain has been enriched with new discoveries (Petti et al., 2001; Santi et al.,
2013) as well as in the Ligurian area the Chirotheriidae imprints in the Case Valmarenca
Formation (Lower-Middle Triassic). The new findings suggest possible correlations between
119
the ichnoassociations of Western Liguria and those of the Southern Alps, France, Switzerland
and Spain.
Avanzini M., Contardi P., Ronchi A. & Santi G. (2011). Ichnosystematics of the Lower Permian
invertebrate traces from the Collio and Mt. Luco basins (North Italy). Ichnos, 18: 95-113.
Marchetti L., Avanzini M., & Conti M.A. (2013). Hyloidichnus bifurcatus Gilmore, 1927 and Limnopus
heterodactylus (King, 1845) from the Early Permian of Southern Alps (N Italy): A New Equilibrium in the
Ichnofauna. Ichnos, 20(4): 202-217.
Marchetti L., Ronchi A. & Santi G. (2013). The Early Permian Gerola Valley ichnosite (W Orobic Basin,
N Italy): taxonomical revision and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. SLIC 2013 Second Latin American
Symposium on Ichnology. Santa Rosa-La Pampa (Argentina) 13-23 September 2013, Abstract Volume, 46.
Petti F.M., Bernardi M., Kustatscher E., Renesto S. & Avanzini M. (2013). Diversity of continental
tetrapods and plants in the Triassic of the Southern Alps: Ichnological, paleozoological and paleobotanical
evidence. In Tanner L.H., Spielmann J.A. & Lucas S.G. (eds.), The Triassic System. New Mexico Museum of
Natural History and Science, Bulletin, 61: 458-484.
Santi G., Decarlis A., Lualdi A., Ronchi A. & Nicosia U. (2013). Vertebrate footprints in the Case
Valmarenca Pelites (Lower-Middle Triassic) (Briançonnais Domain-Ligurian Alps). XIII Giornate di
Paleontologia, 23-25 Maggio, Perugia, Abstract Volume, 114-115.
120
ICHNOLOGY ON THE CRIME SCENE
Roncacè S., Sacchi E., Nicosia U.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected];
Among the Forensic Geosciences, Forensic Paleontology (sensu Sacchi & Nicosia
2013) could play an important role. It proved to be a very powerful tool in law enforcement
activities and it’s frequently applied in criminology and criminalistics in leading countries
such as United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and many others; unfortunately, in Italy, this
is a newborn area of study and is still practically unknown.
Among the branches of Forensic Paleontology, Ichnology, developed essentially to
study fossil footprints (Paleoichnology), is to date the discipline that best suits the study of
footwear impressions and trackways on a crime scene. It provides useful tools and techniques
to detect, recover and examine this type of evidences.
To maximize the power of Ichnology in law enforcement activities it will be necessary,
in a short time, to perform a well settled procedure, in order to see its results accepted by the
scientific-forensic community and thus formally admissible in Court.
Here the researches in progress in this field are shortly summarized.
Sacchi E. & Nicosia U. (2013). Forensic Paleontology: A Tool for “Intelligence” and Investigation.
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58(3): 651-657.
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DO DIFFERENT SPECIES OF CAVE BEARS REALLY EXIST IN ITALY?
Rossi M.*, Santi G.**
* Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Lungadige di Porta Vittoria, 9, 37100 Verona; [email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia; [email protected]
The new phyletic tree of the cave bear has been recently enriched by the presence of
different species distributed in Europe and a part of both the Urals and Asia: Ursus deningeri
(the ancestor), U. spelaeus, U. ingressus, U. ladinicus and U. eremus (Rabeder et al., 2004,
2010, 2011 and so on). In Italy some of them have been surely identified (U. deningeri and U.
spelaeus), the others have been only hypothesized with mtDNA analyses (U. ingressus and U.
ladinicus). New data on the denture and postcranial bones of different populations from
selected caves of the North Italy show different conclusions (Santi & Rossi, in press). In fact,
using both the morphodynamic data and some index of the metapodia for the cave bear
populations, no differences are found. A project on the DNA extraction on the Italian cave
bears, is in progress. On the basis of these data:
i) the cave bear populations in N. Italy are very homogeneous in size and the slight
differences are likely to be related to intraspecific variability.
ii) The presence of the only species U. spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794 ad the difficulty to
divide U. spelaeus from U. deningeri Von Reichenau, 1906 are confirmed and could be
enlarged to other populations living in the southern Alps. Maybe, some exceptions are to be
found in the border caves (Liguria-France, Piedmont-France, Lombardy-Switzerland, Friuli
Venezia Giulia-Ex Jugoslavia) where a mixture among different populations is possible.
iii) An intermediate evolutionary step is shown. Moreover the Italian speleians show an
evolutionary trend divided by that formed by the foreign populations (in particular Austria
and Germany). This
could be a possible proof of the presence of a “Mediterranean
macroarea” in the south of the Alps inhabited by bears having unique morphologicalmorphometrical features.
Rabeder G., Hofreiter M., Nagel D. & Withalm G. (2004). New taxa of Alpine cave bears (Ursidae,
Carnivora). Cahiers scientifique du Muséum d’Histoire naturelle de Lyon Hors Série 2: 49–67.
Rabeder G., Pacher M. & Withalm G. (2010). Early Pleistocene bear remains from Deutsch-Altenburg
(Lower Austria). Mitteilungen der Kommission für Quartärforschung der Österreichischen Akademie der
Wissenschaften, 17: 1–140.
122
Rabeder G., Hofreiter M. & Stiller M. (2011). Chronological and Systematic position of cave bear
fauna from Adjovska jama near Krško (Slovenia). Mitteilungen der Kommission für Quartärforschung der
Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 20: 79–85.
Santi G. & Rossi M. (in press). Metapodial bones of Ursus gr. spelaeus from selected caves of the
North Italy. A biometrical study and evolutionary trend. Annales de Paléontologie (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annpal.2014.01.003.
123
PALEOCOMUNITÀ CIRCALITTORALI A BRACHIOPODI DEL QUATERNARIO
DELLA PUGLIA
Ruggiero E.*
* Università di Napoli Federico II, Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli; [email protected]
Sono state studiate le paleocomunità a Brachiopodi provenienti da alcune successioni
calcarenitiche quaternarie della Puglia. Alcune di queste sono caratterizzate da una
componente pelitica più o meno rilevante. Queste successioni bordano il blocco calcareo delle
Murge e sono spesso trasgressive sul substrato calcareo. Ciò permette l’istaurarsi di biocenosi
del Coralligeno (C), accanto alle quali, e talvolta in sostituzione, si ha una sedimentazione
biodetritica con biocenosi del Detritico Costiero (DC). Successivamente, con l’aumento della
batimetria, si osserva un aumento della frazione più fine e le biocenosi dal DC più o meno
infangato si avvicinano a quelle dei Fanghi Terrigeni Costieri (VTC).
Nel Gelasiano si possono distinguere due paleobiocenosi. La prima è legata a fondi
grossolanamente biodetritici, poco o niente infangati, appartenenti alle biocenosi C e DC
grossolano. Le associazioni sono caratterizzate da Novocrania anomala, Megathiris
detruncata, Argyrotheca cuneata, Joania cordata, Megerlia truncata. La seconda è legata a
fondi finemente biodetritici con una rilevante frazione pelitica ed appartiene al DC infangato.
Sono presenti Aphelesia bipartita, Terebratula terebratula, T. siracusana, Megerlia eusticta.
Nel Calabriano le paleobiocenosi del C e del DC poco infangato contengono, oltre alle
specie già segnalate nel Gelasiano, anche Gryphus minor, Argyrotheca ageriana e Megerlia
monstruosa. Quando la profondità raggiunge gli 80-100 m compaiono anche Terebratulina
retusa e Platydia anomioides. Su fondi molto infangati prevalgono associazioni
monospecifiche a Terebratula. Di solito si tratta di T. scillae che si presenta quasi sempre in
livelli; in una sola località (Cala Corvino) è presente invece T. terebratula. E’ da notare che
G. minor, A. ageriana, M. monstruosa e Platidia anomioides sono rare come numero di
esemplari e sono state rinvenute in poche località.
Se si confrontano le paleobiocenosi con le biocenosi attuali del Mediterraneo, si può
osservare che le comunità a brachiopodi del Coralligeno-Detritico Costiero presentano una
composizione simile se si eccettua la scomparsa di A. ageriana e G. minor. Le specie
124
caratteristiche del Detritico Costiero infangato-Fanghi Terrigeni Costieri si sono tutte estinte e
non sono state sostituite da altri popolamenti a brachiopodi. L’attuale Gryphus vitreus vive in
un ambiente decisamente più fangoso e più profondo, al limite della scarpata.
La temperatura non sembra influenzare la composizione delle associazioni che
rimangono pressoché stabili sia nei periodi di clima temperato-caldo che in quelli di clima
temperato-freddo.
125
THE JURASSIC FLORA OF SARDINIA - A NEW PIECE IN THE
PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHY PUZZLE OF THE MIDDLE JURASSIC
Scanu G.G.*, Kustatscher E.**, Pittau P.*, Buosi C.*
* Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, via Trentino 51, 09127 Cagliari; [email protected];
** Museo di Scienze Naturali dell’Alto Adige, via dei Bottai 1, 39100 Bolzano and Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften,
Paläontologie und Geobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, RichardWagner-Straße 10, 80333 München, Germany; [email protected]
Fossil plants collected during the two last centuries from the Jurassic of Sardinia have
been revised. A total of 24 taxa belonging to the horsetails, ferns (Phlebopteris, Hausmannia,
Coniopteris, Todites, Cladophlebis), seed ferns (Sagenopteris, Ptilozamites), cycadophytes
(Nilssonia, Pterophyllum, Cycadeospermum, Ptilophyllum, Williamsonia, Weltrichia,
Taeniopteris), putative Ginkgophytes (Czekanowskia), conifers (Geinitzia, Brachyphyllum,
Elatocladus) and dispersed seeds (Carpolithes), have been identified (Scanu et al., 2014). The
cycadophytes are the dominant element of the flora, not only because of their diversity (9
taxa), but also due to their relative abundance. The ferns are well-diversified (6 taxa), but are
rare in the flora. Conifers (4 taxa), seed ferns (2 taxa) and sphenophytes are also rare in the
plant assemblage.
The palaeogeographic position of the Sardinia during the Middle Jurassic (about 25–35°
N) would suggest that this area should be characterized by a mixed flora with Euroasiatic and
North African (Gondwana) elements. Except for some cosmopolitan Brachyphyllum species,
the flora does not share typical elements of the North African floras such as Onychiopsis or
Brachyoxylon, although these are present in several sections of France. The floras most
closely related to that one of Sardinia are those from Dobrogea, Skye, Stonesfield and
Yorkshire, which are palaeogeographically very distant, but shared similar environments.
Morevover, the comparison of the Sardinian flora with other coeval floras from Europe
and North Africa evidences a high degree of diversity in the Middle Jurassic, with more than
300 taxa belonging to 112 genera. In an attempt to better understand the palaeobiogeographic
framework during the Middle Jurassic and to test Vakhrameev’s concept of uniformity in
Jurassic Eurasiatic floras, a statistical analysis based on a presence-absence index (SørensenDice: IS) was performed, and the cross comparison of the IS allows to consider three value
126
ranges, between 0 (null) and 0.40, from totally dissimilar to similar for 40%. This points out
that the floral diversity is much higher than proposed by Vakhrameev (1991). Indeed, there is
a high amount of “local” taxa in each flora at species and at genus level.
Knowledgments. We gratefully acknowledge Sardinia Regional Government for the financial support (P.O.R.
Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Programme of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, European Social Fund 20072013 - Axis IV Human Resources, Objective l.3, Line of Activity l.3.1 “Avviso di chiamata per il finanziamento
di Assegni di Ricerca”).
Scanu G.G., Kustatscher E. & Pittau P. (2014). The Jurassic Flora of Sardinia - a new piece in the
palaeobiogeography puzzle of the Middle Jurassic. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, submitted.
Vakhrameev V.A. (1991). Jurassic and Cretaceous Floras and Climates of the Earth. 318 pp. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
127
SEARCHING SMALL BONES OF FOSSIL VERTEBRATES USING GROUND
PENETRATING RADAR: THE CASE STUDY OF THE POST-CRANIAL
SKELETON OF ETRURIDELPHIS GIULII (CETACEA, DELPHINIDAE) FROM
LUCCIOLABELLA LOCALITY (TUSCANY, ITALY)
Tinelli C. 1, Bianucci G. 1, Ribolini A. 1, Bini M. 1, Casati S. 2
1
2
Gruppo Avis di Paleontologia e Mineralogia Scandicci, Piazza Vittorio Veneto 1, 50018 Badia a Settimo, Scandicci, Firenze
A delphinid partial skeleton was discovered in 2003 from Pliocene clays outcropping in
the Lucciolabella locality (Pienza, Siena, Italy). The fossil consists of a fragmentary skull,
mandibles, a few vertebrae and rib fragments belonging to the same specimen; it has been
described and referred to Etruridelphis giulii (Lawley, 1876) by Bianucci et al. (2009). More
fragmentary bones belonging to the same individual were discovered a few years later in the
same site (an intense gully erosion likely caused the surfacing). After collecting these
remains, we decided to apply Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method to detect more
undiscovered bones. The research consisted in two steps: a GPR prospection undertaken in
the field and another one performed in the laboratory on selected potentially fossiliferous
blocks. A very-high frequency monostatic antenna (1600 MHz) was chosen in the field
because of the small size of the fossil remains and their small depth under the surface
(presumably less than 0.5 m). The antenna was moved on the surface following a grid of
orthogonal lines, and the electromagnetic (EM) impulses were transmitted into the soil at a
small step size (1 cm). Topographic control of measures was assured by an odometer wheel.
Based on this prospection, we were expecting to find a very high vertical and lateral
resolution of GPR images. After a processing sequence, the 3D volume of GPR data captured
in the field was sliced with different planes at variable depths. These depths (time) slices
highlighted some reflective zones of irregular shapes probably related to the presence of other
fossil bones inside the sediment. Some large clay blocks in correspondence of these reflective
zones were extracted and brought to the laboratory. The GPR prospection undertaken in the
laboratory on the fossiliferous blocks followed the same instrumental setting and data
processing adopted in the field. Similarly to the previous analysis, the GPR image revealed
areas of highly back scattered EM energy potentially referable to small bones, and then
128
providing a useful support to remove the clay matrix enclosing the fossils. The clay removal
confirmed that most of the reflective zones corresponded to buried bones. Thanks to these
new remains, we now have discovered a significant portion of the postcranial skeleton,
represented by several vertebrae and ribs of the Lucciolabella Etruridelphis giulii specimen.
The good results obtained confirm the benefits of applying the GPR method to fossil
vertebrate research, as already outlined by Tinelli et al. (2012), in which the authors described
the discovery of a sirenian skeleton using this non-invasive geophysical method. Moreover,
the GPR has been used for the first time as a support for the fossil preparation in the
laboratory, opening up to new developments in the application of this method to
palaeontology.
Bianucci G., Vaiani S.C., Casati S. (2009). A new delphinid record (Odontoceti, Cetacea) from the Early
Pliocene of Tuscany (Central Italy): systematics and biostratigraphic considerations. Neues Jahrbuch für
Geologie und Paläontologie, 254/3:275–292.
Tinelli C., Ribolini A., Bianucci G., Bini M., Landini W. (2012). Ground penetrating radar and
palaeontology: The detection of sirenian fossil bones under a sunflower field in Tuscany (Italy). Comptes Rendus
Palevol, 11:445-454.
129
A PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTION OF NEW LATE CRETACEOUS CHELONIAN
REMAINS FROM SANT’ANNA DI ALFAEDO (VERONA, ITALY)
Villa A.*, Chesi F.**, Rabi M.***, Rook L.**, Delfino M.****,*****
* Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano, Italy;
[email protected]
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy
*** Institut für Geowissenschaften, University of Tübingen, Sigwartstr. 10, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany
**** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy.
***** Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Edifici ICP, Campus de la UAB s/n, 08193
Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
The first Late Cretaceous remains from the area of Sant’Anna di Alfaedo (Verona
Province, NE Italy) were discovered in 1852 at Monte Guaite and later described as the new
taxon Protosphargis veronensis Capellini, 1884. About a century later, a second specimen
was found at Monte Loffa, in the same area. This marine turtle with highly reduced carapace
and plastron has been variously considered either a dermochelyoid or an aberrant
pancheloniid. More recently, the surroundings of Monte Loffa have also yielded still
undescribed marine chelonians hosted in the collections of the Museo Paleontologico e
Preistorico di Sant’Anna di Alfaedo (MPPS). We preliminarily report on the specimens
MPPS 45299-300, 45336, 45338, 45339-41 and an unnumbered slab (“Giovanni Benedetti
2003”), represented mostly by semiarticulated shells, some limb bones and scarce cranial
remains still partly embedded in upper Turonian–Coniacian slabs of Scaglia Rossa. At least
some skeletal elements are still covered by a patina of sediment and are partially eroded, but
others are better preserved. In particular, the slab MPPS 45299 hosts two humeri, one of
which is complete, a lower jaw, approximately 20 vertebrae, some of which are arranged
serially and a few undetermined skeletal elements. The lower jaw exposes only the ventrolateral side, has a narrow V shape, and measures 105 mm in length, with a 40 mm-long
symphysis and an un-denticulate labial margin of the dentary. Because of the poor
preservation of the remains, it is not possible to identify the limits of the composing skeletal
elements. MPPS 45300 hosts a humerus, a scapula, a coracoid, a femur, a pelvic girdle and
some elements of the shell, together with some undeterminable skeletal fragments. The shell
fragments include a hypoplastron with an indented margin and 3 neurals with a 6A-shape and
130
a low dorsal keel. MPPS 45338 hosts a partially-preserved carapace exposing the visceral
surface and composed by neurals 1-8 (with a 6A-shape) and costals 1-8. Neurals are
hexagonal and their antero-lateral margin is shorter than the postero-lateral one. Since the
dorsal surface of the carapace is not visible, it is not possible to assess the pattern of the horny
elements, if any. MPPS 45341 is constituted by two specular slabs, each one containing a
section of the same carapace, but not showing the external surface possibly ornate by scute
sulci. The preserved portion of the carapace is represented by the nuchal, neurals 1-7 and
costals 1-7. The nuchal is only partial but clearly pentagonal in shape, very wide and short.
Neurals are hexagonal, 6A-shaped and slightly longitudinally keeled, whereas only the medial
portions (the ones contacting neurals) of costals are preserved. Based on humeral bone
morphology and size we preliminary distinguish two taxa. The MPPS 45341 humerus is most
reminiscent of Allopleuron hoffmanni from the type-Maastrichtian but it belonged to a much
smaller taxon (~ 1 m total body length). It also shows affinities with “Protostega” anglica
from the Albian of England. The associated lower jaw, however, exhibits a significantly more
expanded symphysis than in A. hoffmanni. The humerus of the unnumbered slab (“Giovanni
Benedetti 2003”) represents a larger taxon (~ 2 m total body length) and shows characteristics
of Atlantochelys mortoni from the Maastrichtian of New Jersey but is of considerably smaller
size. The shell MPPS 45339 may represent a third taxon that is similar to basal protostegids.
At this point none of the specimens can be confidently attributed to Protosphargis veronensis.
131
Elenco Partecipanti Paleodays2014
Pagina Abstract
Agiadi Konstantina
76
Angiolini Lucia
13
Balini Marco
15, 73
Bañuls-Cardona Sandra
80
Barchetta Alessia
17
Bartolini Saverio
82
Bellucci Luca
19, 45, 84
Bernardi Massimo
21, 23, 86, 99
Bertini Adele
25, 66
Bianucci Giovanni
27, 29, 43, 128
Bitetta Nadia
Borrani Antonio
Buosi Carla
88, 126
Capolongo Domenico
Caracausi Sandro
31
Carbonara Katia
32
Carlo-Stella Nicoletta
Carnevale Giorgio
34, 54, 97
Caus Esmeralda
94
Cherchi Antonietta
8
Cherin Marco
90
Cipriani Angelo
Cirilli Omar
82, 92
Cobianchi Miriam
36, 52
Coccioni Rodolfo
38, 101
Comin Gaia
Consorti Lorenzo
94
Coppa M.Grazia
D'Amico Carmine
39
Dal Sasso Cristiano
9
De Bortoli Lorenzo
41
132
Delfino Massimo
97, 130
Ditano Giuseppina
Dominici Stefano
64
Erbisti Mila
Fanelli Daniele
Floro Filippo
Francescangeli Ruggero
Frontalini Fabrizio
38, 101
Galán Julia
102
Gariboldi Karen
27, 43
Ghezzo Elena
105
Giamali Christina
107
Ginevra Gaia
Girone Angela
51
Iurilli Vincenzo
Iurino Dawid Adam
45, 109
Jaselli Luca
111
Ko Meng-Chen
Koskeridou Efterpi
107, 113
La Perna Rafael
47, 49, 71
Lin Chien-Hsiang
51
Longo Laura
Maiorano Patrizia
115
Mancin Nicoletta
36, 52
Manzi Giorgio
10
Marano Federica
117
Marino Fabio
Marino Maria
115
Marramà Giuseppe
54
Martinetto Edoardo
Mazzini Ilaria
62
Melis Romana
32, 56
Miglietta Alessandra
133
Milanaccio Paola
Minervini Luigi
Molendini Francesco
Monechi Simonetta
78
Orso Jordi Barbara
Persico Davide
58
Petrucci Fabrizia
Petruzzelli Marco
60
Petti Fabio Massimo
21, 23
Pezzano Gerardo
Pozzoni Ernesto
Premoli Silva Isabella
Roghi Guido
61
Roncacè Scilla
121
Rook Lorenzo
68, 92, 97, 130
Ruggiero Emma
124
Sabato Luisa
Santi Giuseppe
96, 119, 122
Sardella Raffaele
19, 45, 84, 109
Scanu Giovanni Giuseppe
88, 126
Schroeder Rolf
8
Spalluto Luigi
Tavasci Silvia
Tinelli Chiara
27, 43, 128
Tona Daniele
Toti Francesco
25, 66
Tropeano Marcello
Tsikaridze Nikoloz
68
Urcioli Alessandro
Vazzana Angelo
49, 71
Vianello Paolo
105
Villa Andrea
130
Vuolo Irene
73
134

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