0000000000220890
AUTHOR
G. Ficcarelli
Structural changes in Italian Late Pliocene - Pleistocene large Mammal assemblages
A schematic range-chart of the late Pliocene - Pleistocene large mammal genera is presented. The main faunal events recognizable within this time span are discussed. The first faunal event occurs around the Gauss/Matuyama transition with the beginning of the middle Villafranchian characterized by the arrival of Mammuthus (Archidiskodon) and Equus (the so-called "elephant-Equus event"). The following faunal event occurs at the Plio-Pleistocene transition (the so-called "wolf event"). The latter is marked by a strong contraction in the diversity of the ruminants and by a renewal in the carnivore diversity with the arrival of social carnivores. The low diversity in ruminant assemblage persist …
Cesi, an early Middle Pleistocene site in the Colfiorito Basin (Umbro-Marchean Apennine), central Italy
Near the village of Cesi, at the head of the Chienti River, in the Colfiorito Basin (Umbro-Marchean Apennines, central Italy), fluvio-lacustrine deposits have yielded mammal fossil remains. The results of a multidisciplinary investigation indicate that the vertebrate-bearing sediments date about 700 ka and accordingly provide a fossil assemblage for the Middle–Late Galerian. Palynological investigations carried out from sediments underlying the fossiliferous level suggest predominantly cold and dry conditions, whereas the fauna suggests a slight climatic amelioration towards cool and moist conditions in the uppermost part of the sequence. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.