Search results for " PLEISTOCENE"

A reappraisal of the Early to Middle Pleistocene Italian Bovidae

2013

Abstract During the Quaternary, bovids are common elements in the Italian local faunal assemblages (LFAs). Representatives of Bovini tribe are continuously present, albeit with different lineages. Caprini are sporadically recorded by several genera, and Antilopini are less represented, only during the Early Pleistocene in the middle and early late Villafranchian local faunal assemblages (LFAs). Diversity and ecological role of continental representatives of Italian Bovidae varied with LFAs as well as in faunal units (FUs) throughout the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Species richness and diversity peaked during the early late Villafranchian land mammal age (LMA) and then decreased in the pos…

Chronology for the Cueva Victoria fossil site (SE Spain): Evidence for Early Pleistocene Afro-Iberian dispersals

2014

Cueva Victoria has provided remains of more than 90 species of fossil vertebrates, including a hominin phalanx, and the only specimens of the African cercopithecid Theropithecus oswaldi in Europe. To constrain the age of the vertebrate remains we used paleomagnetism, vertebrate biostratigraphy and (230)Th/U dating. Normal polarity was identified in the non-fossiliferous lowest and highest stratigraphic units (red clay and capping flowstones) while reverse polarity was found in the intermediate stratigraphic unit (fossiliferous breccia). A lower polarity change occurred during the deposition of the decalcification clay, when the cave was closed and karstification was active. A second polarit…

An outline of Italian Leptobos and a first sight on Leptobos aff. vallisarni from Pietrafitta (early Pleistocene, Perugia)

2005

Molecular data and species distribution models reveal the Pleistocene history of the mayfly Ameletus inopinatus (Ephemeroptera: Siphlonuridae)1

2011

SUMMARY 1. We investigated the Pleistocene and Holocene history of the rare mayfly Ameletus inopinatus EATON 1887 (Ephemeroptera: Siphlonuridae) in Europe. We used A. inopinatus as a model species to explore the phylogeography of montane, cold-tolerant aquatic insects with arctic–alpine distributions. 2. Using species distribution models, we developed hypotheses about the species demographic history in Central Europe and the recolonisation history of Fennoscandia. We tested these hypotheses using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) sequence data and compared our genetic results with previously generated microsatellite data to explore genetic diversity distributions of A. inopinatus. …

La fauna del pleistoceno inferior de la Sierra de Quibas (Abanilla, Murcia)

1999

El yacimiento kárstico cuaternario de la Sierra de Quibas (Abanilla, Murcia) ha proporcionado una amplia lista faunística constituida por 53 especies repartidas entre gasterópodos, miriápodos, anfibios, reptiles, aves y mamíferos. En el conjunto de los gasterópodos destaca Palaeoglandina, un género que se extingue en el resto de Europa durante el Plioceno y que se mantiene como relicto en el Pleistoceno de la Península Ibérica. Dos de las especies de aves determinadas, Gypaetus barbatus y Gerontieus eremita, y una de las serpientes, Elaphe cf. E. sealaris, apenas se hallan representadas en el registro fósil. Hay además varias especies de aves cuya aparición en Quibas supone la primera cita …

Effects of glaciation on karst hydrology and sedimentology during the Last Glacial Cycle: The case of Granito cave, Central Pyrenees (Spain)

2021

In Alpine regions, speleothem development on karst systems largely occurs during warm interglacial or interstadial phases due to their limited growth during cold stages. Still, recent attention has been given to the role of clastic sediments in caves, less dependent on temperature conditions. Yet, only a small number of caves worldwide preserve both speleothems and detrital deposits. Here we present an outstanding record of fine-grain laminated sediments and carbonate speleothems from the Granito cave (South Central Pyrenees, Spain) associated with seasonal to annual hydroclimatic pulses through the Last Glacial Cycle (LGC). Analysis of cave clastic facies together with new absolute dates o…

Growth processes, dimensional parameters and scaling relationships of two conjugate sets of compactive shear bands in porous carbonate grainstones, F…

2012

Abstract Three main sets of deformation bands are identified in the Lower Pleistocene carbonate grainstones of Favignana Island (Italy). A bedding-parallel set is interpreted to contain compaction bands, based on the lack of evidence for shear. The other two sets are oriented at a high-angle to bedding, forming a conjugate pair comprised of compactive strike-slip shear bands. In this study, we focus on the compactive shear bands documenting their development, as well as analyzing their dimensional parameters and scaling relationships. Single compactive shear bands are thin, tabular zones with porosity less than the surrounding host rocks, and have thicknesses and displacements on the order …

Phylogeny and biogeography of fossil and extant Microtus (Terricola) (Mammalia, Rodentia) of Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula based on curre…

2011

Abstract The fossil record of the Savi vole, Microtus ( Terricola ) savii , is analyzed in terms of morphological and morphometrical variability of the first lower molar, in order to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between insular and mainland populations and the dispersal events. The present work gives a contribution to better understand the phylogenetic history of this taxon in Sicily and Southern Italy during the interval Middle Pleistocene – Holocene, in an attempt to reconstruct the relationships between insular and continental voles and to clarify some paleobiogeographical aspects. The morphometrical data have been acquired by traditional measurements of the first lower molar a…

A catalogue of the vertebrate fossil record from the Guadix-Baza Basin (SE Spain)

2020

In this paper, a catalogue of the vertebrate content of the Guadix-Baza Basin is presented. A total of 93 localities have been reviewed, providing more than 300 vertebrate species. These localities have been included in 11 biochronological units, ranging in age from the late Miocene (MN 13) to the Middle Pleistocene (MmQ 4), including also two MN 10 localities. The best-represented epoch in the Guadix-Baza Basin is the Pliocene (MN 14 to MN 16), with 41 sites. This is followed by the Early Pleistocene (MN17 and MmQ1 to MmQ3) with 30 sites. The vertebrate classes represented in the basin are Actinopterygii, Amphibia, Aves, Reptilia and Mammalia, this last one being the best represented. Amon…

Calcareous nannofossil events in the Lower-Mildle Pleistocene transition at the Montalbano Jonico section and ODP site 964: Calibration with isotope …

2004

We present quantitative data on calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy in the section of Montalbano Jonico (Southern Italy). This is one of the candidate Global Statotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Middle Pleistocene. The first common occurrence (FCO) and last common occurrence (LCO) of Reticulofenestra asanoi are well detectable in the section and are here proposed as additional events for improving biostratigraphic resolution in the interval corresponding to the transition between the small Gephyrocapsa Zone and Pseudoemiliania lacunosa Zone. The potential value of the bioevents is tested in a Mediterranean deep-sea core of ODP Site 964, located in the Ionian Sea. At Site 964 the FCO…