Page 2 - Palombo_Ferretti _2005

ARTICLE IN PRESS
108 M.R. Palombo, M.P. Ferretti / Quaternary International 126–128 (2005) 107–136

emphasize the richness and significance of the Italian 2.1.1. Early Mammuthus from Italy
elephant fossil record in reconstructing the evolutionary The oldest consistent record of elephants (Elephanti-
history of this proboscidean group during the Plio- nae) in Italy is at Montopoli and Laiatico (Lower
Pleistocene. In the systematic section (below) the Valdarno, Pisa), two sites dated to the late Middle
locations of the studied specimens are reported as Pliocene (see below), where remains of primitive
abbreviated codes between brackets (see Appendix A). mammoths were found. The material from Laiatico
(MSNC) consists of a fragmentary skeleton of an old
individual with the M3 in use (Ramaccioni, 1936) and
preserving both tusks. From Montopoli, only a few
2. Systematics molars, an incomplete skull (maxillaries and premax-
illaries; Fig. 1), and some postcranials are known
2.1. Elephants from the Italian peninsula (Azzaroli, 1977a; IGF). Summary statistics for the
material from these two localities are given in Tables 1
Four elephant species are clearly recognized in Plio- and 2.
Pleistocene fossil mammal assemblages from the Italian The taxonomy of the mammoth material from
peninsula: M. meridionalis, M. trogontherii, M. primi- Laiatico and Montopoli has a rather complex history
genius, and E. (P.) antiquus. Beside these taxa, there are that partly reflects changes in elephant systematics over
several mammoth samples whose systematic allocation almost one hundred years. Despite this, most of the
has not been definitively established. authors who worked on this early material agreed in

Fig. 1. Mammuthus from Montopoli (Lower Valdarno, Italy; Montopoli FU, late Middle Pliocene). (A) IGF 1077, skull, right lateral view; (B) same
specimen, M3, occlusal view; (C) IGF 1932, M3, lingual view; (D) same specimen, occlusal view. Scale bar is 10 cm in (A) and 5 cm in (B–D).