Page 23 - Palombo_Ferretti _2005

ARTICLE IN PRESS
M.R. Palombo, M.P. Ferretti / Quaternary International 126–128 (2005) 107–136 129

tentatively dated on the base of last appearance of taxa fragmentary. Specimens referred to M. trogontherii are
(mainly megafauna), and/or correlation with the iso- recorded at Valdemino, in North Western Italy, and in
topic scale (OIS 5 to 2). Only a few sites have also been central Italy at Rome, Fontignano, and Pratola Peligna
radiometrically dated. (Fig. 15). In the late Middle Pleistocene mammoth
E. (P.) antiquus was still widespread across the Italian remains are recorded both from North and Central
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peninsula and dominant with respect to M. primigenius Italy, as far South as Capri (40 33 N), at that time
in fossil assemblages dated to OIS 5e–5b (e.g. il Serbaro, connected to the Italian mainland. More abundant and
Saccopastore, Grotta Romanelli, Melpignano, and San widespread is the record of the woolly mammoth during
Sidero). The straight tusked elephant also occurs at sites the Late Pleistocene. M. primigenius is recorded
tentatively correlated with OIS 5a or 4 (e.g. Torrente throughout Italy as far south as Cardamone, Puglia
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Maspino near Arezzo, Canale delle Acque Alte, Grotta (40 22 N). It is better represented on the Tyrrhenian
Guattari, and Grotta delle capre, near Latina; Caloi and side than on the Adriatic one (Fig. 15). In the latter area
Palombo, 1994b). At present, there is no compelling M. primigenius is known from isolated findings in
evidence that E. (P.) antiquus is present in Italian fossil Romagna (e.g. Torrente Conca), Marche (various sites),
assemblages during OIS 3. M. primigenius is, on the and, further south, in Apulia (at Cardamone). Notice-
other hand well represented in Italian fossil assemblages ably, no record of woolly mammoth is known from the
until OIS 3 (e.g. Buca delle Iene, Tuscany and intervening Abruzzo and Molise regions. The discontin-
Settepolesini di Bondeno, Ferrara). Radiometric dating uous distribution of M. primigenius along the Adriatic
(C14) of mammoth bones from the latter locality gave coast with respect to the Tyrrhenian side, could be
an age of 33–34 kya (Gallini and Sala, 2001). Cassoli explained by the possibility of direct migration from
and Tagliacozzo (1994), however, reported a radio- eastern Europe to the Apulean region, across the
carbon dating of 20–19 kya for mammoth remains emergent Adriatic Sea bottom during glacial phases
retrieved from the Arene Candide cave (Savona), (Rustioni et al., 2003).
indicating a correlation with OIS 2. This would E. (P.) antiquus is the species with the most wide-
represent the youngest dated appearance of the woolly spread distribution in Italy. It is known from virtually
mammoth in Italy, and as such the last known all Italian regions, and is the only elephant to reach

appearance of this proboscidean family in Italy. The Calabria (e.g. Archi near Reggio Calabria, 38 N;
radiometric age of the Arene Candide mammoth Bonfiglio and Berdar, 1983) and Sicily (Fig. 15). In
remains is consistent with the latest occurrence of central Italy E. antiquus is particularly well represented,
woolly mammoths from Iberia (Stuart, 2004; Stuart with the remarkable exception of Marche. Comparing
et al., 2002), while is significantly older than other the distribution of mammoths with that of the straight-
dates on mammoths from Central and Northern Europe tusked elephant in Southern Italy, it seems the former
(L* ougas et al., 2002; Stuart, 2004; Stuart et al., were unable to colonize the southernmost regions (i.e.

2002). Calabria, 38 –40 N), possibly because of lack of
suitable habitats (e.g. large open plains).
From Fig. 15, it is evident that the range of E. (P.)
4. Paleobiogeography of Italian elephants antiquus in Italy greatly overlaps that of contempora-
neous (i.e. Middle to Late Pleistocene) mammoths
The geographic distribution of fossil elephants reflects species. Indeed, in a number of fossil assemblages E.
both the paleogeography of the Italian peninsula during (P.) antiquus is apparently associated with Mammuthus.
the Plio-Pleistocene, and the predominant palaeocli- This is of particular interest, given the supposed
matic conditions. Paleogeography played a prominent different palaeoecology of the two taxa. Italian localities
role especially during the Pliocene, when the distribution where the two genera co-occur are Ponte Galeria
of emergent land was considerably different from today. (Roma), Campo Verde (Latina), Bucine (Upper Val-
During the Pleistocene, the range of each elephant darno, Arezzo), Torrente Maspino (Arezzo), and Arena
species was more markedly controlled by climatic and Po (Pavia). For some of the sites, however, there is the
environmental changes. In the Pliocene Mammuthus is possibility that the two genera actually pertain to
the only elephant species occurring in Italy. Early distinct levels within the same sequence. This could be
records of the genus are concentrated on the Tyrrhenian the case at Ponte Galeria (early Middle Pleistocene),
side of Italy (Fig. 15). During the Early Pleistocene M. where M. trogontherii is recorded along with E. (P.)
meridionalis is well represented in Central Italy, on both antiquus, and at Campo Verde (late Middle Pleistocene),
sides of the Apennines, while it becomes rarer to the where a derived Mammuthus (see above) co-occurs with
south and the north. The southernmost occurrence of the straight-tusked elephant. Nevertheless, even at sites
M. meridionalis is in Basilicata (Potenza province; where fossils were retrieved from a single bone bed as at

D’Erasmo, 1931), between 40 and 41 N(Fig. 15). The both Bucine and Maspino (and possibly Arena Po),
Middle Pleistocene fossil record of Mammuthus is more there is still the possibility that the co-occurrence of