Page 3 - Palombo_Ferretti _2005

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M.R. Palombo, M.P. Ferretti / Quaternary International 126–128 (2005) 107–136 109

Table 1
Middle Villafranchian (Montopoli Faunal Unit) Mammuthus from Italy. Tooth measurements
Tooth Specimen Site Wear Variables
stage
Occlusal Length Occlusal Width Height Number Plates Enamel Lamellar Hypsodonty
Length Width of in use thickness frequency b index
plates a (height/width)
M3 left IGF 1077 Montopoli 4 263 263 117 109 — 9 9 3.8 4 —
M3 right IGF 1077 Montopoli 4 249 249 115 108 — 9 9 3.6 4 —
M3 right IGF 1932 Montopoli 2 >177 124 114 ca. 79 147 >8 5 3.2 4.5 1.3
M3 left MSNC Laiatico 4 ca. 230 230 — 100 — 8 8 3.8 4 —
m3 left MSNC Laiatico 4 — 232 93 91 — 9 9 — 4 —
a
Excluding talons.
b
According to Maglio (1973).

Table 2 ally does not differs significantly from M. meridionalis,
Mammuthus from Laiatico (Lower Valdarno). Measurements (in mm) and should be considered as a junior synonym of the
of post-cranial
latter. Actually, the dental metrics of the two species
Element Measurements Specimen completely overlap. The morphology of the type skull of
M. gromovi (an adult individual with M3 in use) is
MSNC
(Ramaccioni, conservative with respect to the type skull of M.
1936) meridionalis (IGF 1056; Fig. 2a) in possessing a lower
neurocranium with the highest point more forwardly
Humerus Greatest length 1450
positioned, a weakly concave forehead, and a vertical
Third metacarpal Smallest breadth of diaphysis 68
Breadth of distal end 83 occipital plane. Nevertheless, a skull from Upper
Depth of distal end 51 Valdarno preserved at the Naturhistorisches Museum
Tibia Breadth of distal articular surface 145 of Basel (NHMB-VA 520; Fig. 2b) shows the same
Depth of distal articular surface 205 morphology of the type of M. gromovi, evidence that
Astragalus Breadth 170
Depth 125 this morphology, though less common (see below), is
Calcaneum Breadth 185 part of the variability of M. meridionalis from the Upper
Depth 265 Valdarno. Indeed, another two rather complete skulls
Height 185 are known from the latter locality (IGF 1049 and 1051),
both showing derived features as those observed in the
type specimen (IGF 1050). A less derived morphology
considering the mammoth occurring at both localities as with respect to the advanced individuals of the Upper
representing a more primitive taxon than ‘‘typical’’ M. Valdarno sample is displayed by the skulls retrieved at
meridionalis. Maglio (1973), according to an evolution- Chilhac (Boeuf, 1983, 1990) and Se ´ ne ´ ze, France
ary species concept, regarded the Montopoli and (Azzaroli, 1966; NHMB), from deposits intermediate
Laiatico mammoths as representing a primitive stage in age between Khapry and Upper Valdarno. The metric
of the M. meridionalis phyletic line that he labeled as characters of the Chilhac molar sample match, on the
‘‘Laiatico stage’’. In Azzaroli’s opinion (1977a), on the other hand, those of the Upper Valdarno dental
other hand, the material warranted specific separation material. The present evidence thus seems to suggest
from M. meridionalis. He thus referred the Laiatico and that the derived Upper Valdarno cranial morphotype
Montopoli specimens to ‘‘Archidiskodon’’ gromovi,a was either absent or indeed very rare among middle
species based on abundant material from Khapry near Villafranchian (Middle to Late Pliocene) mammoth
Rostov (Russia), which includes a complete adult skull samples from Europe (e.g. Khapry, Chilhac, and
(Alexeeva and Garutt, 1965; Garutt and Bajgusheva, Seneze), even though these latter were similar to the
1981). The Khapry fauna has an estimated possible age Upper Valdarno population in their dental characters.
whose lower boundary encompasses the age proposed Recently, the Montopoli material has been attributed
for Montopoli and Laiatico (Titov, 2001), so one cannot to the primitive species M. rumanus (Stefanescu) by
exclude the possibility that the ages of Russian and Lister and van Essen (2003). The species is based on
Italian faunas actually overlap. Dubrovo (1985), Lister fragmentary material from the late Middle Pliocene of
(1996a), and Lister et al. (2004) share the opinion that Rumania that seems to predate any other early
the type material from Khapry, upon which the species occurrence of mammoths in Europe (see below). M3–
Mammuthus (=Archidiskodon) gromovi is based, actu- m3 specimens referred to this species have a maximum