Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia volume ì u) numero 1 pagine 155-164 Lpri|e 7999

BIOCHRONOLOGYPONTE GALERTA (ROME)

NOU BREW.SHORTNOTE

OF THE PLEISTOCENE MAMMALAND REMARKS ON THE MIDDLE

FAUNA FROMGALERIAN FAUNAS

Received March 19. 1998:

Key-uords: Continental biochronology, Galerian MammalAge, Pleistocene, Italy.

Riassunto. Il rinvenimento di una nuova specie di bovide nellesabbie appena sottostanri le argille a Wnerupis senescens della Forma-zione di Ponte Galeria (Roma, Italia) unitamenre ^ resr.i dj Euraxiseurygonos, Equus altidens e Marnmutbus trogontheri danno lo spuntoper definire meglio la collocazione biocronologica della fauna di Pon-te Galeria, considerando anche i ritrovamenti di turte le località checon cenezzJ rienîrrno in quest.t successione,

Recentemente srudi sul paleomagnetismo effettuati sulle argillea Helicella ericetorum e su quelle superiori a Venerupis senescens, coî-sentono di dare una età compresa fra 8OO e 750 mila anni alle sabbiee ghiaie che, nell'area in esame, sono intercalare fra le due formazioniargillose.

In funzione di quesri rinvenimenti, della calibrezione magne-tostratigrafica, della revisione delle associazioni faunistiche rirrovatein diversi tempi nell'area di Ponte Galeria e della composizione delleUnitì faunistiche iino x quesro momenro riconosciute per l'età.rMammiferi Galeriano gli autori concludono che:

1) I'associazione faunistica di Isernia può considerarsi fone-mente condizionata da caratteri ambientali e dalf influenza umanalallo stesso tempo sono ancora da chiarire il valore delle datazioniassolute e la presenza di Arvicola cantidnd che in Europa occidentalesi diffonde intorno ai 600 mila anni. Inoltre anche 1a posizione bio-cronologica delle associazronr di Valdemino, Visogìiano e Venosa-No-tarchirico necessiterebbe di ulteriore definizrone; alla luce di questeconsiderazioni viene sottolineata la necessità di ridefinire l'Unità Fau-nistica di Isernia considerando comunque che esisrono faune di età dipoco superiore ai 500 mila anni, pi') arcaiche delle faune dell'U.F diFontana Ranuccio (circa 430 mila anni);

2) la fauna di Ponte Galeria, presenta una precisa collocazionecronologica e stratigrafica; per la presenza di Bos galerianus, di Mega-loceros savini, per la probabile prima comparsa di Elepbas antiquus e

dr Mammuthws *ogontherii e infine, per 1a composizione complessivamerita, a nostro awiso, di essere considerata una Unità Faunistica a

pane, più giovane di quella dì Slivia e più antica daella fauna di Iser-nia.

Abstract, Taking into accounr the fossil mammal material re-

cently discovered at Cava di Breccia (sands outcropping at Ponte Ga-leria, Rome), the revised fossils from the area and the updated strati-graphical settings of the Ponte Galeria Formation (Rome), the Aut-hors discuss the biochronology of the Middle Galerian faunal assem-

blages with a new definition of its Faunal Units.

CARMELO PETRONIO* E. RAFFAE,LE SARDELLA"

accepted, Nnember 15, 1998

1) The marnmal fauna of Isernia in our opinion is stronglyconditioned by palaeoenvironrnental fàctors and by human influence.The occurrence at Isernia La Pineta of the rodent Arvicola cantiana,which was widespread in .Vestern Europe from 0.6 MA, does notmatch with the biochronology of rhe fauna and with the absolutedating (O.Z:0 MA). A new radiornetric dating will be useful to deter-mine the age of the Isernia La Pineta local fauna, which can be con-sidered younger than A.736 MA on the basis of its faunal assemblage.

2) The age of the faunal assemblage of Ponte Galeria is be-tween 0.8 and 0.75 MA, approximately in correspondence with theBrunhes-Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal event. The first occurren-ce of Bos gaLerianus and Megaloceros sattini texìf)es a faunal renewal incomparison with the faunal assemblage of Slivia. The megrcerine cer-vids from Ponte Galeria àre more primitive than those from IserniaLa Pineta and Venosa-Notarchirico. The Ponte Galeria local faunahas to be considered as a distlnct Faunal Unit, younger than SliviaF.U. and older than rhe Isernia La Fineta fauna.

Introduction.

During the last year new fossil mammal remainsfrom the area ol Ponte Galeria (Rome) ha-u,r been disco-vered. The fossil bones come from the up;,e: parr of rhepebble gravels and sands of the P. Galeria Fm. (MiddlePleistocene) outcropping in the quarry called Cava diBreccia 1 of Casal Selce (Fig. 1). The most inreresringremain is a fragmentary skull of Bos galerianus (Pefronro& Sardella, 1998), previously unknown, some fragmen-tary teeth referred to Mammuthus trogontherii, cranial re-mains of the Europeaî axis Euraxis eurygonos (Di Stefa-no & Petronio, 1998) and a molar of Equus altidens havebeen recorded.

The study of these fossils allows to better definethe composition of the Ponte Galeria Faunal Assembla-ge and its biochronological imporrance.

In the present paper the Authors, taking into ac-

count these new paleontological data, the revised fossilmaterial and the updated strarigraphical settings, wish todiscuss the biochronology of the Middle Galerian faunalassemblages with a new definition of irs Faunal lJnits.

'f n;^'*;-'-'^ ri ccienze della Terra, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Ple A. Moro, 5 - I-00185 Roma (ltaly). E-mail petronio@axr-ma.unrromal.it

o Post Doctoral Fellowship Dipanimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le A. Moro, 5 - I-00185 Roma(Italy).

r56 C. Petronio & R. SardelLa

Stratigraphy of the P. Galeria Formation.

Geology and stratigraphy of the Ponte GaleriaFormation (Ambrosetti & Bonadonna, 1.967) have been

analysed in many studies (among the others Conato et

ai., 1980; MIIIí, 1992; Bellotti et al., 1.993; Marra &.

Rosa, 1995). The well known sedimentary succession

(Fig 2) included (from the bottom to the top):a) fluvial conglomerates;b) blue-gray clays with Helicella ericetorum;

c) beach conglomerates wìth sandy lens and levels

with fragmented remains of Arctica islandica;

d) pebble gravels and sands with frequent cross la-

minations;e) clays with Wnerupis senescensl

f) eolian salmon sands;

g) lacustrine and marshy deposits;

h) volcanoclastic materials.

In Cava di Breccia 1 the complete succession (ap-

proximately 40 m of thickness) is exposed (Fig. 3) and

the recently discovered mammal bones come from thetop of the sands (d), just underlying the clays wíth Wne-

rupis senescens (e).

The reconstruction of the paleoenvironmentalevolution of the area is due to Mil1i (1992) and Bellottiet al. (1993). The lower deposits of the Ponte GaleriaUnit are related to the evolution from a continental en-

vironment (basal conglomerates - a) to foreshore, while,

Fig. 1 - Location of the area of thePonte Galeria quarries anddeposits: 1) Cava di Breccia

di Casal Selce; 2) Cava Rinal-di; 3) Cava Arnolfi; 4) Cava

Alibrandi; 5) Muratella diMezzo; 6) Fontignano; 7)

Maglianella (km 11 S.S. Au-relia).

in the area considered, the clayswith Helicella (b) testified thepresence of a lagoon. The sands

with frequenr cross laminrtions(d) are linked to phases of upliftof Lhe Apennine (Cavinato et

a1.,1992).

The same Authors refer-red also the clays with Wneru-pis fo an environment of lago-

on, followed by fluvio-lacustrinedeposits (f-g).

Kotsakis et al. (1992) re-

ported the results of a paleoma-

gnetical study of the Ponte Ga-

leria Formation. The lowerclays with Helicella show a re-

versed polarity and have beenrelated to Matuyama Magneto-chron, while the clays with Ze-

nerupis senescens show a normal polarity and have beenreiated to Brunhes. The Matuyama-Brunhes boundaryoccurs in the pebble gravels and sands (d), but its posi-tion is not well defined (Frg. +).

The comparison between the paleoenvironmentaland stratigraphic studies (Kotsakis et aL, 1992) and thepaleomagnetic data allow to better define the chronolo-gical position of the Ponte Galeria sequence. In particu-lar, the basal conglomerates (a), the clays with Helicella

ft) and the sands with Arctica islandica (c), are referable

to the isotopic stage 22, the pebble gravels and sands (d)

have to be related to the isotopic stage 21, while theclays with Wnerupis (e) are referable to the isotopic sta-

ge 19. The Matuyama-Bruhnes boundary, aged 0.78 MA,is related to the beginning of the isotopic stage 19 (Shac-

kleton et aI., 1,99A; Shacklemn, 1995).

According to this chronostratigraphical frame-

work, the mammal fauna of Ponte Galeria may have an

approximate age of O.Z5 MA.

Previous discoveries of mammal faunas.

The Ponte Galeria Fm. outcrops in a wide area

and, as pointed out above, (Fig 1) includes both fluvialdelta deposits near the tyrrhenian coast and fluviolacu-strine deposits in the inner areas of the Campagna Ro-

mana. For this reason the fossii mammal bones coming

\\,/o--.-1-'Jo' \

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JV

Pleistocene mamn'tal fatrna from Ponte GaLeria 157

Fig.3 - Cava di Breccia netrr C,rsal Selce (Ponte Geleria, Rome),Stretigrephicel succession (rpproxinately 4C n of thickness). The letters refer to the layers of fig. 2; x sho*'s rheposition of the skuli af Bos ga/erian rs (Pel .,nlo 6c Sardel-la,1998).

of Cervus elapbus acoronatus in correlatabJc deposirsoutcropping in the area of Rome (Vitinia lower levels -

pebble gravels and sands) is described by Caloi et a1.,

1983 and Di Stefano & Petronio (1992).

A fragmentary skuli and some limb bones of Hip-popotamus dntiql,tus cofile from lacustrine depositsoutcropping in the locality Maglianella, 11 krn Via Au-reiia. (Caioi et a1., i980). This material is the holotypeof Í1. tiberinus Mazze (!lOl|, but Fetronio (1995) consi-ders this species as a synonvmolls of H. antiqrus.

Capasso Barbato tr Petronio (1986) describedDama ewTgonos (recte Euraxis etttlgono) and Equus alti-dens rematns coming fron pebhle gr.rvels ;rnd sands inthe nrrerrv Crv.r A Iìhr.tndi.

Petronio (1988) studied a mandible coming fromCava di Breccia referred to Dtcerorhinus hemitoechus (rec-

te Stephanorhinus hr.tndsheirtensis, Petronio & Sardella1ee7).

The fauna from 2" km of Grande Raccordo Anr-r-

lare (Rome) have been clescribed by Caloi & Paiombo(1986). The bones come from srnds and limes with vol-

oo oooo -,o a

Frg. 2 - Schern:rtic stratigraphical succession of the Ponte GaleriaForrnation: a) fluvial conglomerates; b) blue-gray cleyswith Helìce//a ericetorunt; c) beach conglomerates with san-

d1' lens and levels s'ith frrgrnented remrins oÍ Arcticaislantlica; d) pebble gnvels :rnd sands with frequent crosslrminrtions; e) cleys with Vcnerupis senescens: f) eolian sai-

rnon srrnds; g) voicanoclastic rnaterieis; h) lacustrine andrnarshy deposits; i) volcanoclastic rnaterials.'r' shows thefossiliferous level (frorn Marra & Rosa, 1995 reorawnr.

from these deposits have been discovered in different ti-mes, often not in anatomical connection.

During the last dec.rdes, from the area. of Ponre

Galeria several fossiliferous localities have been studied(Cav:r Rinaldi - Ambrosetti, L965; Capasso Barbato &Minieri, 1987; Cav'a Arnolfi - Ambrosettr, 1,967; Mura,-

tella di Mezzo - Caloi Ec Paiombo, 1980; Cava Alibrandi- Capasso Barbato & Petronio, 19861 Cava di Breccia -

Petronio, L988).

In particular, Ambrosetti (1967), from levels un-derlying the volc.r.nic deposits of rhe Sabatine Complex.recorded the occurrence of Hippopotamus amphibius (rec-

te Hippopoamus antiquus, in Petronio 1.986, 1.995 : H.

t iberinus in Mtzza., 1.99 1), Me gacero s (Megac ero ides) vert ico r-

nis dendroceros, (recte Megaceroid.es oerticornis dendrocero)

Dama sp. (recte Euraxis eu1)gonos), Bos primigenius (recte

Bison sp., in Sala 1.987; tn Petronio & Sardella, 1998),

Elephas cf . antiquus and Mammuthus c{. trogontheritCaloi & Palombo (1980) from the locality Mura-

tella di Mezzo, described Elepbas antiquus and Megaceros

saaini (recte Megaloceros savini) remains; tlre occurrence

C)OOo o

C>o<:)

158 C. Petronio & R. Sardella

auJCI

ÉQ

*9| '.1 t 4lt9-# L---l " b

L_-__-1 + Al:; :;" Iln' O 'A I

0.78Ma l.o o'llo'o 'olh,rr.t^,J @zt:', o ?

lf,

Hj

H

CItllIzf(fan

Fig. 4 - Correlrtions herween the Ponte Galeria stratigraphical suc-

cession, the paleomagnetical and the isotopic scales of pa-leoternperature (frorn Perronio & Srrdellr, 1998).

canic elements, overlying an erosional surface, under the"tufi varicolori di Sacrofano". For this reason the faunais to be considered younger than P. Galeria fauna, butolder than Fontana Ranuccio F. U" The taxa recorded'a,re: Meles rneles, Pachycrocuta c{r. perrieri (recte Hyaenaprisca, Sardella, 1994a), Bos primigenius (S,robably recte

Bos ga/erianus) and Cerous (Dama) sp. (recte Euraxis eu-

rygonos).

Finally, some micromammal remains have been

recorded from the clays with HeliceLLa outcropping at

Fontignano (P. Galeria, Rome). The taxa represented are

Praedicroston'yx sp. and Prolagurus pannonicus (Kotsakis

et aI., L992).

In our opinion the revision of these frrunal re-mains allow to point out the following list for the PonteGaleria faunal assembi age: Elephas antiq uu s, MamrrLuth us

trogontherii, Stephanorhinus hundshetmensis, Equus aÌn-dens, Hippopotamus antiquus, Megaceroides uertrcornLs

dendro c ero s, M e ga I o c ero s s aa tn i, E uraxts e ury go n o s, C er.t u s

eiaphus acoronatus, Bos ga/erianus, Bison sp.

The pebble gravels and sands d (and their interfin-gerins denosits) of rhe Ponte Galeria Fm. have to be

considered the stratigraphical type level of this faunalassemblage.

New fossil remains from the area of Ponte Galeria(P. Galeria Formation, Rome).

The fossil bones corne from the sands of rhe P. Ga-

leria Fm. (d) outcropping in the quarry called Cava diBreccia 1 of Casai Selce (Fig. 1, 2, 3), approximrtely .rt

km 14 of the Via Aureii;r, near Castel di Guido (Rome).

Mammu.thus trogontherii is represenred by fr;rg-

ments of tusks and one lower n-rolar with a typical highlaminar frequency and thinness o{ the enamel (Fig. 5c).

The presence oÍ Equws altidens (Fig. 5b) is testifiedby an upper molar with rr 1ow protocone index, size andmorphological features typical of this stenonoìd equid.

A fragment o{ a skull and the basal parr of an

antler of Euraxis eu?)gonos (Fig. 5a) tesrifies the occur-rence of this cer-vid (Dr Stefano & Petronio, 1998). Theantler shows the characteristic obtuse angle between thebeam and the first tine of the evolved European Datna-like cervid.

The most interesting remain is a fragmentaryskull of Bos galerianus (Fig. 6).

This species shows prirnitive features like relati-vely narrow frontal bones, less protruding over the occi-pital surfrce; close horn cores insertion; horn cores

with a subtriangular section and a strong upper-poste-rior keel. Bos primigenlas seems to be more derived inh.rving the frontel bones very posteriorly protruding,with a strong and typrcally convex torus frontalls, wideintercornual surface and horn cores with a sub circularsection and no keels (Petronio & Sardella, 1998).

Bos galerianus shares some character, but seems tobe less derived, with the Indian Pleistocene species Bos

acutifrons (: piantfrons) frorn the Early Pleistocene de-

posits of the Siwaiiks Hills and Bos namadiczs aimostfrequent in several 1;rte Middle Pleistocene and Late Piei-stocene deposits (i.e. Nrrmrd.r Vrlley and Godirvari Va1-

ley, Badam, 1.979; Azzaroii & Napoleone. 1982).

On the basis of these affinities, an Asi.rn originfor Bos galerianus has been hypothesized, and it m.ry bc

considered as the first species of its genus which was

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PONTEGALERIA

o' o .o.o.o,o' o .o-o o

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IrlÉElrrl

Feunal rernains from Cava di Breccra, Ponte Galeria (Roma); 4 Euraxís eurl)gonos

altidetts: upper nol:rr; c, Manmtuthus trogontherii: fragrnentary molar.

Fi. i

Pleistocene mammaL fauna from Ponte Galeria

\ ;',v'.î

160 C. Petronio f" R. Sardella

bwidespread in Europe during the earliest Galerian Age(Petronio & Sardella, 1998).

Biochronology of the Galerian Mammal Age.

The Galerian Mammal Age has been divided infour Faunal Units: Colle Curti (Early Galerian), Sliviaand Isernia (Middle Galerian) and Fontana Ranuccio(Late Galerian) (G|iozzí et a1.,1,997).

The Early Galerian assemblage is characterized bythe occurrence of Megaceroides qLerticornis and by thepersistence of forms with Villafranchian affinities sucha.s the European axis Ewraxis eurygonos (Di Stefano trPetronio, 199 8), Paclrycro cuta breairo stris, Homoter ium ex

gr. crenatidens-/atidens, Mammuthus (Archidiskodon) me-

ridionalis and a small sized etruscoíd Stephanorhinus.

The fossiliferous deposit of Colle Curti shows a normalMagnetic Polarity related to the basis of the Subchron

Jaramillo (Torre et al., 1.996). The Monte Peglia Faunal

assemblage, including both large mammals and micro-mammals (van der Meulen, 1973: Píperno & Segre,

Fig.6 Sknll of Bos galerianws: a,

f rontrl view; b, occipìr:lview (t/a natural size, fromPetronio & Sardella, 1998).

1984) is related to the ColleCurti F.U.

It appears therefore thatthe Early Galerian assemblage

in ltrly, even though it is poorin species and scarcely repre-

sented in terms of number of si-

tes, constitutes an indicativecomplex of the transition be-

tween typical , Late Villafran-chian and typical Galerian fau-n21s (GIiozzr er al., 1997).

Among micromammals the oc-

currence o{ Pliomys lenki andMicrotus (Allophaiomys), proba-bly the ancestor o{ Microtus ex

gr. oeconomus, matches wellwith the "modern" features ofthe assemblage.

The Slivia F.U. is the ear-

liest of the units of the MiddleGalerian. It is characterizedby a

strong faunal renewal with thefirst occurrence of Cerauselaphus acoronatus, Sus scrofa,

[Jrsus deningeri, Stephanorbinushundsheimensls and Stephanorhi-nus bemitoechus (Ambrosetti et

al., 1,979; Gliozzi er al., 1997).

Also the first occurrence o{ Bi-son scboetensachi and Elephas antiquus is recorded, evenif doubtfully, in this locality. The oldest sites with Mid-dle Galerian faunas belonging to the Slivia F.U. are Sli-via (Bon et aI., 1992) and Monte Tenda (Pasa, 1947).

Due to the persistence of some Villafranchian elemenrs,the Selva Vecchia local fauna (Bon et al., 1991) seems ro

be slightly more archaic than the Slivia fauna.The following unit described l:y Gliozzi et al.

(1997) is the Isernia F.U., with a further renewed Fau-nal Assemblages. As pointed out by the Authors, thisFaunal Unit includes several locai faunas showing bothchronoiogical and paleoecological differences. Pantberaleo fossilis and Megaceroides solilhacus occur, 'urhlle Ele-

pbas antiquus, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and Bisonschoetensacki are common elements of the fauna.Among the equids, besides the maintenance of Villafran-chian forms, the cabalioid horses appear, while somelarge carnivores and Euraxis eurygonos still occur. Fol-lowing Gliozzi et aI. (1997), the Isernia F.U. includesthe local faunas of Isernia (Sala, 1983, 1996), Cesi (Masi-

ni et a1., 1991), Valdemino (Sala, 1992) several localities

Pleistocene mammal fauna from Ponte Galeria

FAUNAL UNITS

Local Faunas

TAXA

SL IV IA PONTE GALERIA "IS E RNIA "

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Edg T :Pì 'B È È.U> u ! z>

FONTANA RANUCCIO

-É - €*5J', E g,.q

É$ ;;;s!-9'hG-'(,J^'.:; sG€ L

z

U

lMegaceroides verticorn!s

lMegaceroides solilhacus

lMegaloceros savini

lCervus elaphus acaronatusC_ervus elaphus eostephanocerosLUraxts euryganoSDama clactonianaB^os galerÌanusóas pnmtgentusEison schoetensackiElephas antiquusMammuthus trogontheriiStephanorhinus hundshetmenstsStephanorhinus kirkbergensisStephanorhinus hemitoechusEquus altidensPachycrocuta brevirastrisCracuta CracutaHyaena priscaHomotherium letidensPanthera gombaszoegensisPanthera leo tossilisCanis ex gr. ?rnensis-mosbachensisUrsus deningeriursus arctasPliomys lenkiMimomys blanciMrcrotus (Altophaiomys) nutiensÉMicrotus (Allophaiomys) burgondiaeAllocricetus bursaeProlagurus pannonicusMicrotus (Neodon) gregaloidesPredicrostonyx sp,Ochotane sp.Cricetus cricetusArvicala cantianaMtaotus (lbermys) brecciensts

Fig.7 - Iìio.h.o.ology of the Galerian Mammal Age

in the area of Ponte Gaieria (Ambroserti, 1967; CapassoBarbato & Petronio, 1986; Petronio & Sardeila 1997,1998, inter alios). In the same paper rhe local faunasfrom Visogliano (Cattani et a1., 1991) and Venosa-Notar-chirico (Belli et a1.,1991) are considered probably transi-tional vrith those of the late Galerian.

Finally, Fontana Ranuccio F.IJ. constitutes rhe lateGalerian assemblage, charactertzed by the occurrence ofCeraus elaphus eostephanoceros (Di Stefano e Perronio,1993) and the diffusion of Dama clactoniana. The onlyvillafranchian taxa still present are a derived form of Ho-motberium (Sardella, 1994b), Equus ex gr. bressanus-swes-

senbornensis and Equus altidens. The main localities are

Fontana Ranuccio (Segre, 1984) and Cava Nera Molina-rio (Blanc et al., 1956; Di Stefano & Petronio, 1993).

Discussion.

The local fauna of Ponte Galeria is characterizedby the first occurrence of Megaloceros saoini and Bos ga-

lerianus.

Mamrnuthus trogontherii and Elephas antiquus (a.n

archaic form) appear maybe in the Slivia F.IJ., and existwith more derived forms for all the Middle Pleistocene.The other taxa are less significant from a biochronologi-cal point of view and generically characterize the Gale-rian Mammal Age. The typical Ponte Galeria FaunalAssemblage, as previously pointed out, should be refer-red to the stage 21 of the paleotemperature.

The rodents Praedicrostonjlx sp. and Prolaguruspannonicus, from the clays with Wnerupis, instead, arerelated with the isotopic stage 22 (Kotsakis et al., 1992).

From these data some considerations can be poin-ted out:

1) the Colle Curti and Slivia mammal faunas are

surely older than Ponte Galeria local fauna for the per-sistence of several Villafranchian taxa;

2) the mammal fauna of Isernia, in our opinion,is strongiy conditioned by palaeoenvironmental factorsand by the human influence. The occurrence at IserniaLa Pineta of the rodent Arutcola cantiana, which waswidespread in Western Europe from 0.6 MA (Koe-

162 C. Petronio G R. Sardella

nigswald & Kolfschoeten, 1,996), doesn't match with thebiochronology of the fauna and with the absolute da-

ting (0.736 MA Coltorti et al., 1982). A new radiome-tric dating wiil be useful to clear the age of the IserniaLa Pineta local fauna. On the other hand, this faunashows affinities with the mammal fauna from Venosa-

Notarchirico, recently dated 0.6 MA (Cassoli et a1., inpress), with the occurrence of Araicola cantiana and,among macromammals, of more advanced megacerineMegaceroides solilbacus, the abundance oî Bison schoeten-

sackt and the presence of moderately derived Elepbas an-tiqwus. It seems reasonable to hypothesise a younger age

for the Isernia La Pineta Faunal Assemblage.

Also the local faunas as Vaidemino (testifying"warm" climatic conditions) and Visogliano ("cold" cli-matic conditions) are at this moment referred to thesame Faunal Unit, but the studies of these faunas are

still in progress. The occurrence of Centus elaphus eoste-

phanoceros from Venosa Notarchirico (Cassoli et al., inpress) have to be considered with caution. This red deersubspecies characterizes the Fontana Ranuccio F.U. (DiStefano & Petronio, 1993).

3) the age of the Faunal Assemblage of Ponte Ga-leria is between 0.8 and 0.25 MA, approximately in cor-respondence with the Brunhes-Matuyama paleomagneticreversal event. The first occurrence of Bos galerianus andMegaloceros saoini testifies a faunal renewal in comparison with the Faunal Assemblage of Slivia. Megaloceros

saoini from Ponte Galeria is more primitive rhan Mega-

ceroides solilhacus which characterizes Isernia La Pinetaand Venosa-Notarchirico faunas.

The Ponte Galeria local fauna has to be conside-red as a distinct Faunal lJnit, younger than Slivia F.U.and older than Isernia La Pineta (Fig. Z).

a) The Fontana Ranuccio F.U., with the almostcomplete disappearing of the taxa of Villafranchian tra-dition has to be considered as the latest of the Galerian

Faunal Units. It is characterized also by the first occur-rence of Bos primigenlzzs (S. Cosimato Fm. in the Cam-^^--^ D^-^-^\PdÉrr4 r\9rrrdlrd,/.

Conclusion.

The analysis of the mammal fauna from PonteGaleria suggests us to define a distinct unit (Ponte Gaie-ria F.U.) and makes a crirical revision of the biochrono-logy of the middle Galerian local faunas really needed.

As underlined in Gliozzi et al. ft997\ in IserniaF.U. local faunas different in composition and in rgewere included. These are referable to a wide time span

and to different palaeoenvironmental conditions.From a biochronological point of view, the Ponre

GaÌeria F.U. has to be considered as interrnediate be-

tween Slivia F.U. and the other local faunas previouslyincluded in the Isernia F.U. According to the ;rbsolutedatation for Isernia La Pineta (Coltorti et al., 1982) thisfauna would be almost coeval with that from Ponte Ga-

Ieria. As pointed out above, the differences in the ma-

cromammal faunal composition suggest for Isernia LaPineta a younger age. Such a biochronological colloca-tion was also proposed in Koenigswald Ec Kolfschoeten(1996) to expiain the occurrence oÍ Aruìcola cantianawhich widespread in Europe after approximatel;' 0.6 MA.

Further studies will better define the biochronolo-gy of the other middle Galerian local faunas as Valderni-no, Cesi, Visogliano and Venosa-Notarchirico.

Acknouledgements.

Ve wish to thank Dr. S. Milli for the useful suggestions aboutthe stratigraphy of the Ponte Galerie area, Dr. T. Kolfschoeten andDr. Giuseppe Di Stefano for the stirnulating discussrons, Prof. M.Gaetani, Prof. A. Nadachowski and two anonirnous reierees for thecritical reading of the manuscript.Work supported by 407, MURSTgrants.

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