Maria Marino

The fossil elephant remains from the lower Middle Pleistocene site of Contrada Monticelli (Apulia, southern Italy) are described here in detail for the first time. The material, consisting of dental and postcranial bones from a single individual, was analyzed both morphologically and morphometrically. Estimates of shoulder height and body mass were calculated for the specimen. Based on dental characters, the Contrada Monticelli elephant is assigned to Palaeoloxodon antiquus. A comparative analysis with Mammuthus and Palaeoloxodon specimens from the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of Italy indicates the Contrada Monticelli individual represents a medium-sized, old male straight-tusked elephant. The comparative study also demonstrated that several morphological traits of the humerus, ulna, femur, and tibia, previously proposed as diagnostic in distinguishing between Mammuthus and Palaeoloxodon, are not consistent when intraspecific variability is taken into account. Furthermore, the morphometric analyses revealed no significant differences in size and proportions of the studied limb bones between Mammuthus meridionalis and Palaeoloxodon antiquus that would allow for a reliable discrimination between the two taxa. The Contrada Monticelli elephant represents one of the few known European straight-tusked elephant skeletons dated to the interval between 0.8 and 0.5 million years ago, corresponding to the dispersal of the genus into Eurasia, and contributes to a better understanding of the biochronological, paleoecological, and paleobiogeographical context of the early evolution of Palaeoloxodon in Europe.

The Pirro Nord quarry has yielded evidence of one of the earliest hominin presences in western Europe, accompanied by an extremely rich and diverse collection of vertebrate remains, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small and large mammals. The different Early Pleistocene sites of Pirro Nord are considered biochronologically homogeneous and indeed characterise the Pirro Nord Faunal Unit, customarily considered ~1.6–1.3 Ma, although younger numerical ages, clustering at ~0.8 Ma, have been obtained by a recent study. Recently, material recovered during the earliest fieldwork campaigns at Pirro Nord (1969–1971) has been rediscovered in Bari, and it is currently under examination. During this revision, we identified the presence of Crocuta , a hyena that spread in Europe ~0.8 Ma, from a site labelled Pirro III, which may therefore be dated to the latest Early Pleistocene or may be even younger. This finding does not imply that the rest of the fauna of Pirro Nord is younger than previously thought, but it confirms that younger deposits were present.

Several craniodental and postcranial Bovinae fossil remains coming from the early Middle Pleistocene Contrada Monticelli (CM) site (Castellana Grotte, BA) and preserved at the Museum of Earth Sciences at the University of Bari are here studied in detail for the first time. In addition to Bovinae, the fauna of CM includes several Galerian taxa such as: Canis mosbachensis Soergel, 1925, Palaeoloxodon antiquus (Falconer & Cautley, 1847), Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis Toula, 1902, Equus sp. and Dama cf. roberti Breda & Lister, 2013. Although the scarcity of the sample and the lack of skulls, horncores or metapodial remains should suggest caution, the detailed morphological and biometric analyses allow to refer these remains to a large form of bison, here provisionally classified as Bison cf. schoetensacki Freudenberg, 1914. The presence of this species in the CM site would represent the southernmost occurrence of this taxon in Europe, validating the biochronological attribution of the CM site to the Isernia Faunal Unit (ca. 0.6 Ma). The presence of this bovid, and other large mammals in the site, provides further clues for the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment of Mediterranean Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene.

The study of the Lower-Middle Pleistocene decapod crustacean fauna from Montalbano Jonico succession allowed 12 taxa to be recognized. The studied samples include some fossil species already known from the Pleistocene record of Italy, as Ebalia nux A. Milne-Edwards, 1883, Monodaeus bortolottii Delle Cave, 1988, Liocarcinus depurator (Linnaeus, 1758), Goneplax rhomboides (Linnaeus, 1758), and Chlinocephalus demissifrons Ristori, 1886. These species are reported for the first time from Basilicata, except for E. nux, whereas Carcinoplax jonica n. sp. and Neogoneplax bradanica n. sp. are introduced as new species. Moreover, one poorly preserved specimen is assigned to Ebalia sp.; one dubitative specimen to ?Carcinus sp.; one specimen to Bathycalliax sp. (Axiidea de Saint Laurent, 1979); one to an indeterminate galatheid; and two poorly preserved large-sized specimens are tentatively referred to Carcinoplax sp. (Goneplacidae, MacLeay, 1838). Finally, several indeterminate specimens of cirolanid (Isopoda) are reported, as well.The studied decapod community from Basilicata allows us to expand our knowledge of Pleistocene fossil crabs and their distribution around the Mediterranean Sea basin in the Lower-Middle Pleistocene.

Maria Marino, Patrizia Maiorano, Angela Girone, Salvatore Gallicchio, Franck Bassinot, Sebastien Nomade, Quentin Simon, Adele Bertini, Timothy Herbert, Paola Petrosino, Marina Addante, Rafael La Perna, Samanta Trotta, Neri Ciaranfi. Episodes -0001;0:. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2023/023022

At the end of November 2021, a large area of Puglia (an administrative region in Southern Italy) was officially nominated as new aUGGp (aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark) by the Italian National Commission of UNESCO. This area comprises the northwestern part of the Murge territory, where a Cretaceous sector of the Apulia Carbonate Platform crops out, and part of the adjacent Premurge territory, where the southwestward lateral continuation of the same platform (being flexed toward the Southern Apennines Chain) is covered by thin Plio-Quaternary foredeep deposits. The worldwide geological uniqueness of the aspiring Geopark (Murge aUGGp) is that the area is the only in situ remnant of the Adria Plate, the old continental plate almost entirely squeezed between the Africa and Eurasia Plates. In such a context, the Murge area (part of the Apulia Foreland) is a virtually undeformed sector of Adria, while other territories of the plate are and/or were involved in the subduction/collision processes. In the aspiring Geopark, the crust of Adria is still rooted to its mantle, and the Cretaceous evolution of the continent is widely recorded in the Murge area thanks to the shallow-water carbonate succession of one of the largest peri-Tethys carbonate platforms (the Apulia Carbonate Platform). The aspiring Geopark also comprises the Premurge area, which represents the outer Southern Apennines foredeep, whose Plio-Quaternary evolution is spectacularly exposed thanks to an “anomalous” regional middle-late Quaternary uplift. Despite the presence of numerous geological singularities of international importance, it would be important, from a geotourist point of view, to propose a regional framework of the geology of the aUGGp before introducing visitors to the significance of the individual geosites, whose importance could be amplified if included in the geoevolutionary context of the Murge aUGGp.

A geological, geomorphological and geo-touristic map, at 1:5000 scale, has been produced for the most representative area of the regional ‘Special Nature Reserve of Montalbano Jonico Badlands’, with the aim to represent the scientific and landscape features which allowed the establishment of the Reserve. The area is located in the Province of Matera (Basilicata), on the southwestern sector of the Apennines Quaternary foredeep, in Southern Italy. The map highlights stratigraphic signatures of international interest and badland landscapes, imprinted on a clayey marine succession straddling the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary. This stratigraphic interval can be considered as an international reference section for global paleoclimatic signatures during Marine Oxygen Isotopic Stages 20–18 and for the base of the Middle Pleistocene Subseries/Subepoch. With the goal to disseminate these knowledges, to improve future research and to promote sustainable geo-tourism, the map allows visitors to enjoy the scientific features and scenery of the Reserve.

In order to better understand interglacial climate variability within the 41 kyr world, we produced high-resolution climate records for interglacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 47 (1424–1452 ka) at IODP Site U1387 (36°48′ N, 7°43′ W) on the southern Portuguese margin. Using benthic and planktonic foraminifera stable isotope records, U^k’₃₇ sea-surface temperature (SST), and plankton assemblage data we investigated Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and surface water conditions. The MOW-level records indicate a poorly ventilated and sluggish bottom current during the MIS 48/MIS 47 transition in association with the insolation maximum, whereas a well-ventilated MOW formed a contourite layer during the second insolation maximum. The benthic δ¹⁸O record shows a fairly abrupt change during the deglaciation of MIS 48, while the surface waters experienced a terminal stadial event that was associated with initial cooling and freshening followed by stepwise warming until interglacial SST was reached at 1450 ka. Interglacial conditions with SST of 24 °C or higher persisted until 1427 ka, although warm SST prevailed into MIS 46. The persistent and prolonged warmth is attributed to a northward expansion of the subtropical gyre during MIS 47 as reflected by the dominance of subtropical-tropical planktonic foraminifera species and the presence of warm water coccolithophores taxa.

Paleoproductivity is reconstructed across a Mediterranean benchmark record, the Early/Middle Pleistocene Montalbano Jonico section, cropping out in southern Italy. High‐resolution coccolithophore and alkenone data (C₃₇ and C_37:2/C_38:2 ratio) were collected in order to extend the data set on Mediterranean paleoproductivity pattern and forcing mechanisms. The multi‐proxy record indicates low productivity during glacial and stadial phases and enhanced productivity during interglacial and interstadials. Increased surface water turbidity, cold‐water temperature and polar‐subpolar low salinity water incursion appear as the dominant controls for low productivity during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 20. Enhanced productivity during MIS 19c was sustained by warmer surface waters, coupled with a seasonal precipitation regime, providing higher nutrient availability. Productivity increases during interstadials with respect to stadials, in relation with enhanced land‐derived nutrient input through river discharge during wetter winters. The productivity scenario we propose is similar to those reconstructed from deep‐sea records in the central and western Mediterranean during Dansgaard‐Oeschger oscillations over the last 70 ka. This indicates that similar forcing mechanisms acted on productivity dynamics on a regional scale over different times. We suggest that migration of the westerly wind system over the Mediterranean and the polar water inflow influenced productivity on a regional scale. The acquired data set provides new evidences on the environmental significance of the C_37:2/C_38:2 ratio and on its relation with surface water productivity.