Revision of the Middle Pleistocene rhinoceros remains from Contrada Monticelli (Castellana, Bari, Southern Italy)

Abstract

II Quaternario XXX - Rhinoceros remains from Contrada Monticelli (Bari), formerly attributed to Rhinoceros mercki, are revisited. On the basis of the results of detailed morphological and morphometrical analyses, the rhinoceros material attests to the occurrence of Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis Toula, a species that has never been reported before from Apulia, and of a small-sized etruscan-like representative known to characterize the latest Villafranchsan-earliest Galerian faunai turnover. However, the absence of Villafranchian faunai elements and, on the other hand, the occurrence of a full-fledged S, hundsheimensis and of other typical Galerian mammals from Contrada Monticelli are suggestive of a dating to the early Middle Pleistocene. This implicitly suggests that the small-sized etruscan-like rhinoceros, represented only by a right femur, is most likely a reworked element.