Late Villafranchian mammals from a karst fissure at Alonte, Berici Hills (Vicenza, Northern Italy)

Abstract

Remains of terrestrial mammals were found in a limestone quarry close to the village of Alonte in the southern Berici Hills, near Vicenza in NE Italy. The fossils came from two small conglomerate lenses interbedded within clayey reddish continental sediments ("terre rosse") that fill a karst fissure intersected by quarrying activity. The fossil remains are deeply weathered and consist of isolated teeth and small bone fragments. Despite the scarcity of specimens, the mammal assemblage is fairly diversified and includes the following taxa: Ursus cf. etruscus, an elephant tentatively referred to Archidiskodon meridionalis, Stephanorhinus cf. etruscus, Equus gr. stenonis, the smaller deer Pseudodama sp., Leptobos cf. etruscus and a molar which has tentatively been referred to Leptobos aff. furtivus. This fossil assemblage indicates a late Villafranchian age. The occurence of the two Leptobos species suggests that the Alonte mammals may be placed within - or very close to - the Tasso faunal unit, indicating an old Early Pleistocene age for it. The Alonte fauna, although represented by few specimens, is - at the time - the oldest record of fossil mammals in the Berici Hills, and is the fourth record of Villafranchian assemblages in the Veneto region, together with faunas from Cava Sud, Steggio, and Rivoli Veronese. The Alonte faunal record shows that the foothills in the Veneto plain were totally emerged since probably the late Pliocene and that rich and diversified mammal communities lived in the area.