Microbial Biomineralization in Biotic Crusts from a Pleistocene Marine Cave (NW Sicily,Italy)

Biotic crusts occurring in the Early Pleistocene Rumena Cave, in NW Sicily, have been analyzed from a geomicrobiological point of view. The crusts consist largely of scleractinians and of subordinate bryozoans and serpuloideans, all typical of submarine cave biota. Encrustations document a blind cave in a shadowed setting, or possibly below the fair weather swell zone. Autochthonous and, subordinately, detrital fractions were observed within the skeletal framework of biotic crusts. The syndepositional lithified fraction occurs mainly as very fine-grained laminations. Clotted peloidal and aphanitic (structureless) textures occur in the micrites as well. Autochthonous micrite is always associated with a significant amount of organic matter remains. In caves from the Plemmirio area in SE Sicily, the autochthonous microbial micrite, occurring in the bioconstructions, contains bacterial lipid biomarkers, including abundant compounds derived from sulfate-reducing bacteria. It is likely that a similar microbial mediation was involved in the formation of the autochthonous micrite present in the biotic crusts of the Rumena Cave.     

Exceptional record of submarine cave communities from the Pleistocene of Sicily (Italy)

An Early Pleistocene benthic community, discovered inside the Rumena Cave in NW Sicily, Italy, was studied. Analysis of the community led to the recognition of several encrusting species – notably scleractinians, bryozoans, serpuloideans, cirripeds, foraminifera and brachiopods – and borings mostly referable to the ichnogenus Gastrochaenolites. All fossils detected are typical of the present‐day hard‐surface submarine cave biota, at both high taxonomic rank and species level. The biogenic crust, restricted to a few sectors of the cave but locally up to few centimetres thick, largely consist of scleractinians, mainly represented by dendrophylliids. Bryozoans and serpuloideans are also present with Hippaliosina depressa and Spiraserpula massiliensis, locally forming multi‐layered sheets and dense specimen aggregates, respectively. Basing mostly on the composition of the encrusting community and on morphological/morphometric features of some species, it has been hypothesized that at least part of the cave was blind when the crust formed, possibly at relatively shallow depth in a sheltered setting or, more probably, at higher depths, below the fair weather swell zone. Encrustations and borings on the rocky cave ceiling and on occasional speleothems broken surfaces document subsequent phases of cave submersion/colonization separated by emersion/erosion phases. The importance of the Early Pleistocene fossils of the Rumena Cave for the knowledge of submarine cave communities through time and for the understanding of sea‐level variations and the uplift of the area has been remarked.     

Late Pleistocene human evolution in Sicily: comparative morphometric analysis of Grotta di San Teodoro craniofacial remains

The paleoanthropological remains from Grotta di San Teodoro near Acquedolci (province of Messina, Italy) represent the oldest and largest skeletal collection yet found documenting human settlement of Sicily. The sample, attributed to the Late Epigravettian (between 14,000 and 10,000 years B.P.), consists of seven variously complete adult individuals (San Teodoro 1–7). We compare the cranial sample to an array of both prehistoric and recent samples using multivariate techniques including D² distance analysis, canonical variate analysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Overall, the San Teodoro cranial sample displays a morphometric pattern close to Western European groups of similar antiquity, in particular those from Central and Southern Italy. The morphometric affinities indicate that these people probably came from peninsular Italy by sea during the Late Epigravettian epoch. An alternative hypothesis is that they descended from immigrants that arrived by land during a low sea level episode corresponding to the maximum Würmian regression, about 18,000 years B.P, with gene flow accounting for the morphological homogeneity with the populations of peninsular Italy. The San Teodoro skeletal sample provides the first reliable evidence for human settlement of Sicily.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene pollen stratigraphy at Lago di Vico, central Italy

A new pollen record from Lago di Vico (core V1) provides fundamental new information towards reconstruction of flora and vegetation history in central Italy during the last 90 000 years. The chronological framework is secured by seventeen AMS¹⁴C dates, one⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date and tephra analyses. At the base of the pollen record, i.e. shortly after the⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date 87 000±7000 B.P., three phases with significant expansion of trees are recorded in close succession. These forest phases, which stratigraphically correspond to St Germain II (and Ognon?) and precede pleniglacial steppe vegetation, are designated by the local names Etruria I, Etruria II and Etruria III. During the pleniglacial, a number of fluctuations of angiosperm mesophilous trees suggest the presence of tree refugia in the area. The lowest pollen concentration values are recorded at ca. 22 000 B.P. which corresponds with other pollen records from the region. The late-glacial is characterized by an expansion in the arboreal pollen curves that is less pronounced, however, than in other pollen profiles from Italy. The Holocene part of the profile is consistently dominated by deciduous oak pollen. No major changes in arboreal pollen composition are recorded but several marked and sudden declines of the tree pollen concentration suggest that the forest cover underwent dramatic changes. Clear evidence for human impact is recorded only when cultivated crops became important which dates to ca. 2630±95 B.P.     

An unexpected Late Pleistocene macaque remain from Grotta degli Orsi Volanti (Rapino, Chieti, central Italy)

An explosion set off in a limestone quarry located in the surroundings of Rapino (Chieti, central Italy), in the National Park of the Maiella Massif, exposed a small cave containing a Late Pleistocene fauna and Mousterian tools. Amongst the specimens is a fairly well preserved dorsal portion of a left mandibular corpus with associated M₁ and M₂ attributable to Macaca. The Grotta degli Orsi Volanti specimen is the very first macaque ever found in Abruzzo, but it also is one of the most recent, and the southern and easternmost known from Italy.     

Long Pleistocene pollen sequences from the Velay Plateau (Massif Central,France)

In June 1988, a 50-m-deep boring was made in the lacustrine infilling of the explosion crater of Ribains (Haute-Loire). On the basis of pollen analyses the following chronology is proposed for this sequence: 0–5.10 m, Holocene and Lateglacial (hiatus); 5.70–17.48 m, last pleniglacial; 17.48–27.70 m, early glacial; 27.70–31.55 m: last interglacial, referred to as the Ribains Interglacial; 31.55–53.50 m, penultimate glaciation. The zone between 32.0 and 22.5 m, corresponding to a thick diatomite layer, provided a detailed record of the last interglacial and the early glacial vegetation succession. This enabled precise correlations with the neighbouring site of Lac du Bouchet and other long European sequences, confirming the proposed chronology. In particular, the temperate phase correlated with the St-Germain I of Grande Pile is well characterized, as at Lac du Bouchet, by the presence of an abrupt cooling corresponding to the Montaigu Event. In contrast, the last pleniglacial deposits contain great amounts of reworked pollen from earlier temperate phases, this making a comparison with Lac du Bouchet impossible. The thick sequence representing the penultimate glaciation is also affected by sediment loss during coring. However, several cold episodes are recorded that are characterized either by a total absence of vegetation or by a treeless steppe vegetation or a Pinus woodland, like the successions observed in the last pleniglacial at Lac du Bouchet.

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Résumé En juin 1988 un sondage de 50 m a été réalisé dans les dépôts lacustres qui comblent le cratère d'explosion de Ribains (Haute-Loire). Les analyses polliniques conduisent à proposer pour cette séquence la chronologie suivante: 0–5,10 m, Holocène et Tardiglaciaire (hiatus); 5,70–17,48 m, dernier Pleniglaciaire; 17,48–27,70 m, glaciaire précoce; 27,70–31,55 m, dernier Interglaciaire, nommé Interglaciaire de Ribains; 31,55–53,50 m, penultième glaciation. Entre 32,0 et 22,5 m, l'enregistrement des successions de végétation du dernier interglaciaire et du glaciaire précoce est excellent car cet intervalle correspond à un épais dépôt de diatomites. Ceci permet d'établir des corrélations précises avec le site voisin du Lac du Bouchet et avec d'autres longues séquences européennes, qui justifient la chronologie adoptée. En particulier, la phase tempérée corrélée avec St-Germain I de la Grande Pile est bien caractérisée, comme au Lac du Bouchet, par la présence d'un court refroidissement abrupt correspondant à l'événement de Montaigu. Au contraire, les dépôts du dernier pléniglaciaire contiennent des quantités importantes de pollen secondaire remanié à partir des phases tempérées antérieures, rendant impossible toute comparaison avec le Lac du Bouchet. De même la très épaisse séquence correspondant au pénultième glaciaire est perturbée par de nombreuses pertes au sondage. Cependant sont individualisés plusieurs épisodes froids sans végétation, à végétation steppique non arborée ou avec boisement en Pinus qui évoquent les successions observées dans le dernier pléniglaciaire au Lac du Bouchet.

     

Canid Coprolites from the Late Pleistocene of Hidalgo,Central Mexico: Importance for the Carnivore Record of North America

We present the first reported occurrence of canid coprolites from the late Pleistocene of central Mexico. The sample consists of five associated coprolites recovered from Quaternary deposits that crop out in southeastern Hidalgo, central Mexico. The material shows several of the typical features of canid feces, including elongated cylindrical shape, uncommon and nondistinct constrictions, and one tapered end. The coprolites are similar in size to feces of North American foxes, such as Vulpes macrotis, V. lagopus, V. vulpes, and Urocyon cinereoargenteus; likewise, their size might be comparable to those of the Pleistocene canid Canis cedazoensis. The content of the studied coprolites consists of numerous teeth and bone fragments referable to the pocket gophers Pappogeomys or Cratogeomys. The coprolite content is related to a mostly carnivorous diet comparable to that of C. cedazoensis, wolves (Canis lupus, C. rufus, and C. dirus), and some foxes (V. macrotis and V. velox). As a result, it is proposed that the potential trace maker of the coprolites could be a form similar to a carnivorous fox or a small dog. These trace fossils represent the first indirect evidence of canids in the late Pleistocene of Hidalgo and provide additional information regarding the geographic distribution of the Canidae in temperate areas of North America that now are part of central Mexico during the second half of the Pleistocene.     

辽宁朝阳马山洞的食肉类化石

本文主要记述了辽宁省朝阳市龙城区马山洞发现的食肉类化石。堆积物的上部主要为颗粒细小的砂质黏土, 而下部主要为直径较大的角砾。2007年出土的食肉目化石有: 似浣熊貉(Nyctereutes procyonoides)、赤狐(Vulpes vulpes)、狗獾(Meles meles)、黄鼬(Mustela sibirica)、中华猫(Felis chinensis)和疑似虎(Panthera tigris)?。其中前5个种在形态上与现生种类非常接近; 而最后一个种除与现生虎比较接近外, 与现生狮子也有一定的相似性。     

Late Miocene vegetation and climate reconstruction based on pollen data from the Sofia Basin (West Bulgaria)

The analysis of fossil palynomorh assemblages in the Late Miocene freshwater sediments of the Sofia Basin (West Bulgaria) was done to collect data on the vegetation and climate dynamics during the Late Miocene. On the basis of pollen data, we described the main palaeocomunities developed in the region. The mixed mesophytic forests dominated the vegetation in which species of Quercus, Ulmus, Zelkova, Fagus, Carpinus, Betula, Castanea, Corylus, Pterocarya, Carya, Juglans, and Eucommia played important roles. Swamp forests were also recorded, including Taxodiaceae, Alnus, Glyptostrobus, Nyssa, and Myrica. Herbaceous vegetation was distributed in the middle part of the section, with a maximum of 35.5%. The vegetation dynamic passes through several phases, which were associated with changes in paleoclimate and palaeoecological conditions. Coexistence Approach (CA) was applied to palynological data to calculate four climatic parameters. The values of coexistence intervals for mean annual temperatures are 13.6–16.6 °C, with winter temperatures being 3.7–6.6 °C and summer temperatures being 23.6–27.8 °C. Mean annual precipitation ranged most frequently between 828 and 1308 mm. The palaeoclimatic reconstruction illustrates existence of a warm-temperate and relatively humid climate with higher mean annual temperature than the present day climate.     

New analysis of the Pleistocene carnivores from Petralona Cave (Macedonia, Greece) based on the Collection of the Thessaloniki Aristotle University

New taxonomic study of the “old collection” of Carnivora from Petralona Cave, associated to the well-known hominid skull, housed in the Geology School of the Thessaloniki Aristotle University since 1960, revealed 11 species (Canis arnensis, Lycaon lycaonoides, Vulpes praeglacialis, Ursus deningeri, U. spelaeus, U. arctos, Pliocrocuta perrieri, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, Crocuta crocuta, Panthera leo spelaea, and Felis silvestris), which are described in detail. The species composition is typical of the eastern part of the European Mediterranean and may be divided into three biostratigraphic assemblages: early Middle Pleistocene, late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene.     

湖北郧西黄龙洞更新世晚期人类牙齿

对2004—2006年在湖北省郧西县黄龙洞发现的7枚更新世晚期人类牙齿进行了观测与分析, 在此基础上与相关的化石人类及近代现代人类标本进行了对比。本研究发现:黄龙洞人类牙齿总体特征与现代人接近, 同时也保留部分可能属于更新世晚期人类的特点, 包括前部牙齿(侧门齿与犬齿)尺寸及粗壮程度都明显大于现代人。黄龙洞人类牙齿呈现的铲形门齿、双铲形门齿及臼齿釉质延伸说明,当时人类已经具有了东亚人群的典型牙齿形态特征。     

The holotypes of the upper Pleistocene Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823: Hyaenidae) and Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810: Felidae) of the Zoolithen Cave hyena den (South Germany) and their palaeo‐ecological interpretation

The rediscovered holotype skulls of Late Pleistocene Panthera leo spelaea ( Goldfuss, 1810 ) (Felidae) and Crocuta crocuta spelaea ( Goldfuss, 1823 ) (Hyaenidae) from the Zoolithen Cave at Burggeilenreuth, southern Germany, are discussed. The cave became famous mainly due to its rich cave bear bone remains from the late Saalian (OIS 6–8) to Eemian/Weichselian (OIS 3–6) including additionally a third holotype of Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794 (Ursidae). The ‘Felis spelaea’ holotype represents an adult male with a strong bite mark on the saggital crest, which was in an early stage of healing. Compared with other European Late Pleistocene lion skulls and skeletons, and with modern African lions, it provides evidence of intraspecific conflict between male Ice Age lions. The holotype of ‘Hyaena spelaea’ is one of several hundred hyena remains from a well‐frequented hyena den cave. The cave was used intensively by Late Pleistocene hyena clans, for collecting lion carcasses in addition to their accustomed prey, as happened in many caves throughout Europe. Ice Age spotted hyena clans might have killed Ice Age steppe lions for many reasons, such as fights over prey and territory, and the protection of cubs, but they did not always scavenge on their carcasses. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 154 , 822–831.     

The Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) population and its prey from the Late Pleistocene Teufelskammer Cave hyena den besides the famous Paleolithic Neandertal Cave (NRW,NW Germany)

Remains from at least seven individuals of the Late Pleistocene Ice Age spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) from the Teufelskammer Cave in the Neandertal valley (North Rhine-Westphalia, northwest Germany) are described. The small cave was a well-frequented hyena den of the Early to Middle Late Pleistocene which was only 100 m from the famous small Feldhofer Cave, where the first Neandertal human skeleton was found. The high amount of hyena bone material (37%) and its strongly chewed and incomplete prey remains of the mixed mammoth steppe and boreal forest megafauna prove one more of 11 recently known hyena den caves in the Rhenish Massif. Hyenas and cave bears have used the cave, but Neandertal humans lived possibly not at the same time in the same valley. Although hyenas occupied mainly the smaller caves such as the Teufelskammer Cave, humans preferred large portal cave entrances such as in the Neandertal valley with the Small Feldhofer Cave.     

Late Quaternary vegetation history at Stracciacappa (Rome, central Italy)

The pollen diagram from Stracciacappa (Sabatini volcanic complex, Rome) provides a record of vegetational and climatic change spanning the last 60000 years, which is the time since when volcanic activity in the crater came to an end. The chronological framework of the sediment core is set by five AMS and three conventional radiocarbon dates; the mean sedimentation rate obtained by radiocarbon measurements was used to extrapolate the age of the record beyond the reach of ¹⁴C dating. The sequence from Stracciacappa provides results of fundamental importance for the understanding of the vegetational changes which occurred during the last pleniglacial period in central Italy, and it can be considered as a reference pollen record for the regional biostratigraphic characterization of this period. The site shows a high climatic sensitivity, particularly highlighted by the development of some pleniglacial oscillations with woodland, which interrupted the succession of steppe and grassland vegetational formations typical of the glacial periods. Unfortunately, due to sedimentation problems and alteration of the top level sediments, the Holocene is only recorded in part. Only for one millennium, from ca. 8300 to 7200 uncalb.p., was a real forest expansion characterized by over 90% arboreal pollen found.     

Vegetation development and human occupation in the Damascus region of southwestern Syria from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene

Rockshelter Baaz in the Damascus region of Syria provided a variety of botanical remains from the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene period. These remains provide new information about the vegetation evolution in this region. The earliest occupational levels correspond with a moisture peak during the Late Pleistocene, between ca. 34–32 kyr b.p., when pine expanded. The next occupations took place during extreme arid conditions, ca. 23–21 kyr b.p., and probably during the Last Glacial Maximum when a steppe vegetation was established. The occupation level of the Younger Dryas, represented by Natufian remains, suggests that the area had been covered by almond-pistachio steppe, similar to later periods of the Early Holocene, and was probably located just outside the range of dense wild cereal stands. There is no drastic impact of the Younger Dryas visible on the vegetation in the botanical remains. The lack of fruits and seeds at Baaz indicates that the site was more likely to have been a temporary hunting post rather than a plant processing site for much of its history. It is ideally suited to this purpose because of its location over the Jaba′deen Pass and the associated springs. However, archaeological remains from the Natufian period, suggest that the site was more permanently occupied during this time. A. Dodonov deceased.     

An Ice Age spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) population,their excrements and prey from the Late Pleistocene hyena den of the Sloup Cave in the Moravian Karst,Czech Republic

A Late Pleistocene spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) population from the cave bear den Sloup Cave, Moravia (Czech Republic) consists of mainly adult/senior and few cub/juvenile remains and coprolites, and 139 prey bones. Hyenas used the Nicová Cave branch that is connected to the entrance area mainly as a communal den site. Prey bone damage is most visible on the imported woolly rhinoceros remains. The partly excavated prey bone accumulation consists of a single woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach 1799) tooth (2%), mainly Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach 1807) remains (16%), 4% Bos primigenius (Bojanus 1827) and 1% each of Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach 1799) and Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus 1758). The other carnivores such as Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss 1810), Gulo gulo (Linnaeus 1758) and Canis lupus (Linnaeus 1758) subsp. are less represented (1–3%). Wolverines might have been imported also as prey remains, whereas wolves also possibly used this cave on a short-term basis, whereas steppe lions seem to have preyed upon cave bears deeper in the cave periodically, where even skeletons of P. leo spelaea were found in the Elisabeth Cave part.     

河南许昌灵井遗址的晚更新世鹿科化石新种类

记述了在近几年从河南省许昌市灵井旧石器遗址出土的1个鹿科化石新亚种: 灵井山西轴鹿新亚种(Axis shansius lingjingensis sub sp.nov.)和1个属、种未定的潜在新种。前者角冠的主枝呈琴弓状, 并有一定程度的螺旋状, 目前是轴鹿属在晚更新世的唯一代表;后者的角冠在角环上方同一位置向不同的方向伸出3个分枝, 与鹿亚科其他成员的角冠在角环上方只有主枝和眉枝(或第一枝)的情况完全不同,而介于晚中新世的皇冠鹿(Stephanocemas)和中、晚更新世的大角鹿(Megaloceros)之间。     

湖北郧西黄龙洞更新世晚期人类牙齿磨耗与使用痕迹

对2004—2006年在黄龙洞发现的7枚人类牙齿磨耗与使用痕迹的观察显示: 除具有正常牙齿相互接触造成的磨耗外, 黄龙洞人类牙齿还呈现出一些特殊的使用痕迹, 包括明显的前部牙齿釉质破损与崩裂、上颌侧门齿齿冠唇面釉质破损、上颌前部牙齿齿间邻接面沟等。根据这些牙齿使用痕迹集中在前部牙齿, 釉质破损与崩裂主要分布在靠近切缘的上颌门齿唇面及下颌门齿舌面的情况, 推测生活在黄龙洞的更新世晚期人类经常使用前部牙齿从事啃咬、叼衔、或剥离等动作, 并可能将前部牙齿作为工具使用。分布在前部牙齿的齿间邻接面沟提示当时人类经常从事剔牙活动。黄龙洞人类前部牙齿的使用痕迹与当时人类获取、处理及食用附着在骨骼上的筋或肉的动作密切相关, 当时人类的食物构成中可能包含有较多的肉类及粗纤维植物。     

Charcoal analysis, a method to study vegetation and climate of the Holocene: The case of Lago di Pergusa (Sicily, Italy)

The direct comparison between microcharcoal and pollen data from the Holocene sediment core of Lago di Pergusa (central Sicily, Italy) led us to investigate the linkages between fire, vegetation, and climate in the Mediterranean Basin. The role of human populations in shaping the environment of the last millennia was closely examined as well. Pollen and charcoal were extracted using a standard pollen methodology and both identified from the same pollen slides. At Lago di Pergusa the importance of fire in maintaining and favouring a Mediterranean vegetation, a basic concept in ecology, seems to be inconsistent, as important fires took place in the open environments with xeric vegetation at the beginning of the Holocene well before the expansion of evergreen vegetation. On the contrary some big fires seem to have happened in the period (around 8000 years BP) in which the greatest wetness, the thickest forest canopy, and the most important expansion of submontane vegetation of the record are found. A probable explanation of this phenomenon can be found in the precipitation regime, in the increased available biomass and in the resulting increase in combustible material, indicating also that the highest humidity achieved in central Sicily during the Holocene was not strong enough to prevent fires. During this period drops in arboreal pollen concentration match in minima in the charcoal curves. Fires were practically absent during the Neolithic and Eneolithic periods and not responsible for the general trend towards aridification identified in the pollen record, at times in which prehistoric populations are generally believed to have caused forest clearance by burning. Important and frequent burnings are documented for the Bronze and Iron Ages and probably not all of them were fires of living trees, but burning of wood for producing metals, cooking or heating. The occurrence of a fire around 3700 years BP temporarily caused a minor decrease of arboreal pollen concentration. In the open landscapes of the two last millennia an almost continuous sign of regional burnings is recognized, confirming the historical evidence of an intense land use in central Sicily at least since Roman times.