PBDB Collection

Torre Picchio section, S. Maria di Ciciliano Formation, Montecastrilli, Umbria (Pliocene to of Italy)

Also known as Torre di Picchio

Where: Umbria, Italy (42.7° N, 12.5° E: paleocoordinates 42.6° N, 12.4° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Santa Maria di Ciciliano Formation, Pliocene to Pliocene (5.3 - 0.0 Ma)

• A number of samples within the section were taken and each has been entered separately. Date based on Macromammals and molluscs - thought to be Early Pleistocene in age, but some taxa are Pliocene, indicating either longer survival in Italy than elsewhere, or that the Formation is slightly earlier than previously thought (in which case it marks the first appearance of some Early Pleistocene taxa).

Environment/lithology: fluvial

• Three separate deposits in the section - lowermost is two meters of coarse sands which are yellow, cross-stratified with levels or lenses of clayey pebbles, fine sand, silt and clay. Oxidised crusts and fossil wood stumps are common features. Thought to be a meandering channel deposit. Above it is one meter of silts and clays, the first 35 cm of which are silty, brownish, with evident root traces and therefore considered a palaeosol formed in a swampy environment. The last 70 cm are grey clays refered to a lacustrine environment.

• Outcrop of sandy, clayey and silty sediments.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils

Collection methods: bulk, sieve,

Primary reference: O. Girotti, L. Capasso Barbato, D. Esu, E. Gliozzi, T. Kotsakis, E. Martinetto, C. Petronio, R. Sardella, and E. Squazzini. 2003. The section of Torre Picchio (Terni, Umbria, Central Italy): A Villafranchian site rich in vertebrates, molluscs, ostracods and plants. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 109(1):77-98 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 51684: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 10.06.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Vertebrates are given as one list for the whole outcrop. Plant remains and molluscs are subdivided/subsampled and have been entered as subcollections.

Show authors, comments, and common names

Pisces
-	"Pisces indet." = Osteichthyes "Pisces indet." = Osteichthyes Huxley 1880 bony fish
Aves
Accipitriformes - Accipitridae	Accipitridae indet. Accipitridae indet. Viellot 1816 hawk 1 tarsometatarsus
Ciconiiformes - Ciconiidae	Ciconiidae indet. Ciconiidae indet. Sundevall 1836 stork 1 carpometacarpus.
Reptilia
Testudines - Emydidae	Emys orbicularis Emys orbicularis Linnaeus 1758 European pond turtle many shell plates.
Testudines - Geoemydidae	Mauremys sp. Mauremys sp. Gray 1870 pond turtle 1 left xiphiplastron.
Testudines - Trionychidae	? Trionyx sp. ? Trionyx sp. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1809 softshell turtle Testudinata indet (? Trionyx sp.) 1 large scapula. Uncertain attribution.
Mammalia
Proboscidea - Elephantidae	? Mammuthus meridionalis ? Mammuthus meridionalis Nesti 1825 mammoth 4 fragments of molar enamel.
Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae	Stephanorhinus cf. etruscus Stephanorhinus cf. etruscus Falconer 1868 rhinoceros 1 juvenile mandible, 1 third metatarsal.
Perissodactyla - Equidae	"Equus cf. stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis "Equus cf. stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis Cocchi 1867 horse 1 proximal metatarsal epiphysis, 1 acetabulum, lower teeth fragments: 1 P4 , 1 P3, 1 D3. 1 molar and 1 premolar fragment.
Artiodactyla -	Bovoidea "indet. 1", Bovoidea "indet. 2" Bovoidea "indet. 1" Gray 1821 ruminant Bovoidea sensu latu. Medium sized antelope, ? Gallogoral. 1 third phalanx. Bovoidea "indet. 2" Gray 1821 ruminant medium sized, fragment of skull with horncore.
Artiodactyla - Cervidae	Cervidae indet., Eucladoceros sp., Axis nestii, Axis sp. Cervidae indet. Gray 1821 deer fragmentary bones and teeth (some juvenile). Eucladoceros sp. Falconer 1868 deer Eucladoceros dicranios vel. ctenoides. 1 juvenile mandible fragment, 1 upper M1, 1 Lower M1, 1 metatarsal fragment, 1 calcaneum, 1 astragalus. No antlers. Axis nestii deer well represented with cranial, dental and antler remains, plus 1 radius, 1 metacarpal and 1 metatarsal. Axis sp. Gray 1825 deer 4 first phalanges, 1 third phalanx, plus 1 antler fragment and fragmentary postcranial remains.
Artiodactyla - Bovidae	Bovidae indet., Leptobos cf. etruscus, Leptobos sp. Bovidae indet. Gray 1821 antelope Large sized. 1 molar fragment, 1 upper M3 fragment. Leptobos cf. etruscus antelope 2 metacarpals, 3 metatarsals, 1 first phalanx, 1 second phalanx, 1 tibia, 1 femur, 1 mandible fragment with P4. Leptobos sp. Rutimeyer 1878 antelope teeth and some postcranial remains.
Artiodactyla - Suidae	Sus strozzii Sus strozzii Forsyth Major 1881 pig Incisor, molar fragment, lower canine fragment, lower M3.
Carnivora - Felidae	Homotherium sp. Homotherium sp. Fabrini 1890 cat 1 femur fragment. 1 first phalanx. Large, evidence of fluvial transport.
Carnivora - Canidae	Canis sp. Canis sp. Linnaeus 1758 canine 1 fragmentary upper P3, 1 distal metapodial.
Carnivora - Mustelidae	? Baranogale sp. ? Baranogale sp. Kormos 1934 mustelid carnivore 1 lower M1 (heavily worn), 1 second phalanx.
Rodentia - Cricetidae	Mimomys medasensis Mimomys medasensis vole upper teeth: 15 M1, 2 M2, 4, M3. Lower teeth: 10 M1, 3 M2, 1 M3, 4 mandible fragments with teeth.
Rodentia - Castoridae	Castor sp. Castor sp. Linnaeus 1758 beaver 1 upper right M2, 1 phalanx.
Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae	Prolagus sp. Prolagus sp. Pomel 1853 pika 1 maxilla with P2-M3, 1 palate with P3, 3 mandibles with teeth, 1 incisor fragment, 5 lower P2, 8 lower P3, 18 premolar 4 or molar fragments.
Lagomorpha - Leporidae	Oryctolagus cf. lacosti Oryctolagus cf. lacosti rabbit 1 mandible fragment with P3-M3, 1 incisor fragment, 3 lower P3, 8 molars.
Amphibia
Salientia -	Anura indet. Anura indet. frog a distal tibia-fibula, toad sized.