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

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils

Collection methods: bulk, sieve,

• Plant remains indicate a Mean Annual Temperature of 12 +_1 Centigrade (close to modern temps for Umbria) with higher precipitation than at present, and no marked summer drought. Cooler temps than those idicated by Late Pliocene plant remains from the same area.

•Molluscs suggest a marshy to swampy environment, with influxes of slow running waters.

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 51766: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 16.06.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)