Cava di Breccia di Casal Selce, layer G (Pleistocene of Italy)

Where: Italy (41.9° N, 12.3° E: paleocoordinates 41.9° N, 12.3° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Middle Pleistocene (0.8 - 0.1 Ma)

• The fossil remains here described were found in the layer G of the Casal Selce succession, following the stratigraphic schemes proposed by Conato et al. (1980) and Sardella & Petrucci (2012). This level, together with the layer F, have been considered as "Salmon sand" by Marra et al. (2014). The "Salmon sand" deposit of this site provided a rich vertebrate fossil association referred to the Isernia Faunal Unit (Middle Galerian) and has been attributed, on the basis of the correlation with other dated similar deposits in the Ponte Galeria area, to a time span between 615 ± 3 ka and 565 ± 2 ka (MIS 15, a warm isotopic stage).

Environment/lithology: lacustrine; sandstone

• lacustrine and marshy deposits

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: Repository: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, University of Sapienza, Roma

Primary reference: M. Pavia and C. Bedetti. 2013. The presence of Harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus (Linnaeus 1758) in the Middle Pleistocene of Italy. Journal of Ornithology 154:875-878 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 197786: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 26.11.2018

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Aves
 Pelecaniformes - Ardeidae
Egretta garzetta Linnaeus 1766 little egret
 Pelecaniformes - Threskiornithidae
Plegadis falcinellus Linnaeus 1766 glossy ibis
Platalea leucorodia Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian spoonbill
 Columbiformes - Columbidae
Columba palumbus Linnaeus 1758 common wood-pigeon
 Gruiformes - Rallidae
Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus 1758 water rail
 Passeriformes - Sylviidae
cf. Sylviidae indet. Vigors 1825 perching bird
 Passeriformes - Corvidae
Pica pica Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian magpie
Corvus sp. Linnaeus 1758 crow
Corvus frugilegus/corone
 Passeriformes - Alaudidae
Alaudidae indet. Vigors 1825 lark
 Passeriformes - Turdidae
Turdus sp. Linnaeus 1758 true thrush
Turdus philomelos/iliacus and Turdus sp.
Turdus pilaris Linnaeus 1758 fieldfare
 Anseriformes - Anatidae
Anatidae indet. Vigors 1825 waterfowl
Spatula clypeata/Mareca penelope
Tadorna tadorna Linnaeus 1758 Common shelduck
Aythya nyroca Güldenstädt 1770 ferruginous pochard
Aythya fuligula Linnaeus 1758 tufted duck
cf. Somateria sp. Leach 1819 eider
Mergus sp. Linnaeus 1758 merganser
Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus 1758 mallard
Histrionicus histrionicus Linnaeus 1758 harlequin duck
 Accipitriformes - Accipitridae
Accipiter nisus Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian sparrowhawk
Haliaeetus albicilla Linnaeus 1758 white-tailed eagle
Buteo buteo Linnaeus 1758 common buzzard
 Charadriiformes - Haematopodidae
Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian oystercatcher
 Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae
Scolopax rusticola Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian woodcock
 Galliformes - Phasianidae
Perdix sp. Brisson 1760 partridge
Coturnix coturnix Linnaeus 1758 common quail