A Miocene cervid from the torrente Morra sequence (Collesalvetti, Pisa Italy)

Abstract

A well preserved fossil left tibia of artiodactyl was recently found along Torrente Morra, in the surroundings of Collesalvetti (15 Kms South of Pisa). The bone is embedded in Upper Messinian deltaic sediments which outcrop patchily in the area. The specimen can be referred to a primitive cervid and shows morphological characters and proportions very close to those of the tibiae of extant roe deer, Capreolus capreolus . The find is particularly significant because continental mammals have never been reported before from the Miocene deposits of this area. A possible reference to a primitive roe deer would be consistent with Late Miocene macrofloral and palynological evidence from this area, which attest to a transition from a subtropical forested environment to a temperate Mediterranean one.