Changes in the Late Pleistocene small-mammal distribution in the Italian Peninsula

Abstract

Recent studies of the Late Pleistocene small-mammal sequences of the Italian Peninsula have provided a more detailed context that sheds light on numerous aspects of the faunal communities in this area. A georeferenced database with 51 Italian Peninsula sites has been built in order to investigate changes in the species range distribution and the evolution of the small-mammal community during the Late Pleistocene, with a special focus on the late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) to Late Glacial assemblages.From the early Late Pleistocene, the Italian Peninsula was divided into two biotic macroregions: the northern Italian Peninsula and the southern Italian Peninsula. The former was characterized by the presence of eastern European species, the latter by the presence of the endemic Savi’s vole (Microtus (Terricola) savii) and the Roman mole (Talpa romana). Three sub-regions have been recognized on the basis of the presence of Dinaromys bogdanovi (northeastern Italian Peninsula) and the presence or absence of Glis glis (southern Tyrrhenian side and southern Adriatic side, respectively).Major oscillations corresponding to Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles and Heinrich Events (HE or H) have been identified in both macroregions. In particular, the Bølling-Allerød Interstadial can be considered a moment of major faunal renewal for the small-mammal communities of the Italian Peninsula.Finally, the small-mammal communities of the Italian Peninsula follow the same general path as that recognized throughout Mediterranean Europe during the Late Pleistocene: this is characterized by variations in the spread of eastern European taxa in relation to mountain barriers and by the absence of these taxa in the southern areas of the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas, compensated by the presence of endemic species.