The last Antilopini bovids from the Early Pleistocene of Italy

Abstract

Recent fieldwork in the Coste San Giacomo site (Early Pleistocene – Gelasian; central Italy) led us to discover new fossils of the Antilopini bovids Gazella borbonica and Gazellospira torticornis that are presented and discussed in this paper. These taxa have important palaeoenvironmental and biochronological significance during the Early Pleistocene. They were the last Antilopinae that inhabited the Italian peninsula, characterizing the middle Villafranchian large mammal assemblages living in arid and open environments. Gazella is one of the most diverse and widespread genus among Antilopinae subfamily, living today in Africa and in Asia. G. borbonica was the last species that inhabited Europe. In the Italian peninsula, it has been found in three sites: Montopoli, Dianella and Coste San Giacomo. The spiral horn-cored G. torticornis, larger in size than G. borbonica, has been found in the Italian sites of Montecarlo and Coste San Giacomo. Here, we present the study of the Italian record, based in particular on the horn cores. Finally, this material is compared with the remains coming from the coeval European localities.