The fossil hominoid Oreopithecus, the only western European hominoid to survive the Vallesian Crisis, became extinct at ca. 6.7 Ma. Oreopithecus was part of the endemic faunal complex, also known as “Oreopithecus Zone Faunas” (OZF), that inhabited a late Miocene emerged land(s) in the northern Tyrrhenian area (nowadays Tuscany and Sardinia). Albeit most of the OZF mammals have phylogenetic affinities with European species, some authors interpreted a few taxa (the alcelaphine Maremmia, the neotragine Tyrrhenotragus) as of possible African origin. Remains of O. bambolii are extremely abundant in the so-called V1 assemblage from the lignite layer at Baccinello and other coal mines in the region. This assemblage is characterized by low taxonomic diversity and a high level of endemism. The reconstructed vegetation for this level is that of a lowland mixed mesophytic forest. The stratigraphically younger V2 assemblage resembles V1 but it is characterized by the occurrence of new immigrants such as Eumaiochoerus. The entire OZF became extinct when southern Tuscany became fully connected with the newly formed Apennine chain. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope record from organic matter in paleosols along the Baccinello Basin succession showed plant ecosystem stability through time and space, suggesting that environmental change was not an underlying cause for the extinction of Oreopithecus and associated fauna. Acknowledgments. Authors are supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) PUSHH, a project funded by the European Union’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (grant agreement no. 861389; www.pushh-etn.eu; @PUSHH_ETN).
Oreopithecus bambolii and its ecosystem: More than a century of research on a peculiar hominoid-bearing site
Weronika Cieszynska
2021-01-01
Abstract
The fossil hominoid Oreopithecus, the only western European hominoid to survive the Vallesian Crisis, became extinct at ca. 6.7 Ma. Oreopithecus was part of the endemic faunal complex, also known as “Oreopithecus Zone Faunas” (OZF), that inhabited a late Miocene emerged land(s) in the northern Tyrrhenian area (nowadays Tuscany and Sardinia). Albeit most of the OZF mammals have phylogenetic affinities with European species, some authors interpreted a few taxa (the alcelaphine Maremmia, the neotragine Tyrrhenotragus) as of possible African origin. Remains of O. bambolii are extremely abundant in the so-called V1 assemblage from the lignite layer at Baccinello and other coal mines in the region. This assemblage is characterized by low taxonomic diversity and a high level of endemism. The reconstructed vegetation for this level is that of a lowland mixed mesophytic forest. The stratigraphically younger V2 assemblage resembles V1 but it is characterized by the occurrence of new immigrants such as Eumaiochoerus. The entire OZF became extinct when southern Tuscany became fully connected with the newly formed Apennine chain. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope record from organic matter in paleosols along the Baccinello Basin succession showed plant ecosystem stability through time and space, suggesting that environmental change was not an underlying cause for the extinction of Oreopithecus and associated fauna. Acknowledgments. Authors are supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) PUSHH, a project funded by the European Union’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (grant agreement no. 861389; www.pushh-etn.eu; @PUSHH_ETN).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
