Sabal Leaves and Associated Late Miocene Palaeoflora of Montebamboli (massa Marittima, Grosseto, Italy)

The Late Miocene flora of Montebamboli in Tuscany was described in the classical work of Gaudin and Strozzi from the second half of the 19(th) th century. Since then, it has never been revised. The Montebamboli locality is most famous for the occurrence of the hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii and hence a reappraisal of its flora can shed new light on the environments in which this hominoid thrived. The revised palaeobotanical record of Montebamboli suggests that the leaf assemblage is dominated by elements typical of riparian and swamp forest ( Alnus , Acer, Salix, Platanus, etc.). The palm Sabal, which is represented by numerous fossil leaves, is also characteristic of riparian vegetation. The poor record of the mesophytic vegetation thriving on well-drained soils, further away from the zone of deposition, is represented by Fagus (beech) and an enigmatic chestnut-like oak ( Quercus gigas). Along with the previously published palynological record, including additional ferns, Cyperaceae, and Zingiberaceae, it appears that food sources for Oreopithecus would have comprised a wealth of tubers, fruits (nuts and acorns of beech, oak and hazelnut), and drupes of Sabal. The flora of Montebamboli represents an impoverished version of a typical Late Miocene flora of the western and central parts of the northern Mediterranean region. The composition of the flora supports the idea that the Montebamboli lignites and the adjacent Baccinello lignites are coeval.