This study investigates the osteometric differences between the Sardinian pine marten (Martes martes latinorum) and its continental counterpart (Martes martes martes), focusing on both cranial and postcranial skeletal elements. According to the island rule, small mammals on islands tend to increase in size. The Sardinian pine marten exhibits an increase in skull size (+12% in both sexes) compared to European subspecies, while its overall body mass shows a smaller increase (+9%). Analysis of the masticatory apparatus suggests hypertrophy of the temporalis and masseter muscles, reflected in a more robust zygomatic arch and a narrower postorbital constriction (-3.5% in males,-2.9% in females), suggesting a dietary shift toward increased meat consumption. The cranial capacity of Sardinian pine martens (22.85 cm(3) in males, 21.48 cm(3) in females) remains relatively large, possibly due to the cognitive demands associated with predation. Limb bones are longer in Sardinian females (+5.8%) but show negligible difference in males (< 1%) compared to the European subspecies. This study provides the first comprehensive osteological analysis of M. m. latinorum, demonstrating that the Sardinian marten population forms a distinct insular cluster, as also confirmed by genetic data. Historical and archeological evidence suggests that the Sardinian pine marten was introduced during the Neolithic (approximately 8,000 years ago). Therefore, the observed skeletal modifications, including the increased size of the skull, occurred in a relatively short evolutionary timescale.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328840.].

In this report, we present and briefly describe a small sample of the endemic Sardinian macaque Macaca majori Azzaroli, 1946 from the Pleistocene type locality of Capo Figari (Golfo Aranci, northeastern Sardinia). The famous Swiss palaeontologist Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major (1843-1923) donated the fossils to the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle of Paris (France) in 1914. This still unpublished material represents one of the first M. majori samples ever collected and is of great scientific and historical importance. The history of palaeontological research is comprised within such collections, rendering their preservation and that of the inherent information they contain essential for palaeontological studies.

The challenging task of correctly estimating the body size of prehistoric hominins from footprint dimensions has been a matter of long debate, but researchers are still divided about the best methodological approach for obtaining compelling estimates. This research attempts to infer the body size of the trackmakers, who impressed their footprints on the uneven ground slope of a Roccamonfina volcano’s ignimbrite (≈350 ka) at the Foresta/“Devil’s Trails” ichnosite. We used the equations selected among the most adequate for the footprints of this peculiar ichnosite with an exploratory purpose and from a critical estimation point of view. The values of the body size derived from the different equations are highly variable; the minimum and maximum values can differ by up to 50%. The variation range is similarly large when applying the same equations to the footprints from some North African and European Lower Paleolithic ichnosites. The variability of the results mainly depends on the technique of footprint measurements, the environmental context (substrate, surface slope, trackmaker gait, etc.), the equation used, and, to a minor extent, the dimensional slight differences between a fleshy foot and a footprint. This makes comparisons among the sites challenging. All things considered, we could say that the average body mass (about 60 kg) and stature (about 166 cm) of Foresta trackmakers, who may be individuals of different sexes, fall in the range of the Middle Pleistocene Homo heidelbergensis s.l.

The site of Casal Lumbroso is located in the north-west sector of Rome (central Italy). Stratigraphic and geochemical data presented here evidence that the archaeological and paleontological horizon lies at the top of the Tiber River aggradational succession related to the MIS 11c sea level highstand (dated at ca. 404 ka), and that the paleohabitat was characterised by wooded environments and humid climatic conditions. Paleontological analysis allows attributing most of the remains to an adult individual of straight-tusked elephant, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, with sporadic elements referred to Stephanorhinus sp., Bovinae, Cervinae, Cervus elaphus, Dama sp., Canis sp., Oryctolagus sp., Talpa sp., Testudines, and Amphibia. Two bird remains are referred to Anatidae and Strigiformes. A rich lithic assemblage, mainly made of flint, was also found associated with the fossil remains. Taphonomic, technological and functional analyses indicate that the P. antiquus carcass was probably exploited by humans not only as a food source, but also as a source of raw material, as documented by the presence of several intentionally fractured elephant bone fragments, some of them also with flake removals, with localized use wear traces. The findings at Casal Lumbroso highlight once again the importance of the territory around the city of Rome for Middle Pleistocene studies. The northwestern sector of the city, where other important sites such as Castel di Guido and La Polledrara di Cecanibbio have also been discovered, is therefore crucial for understanding human strategies for exploiting elephant carcasses.

Here we provide a brief reply to the comment by Fabrizio Marra on “The Lost MIS 11c Mammalian Fauna from Via dell’Impero (Rome, Italy)”. The comment deals with our omission of the citation of a paper reporting 40Ar/39Ar dating that, according to Marra, would have been fundamental for our study. However, while recognizing that the omission of this article was a pity, we herein demonstrate that this did not affect in any way the results of our study, and that Marra’s comment contains contradictory affirmations and relies on a merely speculative hypothesis.

The dwarf Sardinian mammoth, Mammuthus lamarmorai, is a well-known species frequently cited in the literature; however, the fossil record of the Pleistocene Sardinian mammoths mainly consists of isolated remains (an incomplete skeleton from Guardia Pisano Hill, isolated teeth and a largely incomplete tibia from different localities, and some footprints from Funtana Morimenta), which have been found in sites presumably ranging in age from the late Middle to the Late Pleistocene. All of the remains have been ascribed to a single species of an endemic mammoth, Mammuthus lamarmorai, which is moderately reduced in size. The paucity of remains increases uncertainties about the chronological range of Sardinian mammoth remains, some of which are currently missing, while others lack sound information about their exact provenance or were removed and collected without contextual information. As a result, the different sizes of molariform teeth from different localities, the lack of chewing tooth remains at Guardia Pisano Hill, and the doubtful chronology of some remains hamper any attempt to infer whether one or more species that originated from an anagenetic or radiative evolutionary process or through multiple arrivals from the mainland inhabited the island. Therefore, the continental ancestor or ancestors of Sardinian mammoth populations and the time and number of dispersals of the ancestral taxon or taxa have long been debated, and the persistence through time of mammoth endemic populations still remains an unsolved matter. This research summarizes and critically reviews our knowledge about the Sardinian endemic mammoth, provides new evidence about the Sardinian mammoth’s ancestor and the possible time of its dispersal from the mainland to the island, gives new information about the Sardinian mammoth’s histology and physical characteristics, and highlights some focal, unsolved questions (e.g., morphological and dimensional differences in dentition, number of Sardinian mammoth species, population dynamics, decline, and disappearance). Further research and increasing data, which will enable taphonomic, spectrometric, and dating studies, will provide better results to solve the remaining questions.

This research presents an in-depth analysis of large mammal remains first discovered in 1932 in the archaeological area of ancient Rome, central Italy, during the work for the opening of Via dell’Impero (VFI). This work describes the faunal assemblage, its current preservation status, and uses tephrochronology to assess its age. Additionally, it provides paleoecological insights into the evolution of the mammalian fauna in Latium, central Italy, from MIS 13 to MIS 7. Analysis of the fossils updates the identification previously proposed by De Angelis d’Ossat, confirming the presence of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Cervus elaphus, and Bos primigenius. However, in contrast to the previous author, the hippopotamus remains are assigned to Hippopotamus cf. antiquus, and a second deer is identified as Dama sp.. Furthermore, gnawing marks on the hippopotamus femur suggest the presence of a middle-sized carnivore. Tephrochronological investigation was conducted on pumice retrieved from the VFI fossiliferous layer and ash extracted from sediments adhering to the fossil surfaces. The major element composition of the glass from all pumice/ash samples shows a strong affinity with the Vico β unit, allowing correlation with the Fucino record and constraining the deposition of the VFI fossiliferous level between <406.5 ± 1.3 ka and >405.7 + 1.5/−1.6 ka. Radiometric dating is particularly useful for large mammal faunas of MIS 11-MIS 7, a period lacking significant faunal renewals, as Latium mammalian faunas are often dominated by species (elephants, red deer, aurochs) with broad chronological ranges.

This study investigates the fossil horse remains from the archaeo-palaeontological layer of the Middle Pleistocene locality of Fontana Ranuccio (Central Italy) (400 ka; MIS 11), which has been long considered a reference site for the Italian biochronology from which the Fontana Ranuccio Faunal Unit has been established in the 1990s. Despite the archaeo-palaeontological importance of this locality, the material belonging to equids has never been formally described. The Fontana Ranuccio sample consists of 28 remains, in particular 25 isolated premolars and molars at different wear stages, an incomplete scapula, a complete talus and a proximal portion of a third metatarsus which belong to a large caballine horse, historically ascribed to Equus cf. E. mosbachensis. The large size and the persistence of some primitive - stenonoid sensu lato - characters in the Fontana Ranuccio teeth, together with clear advanced (caballine) morphological traits support their attribution to the polymorph group of Equus mosbachensis. The results of the revision of the Fontana Ranuccio material and the comparison with data from selected European localities are consistent with the hypothesis that the morphological and dimensional differences observed in Middle Pleistocene horses depend on the presence of ecomorphotypes and the intrinsic intra-population variability that characterises most equid species.

ABSTRACT In this contribution, we estimate the possible living body mass (BM) of the anancine gomphotheriid Anancus arvernensis , by testing a recently proposed volumetric method based on hyper‐realistic in vivo 3D reconstructions and comparing the results with the BM obtained by using regression formulas. The analysis, conducted starting from two articulated skeletons, showed that the performance of regression formulas varies considerably from taxon to taxon, with plausible estimates obtained only when the mean of all the formulas on the individual bones is available and considered. Differently, formulas applied to single bones can lead to underestimations or overestimations of up to 300%, with BM ranging from 54 kg to 26 metric tonnes. By using the volumetric method, the in vivo reconstruction of Anancus arvernensis made it possible to estimate a BM between 5.2 and 6 t, a figure close to that of an extant adult male African elephant. The obtained results show that estimating BM in terrestrial tetrapods from single or fragmented bones might lead to highly improbable and misleading conclusions. Thus, in the presence of adequately complete mounted skeletons, it is always preferable and recommended to estimate the BM using the volumetric approach, which is based on an in vivo 3D reconstruction.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have seen tremendous development in the last decade, with numerous applications in civil and research fields. Drones’ success, particularly in the field of research, is due to a number of factors, including rapid technological advancement, tool versatility, and prices that are becoming increasingly affordable even for small research groups or individuals. Given the versatility and ongoing development of micro drones, we tested the use of micro-drones in vertebrate palaeontology to reconstruct mounted skeletons using the photogrammetry method. The experiment was carried out on a massive specimen of Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti 1825) from Madonna della Strada, which is on display at the east bastion of the Spanish Fortress in L’Aquila (Abruzzo, Central Italy), comparing the results with those obtained using the traditional method using a digital camera. Even though both the traditional digital camera and the drone methods produced a high-resolution 3D model of the skeleton, the results obtained, indeed, lead us to consider the use of micro-drones in museum structures as a very interesting and promising new field of application. Drones provide a simple, fast, and non-invasive system for the study, monitoring, and enhancement of cultural heritage in all of its possible manifestations.

In this contribution we present an in vivo reconstruction and volumetric body mass estimate for the mounted skeleton of Mammuthus meridionalis on exhibit at the east bastion of the Spanish Fortress at L’Aquila (Abruzzo, Central Italy). The reconstruction has been obtained starting from a 3D photogrammetric model of the skeleton acquired via a micro-drones and by digitally adding a percentage of soft tissues according to the conditions observed in wild specimens. By applying to the volume the density range proposed in literature for extant proboscideans we obtain an estimate of the body mass in the adult male specimen ranging from 11.3 t to 11.5 t, with average body mass equal to 11.43 t. In addition, we compare the volumetric BM estimate with the BM predictive values obtained by means of traditional regression equations based on long bones linear dimension and shoulder height. The results confirm that the volumetric method is always preferable if sufficiently complete mounted skeletons are available, since application of regression formulas to single bony element can lead to an underestimation or overestimation up to 130%. As a general indication, weight estimates in extinct tetrapods based on single measures and single bones should be totally avoided, especially in groups morphologically and phylogenetically distant from extant reference taxa.

This is the first study on the bony labyrinth of Cynotherium sardous, an intriguing extinct canid that inhabited Sardinia in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. The morphological features of the cochlea indicate that C. sardous had a lower number of cochlear turns (2.25) than all extant canids. This feature, as well as the reduced length of the spiral canal, the cochlear curvature rate, and the narrow basal membrane, indicates that C. sardous had poor hearing abilities limited to high-frequency sounds with a low limit of 250 Hz and poor echolocalization skills. From the data available, it is not possible to infer whether C. sardous was unable to echolocalize its prey and relied on other senses (e.g., smell and sight) to locate them or whether the acoustic range of C. sardous was specialized for identifying the sounds produced by its most common prey to transmit signals for predator warnings or group communication. All things considered, the results obtained confirm the utility of cochlea morphological studies in reconstructing the hearing abilities of this species and in providing some suggestions about its ethology, but they fall short of providing any new sound evidence regarding the ecological role of C. sardous in the Late Pleistocene Sardinian ecosystem.

A nearly complete skeleton of an elephant calf was excavated between 2012 and 2014 from breccia deposits in a vertical karstic cavity named Cova del Rinoceront, exposed during limestone quarrying. The skeleton was found in the 120 cm-thick breccia layer III (Unit 1) of the 11 m-long sedimentary sequence filling the cavity. IRSL (128-129 ka) and AAR (126-142 ka) dating indicate that the layer was probably deposited during MIS 5e (similar to 115-135 ka). The diagnostic morphological traits of the occlusal surface of the molariform teeth, their position in the tooth progression and wear indicate that the skeleton belongs to a Palaeoloxodon antiquus calf about 5 years old, with a putative height at the shoulder of about 178-187 cm and a weight of about 1450-1500 kg. The sex cannot be confidently determined because the tusks were poorly preserved and the young age reduces the diagnostic value of the pelvis girdle. The rarity of calf skeletons in the fossil record of continental straight-tusked elephants renders the Cova del Rinoceront individual of great interest for better understanding the ontogenetic processes in continental straight-tusked elephants. The results obtained evidence, on the one hand, the difficulties entailed in properly assessing the ontogenetic growth process, given the low number of fully informative specimens of straight-tusked elephants known to date. On the other hand, they indicate an early beginning of distal epiphyseal fusion in humerus and tibia and of the proximal epiphysis in radius. Moreover, the nearly fused lateral epicondylus and condylus and the unfused and separate diaphysis and epiphysis on the medial side of the right femur suggest not only that fusion patterns may show high levels of intraspecific variation, but also that the process of epiphyseal fusion may vary in the homologous bones of a single individual. Notwithstanding the limitations resulting from the preservation status of the calf bones, our analysis yielded sufficient information to infer the ontogenetic age of the Cova del Rinoceront elephant, estimate its body mass and evaluate allometric growth in P. antiquus long bones. We obtained slightly different results when analysing samples that did or did not include the Cova del Rinoceront calf. In the former sample, confident isometry was limited to a few predictors but could not be excluded because for most of the independent variables, isometry and negative correlation were roughly balanced. Most of the dependent and independent variables showed the same or a similar scale ratio, but fewer responded almost similarly to bending stresses imposed by loading under their own weight. When the calf was excluded from analysis, negative or possibly negative correlations and variables responding almost similarly to bending stresses imposed by loading under their own weight prevailed. However, the hypothesis that some changes in limb bone proportions occurred during ontogenetic growth requires further support from an analysis of large samples of fully informative mature and immature P. antiquus individuals. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In the present paper we provide a new estimate of the body mass (BM) of the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon ex gr. P. falconeri from Spinagallo cave (Sicily) at three different ontogenetic stages. The new estimates are based on 3D in-vivo restorations, digitally sculpted on anatomically updated photogrammetric models of the skeletons mounted at the Museo Universitario di Scienze della Terra (MUST), University of Rome (Italy). The new method provided an average BM of 249.98 kg for the adult male, 150.47 kg for the adult female, 38.81 kg for the juvenile male and 7.83 kg for the new-born male. Assuming as reliable these estimates, the values previously obtained by applying the regression formulae based on pad circumferences, shoulder height and long bone circumferences substantially would underestimate or overestimate the Spinagallo elephant BM up to 103%. The results obtained indicate that the volumetric methods can be regarded as the most solid and reliable to estimate the BM in those extinct vertebrates for which accurate mounted skeletons are available. This new method is therefore of critical importance for inferring the BM of taxa characterised by peculiar osteological proportions, such as those shown by the insular dwarf elephant analysed in the present work.

Extinction of species has been a recurrent phenomenon in the history of our planet, but it was generally outweighed in the course of quite a long geological time by the appearance of new species, except, especially, for the five geologically short times when the so-called “Big Five” mass extinctions occurred. Could the current decline in biodiversity be considered as a signal of an ongoing, human-driven sixth mass extinction? This note briefly examines some issues related to: (i) The hypothesized current extinction rate and the magnitude of contemporary global biodiversity loss; (ii) the challenges of comparing them to the background extinction rate and the magnitude of the past Big Five mass extinction events; (iii) briefly considering the effects of the main anthropogenic stressors on ecosystems, including the risk of the emergence of pandemic diseases. A comparison between the Pleistocene fauna dynamics with the present defaunation process and the cascading effects of recent anthropogenic actions on ecosystem structure and functioning suggests that habitat degradation, ecosystem fragmentation, and alien species introduction are important stressors increasing the negative impact on biodiversity exerted by anthropogenic-driven climate changes and their connected effects. In addition, anthropogenic ecological stressors such as urbanization, landscapes, and wildlife trade, creating new opportunities for virus transmission by augmenting human contact with wild species, are among the main factors triggering pandemic diseases.

The intra-montane Guadix-Baza Basin is one of the few continental basins in Europe that hosts a well-dated set of fossiliferous sites spanning from the latest Miocene to the late Middle Pleistocene. The Cullar de Baza 1 (CB-1) represents a key site to investigate the effects of the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, considered a fundamental transformation in the Earth's climate state. Our review and update of the large mammal assemblage, and particularly equids, is of paramount relevance to understand the systematic affinities and the evolution of the Early and Middle Pleistocene European horses. We confirm the occurrence of two different taxa, the medium sized Equus altidens and the larger E. suessenbornensis. Moreover, we illustrate that CB-1 is essential for the biochronological studies of the latest Early Pleis-tocene/Middle Pleistocene transition (Epivillafranchian/Galerian ELMA); in particular with regard to the Last Occurrences of the Etruscan rhino Stephanorhinus etruscus and the large deer Megaloceros savini and the First Occurrence of the water-rat Arvicola mosbachensis in the Iberian peninsula. Finally, a develop-ment of a mosaic environment characterised the CB-1 site contrasting with the conditions reported for other Iberian late Early and Middle Pleistocene localities. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The 1-m-tall dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon falconeri from the Pleistocene of Sicily (Italy) is an extreme example of insular dwarfism and epitomizes the Island Rule. Based on scaling of life-history (LH) traits with body mass, P. falconeri is widely considered to be 'r-selected' by truncation of the growth period, associated with an early onset of reproduction and an abbreviated lifespan. These conjectures are, however, at odds with predictions from LH models for adaptive shifts in body size on islands. To settle the LH strategy of P. falconeri, we used bone, molar, and tusk histology to infer growth rates, age at first reproduction, and longevity. Our results from all approaches are congruent and provide evidence that the insular dwarf elephant grew at very slow rates over an extended period; attained maturity at the age of 15 years; and had a minimum lifespan of 68 years. This surpasses not only the values predicted from body mass but even those of both its giant sister taxon (P. antiquus) and its large mainland cousin (L. africana). The suite of LH traits of P. falconeri is consistent with the LH data hitherto inferred for other dwarfed insular mammals. P. falconeri, thus, not only epitomizes the Island Rule but it can also be viewed as a paradigm of evolutionary change towards a slow LH that accompanies the process of dwarfing in insular mammals.

ABSTRACT This paper re-apprises the scant elephant remains belonging to a dwarf Palaeoloxodon of uncertain taxonomy collected during the 1980s from a cave on Favignana Island (Aegadian Archipelago, western Sicily). The elephant was recently 14C-dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (20,350–19,840 cal. BP), indicating that the Favignana elephant is likely the most recent insular endemic Palaeoloxodon species thus far reported from the Western Mediterranean. Dimensionally the remains are smaller than the late Middle-Late Pleistocene P. ex gr. P. mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave (Palermo), and similar in size to the P. ex gr. P. mnaidriensis individual from San Teodoro Cave (Messina) post-dating a flowstone U-Th dated to ca. 32 ka. Accordingly, the possibility that relict populations of Palaeoloxodon persisted on Sicily longer than previously believed remains an intriguing possibility. None the less, the available data do not clearly indicate whether or not the small dimensions and recent age of the Favignana elephant may reflect a Late Pleistocene colonisation of Favignana Island by small P. ex gr. P.mnaidriensis. Our palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Aegadian Islands does however demonstrate that Favignana was connected to Sicily during most of the Late Pleistocene, allowing elephants to disperse freely between Sicily and Favignana during the Last Glacial (MIS 4-MIS2).