PBDB Collection

Venosa bed excavations 1974-1976 (Pleistocene to of Italy)

Where: Basilicata, Italy (41.0° N, 15.8° E)

• Paleocoordinates: 40.7° N, 16.0° E (Wright 2013)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Early/Lower Pleistocene to Early/Lower Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.1 Ma)

• Somewhat heterogenous fauna - some Villafranchian, but others Middle Pleistocene. Mindelian according to the abstract. Later than Vallonnet (Late Early Pleistocene).

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology:

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: Specimens excavated by the Musee d'Anthropologie prehistorique de Monaco in collaboration with the Institut italien de Paleontologie humaine a Venosa-Loreto.

Primary reference: G. D'Erasmo. 1933. La fauna della grotta di Loretello presso Venosa. Societa Nazionale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 19(4):1-18 [J. Alroy/R. Whatley/M. Carrano]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 50466: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 16.05.2005

Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)

Taxonomic list

• This publication only lists large mammals. It doesn't state whether any small mammal remains have been recovered.

Show authors, comments, and common names

Mammalia
Carnivora - Canidae	Canis etruscus Canis etruscus Forsyth Major 1877 canine 1 ulna, too small to be wolf.
Carnivora - Hyaenidae	? Hyaenidae indet. ? Hyaenidae indet. Gray 1821 hyaena 1 ulna fragment without epiphysis, could be large hyaena.
Carnivora - Felidae	cf. Homotherium sp. cf. Homotherium sp. Fabrini 1890 cat 1 milk canine
Carnivora - Ursidae	Ursus deningeri Ursus deningeri Reichenau 1904 bear 1 edentulous mandible, 3 IV metatarsals, 1 IV metacarpal.
Perissodactyla - Equidae	"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis, "Equus (Asinus) sp." = Equus "Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis Cocchi 1867 horse largely upper teeth. "Equus (Asinus) sp." = Equus Linnaeus 1758 horse isolated teeth and some gracile skeletal elements.
Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae	"Dicerorhinus etruscus" = Stephanorhinus etruscus "Dicerorhinus etruscus" = Stephanorhinus etruscus Falconer 1868 rhinoceros milk teeth, mandible fragment, mandibular symphysis, 1 astragalus, 2 calcanea, 3 complete metatarsals (II, III, IV).
Artiodactyla - Hippopotamidae	Hippopotamus sp. Hippopotamus sp. Linnaeus 1758 hippo 1 fragmentary tooth.
Artiodactyla - Bovidae	cf. Leptobos sp. cf. Leptobos sp. Rutimeyer 1878 antelope 2 mandible fragments, 3 upper teeth in anatomical connection and partial skeleton, including fragmentary tibia, radius, humerus, 3 cubonaviculaires, 1 astraglus, 1 calcaneum and phalanges.
Artiodactyla - Cervidae	"? Cervus cf. philisi" = Metacervocerus philisi, cf. Eucladoceros sp. "? Cervus cf. philisi" = Metacervocerus philisi Mennecart et al. 2017 deer middle sized deer (C. cf. philisi). Abundant. Complete teeth and several other bones (no antlers). cf. Eucladoceros sp. Falconer 1868 deer large sized deer (cf. Eucladoceros). 15% of total deer specimens. Teeth, no antlers.