Monte La Mesa, near Rivoli Veronese, Verona, northeastern Italy (Pleistocene of Italy)

Where: Verona, Italy (45.6° N, 10.8° E: paleocoordinates 45.5° N, 10.8° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Early/Lower Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.8 Ma)

• Early Biharian, early/middle Early Pleistocene, older than Pietrafitta and Pirro Nord, similar age to Zabia Cave, Osztramos 8 and Betfia 10. Date based on presence of Microtus (Allophaiomys) gr. pliocaenicus plus Mimomys tornensis and M. pusillus. Possibly correlates with Waalian A.

Environment/lithology: fissure fill

• Karst fissure.
• Diaclase.

Size class: mesofossils

Collection methods: Site discovered in 1996. Sediments washed to recover small vertebrates.

Primary reference: M. Marchetti, K. Parolin, and B. Sala. 2000. The Biharian fauna from Monte La Mesa (Verona, northeastern Italy). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 43(1):79-105 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 51625: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 09.06.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Forest rodents and insectivores predominate, suggesting a wooded environment. A wet and temperate phase following an arid phase during which Microtus (Allophaiomys) spread across the Holarctic. Probably correlates with Waalian A.
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Gliridae
Glis sackdillingensis Heller 1930 dormouse
upper teeth: 2 P4, 12 M1, 4 M2, 1 M3. Lower teeth: 3 D4, 2 P4, 9 M1, 6 M2, 1 M3.
Muscardinus cf. dacicus Kormos 1930 dormouse
1 upper M1.
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
Sciuridae indet. Gray 1821 squirrel
1 crown of lower D4 or P4.
Sciurus warthae squirrel
Upper teeth: 3 I1, 1 D4, 1 P4, 1 M1-2. Lower teeth: 2 I1, 4 P4, 3 M1, 1 M2, 1 M3.
 Rodentia - Muridae
Apodemus atavus Eurasian field mouse
upper teeth: 159 M1, 76 M2, 4 M3. Lower teeth: 224 M1, 93 M2, 24 M3.
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Pliomys episcopalis mouse
upper teeth: 52 M1, 51 M2, 51 M3, 1 M1and2. Lower teeth: 107 M1, 60 M2, 65 M3, 2 M1 and 2, 1 M1, 2 and 3.
Dinaromys dalmatinus vole
Upper teeth: 11 M1, 7 M2, 4 M3. Lower teeth: 9 M1, 4 M2, 2 M3.
Mimomys tornensis vole
15 lower M1, 1 lower M1 and 2, 11 lower M3.
Mimomys pusillus vole
16 lower M1, 13 upper M3.
Mimomys cf. ostramosensis vole
1 upper M2, 1 upper M3.
"Clethrionomys sp." = Myodes Pallas 1811 vole
3 lower M1.
"Microtus (Allophaiomys) ex gr. pliocaenicus" = Allophaiomys pliocaenicus Kormos 1932 vole
Lower teeth: 84 M1, 54 M2, 28 M3. Upper teeth: 45 M1, 38 M2, 42 M3, 1 lower M1 and 2.
Allocricetus bursae mouse
Upper teeth: 2 M1, 2 M3. Lower teeth: 1 M1, 2 M2, 2 M3.
Allocricetus ehiki mouse
1 upper M1, 1 lower M2.
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Hypolagus beremendensis rabbit
14 upper incisors, 12 lower incisors, 42 upper jugals, 19 lower jugals, 1 right radius (proximal frag), 1 second phalanx.
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Erinaceus sp. Linnaeus 1758 hedgehog
All lower teeth - 1 canine, 2 M2, 1 M3.
 Theriamorpha - Soricidae
Soricidae "indet. 1" Fischer 1814 shrew
1 lower M1. Small sized.
Soricidae "indet. 2" Fischer 1814 shrew
3 lower incisors, 1 lower M1 or 2, 1 condyle. Large sized.
Beremendia fissidens Petényi 1864 shrew
13 upper I1, 11 other upper teeth, 1 maxilla with M1 and M2, 28 lower I1, 8 lower molars, 1 mandible with M1& 2, 3 mandibles with M2, 1 with M2 and 3, 4 edentulous mandibles, 8 ascending rami, 3 mandibular condyles.
Asoriculus gibberodon shrew
51 upper incisors, 21 other upper teeth, 2 maxillae, 100 lower I1, 1 lower M1, 41 mandibles with teeth, 32 edentulous mandibles, 5 mandibular condyles.
Petenyia hungarica Kormos 1934 red-toothed shrew
5 upper incisors, 2 upper M1, 2 maxillae, 12 lower I1, 2 lower M2, 2 mandibles with P4, M1, M2, 2 with M1 and 2, 3 with M1,2,3, 2 with M2, 1 with M2 & 3, 1 with M3, 9 ascending rami, 2 mandibular condyles.
Sorex minutus Linnaeus 1766 Eurasian pygmy shrew
1 upper I1, 1 upper M1.
Sorex (Drepanosorex) praearaneus Kormos 1934 long-tailed shrew
1 lower incisor.
Sorex bor Reumer 1984 long-tailed shrew
1 upper M2, 1 lower M2, 8 mandibles with teeth, 5 ascending rami.
Sorex praealpinus Heller 1930 long-tailed shrew
9 mandibles with teeth, 4 ascending rami, 1 condyle.
Crocidura sp. Wagler 1832 white-toothed shrew
1 mandible with M2 and M3.
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Talpa minor Freudenberg 1914 mole
3 upper P4, 1 upper M1, 1 maxilla, 2 upper M1. Lower teeth - 1 P4, 3 M1, 5 M2, 3 M3, 2 mandibles with teeth, 5 edentulous mandibles, 1 scapula, 12 humerii, 14 radii, 9 ulnae, 4 femora, 7 tibiae-fibulae.
Reptilia
 Squamata - Anguidae
Ophisaurus sp. Daudin 1803 glass lizard
osteoderms