95 research outputs found
I vertebrati quaternari sardi conservati nel Naturhistorisches Museum di Basilea (Svizzera)
No full textNel presente lavoro viene fornito un resoconto generale sul materiale paleovertebratologico sardo di età quaternaria conservato nel Naturhistorisches Museum di Basilea (Svizzera). Nel museo svizzero sono conservati molti reperti di provenienza sarda, alcuni dei quali di rilevante importanza scientifica o provenienti da siti fossiliferi ormai scomparsi. Buona parte del materiale conservato si deve al lavoro di ricerca di Forsyth Major che ha raccolto fossili in Sardegna sino alle prime decadi del secolo scorso. I materiali raccolti da Forsyth Major e ora facenti parte del museo, hanno permesso negli anni la descrizione di nuove specie e un importante contributo allo studio di altre già note. Il museo di storia naturale di Basilea conserva un patrimonio unico per quel che riguarda la paleontologia sarda, in grado di focalizzare gli interessi di generazioni di studiosi
Il Geosito paleontologico “Cava Duidduru” e il Museo P.AR.C. di Genoni: un esempio di ripristino e valorizzazione di un bene geopaleontologico in Sardegna
No full textIn the present note, we briefly illustrate the different phases of restoration and protection of the geopalaeontological site of “Cava Duidduru”. The geosite is located near the small village of Genoni, in the Sarcidano area (central Sardinia, Italy). The site was an abandoned quarry, recently renovated for scientific and tourism purposes. In fact, in the geosite it is possible to observe large sandstone layer surfaces highly rich with marine fossils of the lower Miocene. The restoration of the quarry and the activities carried out by the nearby palaeontological and archaeological museum P.AR.C. of Genoni are an excellent example to combine in a smart way environmental restoration, protection and geotourism
UPPER PLEISTOCENE MAMMAL ASSEMBLAGE FROM SU CONCALI QUARRY (SAMATZAI, SOUTHERN SARDINIA, ITALY)
No full textA mammal assemblage discovered in a fissure filling located in a quarry near the village of Samatzai (Campidano, southern Sardinia, Italy) is described herein. The following taxa are reported: Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli, Rhagamys orthodon, Prolagus sardus, Asoriculus sp., Cynotherium sardous and Praemegaceros (Nesoleipoceros) cazioti. The assemblage (“Microtus (Tyrrhenicola)” Faunal Complex, Dragonara Faunal Subcomplex) infers a Late Pleistocene age and represents the richest deposit of Quaternary mammals reported in the central Campidano area
EARLY MIOCENE INSULAR VERTEBRATES FROM LAERRU (SARDINIA, ITALY): PRELIMINARY NOTE
No full textA new vertebrate assemblage was discovered in an Early Miocene lacustrine deposit near the village of Laerru (northern Sardinia, Italy). The assemblage is composed by mammals, reptiles and a bird. The mammals are represented by three ruminants (cf. Sardomeryx oschiriensis, Pecora indet. small size and Pecora indet. very small size) and one dormouse (Peridyromys aff. murinus) while reptiles are represented by turtles (Trionychidae?) and crocodiles (cf. Diplocynodon sp.). A bird bone fragment is also reported and referred to Palaeortyx cf. brevipes (Galliformes). The assemblage can be related to the “Oschiri fauna”, one of the oldest endemic insular fauna known in the Mediterranean. The age of the Laerru vertebrates is early-middle Burdigalian, between 18.8 and 18.3 Ma, corresponding to the mammal unit of the main land MN3. The predominance of ruminants confirms the good capacity of these mammals to colonize insular environments
La Collezione Lamarmora - Vertebrati del Museo Sardo di Geologia e Paleontologia Domenico Lovisato (Cagliari, Italia)
No full textSome historical collections housed in the Sardinian Museum of Geology and Palaeontology Domenico Lovisato have been reviewed during a recent cataloging. One of them is the “Lamarmora Vertebrate Collection”, a small assemblage of Quaternary vertebrate fossils gathered by General Alberto Lamarmora during the mid-nineteenth century in the historic locality of Bonaria (Cagliari). Seven mammal taxa belonging to the Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) Faunal Complex have been recognized during preliminary analysis. The collection has an historic importance because it was donated by one of the most illustrious names in that period and, secondly, it
represents one of the first collections annexed to the “Museo Lovisato”. A scientific importance is given by the presence of some of the first Quaternary fossil vertebrate remains collected in Sardinia. It is important to put light on the fact that now the Quaternary fossiliferous deposit of Bonaria is totally disappeared, first exploited by quarry activity and then engulfed by the urban development
Dwarf mammoth footprints from the Pleistocene of Gonnesa (Southwestern Sardinia, Italy)
No full textTetrapod footprints have been reported in different types of environments, and are a suitable tool for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Previously, mammal footprints were reported in the Plio-Pleistocene fossil record of Sardinia (Italy), and were assigned to different endemic ruminants (Cervidae and Bovidae). In this work, we report the first occurrence of proboscidean footprints in the Italian fossil record. The ichnofossils are assigned to Proboscipeda panfamilia McNeil, Hills, Tolman & Kooyman, 2007. The studied footprints are preserved in highly consolidated aeolian deposits from the Pleistocene of Funtana Morimenta (Gonnesa, southwestern Sardinia, Italy). The recovered ichnofossils are represented by isolated manus-pes couples preserved as hyporeliefs and/or epireliefs. Furthermore, other footprints were observed in situ. The footprints’ shape and size indicate that the track-maker is likely to be the Sardinian dwarf mammoth Mammuthus lamarmorai (Major, 1883). The Sardinian record may represent a unique example of dwarf mammoth footprints in the western Mediterranean Basin. Furthermore, a synthetic summary of the knowledge of the proboscidean ichnofossil record is also provided
The Mesozoic vertebrate fossil record of Sardinia (Italy): state of the art and new data
No full textAs highlighted by literature data, the Mesozoic vertebrate fossil record of Sardinia is very poor. Two ichnotaxa (Rotodactylus isp. and Rhynchosauroides isp.) referred to the continental vertebrates have been reported in the Triassic (“Buntsandstein”) of the Nurra sub-region (north-western Sardinia). In the “Muschelkalk” of the same area, remains of an actinopterygian fish (Colobodus sp.) and seven conodont taxa (Budurovignathus japonicus, B. hungaricus, B. trümpyi, Neogondolella constricta, N. longa, “Algherella riegeli”, and “A. uniformis”) have also been recorded. Teeth of a hybodont shark and a marine reptile, probably an Ophthalmosauridae, are documented in the Middle Jurassic of the Ogliastra sub-region (central-eastern Sardinia). We present herein two chondrichthyans teeth belonging to an indeterminate Hybodontoidea and an indeterminate member of the Hexanchoidei. The specimens come from two different localities of northeastern Sardinia referable to the Bathonian and Oxfordian-Valanginian, respectively. The new data expand the Mesozoic fossil record of the Island and could be a starting point for future research
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