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An intriguing middle-sized horse from Coste San Giacomo (Anagni Basin, central Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2017

Maria Rita Palombo ,
Maria Teresa Alberdi ,
Luca Bellucci  and
Raffaele Sardella
Maria Rita Palombo*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy CNR-IGAG, Area della Ricerca Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29,300, I-00015 Monterotondo (Rome), Italy
Maria Teresa Alberdi
Affiliation:
Departamento de Paleobiologia, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2-28006 Madrid, Spain
Luca Bellucci
Affiliation:
Polo museale, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy PaleoFactory, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 18, I-00197 Rome, Italy
Raffaele Sardella
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy PaleoFactory, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 18, I-00197 Rome, Italy
*
*Corresponding author at: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza - Università di Roma,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy. E-mail address: mariarita.palombo@uniroma1.it (M.R. Palombo).
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Abstract

Various species and ecomorphotypes of the genus Equus are recorded in several southern European Early Pleistocene local faunal assemblages (LFAs), though their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships, and chronological distribution are still a matter of debate. This article aims to increase knowledge on the European pre-Olduvai stenonoid horses by describing and discussing the equid sample from the middle Villafranchian (Gelasian) Italian site of Coste San Giacomo (CSG; Anagni). Although horse remains from CSG are scanty, the morphological traits, dimensions, and proportions of teeth and some limb bones suggest some affinities with middle-sized European stenonoid horses, in particular with Equus senezensis, as supported by statistical analysis. This opens a new window on the possible phylogenetic relationships of the middle-sized, slender middle Villafranchian horses, although some questions about their actual taxonomic rank cannot be firmly answered based on available data. The complex relationship among environment, structure of the accompanying mammalian fauna, and the presence in the Early Pleistocene LFAs of only one equid, large or middle-sized, or even of more horse species with different size is briefly discussed.

Keywords

EquusEquidaePleistoceneVillafranchianGelasian
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 87 , Issue 2 , March 2017 , pp. 347 - 362
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2017 

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