scholarly journals Bathypluma pliocenica n. sp. (Decapoda, Brachyura, Retroplumidae) from the Zanclean (Early Pliocene) of Volterra (Pisa, Toscana, Italy)

2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Alessandro Garassino ◽  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Federico Marini
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
First Report ◽  
Pacific Area

We report <em>Bathypluma pliocenica</em> n. sp. (Retroplumidae Gill, 1894), discovered from the Zanclean (Early Pliocene) clays near Volterra (Pisa, Toscana, Central Italy). This discovery is very important because it is the first report of <em>Bathypluma</em> in the worldwide fossil record, enlarging the knowledge on its distribution and antedating the presence of the genus, known only from the Indo-W Pacific area, to the Early Pliocene of the paleo-Mediterranean basin.

scholarly journals Naticid gastropod and octopodid cephalopod predatory traces: evidence of drill holes on the leucosid crab Ristoria pliocaenica (Ristori, 1891), from the Pliocene of the “La Serra” quarry (Tuscany, Italy)

10.4081/19 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Alessandro Garassino
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Decapod Crustaceans ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
First Report ◽  
Predatory Activity ◽  
The Common ◽  
Drill Holes

Garassino<em> et al.</em> (2012) reported on a rich community of decapod crustaceans including axiideans, gebiideans, anomurans, and brachyurans from the Zanclean (Early Pliocene) of the “La Serra” quarry near San Miniato (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy). In this decapod-rich assemblage some carapaces of the common pebble crab<em> Ristoria pliocaenica</em> (Ristori, 1891) (<em>Leucosiidae Samouelle</em>, 1819) are drilled in characteristic ways, due to the predatory activity of individuals belonging to two different taxa of marine clades, possibly naticids (Gastropoda, Naticoidea), and to octopodids (Cephalopoda, Octopoda). This is the first report of direct evidence of predation by cephalopods on crabs in the fossil record.

scholarly journals Report of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Pliocene of Borgomanero, Novara (Piedmont, NW Italy)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Alessandro Garassino ◽  
Piero Damarco
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
First Report ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Brachyuran Crabs ◽  
Nw Italy ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Some brachyuran crabs from the Pliocene of a new outcrop nearby Borgomanero (Novara, Piedmont, NW Italy) are reported. This study allows us to recognize a peculiar brachyuran crabs assemblage including: Macropipus cf. M. tuberculatus Prestandrea, 1833 (Polybiidae Ortmann, 1893), first report for this species from the Pliocene fossil record, and an indeterminate representative of Mursia Leach in Desmarest, 1822 (Calappidae De Haan, 1833), genus never recorded previously in the Mediterranean basin. Finally, a single chela is referred to Calappa sp. (Calappidae De Haan, 1833).

scholarly journals Toward a Dualistic Growth? Population Increase and Land-Use Change in Rome, Italy

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bianchini ◽  
Gianluca Egidi ◽  
Ahmed Alhuseen ◽  
Adele Sateriano ◽  
Sirio Cividino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Per Capita

The spatial mismatch between population growth and settlement expansion is at the base of current models of urban growth. Empirical evidence is increasingly required to inform planning measures promoting urban containment in the context of a stable (or declining) population. In these regards, per-capita indicators of land-use change can be adopted with the aim at evaluating long-term sustainability of urbanization processes. The present study assesses spatial variations in per-capita indicators of land-use change in Rome, Central Italy, at five years (1949, 1974, 1999, 2008, and 2016) with the final objective of quantifying the mismatch between urban expansion and population growth. Originally specialized in agricultural productions, Rome’s metropolitan area is a paradigmatic example of dispersed urban expansion in the Mediterranean basin. By considering multiple land-use dynamics, per-capita indicators of landscape change delineated three distinctive waves of growth corresponding with urbanization, suburbanization, and a more mixed stage with counter-urbanization and re-urbanization impulses. By reflecting different socioeconomic contexts on a local scale, urban fabric and forests were identified as the ‘winner’ classes, expanding homogeneously over time at the expense of cropland. Agricultural landscapes experienced a more heterogeneous trend with arable land and pastures declining systematically and more fragmented land classes (e.g., vineyards and olive groves) displaying stable (or slightly increasing) trends. The continuous reduction of per-capita surface area of cropland that’s supports a reduced production base, which is now insufficient to satisfy the rising demand for fresh food at the metropolitan scale, indicates the unsustainability of the current development in Rome and more generally in the whole Mediterranean basin, a region specialized traditionally in (proximity) agricultural productions.

scholarly journals The Early Pliocene extinction of the mega-toothed shark Otodus megalodon: a view from the eastern North Pacific

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Boessenecker ◽  
Dana J. Ehret ◽  
Douglas J. Long ◽  
Morgan Churchill ◽  
Evan Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Atlantic Coastal Plain ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
Marine Strata ◽  
The North ◽  
Great White Shark ◽  
Optimal Linear ◽  
Neogene Sediments ◽  
Atlantic Coastal

The extinct giant shark Otodus megalodon is the last member of the predatory megatoothed lineage and is reported from Neogene sediments from nearly all continents. The timing of the extinction of Otodus megalodon is thought to be Pliocene, although reports of Pleistocene teeth fuel speculation that Otodus megalodon may still be extant. The longevity of the Otodus lineage (Paleocene to Pliocene) and its conspicuous absence in the modern fauna begs the question: when and why did this giant shark become extinct? Addressing this question requires a densely sampled marine vertebrate fossil record in concert with a robust geochronologic framework. Many historically important basins with stacked Otodus-bearing Neogene marine vertebrate fossil assemblages lack well-sampled and well-dated lower and upper Pliocene strata (e.g., Atlantic Coastal Plain). The fossil record of California, USA, and Baja California, Mexico, provides such an ideal sequence of assemblages preserved within well-dated lithostratigraphic sequences. This study reviews all records of Otodus megalodon from post-Messinian marine strata from western North America and evaluates their reliability. All post-Zanclean Otodus megalodon occurrences from the eastern North Pacific exhibit clear evidence of reworking or lack reliable provenance; the youngest reliable records of Otodus megalodon are early Pliocene, suggesting an extinction at the early-late Pliocene boundary (∼3.6 Ma), corresponding with youngest occurrences of Otodus megalodon in Japan, the North Atlantic, and Mediterranean. This study also reevaluates a published dataset, thoroughly vetting each occurrence and justifying the geochronologic age of each, as well as excluding several dubious records. Reanalysis of the dataset using optimal linear estimation resulted in a median extinction date of 3.51 Ma, somewhat older than a previously proposed Pliocene-Pleistocene extinction date (2.6 Ma). Post-middle Miocene oceanographic changes and cooling sea surface temperature may have resulted in range fragmentation, while alongside competition with the newly evolved great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) during the Pliocene may have led to the demise of the megatoothed shark. Alternatively, these findings may also suggest a globally asynchronous extinction of Otodus megalodon.

scholarly journals Intestinal Strongyle Genera in Different Typology of Donkey Farms in Tuscany, Central Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Michela Maestrini ◽  
Marcelo Beltrão Molento ◽  
Simone Mancini ◽  
Mina Martini ◽  
Francesco Giovanni Salvo Angeletti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
High Agreement ◽  
Farm Typology ◽  
First Report ◽  
Organic Farm ◽  
Identification Keys ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
Metrical Analysis

Intestinal strongyles are common helminths of donkeys, in which they may be responsible for disease and poor performance. This study aimed to identify intestinal strongyle genera in 55 naturally infected donkeys from three different farm typologies in Tuscany, central Italy, using morphological and metrical analysis of third stage larvae (L3) obtained from faecal cultures. Larvae were identified using two previous reported morphological identification keys. Moreover, eggs per gram (EPG) data were also evaluated to assess differences, if any, according to the farm typology, sex, and age of the examined donkeys. The results showed that small strongyles were prevalent in all donkey farms. In all examined farms, most (92–100%) of L3 were identified as cyathostomin species of the genera Cylicocyclus spp. and Cylicostephanus spp. Large strongyles of the genera Strongylus spp. and Triodontophorus spp., were identified at low percentage (8%), only in the single organic farm included in the study. A high agreement was observed between the two different morphometric keys used. No significant differences were found for EPG according to farm typology, and sex and age from the examined donkeys. This is the first report about genera identification of intestinal strongyles infecting donkeys in Tuscany, Italy.

scholarly journals Palaega pisana n. sp. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from the Pliocene of Orciano Pisano, Pisa (Toscana, Central Italy)

2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Alessandro Garassino
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

We report a new form of cirolanid ascribed to<em> Palaega pisana</em> n. sp. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from the Pliocene of Orciano Pisano, Pisa (Toscana, Central Italy). This is the second species of <em>Palaega Woodward</em>, 1870, reported from the Pliocene of Tuscany and Italy, increasing the very sparce palaeontological data on presence and distribution of the genus in the Mediterranean Basin during the Late Cenozoic.

An enigmatic blastozoan echinoderm fauna from central kentucky

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 739-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin D. Sumrall ◽  
Carlton E. Brett ◽  
Troy A. Dexter ◽  
Alexander Bartholomew
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Middle Devonian ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Upper Devonian ◽  
Range Extension ◽  
First Report ◽  
Appalachian Foreland

A series of small road cuts of lower Boyle Formation (Middle Devonian: Givetian) near Waco, Kentucky, has produced numerous specimens of three blastozoan clades, including both “anachronistic” diploporan and rhombiferan “cystoids” and relatively advanced Granatocrinid blastoids. This unusual assemblage occurs within a basal grainstone unit of the Boyle Limestone, apparently recording a local shoal deposit. Diploporans, the most abundant articulated echinoderms, are represented by a new protocrinitid species, Tristomiocystis globosus n. gen. and sp. Glyptocystitoid rhombiferans are represented by isolated thecal plates assignable to Callocystitidae. Three species of blastoids, all previously undescribed, include numerous thecae of the schizoblastid Hydroblastus hendyi n. gen. and sp., the rare nucleocrinid Nucleocrinus bosei n. sp., and an enigmatic troosticrinid radial. The blastoid Nucleocrinus is typical for the age; however, the callocystitid, schizoblastid, and protocrinitid are not. Hydroblastus is the oldest known schizoblastid. Middle and Upper Devonian callocystitids have been previously reported only from Iowa and Michigan USA with unpublished reports from Missouri USA and the Northwest Territories, Canada. This occurrence is thus the first report of a Middle Devonian rhombiferan from the Appalachian foreland basin. Tristomiocystis is the first known protocrinitid in North America and the only protocrinitid younger than Late Ordovician. This occurrence thus represents a range extension of nearly 50 million years for protocrinids. This extraordinary sample of echinoderms in a Middle Devonian limestone from a well-studied area of North America highlights the incompleteness of the known fossil record, at least in fragile organisms such as echinoderms.

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