The fossil horses from the Farneta Faunal Unit (Early Pleistocene, central Italy): a review with new remarks on the paleobiogeography and biochronology of the Late Villafranchian equids in Western Eurasia

IF 3.3 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary Science Reviews Pub Date : 2025-09-03 DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109593

Francesca Borchi , Omar Cirilli , Isacco Alberti , Elpiniki Maria Parparousi , Luca Bellucci , Leonardo Sorbelli , Marco Cherin , Matteo Belvedere

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Abstract

The dispersal of the genus Equus in Western Eurasia at the onset of the Quaternary is an important biochronological event for the evolution of mammal communities. The Farneta Faual Unit (ca. 1.6–1.4 Ma) is one of the latest in the Villafranchian Mammal Age, and its importance is also marked by the first occurrences of the species Praemegaceros obscurus, Pseudodama farnetensis and Bison (Eobison) degiulii. Since it was first described in 1977 by Augusto Azzaroli, the equid material of the Farneta FU has been recognized as belonging to different species by as many authors. In this work, we analyze material referred to the genus Equus from different localities of the Farneta FU (Farneta, Selvella and Pietrafitta). Our analyses identify one middle sized equid, Equusaltidens, and a large sized species, Equus stenonis. Our results have remarkable implications for the Early and early Middle Pleistocene European framework, as they anticipate the first appearance in Western Eurasia of the former species and postpones it for the latter.

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法尔内塔动物群（意大利中部早更新世）马化石：欧亚大陆西部晚维拉弗兰契亚马科动物的古生物地理学和生物年代学评述

第四纪初期马属在欧亚大陆西部的扩散是哺乳动物群落进化的重要生物年代学事件。Farneta动物群（约1.6 ~ 1.4 Ma）是Villafranchian哺乳动物时代中最晚出现的动物群之一，其重要性还体现在Praemegaceros obscurus、pseudoama farnetensis和Bison (Eobison) degiulii等物种的首次出现。自1977年奥古斯托·阿扎罗利首次描述以来，许多作者认为Farneta FU的马科动物材料属于不同的物种。本文对马属（Farneta FU， Selvella和Pietrafitta）不同地区的马属资料进行了分析。我们的分析鉴定了一种中型马（Equusaltidens）和一种大型马（Equus stenonis）。我们的结果对早更新世和中更新世早期的欧洲框架具有重要意义，因为它们预测了前一种物种在欧亚大陆西部的首次出现，并推迟了后者的出现。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Quaternary Science Reviews 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

15.00%

发文量

388

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Quaternary Science Reviews caters for all aspects of Quaternary science, and includes, for example, geology, geomorphology, geography, archaeology, soil science, palaeobotany, palaeontology, palaeoclimatology and the full range of applicable dating methods. The dividing line between what constitutes the review paper and one which contains new original data is not easy to establish, so QSR also publishes papers with new data especially if these perform a review function. All the Quaternary sciences are changing rapidly and subject to re-evaluation as the pace of discovery quickens; thus the diverse but comprehensive role of Quaternary Science Reviews keeps readers abreast of the wider issues relating to new developments in the field.