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New Bovid Remains from the Early Pleistocene of Umbria (Italy) and a Reappraisal of Leptobos merlai

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Abstract

The extinct bovid Leptobos is one of the most characteristic elements of Eurasian faunal assemblages during most of the Villafranchian Land Mammal Age (i.e., from the late Pliocene to most of the early Pleistocene). Several species of this genus have been established since the end of XIX Century, but their taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships remain unclear due to the fact that most of them are described on the basis of scanty material. European species are divided into two groups or lineages. The first includes L. stenometopon, L. merlai, and the poorly known L. furtivus, the second L. etruscus and L. vallisarni. While the last two species are well documented in the Italian early Pleistocene fossil record, very little is known on the L. stenometopon-merlai-furtivus group and especially on L. merlai, whose richest sample is from the French locality of Saint Vallier. Here, we describe new material of L. merlai from the early late Villafranchian of Umbria (central Italy), including a nearly complete female cranium and a male neurocranium with horn cores. These remains constitute the best-preserved and complete sample of L. merlai in the Italian Peninsula and bring new consistency to the fossil record of this species. In addition, they serve to confirm the extension of the spatial distribution of L. merlai to the south and of the chronological distribution of this taxon from the middle to the early late Villafranchian. Finally, we offer critical remarks on some not well defined Leptobos species.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to M.C. De Angelis (SBAU), who entrusted M.C. with the study of the mammal collections from Pantalla and other Umbrian sites. We are grateful to E. Cioppi (IGF), L. Costeur and M. Schneider (NHMB), C. Sarti (MGCB), D. Berthet and F. Vigouroux (MCL), and all the staff of the “Palazzone” (SBAU), for the access to museum collections and for their excellent technical support. The suggestions by two anonymous reviewers helped us improve this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, 06123, Perugia, Italy

    Marco Cherin

  2. Via M. Buonarroti 46F, 06073, Corciano (PG), Italy

    Vittorio D’Allestro

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123, Palermo, Italy

    Federico Masini

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  1. Marco Cherin
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Correspondence to Marco Cherin.

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Cherin, M., D’Allestro, V. & Masini, F. New Bovid Remains from the Early Pleistocene of Umbria (Italy) and a Reappraisal of Leptobos merlai. J Mammal Evol 26, 201–224 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-017-9421-x

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