The Late Pleistocene mammal fauna from Montemerano-Manciano (Grosseto, central Italy)

The Late Pleistocene mammal fauna from Montemerano – Manciano (Grosseto, central Italy) – Several fossil mammal remains have been recovered in a karst cavity near Montemerano (Manciano, Grosseto, Central Italy). The cavity was developed in the upper travertine deposits outcropping in the area and chronologically referred to a time span between the late Middle and the Late Pleistocene. The paleontological analysis of the mammal remains allows to recognize different taxa as Panthera spelaea, Canis lupus, Stephanorhinus cf. S. hemitoechus, Equus ferus, Sus scrofa, Bison sp., Bos primigenius, Megaloceros giganteus, Cervus elaphus, Dama dama and some coprolites of Hyaenidae. However, only the occurrence of an evolved form of Dama dama in the assemblage provides useful biochronological information. The fallow deer is represented by several remains, in particular by a fragmentary mandible with the molars. The mandible shows morphological and morphometrical features closer to the Late Pleistocene populations of the fallow deer than to the archaic Dama clactoniana and D. dama tiberina. The evolved forms of the fallow deer were typical and abundant during the early Late Pleistocene. Nevertheless, they were very rare during the late Late Pleistocene and became extinct in Italy during the Last Glacial Maximum, probably due to the climate changes. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the sediment including the mammal remains shows a significant decrease of the volcanic elements coming from the Vulsino Volcanic District (VVD). This character can be related with the end of the VVD activity and can be chronologically referred to an age younger than the Middle-Late Pleistocene transition. This result is in accordance with the biochronological time span obtained from the paleontological analysis