The early Pleistocene whale-fall community of Bargiano (Umbria, Central Italy): Paleoecological insights from benthic foraminifera and brachyuran crabs

Integrated Stratigraphy of the Marine Early Pleistocene in Umbria

“…Nonetheless, trace fossils (Thalassynoides, Ophyomorpha) referable to crustacean burrowing have been commonly reported [14,18,19]. Recently, the occurrence of decapods in both shallow water assemblages and relatively deeper whale-fall assemblages was pointed out [19,54,55]. Moreover, the distribution and taxonomy of Ranina propinqua Ristori (1891) has been reconsidered [43,69].…”

“…New findings of crustacean decapods, strictly related to shallow water whale-fall events [54,55], documented the occurrence of a highly specialized assemblage characterized by Clinocephalus demissifrons, Albaidaplax hispalensis, and the new species Astenognatus alleronensis.…”

“…The presence of cetaceans in the Paleo-Tyrrhenian Sea during the Pliocene and Pleistocene is well established [54,94], although few or less is known about their occurrence in the Valdichiana Basin. Recently, at least five relatively shallow water whale-fall events, still under analysis, were documented, particularly in southwestern Umbria.…”

GPR Detection of Fossil Structures in Conductive Media Supported by FDTD Modelling and Attributes Analysis: An Example from Early Pleistocene Marine Clay at Bargiano Site (Central Italy)

“…The site is already known in paleontological records for the exceptional first fossil report of sperm-whale cololites (Ambergrisichnus alleronae, [28,29]). The Allerona area also returned, in recent years, three partially preserved whale skeletons, and the recent discovery and recovery of a fourth whale skeleton [30]. Following the tales of the residents, which are frequently plowing and tilling the soil on the site during agricultural activities, the occurrence of such types of structures and fossils is suspected to be spread across a wider area.…”

“…The latter is caused by pervasive gully erosion characterizing the area, which exhibits deep grooves along the maximum slope (Figure 1b). This characteristic is strictly due to the lithology of the sedimentary deposits covering the site, mainly made by marine silty clays [30], thus potentially representing another severe limiting factor for GPR prospecting. On the other hand, the environmental complexity of the study site was an additional motivation for the study, and the vertebrate fossil aggregates, bones fragments, as well as the occurrence of large Ambergrisichnus biostructures represent interesting targets for a GPR investigation.…”