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Abstract: In the summer of 2009, four molars and two tusks, of a single individual of Mammuthus meridionalis, (a female, 28–30 year old) were discovered at Campo di Pile (L''Aquila, Abruzzo, Central Italy) in fluvial beach sediments of a depositional unit dated to the late Early Pleistocene. A new fragmentary tusk of a second individual has been recently discovered not far from the former. The morphology and dimensions of the penultimate molariform teeth fall within the range of variation of the Upper Valdarno specimens. The enamel pattern is consistent with that commonly found in M. meridionalis. Moreover, the relative thickness of the layers indicates a less advanced Mammuthus representative. In the L''Aquila Basin, at Madonna della Strada-Scoppito, a complete skeleton of M. meridionalis was found in sediments dating to the pre-Jaramillo Early Pleistocene, while some other isolated remains have been recorded at Rocca Santo Stefano and Colle Mancino. During the early Middle Pleistocene, Mammuthus (? Mammuthus trogontherii) and Palaeoloxodon co-occurred in the faunal assemblage of Pagliare di Sassa. Based on stratigraphic evidence, the Campo di Pile findings seem to be intermediate in age between the Madonna della Strada and the Pagliare di Sassa specimens. Ongoing research on the Campo di Pile site contributes to enhancement of knowledge of the Quaternary fauna and paleoenvironmental evolution of the L''Aquila Basin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Multidisciplinary investigations at Pagliare di Sassa (L''Aquila, central Italy) suggest that the local succession accumulated from the late Early to the early Middle Pleistocene in a lacustrine environment. In the upper part, clastic sediments are part of an alluvial fan prograding into the lake, grading to a braided fluvial system. The pollen record confirms that a significant glacial phase occurred just before the onset of the Jaramillo inversion. These data, coupled with evidence from the nearby but earlier Madonna della Strada sequence, allow reconstruction of part of the environmental evolution of L''Aquila basin before the Jaramillo Subchron. The mammal species of Pagliare di Sassa include Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, mostly of open environments, already present at Madonna della Strada. The faunal turnover characterizing the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition is indicated by the appearances of taxa typical of the Italian early to middle Galerian faunas, such as Praemegaceros verticornis, together with Megaloceros savini. The occurrence of Mimomys savini together with Microtus ex gr. Microtus hintoni-gregaloides suggests that this assemblage is earlier than the Isernia La Pineta fauna. A flint implement and a fragmentary herbivore femur with impact scars probably linked to human activity give evidence of the human peopling of intramontane basins of the Apennine chain since the early Middle Pleistocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]