ABSTRACT
Fossil mammals representing the latest phase of the Villafranchian in Italy were found at Farneta (site of the Romanesque Abbey of Farneta — Chiana valley — Tuscany), Selvella (Chiana valley — Umbria), Pietrafltta (Umbria), Colle Curti (Colflorito basin — Marche), Madonna della Strada (Abruzzi), Capena (Latium) and Cava Pirro (Gargano — Apulia).
The faunal assemblages of these localities are characterised by the occurrence of progressive descendants of Villafranchian taxa and by the first occurrences of totally new species. The former are represented by advanced forms of the southern elephant Archidiskodon meridionalis, the small cervid Pseudodama nestii, the narrow-nosed ox Leptobos and the ‘etruscoid’ rhinoceros. The first occurrences are those of megacerine deer, of the vole Allophaiomys pliocaenicus gr. ruffoi and of a primitive bison Eobison degiulii, ‘Cervus’ pliotarandoides, the bison and the vole are particularly meaningful, inasmuch as they seem to occur only this span of time in southern Europe. Because of the exclusive presence of Megaceros gr. verticornis, Colle Curti is younger than the other localities.
