Stegotetrabelodon (Proboscidea, Elephantidae) from the late Miocene of southern Italy

ABSTRACT

This paper describes new remains of Stegotetrabelodon from Southern Italy, the first evidence of this genus from Eurasia. The material consists of a mandible and a lower tusk fragment collected at Cava Brunia, Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Calabria), in late Tortonian Clypeaster-beanng coastal sands. The morphology of the mandible and teeth conforms to the Libyan species S. syrticus, to whom the Italian specimen is referred. The occurrence of this elephantid and other mammal species with african affinity at Cessaniti, suggests that the Calabria-Sicily area was a northern extension of the African continent. The Cessaniti elephantid adds new information on the morphological variability of Stegotetrabelodon and provides clues of an early distribution of the genus since the Tortonian.