|
|
Gramigna, Pierparide; Guido, Adriano; Mastandrea, Adelaide; Russo, Franco
(detail)
|
| |
|
2008 |
The paleontological site of Cessaniti: a window on a coastal marine environment of seven million years ago (southern Calabria, Italy).
Geologica Romana 41: 25-34. 14 figs.
–Italian summ.
ABSTRACT: The paleontological site of Cessaniti is situated in the inland of Vibo Valentia area and it is famous for the excellent preservation and relevance of its fossil content together with the wonderful panoramas of Tyrrhenian sea. The locality is well known since nineteenth century for the richness of the fauna and flora preserved in the sediments. The fossil assemblages contain invertebrate (corals, bivalve, gastropods, brachiopods, echinoids such as Clypeaster ssp., benthic and planktonic foraminifers) and vertebrate faunas (proboscideans, rhinoceroses, giraffids, bovids, sirenids, marine turtles and fish remains). Unfortunately the access to the outcrops is strongly limited due to their locations in cultivated quarries. The fossils are preserved in calcarenites which now days are loose through diagenetic processes. This makes the fossil collection quite easy due to the low degree of cementation. The succession is constituted of a paralic system that evolves toward an open marine environment recording the Tortonian transgression. The fossils of Cessaniti site bear a relevant role in earth science research particularly in phylogenetic studies and paleogeographic reconstructions; they have also great importance for the popular scientific divulgation and museology.
|
|
|
Guido, Adriano; Marra, Antonella Cinzia; Mastandrea, Adelaide; Tosti, Fabio; Russo, Franco
(detail)
|
| |
|
2011 |
Micromorphological, geochemical, and diagenetic characterization of sirenian ribs preserved in the Late Miocene paleontological site of Cessaniti (southern Calabria, Italy).
Facies 57(1): 179-190. 9 figs. "Jan. 2011" (publ. online Dec. 21, 2011).
–ABSTRACT: The site of Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Italy) has been well known since the 19th century for the richness and good preservation of its Miocene fauna and flora. The sedimentary succession of the site represents a paralic system that evolved toward an open-marine environment recording the Tortonian transgression. The fossil assemblage contains rich invertebrate (corals, bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, echinoids, benthic and planktonic foraminifers) and vertebrate faunas (proboscideans, rhinoceroses, giraffds, bovids, sirenids, marine turtles, and fish remains). The fossils recovered at the Cessaniti site have a relevant role in phylogenetic studies and paleogeographic reconstructions of Late Miocene environments of the southern Italy. This research is focused on the microstructure and preservation state of the fossil bones. Samples of Metaxytherium sp. bones have been analyzed to understand the diagenetic profile of the bone assemblages that characterizes the taphonomic history of the Cessaniti site. The analyses provided a comprehensive account of how bone mineral (bioapatite) has been altered and demonstrated that the post-burial processes did not significantly affect the micromorphological and biogeochemical features of the bones. The excellent preservation state of the bones strengthens the importance of the Cessaniti site for studies of the Mediterranean Miocene vertebrate fauna.
|
|
Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 