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NEOGENE PARK – Vertebrate Migration in the Mediterranean and Paratethys
Date: March 1-3, 2011
Place: Scontrone (L’Aquila),
Italy
The conference intends to promote an interdisciplinary
discussion between palaeontologists, eco/ethologists,
zoologists and geneticists focused on Neogene vertebrate
migrations in the Mediterranean and Paratethys as well
as stratigraphers, sedimentologists and regional geologists
involved with paleogeographic reconstructions and palinspastic
restorations of these regions within the same time
span.
More specifically, the goals of the meeting are:
- Taxonomic assessment of the fossil remains
- Mammalian biochronology
- Major dispersal events
of the past vertebrate populations
- Integrated stratigraphy
and facies analysis of the vertebrate-bearing depositional
sequences
- Paleobiogeographic studies and paleoecologic
reconstructions
- Palinspastic restorations and
paleogeographic reconstructions of the Mediterranean
and Paratethys regions
- Movement rates of vertebrates
in fragmented landscapes
- Behavioural mechanisms
underlying individual or collective movements and
reproductive success of vertebrate in restricted
environments
- Population dynamics/population densities
and evolutionary dynamics in settings equivalent
to the Mediterranean and Paratethys during the Neogene
Scontrone and Its Rich History in Vertebrates
A rich vertebrate fossil
fauna (chelonians, crocodiles and land mammals, the
latter including the giant insectivore Deinogalerix
and the problematic genus Hoplitomeryx) has been recovered
from Tortonian peritidal carbonates cropping out in
the outskirts of Scontrone, a charming mountain village
located at the southern border of the Abruzzi National
Park in the Central Apennines. In Scontrone a small
geo-paleontological center (Centro di Documentazione
Paleontologico “Hoplitomeryx”) plays an active didactic
role in the region offering an accurate documentation
of the fossil vertebrates and a reconstruction of the
Tortonian habitat.
The Scontrone vertebrates display
close similarities to a well-known fossil assemblage
discovered in the Gargano region (Apulia) in the early
seventies. The two faunal assemblages share remarkable
endemic characters indicative of a common paleobioprovince
isolated from the nearest mainland areas. When has
colonization took place? How and from where did land
vertebrates reach the Gargano and Scontrone areas?
The Abruzzo-Apulian finds revive the interest in the
movements of vertebrate populations as well as in the
colonization of insular setting. Several modes of past
vertebrate migration, especially into islands, have
been suggested by paleontologists. Conflicting hypotheses
on these topics in the literature highlight the growing
need for a new integrated approach in facing these
problems. |
