Palaeontologia Electronica http://palaeo-electronica.org GLIRIDAE (RODENTIA, MAMMALIA) FROM THE LATE MIOCENE FISSURE FILLING BIANCONE 1 (GARGANO, PROVINCE OF FOGGIA, ITALY) Matthijs Freudenthal and Elvira Martín-Suárez ABSTRACT Two new species of the endemic genus Stertomys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Gliri- dae) are described from the Late Miocene fissure filling Biancone 1 on the palaeo- island Gargano (Province of Foggia, Italy): S. daamsi and S. daunius. A third new spe- cies, Dryomys apulus, presents no endemic features at the generic level and is assigned to the extant genus Dryomys. The new taxa suggest that faunal immigration to Gargano occurred in one event, and that the Biancone deposit is, at most, Late Miocene in age. Additionally, an analysis of all fossil Myomiminae argues that Sterto- mys belongs to that subfamily, and that it may be derived from Myomimus dehmi or Miodyromys aegercii. Matthijs Freudenthal. Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Fuentenueva, Granada, Spain; Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
[email protected] Elvira Martín-Suárez. Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Fuentenueva, Granada, Spain.
[email protected] Key words: Gliridae; Miocene; Italy; endemism; insularity; new species INTRODUCTION tics like gigantism in small mammals. Studies have been carried out on the endemic murids and cri- The Gargano Promontory in SE Italy (see cetids (Freudenthal 1972, 1976, 1985), lago- map in Figure 1) is a block of uplifted Mesozoic morphs (Mazza 1987a, 1987b, 1987c), limestones, forming part of the Adria Plate. The insectivores (Freudenthal 1972, Butler 1980), artio- area was an island or a group of islands, separated dactyls (Leinders 1984), otters (Willemsen 1983), from the Italian mainland by the Apennine Fore- and birds (Ballmann 1973, 1976).