The age of immigration of the vertebrate faunas found at Gargano (Apulia, Italy) and Scontrone (l’Aquila, Italy)

Recently a discussion is taking place about the Scontrone (l’Aquila) and Gargano (Apulia, Italy) mammal faunas and the age of their immigration. Mazza and Rustioni (2008) dated the Scontrone mammal fossils as Tortonian on the basis of their position in the Lithothamnium Limestone and came to the conclusion that some elements of the Scontrone and Gargano faunas must have colonised the area in Oligocene or Early Miocene times. Van den Hoek Ostende et al. (2009) disagreed with this interpretation and suggested a Late Miocene (10 Ma) age for the time of immigration. We think the arguments to place Scontrone in the Tortonian are not convincing. An analysis of the potential ancestors of each of the Gargano faunal components shows that a Messinian age for the immigration is fully compatible with the distribution of these ancestors in the European Miocene.