Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia | Institut Català de Paleontologia (original) (raw)

Papers by Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia

Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition, 2013

ABSTRACT Pterosaur bones are for the first time reported from the Tremp Syncline (Spain) and the ... more ABSTRACT Pterosaur bones are for the first time reported from the Tremp Syncline (Spain) and the southern Pyrenees. They come from the Torrebilles‐2 site (Isona, Lleida Province) in the upper Maastrichtian part of the Tremp Formation, which falls within the C29r magnetochron. Fragmentary long bones are referred to the Pterosauria based on their cortical thinness, micro‐architecture, and histological features. They belong to very large to possibly giant individuals. The most complete specimen is possibly a partial right femur. The review of the Maastrichtian pterosaur record shows that only a few specimens can be referred to the C29r (which contains the K/Pg boundary). The identification of fragmentary remains could improve our knowledge about the abundance and distribution of these flying sauropsids just before the end‐Cretaceous mass extinction.

Journal of Crustacean Biology, Jan 11, 2016

The first asellote isopod from the fossil record is described here as Fornicaris calligarisi Wils... more The first asellote isopod from the fossil record is described here as Fornicaris calligarisi Wilson and Selden, n. gen. and sp. The two specimens, both probably males, showing dorsal morphology, come from loose material of the Dolomia di Forni Formation in the bed of the Tagliamento River below the town of Forni di Sotto, Udine Province, Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, northeastern Italy. The Dolomia di Forni Formation is Triassic (Norian) in age, and the fossils date from approximately 210-215 Ma. Characters such as narrow, elongate eye stalks, tiny uropods, and enlarged first pereionite (found in terminal males) place the fossil within the Paramunnidae. Parsimony analysis using TNT placed the fossil within the Austrosignum-Munnogonium species complex. The robust pereiopods with hooked tips, elongate and robust carpus and propodus of pereiopod I, axial compression of the pereion, and the large size of the fossils (>2× related extant taxa) are features particular to the fossil genus and species.

Historical Biology, 2014

ABSTRACT Two small bones from the Upper Triassic of Cromhall Quarry (Gloucestershire, England), w... more ABSTRACT Two small bones from the Upper Triassic of Cromhall Quarry (Gloucestershire, England), which are referred in the literature to pterosaurian wing metacarpals, are compared with wing metacarpals of unequivocal pterosaur specimens from the Upper Triassic of Italy and Greenland as well as those of the Liassic Dimorphodon macronyx from England. The two are morphologically distinct from the unequivocal wing metacarpals. Comparison with the phalanges of drepanosauromorphs suggests that they are probably penultimate phalanges of those bizarre diapsids. Drepanosauromorphs are now known from Cromhall Quarry, but they were not in 1990 when the two presumed wing metacarpals were described. There is no definitive evidence of the presence of pterosaurs in the Triassic of the UK.

Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 1995

A tridactyl footprint referable to a theropod dinosaur, found on a limestone block of Late Hauter... more A tridactyl footprint referable to a theropod dinosaur, found on a limestone block of Late Hauterivian age, is described here. The block was used to build the pier of Porto Corsini (Ravenna, Italy); the site of provenance is located on the southern flank of the Cansiglio Plateau (Pordenone, Northeastern ltaly) where there are several quarries. This is the first record of a dinosaur footprint in the Cretaceous of Italy and the first indication of Hauterivian dinosaur tracks in the Periadriatic carbonate platforms.

Italian Journal of Geosciences, Feb 1, 2011

ABSTRACT Four calvarial (=skull roof) bones from the Fusea vertebrate-bearing site (uppermost Lad... more ABSTRACT Four calvarial (=skull roof) bones from the Fusea vertebrate-bearing site (uppermost Ladinian or lowermost Carnian), near Tolmezzo (Udine Province, northeastern Italy) provide the first unambiguous record of lungfish (Dipnoi) in Italy. The preservation of the specimens does not allow a detailed taxonomic interpretation and for this reason they are referred to the lungfish suborder Ceratodontoidei, leaving indeterminate their familial and generic attribution. Dipnoans constitute an additional taxon to be added to the diverse vertebrate assemblage discovered in the Fusea site, formed by nothosauroids, cyamodontoid placodonts, the protorosaurian Tanystrophetis, small archosaurians, and elasmobranchian and actinopterygian fishes. These fishes provide evidence of freshwater influence in the sedimentary environment of this important paleontological site occuring at the boundary between two prevailing marine units (the Schlern/Sciliar Dolostone and the Val Degano Formation).

Journal of Paleontology, May 10, 2022

The definition of the Cretaceous shark genus Cretodus Sokolov, 1965 is primarily based on isolate... more The definition of the Cretaceous shark genus Cretodus Sokolov, 1965 is primarily based on isolated teeth. This genus includes five species. Among these, Cretodus houghtonorum Shimada and Everhart, 2019 is the only species based on a partially preserved skeleton. Here, the taxonomic attribution of a virtually complete skeleton of Cretodus from the Turonian of northeastern Italy is discussed, together with a few specimens from the Turonian of England. One of the latter is investigated through micropaleontological analysis to determine its stratigraphic position. The material is referred to Cretodus crassidens (Dixon, 1850), the diagnosis of which is emended herein. The dentition is tentatively reconstructed, exhibiting strong similarities with congeneric species, although it differs in having strong vertical folds on the main cusp labial face, a mesiodistally broad tooth aspect, weak and well-spaced 'costulae' at crown base, and a different dental formula in the number of parasymphyseal and lateral rows. Some tooth malformations are interpreted as feeding-related or senile characters. The Italian specimen suggests that Cretodus crassidens had a wide and laterally expanded mouth and head, a stout body, and attained a gigantic size. Cretodus crassidens was a moderate-speed swimming shark ecologically like the extant tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron and Lesueur in Lesueur, 1822). The age estimate from vertebral-band counting suggests that the Italian individual was at least 23 years old and the growth model indicates a longevity of 64 years and a maximum attainable total length of 9-11 m. Cretodus crassidens occurs both in Boreal and Tethyan domains, implying a broad paleobiogeographic distribution and a preference toward offshore settings. Geological setting The geological setting of the 'Lastame' lithofacies of the Scaglia Rossa of the Lessini Mountains (∼30 km N of Verona, Veneto, Italy; Fig. 1), which yielded the Cretodus remains, has been thoroughly described in a series of papers dealing with the remarkable vertebrate assemblage of this Cretaceous Lagerstätte *Corresponding author.

Bulletin De La Societe Geologique De France, May 1, 1997

... Palaeozoic vertebrates of the Alps; a review. Alain Blieck, Maria A. Conti, Fabio M. Dalla Ve... more ... Palaeozoic vertebrates of the Alps; a review. Alain Blieck, Maria A. Conti, Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia, Helmut W. Fluegel, Georges Gand, Bernhard Hubmann, Herve Lelievre, Nino Mariotti, Umberto Nicosia, Cecile Poplin, Joerg W. Schneider, and Ralf Werneburg Univ. Sci. Tech. ...

We provided here the most complete census of the Italian Triassic tetrapod ichnosites ever publis... more We provided here the most complete census of the Italian Triassic tetrapod ichnosites ever published based on an extensive literature review, integrated with previously unpublished data. Most ichnosites are located in the Southern Alps but track-bearing localities are also described in the Western Alps and in Northern Apennines. The stratigraphic distribution of tetrapod footprints can be framed in two macro-sets. A first set ranges from the late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to the Middle Triassic (Late Anisian, Illyrian) where ichnoassociations are dominated by lizard-like footprints (e.g. Rhynchosauroides isp.) with gradual increase through time of footprints referable to crurotarsal archosaurs (e.g. chirotheriids). After a hiatus ranging up to the basal part of the Carnian (basal Julian), a second set of ichnoassociations spreads the whole Late Triassic. This second set is dominated by crurotarsal footprints from its base but, in correspondence with the abrupt global climate of the...

Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, 2012

The dinosaur record from Iran includes footprints from the Liassic Ab-e-Haji Formation of Neizar ... more The dinosaur record from Iran includes footprints from the Liassic Ab-e-Haji Formation of Neizar Valley (Kerman Province, central-eastern Iran), a single footprint from the Javaherdeh Formation near Zerab (Alborz Mounts, NE Iran), and skeletal remains from the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous Ravar Formation of the Ab Bid Syncline (Kerman Province). Contrary to previous identifications, no footprints from the Neizar Valley belong to ornithopods; they can all be referred to theropod trackmakers. The Zerab footprint, on which the ichnospecies Iranosauripus zerabensis is based, is an undiagnostic theropod footprint and probably was lost. The skeletal remains are represented by bone fragments and a tooth of a mid-sized theropod, which represent the first dinosaur osteological record in this part of the Middle East. The Ab Bid Syncline has a high potential for further future discoveries.

Scientific Reports, 2019

Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of... more Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of vertebrates to develop powered flight, is very uneven, with only a few deposits accounting for the vast majority of specimens and almost half of the taxonomic diversity. Among the regions that stand out for the greatest gaps of knowledge regarding these flying reptiles, is the Afro-Arabian continent, which has yielded only a small number of very fragmentary and incomplete materials. Here we fill part of that gap and report on the most complete pterosaur recovered from this continent, more specifically from the Late Cretaceous (~95 mya) Hjoûla Lagerstätte of Lebanon. This deposit is known since the Middle Ages for the exquisitely preserved fishes and invertebrates, but not for tetrapods, which are exceedingly rare. Mimodactylus libanensis gen. et sp. nov. differs from the other Afro-Arabian pterosaur species named to date and is closely related to the Chinese species Haopterus gracilis, ...

Cretaceous Research, 2019

Cretoxyrhina mantelli was a large pelagic lamniform shark geographically widespread during the La... more Cretoxyrhina mantelli was a large pelagic lamniform shark geographically widespread during the Late Cretaceous, and well known because of several nearly complete skeletons from the Western Interior Seaway of North America. Here we report 15 partial skeletons belonging to lamniform sharks from the 'lastame' lithozone of the Upper Cretaceous Scaglia Rossa Formation of the Lessini Mountains (northeastern Italy). Seven partial but articulated skeletons include tooth sets that allow a confident attribution to Cretoxyrhina mantelli based on dental morphologies. We review the taxonomic history of C. mantelli, evidencing that the taxon was erected by Agassiz (1835) and tracing back four of the original syntypes. Based on calcareous plankton biostratigraphy, the rock in

Cretaceous Research, 2017

Sclerorhynchiform sawfishes are a diverse and extinct clade of elasmobranchs that is restricted t... more Sclerorhynchiform sawfishes are a diverse and extinct clade of elasmobranchs that is restricted to the Cretaceous. Most taxa are known only by isolated rostral spines, whereas skeletal remains are rare and have been reported from a small number of Upper Cretaceous localities. Here, we describe skeletal remains of the giant sclerorhynchiform Onchosaurus pharao for the first time, which provides new morphological information. The single specimen comes from middle-basal upper Turonian strata of the Lessini Mountains in northeastern Italy and represents the first record of this genus from Italy. The specimen consists of unidentifiable cranial remains, several diagnostic rostral spines, the rostrum with fragments of tessellated calcified cartilage, and 87 disarticulated vertebrae. The rostrum preserves the characteristic sensory system of sclerorhynchiforms. It is devoid of any lateral sockets indicating that rostral spines were attached laterally to its surface. This pattern is identical to most sclerorhynchiforms and extant pristiophoriforms implying also similar replacement patterns as in most other sclerorhynchiforms with the exception for Schizorhiza. Additionally, the bases of two longitudinally arranged rows of ventral rostral spines are identifiable concurring with patterns seen in Sclerorhynchus. The axial skeleton is partly preserved. Rearranging the disarticulated vertebrae according to their life position in combination with measures of the size and thickness of preserved vertebral centra, and the ratio rostrum length/body size depending on the number of vertebral centra indicate that the specimen was ca. 450 cm long. Growth rings in the vertebral centra show that the specimen was about four years old and thus probably not yet fully sexual mature when it died. This age assumption corresponds well with the calculated size when compared with complete skeletons of extinct sclerorhynchiforms and extant pristiforms. The size of the specimen and its occurrence in hemipelagic rocks corroborates previous assumptions that this sclerorhynchiform was a large and pelagic sawfish.

Cretaceous Research, 2016

The Coccondontoidea is a distinctive superfamily of pycnodont fishes characterized by a series of... more The Coccondontoidea is a distinctive superfamily of pycnodont fishes characterized by a series of derived characters, including thick and well-ossified cranial bones supporting horns and spines and a hypertrophied pectoral girdle sutured to the skull forming a sort of cephalo-torax. A new distinctive coccodontoid species, Gladiopycnodus byrnei n. sp., is described from the Cenomanian locality of Hjoûla, Lebanon. This new species exhibits a unique combination of features that clearly support its inclusion within the coccodontoid family Gladiopycnodontidae, including an extremely elongate snout forming a sword-shaped rostrum, thick dermal bones ornamented with rounded tubercles, large supracleithrum and cleithrum extensively sutured to the skull, and irregularly imbricated scales covering the entire body. The new taxon differs from type species G. karami by

PALAIOS, 2007

... Vertebrate remains of chondrichthyans, osteichthyans, and reptilians have been reported from ... more ... Vertebrate remains of chondrichthyans, osteichthyans, and reptilians have been reported from the area since the late 1800s (Bassani, 1892; Pinna, 1990; Sirna et al., 1994; Rieppel and Dalla Vecchia, 2001, Dalla Vecchia and Avanzini, 2002, Dalla Vecchia, 2006), where they ...

Senckenbergiana lethaea, 2002

... Authors' addresses: Dr. SILVIO RENESTO, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Univers... more ... Authors' addresses: Dr. SILVIO RENESTO, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit~ degli Studi, via Mangiagalli 34, 1-20133 Milano, Italy, e-mail: Silvio.Renesto@unimi9 Dr. FABIO M. DALLA VECCHIA, Museo Paleontologico Cittadino,Via Valentinis 134, 1-34074 ...