Le faune a mammiferi della Sicilia tra il Tardoglaciale e l’Olocene

Abstract

A check-list of Sicilian terrestrial mammals from Late Glacial to the Holocene has been compiled and a quantitative methodology of data analysis to calculate their occurrence and extinction rates has been adopted, in order to synthesize the temporal turnover of mammal species occurred during the last 17,5 ky. In such interval Sicily, probably passed from a fully connection (via a temporary land bridge generated by eustatic change of sea level) with Southern Calabria to the present isolation phase. To better focus the faunal turnover, this temporal interval has been subdivided into three phases: Late Glacial, ancient and recent Holocene. 28 Mammal taxa were recorded: 17 in the Late Glacial, 18 in the ancient and 26 in the recent Holocene. The high turnover index (48%) of Late Glacial was caused from either high levels of extinction (38%) of the past mammal fauna and immigration of new species into the island (58%). Transition to ancient Holocene recorded a much more moderate turnover (20%) with low extinctions (17%) and immigrations (23%). As it was the turnover index from ancient to recent Holocene (25%); but in this case a much higher immigration rate (42%) relatively to a very low extinction one (9%) was noticed, probably due to human introductions.