Collecurti bonebed
Basic information
Sample name: Collecurti bonebed

Reference: P. P. A. Mazza and D. Ventra. 2011. Pleistocene debris-flow deposition of the hippopotamus-bearing Collecurti bonebed (Macerata, Central Italy): Taphonomic and paleoenvironmental analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 310:296-314 [ER 3891]
Geography
Country: Italy

State: Macerata


Coordinate: 42.963333° N, 12.922222° E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Formation: Colfiorito basin

Time interval: Early Pleistocene

Unit number: 3

Unit order: above to below

Ma: 1.05

Age basis: paleomag

Geography comments: Located near Voltellina roughly 56 km SW of Macerata

"The multi-individual bonebed of Collecurti has been dated at around 1 Ma by biochronology and paleomagnetism"

"Paleomagnetic data (Coltorti et al., 1998) show that the fossiliferous bed occurs within the base of a 5 m stratigraphic interval attributed to the normal polarity Jaramillo subchron (C1r.In), and its age is therefore approximately 1.05 Ma"

Environment
Lithology: siliciclastic (mixed)

Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit

Habitat comments: "An interval approximately 40 m thick, dominated by massive to horizontally bedded clay and silt, comprising peat layers and a few organic-rich and fossiliferous interbeds (including the Collecurti bonebed)."

The fossiliferous unit 3 is composed of sandy clay containing carbonate and chert clasts

Very sparse ("virtually absent") evidence of weathering at the site, as well as no evidence of carnivore ravaging or trampling.

"All taxa are unsorted"

The taphonomic evidence suggests the elephant/cervid remains and the hippopotamus remains originate from two different taphonomic histories and were mixed by a debris flow

The debris flow seems to have buried the hippopotamus carcasses while they were in an "advanced state of decomposition" while adding the bones from uphill (likely "fluvially reworked")

The hippopotamus remains lay long enough to be skeletonized and disarticulated without being exposed to weathering agents or scavengers. They were therefore likely decomposing in a "quiet waterbody"

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,ungulates

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 441 specimens

Sampling comments: The excavation site is located at "shallow depth" below crop terrain

Specimen orientation was recorded in the field

Taxonomy, anatomy, quantification, relative amounts, age spectrum, body size, articulation, selection, and bone modification were all obtained after preparation

There were 496 specimens acquired from the side, of which 441 were identified anatomically and taxonomically, 2 were identified only anatomically, with 53 being unidentified

A total of 9 species and 8 genera were identified

Metadata
Sample number: 4271

Contributor: Jack Nesbitt

Enterer: Jack Nesbitt

Created: 2023-05-17 15:07:18

Modified: 2023-05-17 05:07:18

Abundance distribution
9 species
3 singletons
total count 441
geometric series index: 16.1
Fisher's α: 1.601
geometric series k: 0.4726
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.1655
Shannon's H: 0.4506
Good's u: 0.9932
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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