New faunistic data on the Pleistocene environmental evolution of the south-western edge of the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily)

摘要

Faunistic associations of the Lower Pleistocene sediments, out-cropping at Cartiera Molino along the true right bank of the Ippari River (Vittoria, SE Sicily), have been investigated. This study integrates data obtained from the analysis of ostracods, foraminifers, bryozoans and serpulids found within a six metre thick sedimentary section. This multiproxy approach allowed us to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this south-western sector of the Hyblean Plateau (Comiso-Vittoria area) from fluvially-influenced shallow marine settings, recorded in the lower portion of the succession, to progressively shallower, transitional and brackish environments, testified in mid levels, up to freshwater environments at the top of the section.