Large mammal faunas and ecosystem dynamics during the late Middle to early Late Pleistocene at Grotta Romanelli (southern Italy)

Since the beginning of the XIX century, Grotta Romanelli gained recognition in European stratigraphy as an important site for the Late Pleistocene, due to the attribution of its basal sediments to the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e). Its abundant archaeological and paleontological findings made the cave a key reference point for the study of human evolution and faunal dynamics in the larger Mediterranean area over approximately the last 130,000 years. After a century, a new chronostratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli revised the timeframe of its lower levels, predating them to the late Middle Pleistocene. In this study, we re-evaluate selected historical museum collections from the so-called “lower complex” of Grotta Romanelli and examine the new fossils excavated between 2015 and 2022. We identify three main mammal assemblages associated with three different interglacial periods spanning the last 350,000 years. Our findings offer new insights into terrestrial ecosystems in Mediterranean Europe from the late Middle Pleistocene to early Late Pleistocene. Additionally, they provide valuable information to the biochronological framework of the European large mammal faunas.