The wolf from Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Italy) and its implications in the evolutionary history of Canis lupus in the Late Pleistocene of Southern Italy

Canis lupus dispersed into Europe in the late Middle Pleistocene. The phylogenetic origin of C. lupus from Canis mosbachensis is widely accepted in the literature although their relationships and taxonomy are debated. In this paper, canid remains coming from the so-called "terre rosse", Level G at Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Southern Italy) are described. The Level G was dated between 69,000 and 40,000 +/- 3250 years using the 230Th/238U method. Despite the great archeological importance of the site, some of the vertebrate fossil remains have been never described in detail. Among these are cranial remains of a canid that different authors referred to Canis aureus, C. lupus, C. mosbachensis, Canis aff. mosbachensis, or Canis sp.. The skull remains from Grotta Romanelli Level G were analyzed using Computed Tomography and 3D virtual modeling to provide a detailed reconstruction of the specimens and investigate inner structures. In addition, the Grotta Romanelli material was compared with (1) fossil wolves from other Middle-Late Pleistocene sites of Apulia (Melpignano/San Sidero, Ingarano and Grotta Paglicci) and France, (2) C. mosbachensis remains from various Early-Middle Pleistocene European sites, (3) a large sample of the extant Italian subspecies C. lupus italicus. The Late Pleistocene wolves from Apulia can be included in a single group, morphologically and morphometrically homogeneous. Although the wolf from Grotta Romanelli shares some similarities with the Early-Middle Pleistocene C. mosbachensis, its overall morphology and proportions fall into the wide variability of the extant C. lupus. Moreover, this determination is much more parsimonious than the taxonomic attribution of the "Apulian wolves"(including the Romanelli specimens) to C. mosbachensis, a typical late Early-Middle Pleistocene species, whose survival in Apulia during the Late Pleistocene is not adequately supported. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.