Quaternary mammals from marine terraces and karst cavities of Sicily: reasoning on accumulation processes and tentative correlations

A significant part of the coastal area of Sicily presents paleo cliffs and marine terraces of different orders, resulting from the combined effects of tectonic uplift and eustatic changes in the sea level. In some sites, fossils of Quaternary mammals occur in cavities embedded in the calcareous paleo cliff and in the deposits of the facing marine terraces. Dating of mammal assemblages is based on the biochronological framework of Sicily, where five different faunal complexes have been recognised. Several research have investigated times and ways of accumulation in caves and marine terraces and their possible correlations. Karst cavities can have very reduced openings to the outside, or they can open as wide caves on the marine terrace. Mammal assemblages in karst cavities can result from attritional deposition or transport by abiological and/or biological agents, or active use as shelter. Mammal assemblages in marine terraces are usually found in lacustrine deposits formed on the emerging coastal plain. A critical overview of different case studies is here presented, to reconsider the possible correlation between cavities and coastal deposits, reasoning on depositional setting and accumulation processes. In the most favourable case, coeval mammal assemblages occur in lacustrine deposits extending from the coastal plain into the cave. In other cases, coeval mammal assemblages are found both in caves and marine terraces in a restricted area, without stratigraphical continuity. The occurrence of mammal assemblages of different ages in the two contexts in a restricted area suggests deeper insights.