In Ponte Galeria, the bones of a specimen dating back to about 400,000 years ago were found. He lived in a period of climate change where glacial cycles become longer and more intense
Rome’s relationship with wolves dates back to the mythical times of Romulus and Remus. Now the “proofs” have been found. The results of the analyzes of a group of paleontologists and geologists of the Department of Earth Sciences of the La Sapienza University of Rome and of the State University of Milan indicate that the fossil remains found near Ponte Galeria belonged to the oldest adult wolf specimen (Canis lupus) in Europe, datable to 406,500 years ago, with a margin of uncertainty of 2,400 years more or less. The study was published in Scientific Reports
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Tac exam
“The fossil fragments were scanned by CT scan and then digitally joined to recreate the original structure of the skull, which was then analyzed, measured and compared with other scans of modern canids such as the jackal, or the Apennine wolf that currently populates the Italian peninsula », explains Dawid A. Iurino, the first signatory of the study. To perform a precise dating, the researchers analyzed the volcanic sediment that covered and filled the fossil fragments to establish the precise age of the find.
A phase of climate change
“Before this research, the most ancient wolf fossil remains were those dated around 300 thousand years ago found in France and Italy (Polledrara di Cecanibbio, of which, however, a formal description of the find is missing)”, commented Raffaele Sardella, coordinator of study. This discovery “made it possible to identify the oldest fossil remains of this species found in Europe so far in the Ponte Galeria wolf”. The new analyzes have shown how wolf dispersal occurred during a phase of the Pleistocene characterized by longer and more intense glacial cycles. This climate change probably favored the spread of new species in Europe, including the wolf.
February 25, 2022 (change February 25, 2022 | 12:57)
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