Rodent stratigraphy of some Miocene fissure fillings in Gargano (prov. Foggia, Italy)

Abstract

A new genus of Muridae, Microtia, is described and three species M. magna, M. parva, and M. maiuscula are ascribed to it. The size and morphology of Microtia molars show a very wide variation which is interpreted as an evolutionary trend, and used to establish an age sequence for a large number of fissure fillings, that show no stratigraphic correlation in the field. This sequence serves as a background for the study of the birds from Gargano by Ballmann.