Vertebrates from the uppermost stratigraphic sequence of the Pietraroja plattenkalk (Early Cretaceous, Southern Italy)

The Early Cretaceous Plattenkalk of Pietraroja (Benevento, southern Italy) is known since the eighteenth century for its diverse and exquisitely preserved ichthyofauna; in the last decades the site became extremely famous after the finding of Scipionyx samniticus (first dinosaur from Italy and unique in the fossil record, exceptionally preserving internal organs). Given the highly conservative nature of this Fossil-Lagerstätte, in 2001 the Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano conducted new fieldwork under the aegis of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Salerno, with the aim to investigate the fossil contents of the uppermost layers. The latter date back to the Lower Albian, and are less rich in terms of number of fossils compared to the classical fish-bearing strata. Nevertheless, after 10 days of excavation more than 600 specimens were collected from 200 square meters of extracted layers. The fish assemblage exhibits a moderately high diversity. Both articulated skeletons and isolated bones have been collected, including remains of Notagogus pentlandi, Ocleodus costae, Belonostomus sp., an indeterminate phyllodontid albulid, and the otophysan Clupavus sp. The presence of this moderately diversified fish assemblage, together with sedimentological data, indicates the persistence of good conditions for marine life in shallow waters, up to the end of the Plattenkalk deposition. The presence of arid emerged areas close to the depositional basin is confirmed also in the uppermost layers of the stratigraphic sequence, by the finding of several remains of rhynchocephalian reptiles. Among them is a specimen with an estimated length of one meter, that represents the largest lepidosauromorph known to date from the Pietraroja Fossil-Lagerstätte.