Trapped in a roman well: amphibians and reptiles from Tenuta Zuccarello near Marcon, Venice, Italy

The Roman well US 100, located in the Tenuta Zuccarello near Venice, has yielded a large number of different animals remains, dated back to 2000 ± 40 years BP. Amphibians and reptiles are represented by at least 11 taxa: two caudates (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris, Triturus gr. T. cristatus), three anurans (Bombina sp., Bufo bufo, Rana dalmatina vel R. latastei), one turtle (Emys orbicularis), at least two lizards (Anguis gr. A. fragilis, Lacerta gr. L. viridis), and three snakes (Natrix natrix, cf. Coronella sp., Hierophis viridiflavus). Based on this assemblage, an ecotonal environment with water bodies, open and humid areas, as well as dry and sunny areas, is here suggested for the surroundings of the well when the sediments deposited. Most of the identified taxa were found in other Venetian sites since the Pleistocene, suggesting a certain continuity in the amphibians and reptiles population in Veneto during the Quaternary. The only taxon that is absent from the Venetian Lagoon today is Bombina. Its presence in a 2000-years-old archaeological site proves that the disappearance of suitable environments for the genus is a recent phenomenon near the Lagoon. This may support future reintroduction projects in suitable areas, following a conservation palaeobiology perspective.