Palaeoenvironments of the MIS 15 site of Cava di Breccia-Casal Selce 2 (central Italian Peninsula) and niche occupation of fossil ungulates during Middle Pleistocene interglacials

The Ponte Galeria area within the city of Rome has yielded numerous fossiliferous localities that represent a reference point for the study of the European Middle Pleistocene ecosystems. Within Ponte Galeria a rich collection of fossil mammals has been unearthed from Cava di Breccia - Casal Selce 2 (MIS 15) thus the site represents an optimal laboratory to investigate the palaeoenvironments of a defined territory during the Middle Pleistocene. We investigate the feeding behaviours of the ungulate community of Cava di Breccia - Casal Selce 2 to reconstruct the MIS 15 habitats and also compare the data with those of the nearby site of Fontana Ranuccio (MIS 11) which shares similar faunal composition with Cava di Breccia - Casal Selce 2 to test if ungulates occupied the same niches during two different interglacials. Open habitats with scattered woodlands characterised the Ponte Galeria area during MIS 15, whereas woodlands were more widespread during MIS 11 at Fontana Ranuccio. Ungulates display similar diets in both localities, suggesting that cervids, large bovids and equids adopted the same niche partitioning strategies during both interglacials.