Marche

Italolestes stroppai

Complete specimen of damselfish, holotype of the species

Description

The holotype of the damselfly Italolestes stroppai, belonging to the order Odonata (like dragonflies), is complete and extraordinarily well preserved: the wing veins and original colouration are perfectly legible.

The specimen, dated to 6 million years ago (Messinian) (Messiniano), comes from the Gessoso Solfifera Formation at Monte Castellaro (Pesaro): this site, known since 1775, is linked to the Messinian salinity crisis, an event that caused the evaporation of the Mediterranean due to the closure of the Strait of Gibraltar, and which radically transformed marine and coastal environments.

The specimen was found in a layer rich in insects, adjacent to levels containing euryhaline fish (e.g., “nono”, “ghiozzo”, “latterino”), capable of tolerating wide salinity variations and indicative of a coastal lagoon where rivers also carried and deposited leaves and branches. The presence of leaves of the genus Cinammomum (e.g. cinnamon and camphor) in these layers further suggests a warm-temperate to subtropical climate during the Messinian age.

Classification and size comparison

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

  Subclass: Pterygota

Order: Odonata

  Suborder: Zygoptera

Genus: †Italolestes

Species: †Italolestes stroppai
Nel et al., 2005

  • ERA: Cenozoic
  • PERIOD: Neogene
  • EPOCH: Miocene
  • ETÀ: Messiniano (7.2-5.3 Ma)
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The late Miocene is characterized by extensive evaporite deposits formed during the Messinian salinity crisis: the closure of the Strait of Gibraltar isolated the Mediterranean Sea, and the subsequent evaporation of the water led to the precipitation of minerals such as gypsum and rock salt.

San Bartolo Park, fossil site at Monte Castellaro (PU)

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Museo Paleontologico “L. Sorbini", Fiorenzuola di Focara (PU)

Catalogue number:
MS 43

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Bibliography:

  • Bagli L. & Gentilini G. (2005). Nuove libellule fossili del Miocene superiore di Monte Castellaro,
    Pesaro (Marche, Italia centrale) (Insecta Odonata Libelulidae). Quaderno di Studi e Notizie di
    Storia Naturale della Romagna, 18: 37-50.
  • Bedosti B. (1975) Il Miocene di Monte Castellaro (Pesaro). Natura, Società Italiana di Scienze
    Naturali, 66: 79 -84.
  • Bedosti N. (1999). “Pachyostosis in Aphanius crassicaudus (AGASSIZ) (Teleostei,Cyprinodontidae)
    from the upper Miocene of Monte Castellaro, Italy. Miscellanea paleontologica, Studi e ricerche
    sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca, 8: 143-158.
  • Bedosti N. (2008) I fossili del Monte Castellaro nel Parco del San Bartolo. Quaderni di divulgazione
    scientifica, 2: 1-57.
  • Bedosti N. (2016). La crisi di salinità del Messiniano: il contributo degli ittioliti del giacimento di Monte Castellaro (Pesaro). PhD dissertation.
  • Landini W. & Sorbini L. (1989). Icthyofauna of the evaporitic Messinian in the Romagna and
    Marche regions. Bollettino Società Paleontologica Italiana, 28: 287-293.
  • Passeri G. (1775). Della storia de’ fossili dell’Agro pesarese e d’altri luoghi vicini. Discorsi Sei. 367
    pp. De Longhi, Bologna.
  • Sorbini L. (1987). Biogeography and climatology of Pliocene and Messinian fossil fish of eastern central Italy. Bollettino Museo Civico Storia Naturale, 14: l-85.

Credits and acknowledgments

Thanks to Professor Nicoletta Bedosti, Director of the "Lorenzo Sorbini" Palaeontological Museum of Fiorenzuola di Focara, for sharing the multimedia material used on this page.

Reproduction, distribution, or any other use is prohibited without prior authorization from the rights holders.

Thanks also to Professor Marco Peter Ferretti of the University of Camerino for his support and collaboration.