Mammuthus meridionalis (Mammalia, Proboscidea, Elephantidae) from the 'Sabbie Gialle' of Oriolo (Cava La Salita, Faenza, Northern Italy) and other European late populations of southern mammoth

New finds of Mammuthus meridionalis from 'La Salita di Oriolo' quarry (Faenza, Emilia Romagna, Italy) are described. The 'Sabbie gialle' outcropping at Oriolo yielded several mammal species pointing out an early Galerian age (late Early Pleistocene) for the whole assemblage. A comparison with the type population of M. m. meridionalis from Upper Valdarno (Tuscany; Italy; Tasso Faunal Unit; early Early Pleistocene) and younger samples from Italy and other European localities allows to draw a possible scenario of the late evolution of the southern mammoth. On the basis of the systematic study two distinct lineages of southern mammoth are recognised. One, currently known only from Italy, is represented by several findings, among which are the Oriolo specimens and those referred to M.m. vestinus, characterized by large size, specialized skull and primitive dentition. A second group of forms, making its first occurrence in the early Galerian, presents instead derived dental morphology and is here referred to as M.meridionalis ex gr. tamanensis. During the middle Galerian (early Middle Pleistocene) the latter is replaced throughout Eurasia by the more evolved steppe mammoth M.trogontherii, a probable off-shoot of this group, while the forms belonging to the M.m.vestinus group became extinct without descendants.