Response to Bonfiglio, L. Notes and Discussions on Marra, A.C. Evolution of Endemic Species, Ecological Interactions and Geographical Changes in an Insular Environment: A Case Study of Quaternary Mammals of Sicily (Italy, EU). Geosciences 2013, 3, 114–139

books where morphological and biometrical data are not available [16,17]. These works in progress will certainly improve the knowledge about the San Teodoro Faunal Complex (FC) but cannot be considered in this form. Furthermore, Marra [1] reported the determinations of species from S. Teodoro published by the Bonfiglio’s research team on referred journals from 2000 to 2012 [5,18–22], and it appears amazing that Bonfiglio considers the specific determinations wrong. The data suggested by Bonfiglio [2] and the discussion represent details included in the references cited by Marra [1]. In particular: Geosciences 2013, 3 628 1. Dispersals before MIS 6 have been considered (pages 124–125); 2. Amino acid racemization (AAR) dating might be considered not reliable, but it has to be reported; 3. Discussion on single sites is not pertinent to the review proposed by Marra [1]. However, data on the most relevant sites and their stratigraphy have been considered, and related papers, including wide discussions and rich bibliography, have been cited [19–24]; 4. Bonfiglio claims that “data from large and small mammals, birds and terrestrial molluscs, should be used with the aim to construct an integrated biochronology by all those specialists working on this topic (Esu, Masini, Pavia, Petruso)” [2]. This is to be hoped, but the work is still unpublished. The paper by Marra [1] is a step in this direction. In the section “Critical Observations” [2], Bonfiglio reports palaeogeographical reconstructions by Bonfiglio and Mangano [25] and Rosso et al. [26], published respectively on a local symposium volume and on an excursion guide, both without referees. The source of palaeogeographic maps is reported in Marra [1] as Marra 2009 [27]. Bonfiglio suggests to update Figure 5 in Marra [1] using Figure 1 of her note [2], but Figure 5 by Marra is the palaeogeographic reconstruction of early Middle Pleistocene, while Figure 1 by Bonfiglio is related to lower Pleistocene. Moreover, Figure 5 by Marra is based on the evidence that in the early Middle Pleistocene, Mount Torre sea-strait was closing, and a lagoon was in, in connection with the marine basin of Locri; a portion of Cape Vaticano tilted under the sea-level [28] (sites are quoted in Figure 1, this paper). At that time, the sea strait of Catanzaro was very narrow and definitely closed in the Middle Pleistocene [29], while the Messina Strait was wider than today [30] (sites are quoted in Figure 1, this paper). Figure 1 by Bonfiglio is more pertinent to the early Pleistocene (comparable to Figure 4 in Marra [1]), with some considerations: in the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene, Calabria consisted of three islands (Serre, Aspromonte, and Capo Vaticano) by sea straits. In the Crati basin, a very thick Pliocene–Pleistocene sedimentary succession was depositing [31]. The marine basins of Mount Torre and Catanzaro were connecting the Tyrrhenian ad Ionian seas, while the marine basins of Mesima and Gioia Tauro were isolating Cape Vaticano [28,29,32,33] (sites are quoted in Figure 1, this paper). Sothernmost, the Messina Strait persisted as a sea strait for all the Quaternary, between Calabria and Sicily [34,35] (sites are quoted in Figure 1, this paper). The detail showed in Bonfiglio’s Figure 2 [2] is reported in Figure 7 by Marra [1], in a different scale. The map of Figure 7 cannot be modified as requested by Bonfiglio, just on the basis of the spreading of Equus hydruntinus [2]. Marra pointed out that coastal lines might have changed locally and reported that the “arrival in Sicily of a new stock of small mammals and some large mammals has been related by Bonfiglio et al. 2002 [20] to the opening of a land bridge as a consequence of an eustatic low stand, and by Marra 2009 [27] to a ‘stepping stones’ dispersal way” (p. 129 in [1]; references are updated to this paper). Moreover, dispersals of Equus hyduntinus and possibly of Bison priscus siciliae are discussed also by a paleocological point of view by Marra (p. 130 in [1]). Bonfiglio criticizes the sentence about Palaeloxodon falconeri’s precursors: “Once they reached the island, they underwent evolutionary changes related to insular conditions” [1]. Bonfiglio claims that “the first elephants occurring in Sicily in the Comiso limnic deposits are already very reduced in size” [2]. It is obvious that the sentence by Marra was addressed to the precursors of endemic elephants, evolved on island from continental forms spread to Sicily, and it was not related to fossil evidence. Geosciences 2013, 3 629 Figure 1. Sites quoted in the text. Bonfiglio [2] asks references for the “good ichthyofauna” indicated by Marra (p. 127 in [1]), but the complete sentence is “It is likely that a good ichthyofauna was present in the freshwaters, sufficient to sustain the rich avifauna” and it is clear this assumption is inferred by the palaeoecology of birds in the Sicilian fossil record [36]. Bonfiglio reports wet conditions at San Teodoro cave, but they are referred to older levels of the cave, not to the whole Faunal Complex [2]. Marra [1] reports the general dry climate conditions of the San Teodoro FC resulting from faunal association and pollen data [37]. Bonfiglio indicates misprints, that are useful “errata corrige” to Marra’s article. In particular: • Page 116 (line 23): errata “[10]”—corrige “[52]; • Page 117: in the Elephas falconeri FC (line 15): errata: “undetermined bats”—corrige: “bats”; • Pages 123 (last line), 124 (lines 1 and 26), 125 (line 5), 126 (line 4), 128 (line 7): Errata “[47]”—corrige “[48]”; • Page 124 (line 2): errata “[48]—corrige “[47]”; • Page 128, Table 1: errata “[5]—corrige “[34]”.