Petrochirus fabroensis Pasini, Garassino & De Angeli, 2014

Palace, Bourbonic Royal, Maio, Nicola, Mancini, Donato, Mezzasalma, Marcello, Odierna, Gaetano, Petraccioli, Agnese, Nugnes, Francesco, Picariello, Orfeo Lucio Antonio & Guarino, Fabio Maria, 2015, Short communications Extinct or not extinct: the case of the Chalcides ocellatus (Squamata: Scincidae) population from the Park of the ex Bourbonic Royal Palace of Portici (Naples, Italy), Natural History Sciences 2 (1), pp. 43-54 : 48

Petrochirus fabroensis Pasini, Garassino & De Angeli in Baldanza et al. (2014)

Fig. 1

Material and measurements: One well-preserved nearly complete right chela three-dimensionally preserved (MSNM i28044 - h: 15 mm; ld: 12 mm; lt: 24 mm; li: 13 mm).

Description: Strong subsquare chela, nearly straight upper margin, gently convex lower margin; palm slightly longer than high; inner and outer surfaces of the palm with strong ornamentation of spiny tubercles near upper margin and rounded smaller tubercles medially and near lower margin; inner surface of palm slightly depressed near lower margin; strong subtriangular dactylus, slightly shorter than index, both fingers ornamented with rounded nodes; occlusal margin of index and dactylus with large flat molariform teeth decreasing in size distally.

Discussion: The characters of the studied specimen fit with those of the holotype of Petrochirus fabroensis , recently described from the early Pleistocene of St. Lazzaro, Fabro Scalo (Terni, Umbria, central Italy) (Pasini, Garassino & De Angeli in Baldanza et al., 2014: 272). This is the first record of the species from the paleo-Adriatic gulf, and from the Pliocene, enlarging the distribution and stratigraphic range of the species in the Mediterranean area during the Cenozoic.

Figures

Fig. 1 - Adult specimen of Chalcides ocellatus recently found at Portici (Naples).