Late Pleistocene Marmota marmota from Grotta Mora Cavorso (central Italy): A morphological and osteometric contribution to the Western European fossil record

Grotta Mora Cavorso (Latium, central Italy) is an archaeological and paleontological site characterised by a complex stratigraphy extending from the Late Pleistocene to the Contemporary age. This paper presents the analysis of a partially articulated skeleton of Marmota marmota discovered in Layer 7, which has yielded numerous exceptionally well-preserved faunal remains over the years. The specimen, estimated to have died at approximately 3 years of age, dates to the final stages of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (36-32 ka BP), during a cooler climate phase than present-day. Taphonomic evidence indicates that the carcass was most likely introduced into the cave through one of the sinkholes opening in the ceiling of the entrance room or died during the third hibernation, since no traces of human or predator activity are present. The state of preservation permitted a detailed morphological and osteometric study of the specimen, which now constitutes a valuable reference for future research, as it afforded the rare opportunity to refine knowledge of growth patterns, life history traits and population dynamics of past marmot communities.