La Collezione Lamarmora - Vertebrati del Museo Sardo di Geologia e Paleontologia Domenico Lovisato (Cagliari, Italia)

Some historical collections housed in the Sardinian Museum of Geology and Palaeontology Domenico Lovisato have been reviewed during a recent cataloging. One of them is the “Lamarmora Vertebrate Collection”, a small assemblage of Quaternary vertebrate fossils gathered by General Alberto Lamarmora during the mid-nineteenth century in the historic locality of Bonaria (Cagliari). Seven mammal taxa belonging to the Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) Faunal Complex have been recognized during preliminary analysis. The collection has an historic importance because it was donated by one of the most illustrious names in that period and, secondly, it represents one of the first collections annexed to the “Museo Lovisato”. A scientific importance is given by the presence of some of the first Quaternary fossil vertebrate remains collected in Sardinia. It is important to put light on the fact that now the Quaternary fossiliferous deposit of Bonaria is totally disappeared, first exploited by quarry activity and then engulfed by the urban development.