Response of otolith assemblages to sea-level flucfuat Lower Pleistocene Montalbano Jonico Section (soutt

The studlt of otoliths from bulk samples collected in the lowermost section Pleistocene in age) of the Montalbano Jonico succession (Basilicata, southern ltaly) l teleostean .fauna. The otoliths represent at least 4l taxa including the Recent oceanic taxo in the Mediterronean realm. An integrated approach, based on the poleobathltmetric metho this group, together v,ith the paleoecological analysis on the benthic and benthopelagic e, the knov,ledge on otolith assemblages qs a tool to reconstruct bathltmetric.fluctuations. Th assemblages, appears to be useful .for more detailed paleobathltmetric analltsis of shallou reveal, in the Entalina section, a bathyal homogenous environment located at about 500-61 upper bathval to shelf break environments in the Fosso Giuseppe section. In this section, the indicates cvclic sea-level .fluctuations that agree well with the cycles inferred by macrober The bathl,al teleostean .fauna.from Montalbano Jonico clearly shows Atlantic or more several taxa, v,hich today, are not anymore known.from the Mediterraneqn Sea, but still I