Chronological context of the first hominin occurrence in southern Europe: the Allophaiomys ruffoi (Arvicolinae, Rodentia, Mammalia) from Pirro 13 (Pirro Nord, Apulia, southwestern Italy)

•The chronology of Pirro 13 fissure is inferred from Allophaiomys ruffoi presence.•A. ruffoi is compared with other Early Pleistocene Allophaiomys species.•The comparison shows that Allophaiomys from Pirro are archaic forms.•A. ruffoi allows us to determinate an age between 1.3 and 1.6 Ma for Pirro 13.•Pirro 13 is older than the other localities with human evidence in Western Europe.

In this paper the arvicoline from the Pirro 13 fissure are described (Pirro Nord, Apulia, southwestern Italy). Due to their wide geographical distributions and rapid evolutionary rates, arvicolines are especially useful for biochronological purposes. The Pirro 13 fissure has yielded one arvicoline species: Allophaiomys ruffoi. The presence of this vole species, along with a comparison of our data with those of other Early Pleistocene sites such as Sierra de Atapuerca and Orce, allows us to determine the age of Pirro 13, which is shown to range from 1.3 to 1.6 Ma, making Pirro 13 the most ancient locality with human evidence currently known in Western Europe.