The bathyal decapod crustacean community from the early Pleistocene of Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy)

A rich decapod fauna from the clay sediments of the Podere dell'Infrascato landslide, near Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy) is here reported. Integrated biostratigraphical, sedimentological and palaeoecological analyses have been carried out, and some palaeoenvironmental inferences are also proposed. The studied decapod community, dated to the early Pleistocene, is herein referred to the upper bathyal zone; several palaeoenvironmental factors (cool water conditions at the sea floor, clay soft bottom, nutrients, very low environmental energy and sedimentation rate) influenced and promoted the crustacean settlement.