First report of Early Pleistocene ostracods from the Agira sedimentary succession (Central Eastern Sicily, Italy)

A new ostracod association, referred to the Early Pleistocene on the basis of the nannoplancton analysis, is studied and described. It comes from the so-called “Agira marls” outcropping in contrada Santa Venera, SW of the Agira town (Central Eastern Sicily). The ostracod fauna is composed by 39 species, 11 species being here proposed and described as new: Eucytherura sanctavenerae n. sp., Aurila seguenzai n. sp., Aurila diodoroi n. sp., Cimbaurila ramdohri n. sp., Tenedocythere eleonorae n. sp., Loxoconcha pokornyi n. sp., Paracytheridea longicristata n. sp., Cistacythereis oertlii n. sp., Costa agyrina n. sp., Echinocythereis hartmannii n. sp. and Tegmenia mariasophiae n. sp. The remaining are known species or left in open nomenclature.