During the year 2003 the study of some Neogene-Quaternary herpetofaunas from the Republic of Georgia has been undertaken in the frame of a CNR-NATO grant. Thanks to the collaboration of Prof. David Lorkipanidze and of Prof. Abesalom Vekua, the materials stored at the Georgian State Museum have been studied. Particularly important are the remains coming from Dmanisi , the oldest hominid site found in Eurasia to date. The preliminary results of the analysis of the amphibians and reptiles, allows to confirm the presence of a relatively arid environment. characterised by the presence of (at least) temporary water and scattered vegetation.

Some of the projects concerning the evolution of the Georgian herpetofaunas will be developed in collaboration with Prof. Viacheslav Mikhailovich Chkhikvadze of the Institute of Palaeobiology (Georgian Academy of Sciences of Tbilisi), and with Dr. David Tarkhnishvili of the Tbilisi State University.

The Italian work group at Dmanisi has been presented on the April issue of the Italian version of National Geographic.
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