The paleontological site of Moncucco Torinese is one of the few Upper Miocene sites in mainland Italy with mixed assemblages of vertebrates and invertebrates. The site provides a rich paleontological assemblage with the remains of molluschs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The sedimentary deposits (Formation of Cassano Spinola conglomerates) are part of the fan-delta alluvial deposits facing the “Lake-sea” basin resulting from the post-evaporative stages of the Messianic period at the southern edge of the “Tertiary Piemonte Basin”.

The 2013 excavation was undertaken by hand and recovered numerous moderately sized fossil remains. Large quantities of sediment were removed: a first selection of productive sediments was made in situ; these were completely removed and transferred to the laboratory where they were wet sieved with 10, 2, and 0.87 mm mesh. The residue was then picked over in order to recover the minute fossil remains. Overall 300 sacks of sediment weighing a total of 6,000 kg, c. 4 m3, were removed. The fossils are currently being studied at Turin University in collaboration with the Universities of Florence and Rome, Vienna Natural History Museum and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology in Barcelona.

Including the fossils collected in 2012, the following species were identified: 10 species of saltwater molluscs and over 40 species of land and freshwater molluscs; hundreds of amphibian remains, lizards, snakes; fossils of at least 6 bird species (Phasianidae, Columbidae, Strigidae), including a carpal-metacarpal from a Palaeortyx of an unpublished species; thousands of micro-mammal bone remains from insectivores (e.g, Schizogaleris ), lagomorphs ( Prolagus sorbinii and Leporidae), muridae (e.g., Centralomys benericettii, Apodemus pl. spp.), gliridae (e.g. Glis minor); numerous skeletal elements from macro-mammals with primates (_Macaca_ and _ Mesopithecus_), perissodactyla (_Tapirus_, Stephanorhinus), and artiodactyla (cervidae and bovidae).
Other important aspects regard the correlation and comparison of population with similar paleontological sites in other parts of the Italian peninsular.

Among these the main parallel can be drawn with the deposit of Brisighella in Romagna: the association with mammals is very similar and the compendium of the two localities provides an overall picture of the fauna and mammals of the Upper Miocene period, not only in Italy, but the northern edge of the Mediterranean basin in general.

Comparisons with coeval associations from the Gargano are more complex as they present predominantly endemic species limited by its insularity. However, the presence of muridae of the Apodemus genus seems to guarantee a direct link.