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A multidisciplinary investigation of Ebola virus circulation in Inkanamongo, Democratic Republic of Congo
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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A myriad of new species of the Tartessini (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Tartessinae) leafhoppers from Queensland
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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A new approach to locating Slender-billed Curlew breeding grounds.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new archaeonycterid bat from the early Eocene of southern Europe
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Recent research on early bats has shown that diversification began early in the Early Eocene. The diversity was the highest in Europe and India and composed of the families Onychonycteridae, Icaronycteridae, Archaeonycteridae, Palaeochiropterygidae, and Hassianycteridae. However, in Europe, the oldest species have all been described from Northern Europe with the exception of Archaeonycteris? praecursor from Silveirinha (MP7, Portugal). Here we present a new bat from La Borie (MP8+9, South France). It is the first early Eocene species from Southern Europe identified on a relatively complete dentition: about 40 isolated teeth and dentary fragments. The teeth are nyctalodont and characterized by: moderate sized canines; middle sized p4 with well-developed metaconid; wide m1-2 with very lingual hypoconulid and high entoconid; middle sized P4; M1-2 with deep ectoflexus, weak paraconule, weak to absent metaconule, centrocrista not joining the labial border; m3/M3 smaller than m1-2/M1-2. These characters indicate that this species belongs to the Archaeonycteridae and is close to Archaeonycteris. It differs from Archaeonycteris trigonodon from Messel (MP11, Germany), A. brailloni from Mutigny and Avenay (MP8+9, France), and Protonycteris gunnelli from Vastan (India) by being about 25 % smaller. It is similar in size to Archaeonycteris? praecursor, A? storchi from Vastan, and the new archaeonycterid from Meudon (MP7, France). It differs from A? storchi by smaller p4 and shallower dentary, and from the Meudon species by more lingual hypoconulid, higher entoconid, and longer postcristid. In fact, it is very similar to A? praecursor by the m2 with relatively high entoconid and long postcristid; the main difference being the hypoconulid that is a little more lingual. The latter character suggests a more advanced dilambdodonty than A? praecursor, which is in agreement with the ages of the two localities. Both species seem to belong to the same evolutionary lineage geographically restricted to Southern Europe.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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A new archaic shark-toothed dolphin from the late Oligocene-early Miocene of Peru
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new basal homodont odontocete from the Aquitanian of the Northeast Pacific, and reflections on the distribution and phylogeny of the putative “Chilcacetus clade”
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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A new basal neoceratopsian dinosaur from the ‘middle’ Cretaceous of Jilin Province, China
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new basal raoellid artiodactyl (Mammalia) from the middle Eocene Subathu Group of Rajouri District, Jammu and Kashmir, northwest Himalaya, India
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A new artiodactyl of moderate size is described on the basis of several dentaries and maxillae from the middle Eocene Subathu Group of the Kalakot area, Rajouri District, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Despite its general resemblance with the family Dichobunidae this taxon shares with Raoellidae two unambiguous characters: the presence of a hypoconulid on p4, and an asymmetrical P4. The position of the new taxon within the Cetacea / Raoellidae clade is strongly supported by eight non ambiguous synapomorphies, among which a cristid obliqua on lower molars anteriorly pointing towards the postectoprotocristid, and a P3 with only two roots. The new taxon is characterised by the following characters: a long symphysis; p3 and p4 with small parastylid and metastylid but no metaconid; lower molars with metaconid as the highest cusp, voluminous hypoconid, and absence of ‘hypolophid’; m1 and m2 with small paraconid, basally fused with metaconid, and small bifid tubercle-like hypoconulid; m3 with a crestiform paraconid; P3 and P4 with small protocone and shelf-like cingulae; upper molars with small paraconule and large metaconule (pseudohypocone); M1 and M2 with conical brachydont cusps; M3 with bunodont bulbous cusps; cristae and cingulae distinct and thick, presence of an ectoloph. The presence of a new primitive raoellid in the middle Eocene Subathu Group sheds new light on the phylogeny and paleobiogeography of basal raoellid artiodactyls. This work is partly funded by project BR/121/A3/PALEURAFRICA from the Belgian Science Policy Office.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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A new Chinese partial skeleton revives questions about the multituberculate mammal Kryptobaatar
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Multituberculates are an extinct rodent-like order that lived between Late Jurassic and late Eocene, on almost every continent. Due to their extraordinary longevity, their evolutive history is important to understand. One of the most numerous and best-preserved groups is the superfamily Djadochtatherioidea from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert. All djadochtatherioid genera are monospecific, except Kryptobaatar. The large number of K. dashzevegi fossils come from Outer Mongolia, while the only two specimens found in Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China belong to K. mandahuensis. However, a new particularly well-preserved specimen (IMM 99BM-IV/5) found in Bayan Mandahu during the 1990s Sino-Belgian expeditions seems at first sight very close to K. dashzevegi. IMM 99BM-IV/5 consists of a skull associated with cervical and thoracic vertebrae, ribs, shoulder girdle, broken right humerus and an almost complete left forelimb. It is the first specimen for which the hand is described in detail. Based on micro-CT scan and comparison, it appears that IMM 99BM-IV/5 presents morphological characters of both species of Kryptobaatar, as well as new characters of its own. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that IMM 99BM-IV/5 has an intermediate position between K. dashzevegi and K. mandahuensis and could therefore belong to a new species. However, Kryptobaatar is paraphyletic in the resulting tree, which raises again questions about intraspecific variability in multituberculates. Since only 13 specimens of Kryptobaatar out of the hundreds found have been studied, it is impossible to reliably know if IMM 99BM-IV/5 is included in the variability of K. dashzevegi or not. However, it is crucial to know this variability to define whether the genus is monospecific or not. By comparing K. mandahuensis with published specimens, we concluded that it is a valid species. This work also highlighted the lack of knowledge of the variability of the type species K. dashzevegi, without which it is impossible to clearly assign IMM 99BM-IV/5. Finally, endemism alone is not the cause of this variability, but the role of paleoenvironment or age is currently unknown.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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A new curation facilility for Antarctic meteorites at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
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RBINS Staff Publications