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Article Reference The first and oldest record of Issidae from the Lower Cretaceous of Lebanon (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha)
Libanissus bkassinensis Azar, Maksoud & Nel, gen. et sp. nov. is illustrated and described from the Lower Cretaceous dysodile (oil papershales) of Bkassine, South Lebanon, and its taxonomic position discussed. Libanissus bkassinensis Azar, Maksoud & Nel, gen. et sp. nov. is characterized by its banded legs and body, a hind wing with two lobes, RA and RP very short, M with only two very short apical branches, CuA with two branches, and a small but distinct apical furcation of PCu close to the incision of the wing margin. Libanissus bkassinensis Azar, Maksoud & Nel, gen. et sp. nov. represents the earliest record (lower Barremian) of the Issidae. Prior to this discovery, the oldest known record was from the Paleocene of France.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The Genus Chaetogaster Baer, 1827 (Annelida, Clitellata) in Switzerland: A First Step toward Cataloguing Its Molecular Diversity and Description of New Species on a DNA Sequence Basis
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The genus Phorcus Risso, 1826 (Gastropoda: Trochidae: Cantharidinae) in Europe and West Africa
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference The green heart of Africa, the Lomami Primer
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The key to bringing DNA collections to the next level
DNA collections are a valuable type of Natural Science collection, enabling the validation of past research, serving as a source for new genomic studies and supporting ex situ conservation. The DiSSCo Flanders DNA collection working group, aiming to advance and "unlock" their DNA collections, identified the need for: 1) actively sharing best practices regarding the management of DNA collections; and 2) providing guidance on how to bring theory into practice. By combining best practice examples from within the working group with available literature and brainstorming ideas, the working group co-created two outputs, referred to as: the "Challenges" and the "Key". The Challenges are a list of obstacles to DNA collection management, which shape the structure of the linked Key and can also be used to spark discussion amongst stakeholders. The Key is a tool that guides users through the maturation process of their DNA collection in a standardised way. It stimulates holistic growth, breaks down the needed work into manageable steps and helps to decide priorities during the process. Furthermore, the Key facilitates communication with both internal stakeholders and external DNA collection managers. The Key distinguishes itself from other self-assessment tools in several ways: it includes (re)investigation of the collection’s purpose and context; it is specialised for DNA collections; it delivers concrete goals linked to relevant information and shared experience; and it is inclusive, targeting all Natural Science DNA collections, regardless of their context or size.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The Megachilidae (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apiformes) of the Democratic Republic of Congo curated at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA, Belgium)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference The Muricidae (Gastropoda: Muricoidea) of Walters Shoal
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The new oriental stick insect genus Dendrochroma gen. nov. with the description of four new species from Vietnam and one new subspecies from Cambodia (Phasmida: Lonchodidae: Necrosciinae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference The Population History of Domestic Sheep Revealed by Paleogenomes
Sheep was one of the first domesticated animals in Neolithic West Eurasia. The zooarchaeological record suggests that domestication first took place in Southwest Asia, although much remains unresolved about the precise location(s) and timing(s) of earliest domestication, or the post-domestication history of sheep. Here, we present 24 new partial sheep paleogenomes, including a 13,000-year-old Epipaleolithic Central Anatolian wild sheep, as well as 14 domestic sheep from Neolithic Anatolia, two from Neolithic Iran, two from Neolithic Iberia, three from Neolithic France, and one each from Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Baltic and South Russia, in addition to five present-day Central Anatolian Mouflons and two present-day Cyprian Mouflons. We find that Neolithic European, as well as domestic sheep breeds, are genetically closer to the Anatolian Epipaleolithic sheep and the present-day Anatolian and Cyprian Mouflon than to the Iranian Mouflon. This supports a Central Anatolian source for domestication, presenting strong evidence for a domestication event in SW Asia outside the Fertile Crescent, although we cannot rule out multiple domestication events also within the Neolithic Fertile Crescent. We further find evidence for multiple admixture and replacement events, including one that parallels the Pontic Steppe-related ancestry expansion in Europe, as well as a post-Bronze Age event that appears to have further spread Asia-related alleles across global sheep breeds. Our findings mark the dynamism of past domestic sheep populations in their potential for dispersal and admixture, sometimes being paralleled by their shepherds and in other cases not.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference The relationship between head shape, head musculature and bite force in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)
Caecilians are enigmatic limbless amphibians that, with a few exceptions, all have an at least partly burrowing lifestyle. Although it has been suggested that caecilian evolution resulted in sturdy and compact skulls as an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance has been demonstrated to date. However, the unique dual jaw-closing mechanism and the osteological variability of their temporal region suggest a potential relationship between skull shape and feeding mechanics. Here, we explored the relationships between skull shape, head musculature and in vivo bite forces. Although there is a correlation between bite force and external head shape, no relationship between bite force and skull shape could be detected. Whereas our data suggest that muscles are the principal drivers of variation in bite force, the shape of the skull is constrained by factors other than demands for bite force generation. However, a strong covariation between the cranium and mandible exists. Moreover, both cranium and mandible shape covary with jaw muscle architecture. Caecilians show a gradient between species with a long retroarticular process associated with a large and pennate-fibered m. interhyoideus posterior and species with a short process but long and parallel-fibered jaw adductors. Our results demonstrate the complexity of the relationship between form and function of this jaw system. Further studies that focus on factors such as gape distance or jaw velocity will be needed in order to fully understand the evolution of feeding mechanics in caecilians.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021