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Article Reference chemical/x-molconn-Z Regional differences in vertebral shape along the axial skeleton in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)
Abstract Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, as far as is known, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that elongate limbless vertebrates show little morphological differentiation throughout the postcranial skeleton. However, relatively few studies have explored the axial skeleton in limbless tetrapods. In this study, we used ?CT data and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to explore regional differences in vertebral shape across a broad range of caecilian species. Our results highlight substantial differences in vertebral shape along the axial skeleton, with anterior vertebrae being short and bulky, whereas posterior vertebrae are more elongated. This study shows that despite being limbless, elongate tetrapods such as caecilians still show regional heterogeneity in the shape of individual vertebrae along the vertebral column. Further studies are needed, however, to understand the possible causes and functional consequences of the observed variation in vertebral shape in caecilians.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Paléobiologie et paléobiogéographie des amphibiens et reptiles : un hommage à Jean-Claude Rage – 2e partie
Editorial for the special volume in honour of Jean-Claude Rage.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference New postcranial elements of mesonychid mammals from the Ypresian of France: New hypotheses for the radiation and evolution of the mesonychids in Europe
New postcranial elements of two mesonychids that lived during the Ypresian (early Eocene) in Europe are here described. The postcranial bones found at La Borie (France; ≈MP8 + 9) can be confidently ascribed to Hyaenodictis raslanloubatieri, while the astragalus found at Palette (France; ≈MP7) probably represents H. rougierae. Our study demonstrates that H. raslanloubatieri and H. rougierae were digitigrade in posture and relatively cursorial in locomotion. A single lumbar vertebra was recovered at La Borie and referred to H. raslanloubatieri; this element suggests this species was a moderately dorsostable predator. In addition, we illustrate the first maxillary fragment referable to H. raslanloubatieri, also discovered at La Borie. In comparison, we describe the postcranial elements of Pachyaena gigantea partially published in the early twentieth century, probably a plantigrade predator species. Morphological data derived from the La Borie specimens were included in phylogenetic analyses and support the reinstatement and monophyly of Hyaenodictis. Hyaenodictis was considered to be a junior synonym of Dissacus, but here we find that the Hyaenodictis clade includes almost all European mesonychids formerly referred to Dissacus along with the North American Wasatchian species H. willwoodensis.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference The Spy VI child: a newly discovered Neandertal infant.
Spy cave (Jemeppe-sur-Sambre, Belgium) is reputed for the two adult Neandertal individuals discovered in situ in 1886. Recent reassessment of the Spy collections has allowed direct radiocarbon dating of these individuals. The sorting of all of the faunal collections has also led to the discovery of the remains of a Neandertal child, Spy VI. This individual is represented by two mandibular corpus fragments. The left fragment is the most complete and both sides preserve the mental foramen. Four deciduous teeth are associated with these mandibular remains: three incisors and one canine. The lower left canine (Spy 645a) conjoins with the corresponding alveolar socket in the left part of the mandible. Following extant standards, the developmental stage of the preserved teeth indicate an age at death of about one and a half years. In addition to performing a classical morphometric comparative study of the mandible and teeth,we have evaluated the dental tissue proportions using high-resolution microtomographic techniques. Our results show that Spy VI generally falls withinthe Neandertal range of variation. However, this specimen also exhibits particular traits, notably in the dental internal structural organization, whichreveals that variation in the immature Neandertal variation is larger than what was variation currently represented by the available fossil record. These observations demonstrate the need for investigating the frequency and expressionof immature Neandertal traits in fossil anterior teeth, as well as their temporal and geographic variation. Direct radiocarbon dating of the Spy VI specimen has been conducted in two different laboratories. The results of Spy VI confirm the age previously determined for the two adults, making the Spy Neandertal remains the youngest ever directly dated in northwest Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Chronologic and geographic variability of neurovascular structures in the human mandible.
OBJECTIVES: To compare the dimensions of mandibular anatomical landmarks of human mandibles of three different chronological periods and seven different geographic regions. METHODS: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were acquired fromhuman mandibles of three different chronological periods (Neolithic, Medieval and 19-20th Century). The 19-20th Century consisted of seven human mandibular samples from different geographic locations. Image analysis consisted of comparing anatomic variability and dimensions of the mandibular, lingual and incisive canals, mental foramen and their relationship to specific reference teeth as such to determine geographic region and historic period variabilities. RESULTS: Therewere statistically significant differences between the 19-20th Century group andthe Medieval and Neolithic groups. The 19-20th Century group differed significantly in mandibular canal diameter, tooth root length, length of the lateral lingual canal. In addition, the group also differed from the Medieval sample for the lateral lingual foramen diameter and the midline lingual canal length. Furthermore, the prevalence of anatomic variations was significantly different for the geographic samples tested, with double mental foramina significantly more present in the Congolese sample, and significantly more lateral lingual canals noted in Indonesian and Greenland Eskimo samples. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that mandibular neurovascularisation may show some geographic as well as historic variation. Further studies on larger data samples are needed to verify this statement, as such that it can be potentially used in anthropology and forensic dentistry. More research is also needed to address whether the geographic and historic variations are linked, as well to investigate evolutionary trends in these structures.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference New data on the late Neandertals: direct dating of the Belgian Spy fossils.
In Eurasia, the period between 40,000 and 30,000 BP saw the replacement of Neandertals by anatomically modern humans (AMH) during and after the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. The human fossil record for this period is very poorly defined with no overlap between Neandertals and AMH on the basis of direct dates. Four new (14)C dates were obtained on the two adult Neandertals from Spy (Belgium). The results show that Neandertals survived to at least approximately 36,000 BP in Belgium and that the Spy fossils may be associated to the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician, a transitional techno-complex defined in northwest Europe and recognized in the Spy collections. The new data suggest that hypotheses other than Neandertal acculturation by AMH may be considered in this part of Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Applications of imaging methodologies to paleoanthropology: beneficial results relating to the preservation, management and development of collections
The limited number of unearthed fossils and their accessibility are factors that hinder paleoanthropological studies. Original remains, but also osteological collections of extant specimens, have to be curated in optimal and adapted environments, and direct manipulation needs to be limited in order to preserve this irreplaceable patrimony. Imaging methodologies have recently provided ways for innovative advances in the preservation of these collections, as well as offering new perspectives to museographic displays and original scientific studies. Here, we describe recent examples of developments obtained from imaging methodologies and discuss methodological and ethical implications of these new “virtual” collections. Undeniably, “virtual anthropology” is an additional tool in our large set of analytical possibilities and for curators, with its specific constraints related to the particular nature of the analysed material. Finally, we suggest some possible guidelines for the optimisation of the preservation, management and development of collections while preserving their scientific exploitation.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Virtual reconstruction of the Neandertal lower limbs with an estimation of hamstring muscle moment arms
A major problem of fossil hominid analysis is a lack of complete specimens. Many individual specimens have been damaged by the effects of diagenesis and excavation. Significant advances in the field of three dimensional image processing (3D) have enabled the creation of accurately scaled reconstructions of individual fossil bones using mirrored parts of the same fossil bone or human/fossil hominid equivalents. This study presents, for the first time, a method to reconstruct a 3D virtual model of the lower limb of the Neandertal using different bones from different fossil remains (Spy II, Neandertal 1 and Kebara 2) and integrating them into a single model of the Neandertal lower limb. A biomechanical analysis of the model was performed, including computer graphics visualization of the results, motion displacement graphs and muscle moment arms. The overall method has been implemented into an open-source customized software (lhpFusionBox) developed for the biomechanical study of the musculoskeletal system.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Chronostratigraphic context of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Recent data from Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Wood charcoal and seeds as indicators for animal husbandry in a wetland site during the late mesolithic-early neolithic transition period (Swifterbant culture, ca. 4600-4000 B.C.) in NW Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications