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A new inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Miocene of Peru and the origin of modern dolphin and porpoise families
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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A new insight of the MIS 3 Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations in western Europe from the study of a Belgium isotopically equilibrated speleothem.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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A new jewel-like species of the pill-millipede genus Sphaerobelum Verhoeff, 1924 (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae) from Thailand
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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A new Jurassic theropod from China documents a transitional step in the macrostructure of feathers
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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A new karst-dwelling, colorful pitviper (Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from northern Peninsular Thailand
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We describe a colorful and distinctively patterned, karst-dwelling pitviper, Trimeresurus kuiburi sp. nov., from the isolated, coastal massif of Khao Sam Roi Yot in Kui Buri District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, in northern Peninsular Thailand. The new species, member of the ‘Cryptelytrops group’ sensu Malhotra & Thorpe (2004) and morphologically and genetically allied to Trimeresurus kanburiensis and T. venustus, differs from all pitviper taxa by a combination of red/purple bands on a green dorsum; a white concave suborbital stripe in males (straight and less visible in females); white, spaced vertebral dots in males (absent in females); pale green belly lacking dark dots or stripe on the lateral sides of the ventrals; partially fused first supralabial and nasal scale; 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody; 164–171 ventrals; 63–65 subcaudals in males, 51–53 in females; maximal known SVL of 451 mm; and long, papillose hemipenes.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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A new kentriodontine dolphin from the Middle Miocene of Portugal
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new kogaionid multituberculate mammal from the Maastrichtian of the Transylvanian Basin, Romania
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Abstract: The Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) terrestrial sedimentary sequences of the Hateg Basin in Transylvania are well known for the so-called “Hateg Island” vertebrate faunas, which evolved in endemic (insular?) conditions. In addition to frogs, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, birds and dinosaurs, peculiar multituberculate mammals have been recorded, all belonging to the family Kogaionidae. Here, a new species of the genus Barbatodon is reported from the Maastrichtian S¸ ard Formation in the Transylvanian Basin (Alba County, Romania). Barbatodon oardaensis n. sp. is characterized by M1 cusp formula 3:4:2 and is much smaller than the two other Maastrichtian kogaionids from Transylvania, Barbatodon transylvanicus and Kogaionon ungureanui. The origin and paleobiogeography of kogaionids are discussed. Résumé: Les séquences continentales du Crétacé terminal (Maastrichtien) du bassin de Hateg en Transylvanie sont réputées pour leurs faunes de vertébrés originaires de « l’île de Hateg », qui ont évolué dans des conditions endémiques (insulaires ?). Hormis des grenouilles, lézards, tortues, crocodiles, oiseaux et dinosaures, des mammifères multituberculés particuliers ont également été mentionnés, tous appartenant à la famille des Kogaionidae. Une nouvelle espèce du genre Barbatodon est décrite dans le Maastrichtien de la Formation de S¸ ard, dans le bassin de Transylvanie (district d’Alba, Roumanie). Barbatodon oardaensis n. sp. est caractérisée par une formule dentaire de M1 3:4:2 et est plus petite que les deux autres kogaionidés de Transylvanie, Barbatodon transylvanicus et Kogaionon ungureanui. L’origine et la paléobiogéographie des kogaionidés sont discutées.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A New Large Hyainailourine from the Bartonian of Europe and Its Bearings on the Evolution and Ecology of Massive Hyaenodonts (Mammalia)
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We describe a new large-sized species of hypercarnivorous hyainailourine–Kerberos langebadreae gen. & sp. nov.–from the Bartonian (MP16) locality of Montespieu (Tarn, France). These specimens consist of a skull, two hemimandibles and several hind limb elements (fibula, astragalus, calcaneum, metatarsals, and phalanges). Size estimates suggest K. langebadreae may have weighed up to 140 kg, revealing this species as the largest carnivorous mammal in Europe at that time. Besides its very large size, K. langebadreae possesses an interesting combination of primitive and derived features. The distinctive skull morphology of K. langebadreae reflects a powerful bite force. The postcranial elements, which are rarely associated with hyainailourine specimens, indicate an animal capable of a plantigrade stance and adapted for terrestrial locomotion. We performed the first phylogenetic analysis of hyainailourines to determine the systematic position of K. langebadreae and to understand the evolution of the group that includes other massive carnivores. The analysis demonstrates that Hemipsalodon, a North American taxon, is a hyainailourine and is closely related to European Paroxyaena. Based on this analysis we hypothesize the biogeographic history of the Hyainailourinae. The group appeared in Africa with a first migration to Europe during the Bartonian that likely included the ancestors of Kerberos, Paroxyaena and Hemipsalodon, which further dispersed into North America at this time. We propose that the hyainailourines dispersed into Europe also during the Priabonian. These migrants have no ecological equivalent in Europe during these intervals and likely did not conflict with the endemic hyaenodont proviverrines. The discovery of K. langebadreae
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new large species of the snake Palaeophis from the Lutetian marine margin of the Congo Basin, Cabinda, Angola
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Numerous fossil localities were investigated in western central Africa during the Belgian expeditions that started in the 19th century. At least 47 localities were excavated or analyzed in the framework of Edmond Dartevelle’s paleontological expeditions of 1933 and 1937-1938, producing a large and unique collection of Mesozoic-Cenozoic vetebrates from the margin of the Congo Basin along the coastal area of Angola to Gabon. Among them, snake vertebrae from the marine Paleocene-Eocene Landana section, Cabinda enclave, Angola have been referred to the aquatic snake Palaeophis aff. typhaeus. New investigation of the old Dartevelle’s collections has led to relocation of a few undescribed snake vertebrae from Landana and the nearby locality of Sassa Zao, permitting a revision of Palaeophis aff. typhaeus. The results of this work indicate that all specimens from Landana originate from the same stratigraphic level (layers 31-32) and are of Lutetian age based on the rich associated elasmobranch fauna. The locality of Sassa Zao is also Lutetian based on elasmobranchs that are similar to those of layer 32 of Landana. All of the vertebrae, ten in total, can be attributed to a single large species of Palaeophis. The maximum width across the prezygapophyses is 35 mm and the maximum length of the centrum is 27 mm. The weak lateral compression of trunk vertebrae, low development of the pterapophyses, diapophyses not very low, and the marked lateral projection of the zygapophyses indicate that this species belongs to the ‘primitive’ grade of Palaeophis and thus differs from species of the ‘advanced’ group such as P. casei, P. ferganicus, P. littoralis, P. toliapicus, P. typhaeus, P. grandis, P. tamdy, P. nessovi, and P. udovichenkoi. Among ‘primitive’ grade species, it differs from the giant P. colossaeus by smaller size, proportionally longer vertebrae, the cotyle and condyle more oval in shape, and the zygosphene not larger than the cotyle; from P. africanus by the neural spine that does not approach the zygosphene and shorter hypapophyses that are not prolonged by a ventral carina; from P. vastaniensis, P. virginianus, and P. zhylan by less depressed vertebrae. In size and morphology it most closely resembles P. maghrebianus but differs by more developed hypapophyses and paradiapophyses that do not extend over the cotyle posteriorly. This new species was apparently poorly adapted to aquatic life and was more closely related to the North African Ypresian P. maghrebianus than to West African Lutetian species. Grant Information This abstract is a contribution to the project BR/121/A3/PalEurAfrica funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018