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Article Reference Annelids in Extreme Aquatic Environments: Diversity, Adaptations and Evolution
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Four new West Palaearctic species and new distributional records of Hybotidae (Diptera)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Reconstructing the nonadaptive radiation of an ancient lineage of ground-dwelling stick insects (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy
Over the last 10,000 y, humans have manipulated fallow deer populations with varying outcomes. Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) are now endangered. European fallow deer (Dama dama) are globally widespread and are simultaneously considered wild, domestic, endangered, invasive and are even the national animal of Barbuda and Antigua. Despite their close association with people, there is no consensus regarding their natural ranges or the timing and circumstances of their human-mediated translocations and extirpations. Our mitochondrial analyses of modern and archaeological specimens revealed two distinct clades of European fallow deer present in Anatolia and the Balkans. Zooarchaeological evidence suggests these regions were their sole glacial refugia. By combining biomolecular analyses with archaeological and textual evidence, we chart the declining distribution of Persian fallow deer and demonstrate that humans repeatedly translocated European fallow deer, sourced from the most geographically distant populations. Deer taken to Neolithic Chios and Rhodes derived not from nearby Anatolia, but from the Balkans. Though fallow deer were translocated throughout the Mediterranean as part of their association with the Greco-Roman goddesses Artemis and Diana, deer taken to Roman Mallorca were not locally available Dama dama, but Dama mesopotamica. Romans also initially introduced fallow deer to Northern Europe but the species became extinct and was reintroduced in the medieval period, this time from Anatolia. European colonial powers then transported deer populations across the globe. The biocultural histories of fallow deer challenge preconceptions about the divisions between wild and domestic species and provide information that should underpin modern management strategies.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Virtual reconstruction of the skull of Bernissartia fagesii and current understanding of the neosuchian–eusuchian transition
Since the description of Isisfordia duncani, a number of new extinct species and revisions of previously described species have prompted a variety of contradicting phylogenetic hypotheses on the topology of Neosuchia. As a consequence, a consensus on the rooting of Eusuchia in relation to other neosuchian clades has not been reached and the origin of the group remains unsettled. Exemplifying this, Bernissartia fagesii, from the Early Cretaceous of Belgium, has long been considered a key taxon for understanding the origin of Eusuchia, but more recent hypotheses found support for a more basal position, as an ally to goniopholidids, paralligatorids or atoposaurids. Because many details of the anatomy of the type specimen are hidden by glue and the sediment adhering to the fossils, a number of characters are pending confirmation. Based on computed tomography data, we extract bones of the cranium and mandibles, describe new characters and re-evaluate anatomical details in the lectotype specimen. Our phylogenetic analysis confirms that B. fagesii is a derived neosuchian, unrelated to atoposaurids, goniopholidids and paralligatorids. We recover B. fagesii and Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti in a basal position within Eusuchia, together with Susisuchidae, a group of gondwanan neosuchians containing Susisuchus and Isisfordia, which here form a polytomy with Hylaeochampsidae. The presence/absence of pterygoid-bound internal choanae cannot be used to fully resolve relationships at the neosuchian–eusuchian transition because of the variability of this character even at the familial level, as recently reported within susisuchids and bernissartiids. There is no doubt that true eusuchians were present in Laurasia as early as the Early Cretaceous, the hylaeochampsid Hylaeochampsa vectiana being the oldest (Barremian) undoubted representative. But whether the Eusuchia were also present in southern landmasses depends on solving the phylogenetic position of susisuchids and other less known gondwanan forms within or outside Eusuchia.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Reply to comments on “A well-preserved pelvis from the Maastrichtian of Romania suggests that the enigmatic Gargantuavis is neither an ornithurine bird nor an insular endemic”
We appreciate the comments of Buffetaut and Angst on our recent study of a Gargantuavis-like pelvis from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. We consider some of their points to be valid, but maintain our conclusion on the likely absence of a glycogen body in Gargantuavis and the lack of fusion of the pelvic elements in the acetabular region. Both characters conflict with a classification of the taxon into Ornithurae. We also uphold our hypothesis that Gargantuavis is possibly related to the enigmatic theropod Balaur bondoc.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Normal growth, altered growth? Study of the relationship between harris lines and bone form within a post-medieval plague cemetery (Dendermonde, Belgium, 16th Century).
Objectives Harris lines (HLs) are defined as transverse, mineralized lines associated with temporary growth arrest. In paleopathology, HLs are used to reconstruct health status of past populations. However, their etiology is still obscure. The aim of this article is to test the reliability of HLs as an arrested growth marker by investigating their incidence on human metrical parameters. Methods The study was performed on 69 individuals (28 adults, 41 subadults) from the Dendermonde plague cemetery (Belgium, 16th century). HLs were rated on distal femora and both ends of tibiae. Overall prevalence and age-at-formation of each detected lines were calculated. ANOVA analyses were conducted within subadult and adult samples to test if the presence of HLs did impact size and shape parameters of the individuals. Results At Dendermonde, 52% of the individuals had at least one HL. The age-at-formation was estimated between 5 and 9 years old for the subadults and between 10 and 14 years old for the adults. ANOVA analyses showed that the presence of HLs did not affect the size of the individuals. However, significant differences in shape parameters were highlighted by HL presence. Subadults with HLs displayed slighter shape parameters than the subadults without, whereas the adults with HLs had larger measurements than the adults without. Conclusions The results suggest that HLs can have a certain impact on shape parameters. The underlying causes can be various, especially for the early formed HLs. However, HLs deposited around puberty are more likely to be physiological lines reflecting hormonal secretions.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Article Reference Cable Bacteria Activity Modulates Arsenic Release From Sediments in a Seasonally Hypoxic Marine Basin
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Assessing the impact of bioturbation on sedimentary isotopic records through numerical models
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Comparative ultrastructure of the spermatogenesis of three species of Poecilosclerida (Porifera, Demospongiae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019