Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

3439 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Article Reference A new sandstone-dwelling leaf-toed gecko (Gekkonidae: Dixonius mekongensis) from the Thai-Lao border
We describe Dixonius mekongensis sp. nov. from sandstone formations in Khong Chiam District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, in extreme eastern Thailand along the Laotian border. The new species differs from all currently recognized Dixonius by the following combination of morphological characters and pattern: maximal known snout-vent length of 51.2 mm; 16 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 32 to 34 paravertebral scales; 22 to 24 longitudinal rows of ventral scales across the abdomen; seven precloacal pores in males, no pores in females; a marked canthal stripe; and a spotted to uniform dorsal pattern. This description brings the number of Dixonius species to 13, with six species endemic to Thailand.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference A new karst-dwelling, colorful pitviper (Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from northern Peninsular Thailand
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.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The taxonomic impediment: a shortage of taxonomists, not the lack of technical approaches
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Inbook Reference Seasonality at Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites based on the presence and wear of deciduous premolars from nursing mammoth calves
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021 OA
Article Reference Natural and human-driven selection of a single non-coding body size variant in ancient and modern canids
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference The delusion of stripes: A century-old mystery of five-lined sun skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae: Eutropis) of Peninsular India elucidated
We re-evaluate the taxonomic identities of five-lined skinks of the genus Eutropis (E. trivittata, E. beddomei, E. nagarjunensis, and E. bibronii) inhabiting the Indian subcontinent. Previously it has been considered that E. trivittata is distributed in the western India and E. dissimilis in the northern India (from north-eastern India up to Pakistan). Based on our analysis, we revealed that the illustration (iconotype) of the untraceable type specimen of E. trivittata depicted by Hardwicke in Gray (1834) from “Dumdum” near Kolkata, West Bengal matches the typical E. dissimilis, also described from “Bengal”. The senior synonym, E. trivittata is a morphologically unique species, which is also supported by divergence in the mitochondrial 12S and 16S regions. E. trivittata is clearly separated with divergences of 5–7% from E. beddomei, E. vertebralis and E. nagarjunensis for 16S rRNA. After placing E. dissimilis with the synonymy of E. trivittata, the taxonomic status of the western Indian ‘E. trivittata’ required to be clarified. Therefore, we resurrect Mabuia vertebralis Boulenger, 1887, a junior synonym of western Indian E. trivittata, and redescribe its holotype collected from “Belgaum”, Karnataka. Although, morphologically closest to E. beddomei, Eutropis vertebralis comb. nov. is sister to E. nagarjunensis with divergence of 4% in the same mitochondrial regions. Based on our update of the currently confirmed localities for E. vertebralis comb. nov. and E. trivittata, we conducted Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) using the Maximum Entropy algorithm to predict its distribution range, and we discuss its conservation status.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Cranial osteology of Hypoptophis (Aparallactinae: Atractaspididae: Caenophidia), with a discussion on the evolution of its fossorial adaptations
Fossoriality evolved early in snakes, and has left its signature on the cranial morphology of many extinct Mesozoic and early Caenozoic forms. Knowledge of the cranial osteology of extant snakes is indispensable for associating the crania of extinct lineages with a particular mode of life; this applies to fossorial taxa as well. In the present work, we provide a detailed description of the cranium of Hypoptophis wilsonii, a member of the subfamily Aparallactinae, using micro-computed tomography (CT). This is also the first thorough micro-CT-based description of any snake assigned to this African subfamily of predominantly mildly venomous, fossorial, and elusive snakes. The cranium of Hypoptophis is adapted for a fossorial lifestyle, with increased consolidation of skull bones. Aparallactines show a tendency toward reduction of maxillary length by bringing the rear fangs forward. This development attains its pinnacle in the sister subfamily Atractaspidinae, in which the rear fang has become the “front fang” by a loss of the part of the maxilla lying ahead of the fang. These dentitional changes likely reflect adaptation to subdue prey in snug burrows. An endocast of the inner ear of Hypoptophis shows that this genus has the inner ear typical of fossorial snakes, with a large, globular sacculus. A phylogenetic analysis based on morphology recovers Hypoptophis as a sister taxon to Aparallactus. We also discuss the implications of our observations on the burrowing origin hypothesis of snakes.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds
Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference PITYOSTROBUS ANDRAEI(PINACEAE) FROM THE BARREMIAN (LOWER CRETACEOUS)OF BELGIUM: A MORPHOMETRIC REVISION
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021 OA
Article Reference The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
A number of localities in Transylvania (Romania) have yielded vertebrate microfossil remains. Two localities have been stratigraphically and biochronologically dated to the late Eocene: i.e., Treznea and Bociu. The remaining three localities are dated to the early Oligocene: Mera, Cetățuie, and Suceag. The study of cricetid rodents corroborates the presence of this family in Eastern Europe during the late Eocene, as evidenced by the species Witenia sp., Bustrania cf. B. dissimile , and Eocricetodon cf. Eo. meridionalis. The cricetids identified in the sites of the early Oligocene age show a complete turnover and a notable increase in species richness following the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, with: Eucricetodon aff. Eu. huerzeleri, Tenuicricetodon arcemis gen. et sp. nov., Pseudocricetodon cf. Ps. montalbanensis, Paracricetodon cf. Pa. walgeri, Paracricetodon kavakderensis, Paracricetodon aff. Pa. stojonovici, and Paracricetodon wentgesi. In the context of the wider biogeographic history of Europe, these new discoveries indicate that Cricetidae arrived in Europe during at least two successive migrations from Asia in the late Eocene and earliest Oligocene. These migrations may have occurred via two different migration pathways through the north and south of Europe. In a second phase, Cricetidae arriving by the northern passway spread throughout Europe, whereas Cricetidae that arrived by the southern passway remained restricted to the central and southeastern Europe. The observations made on the Cricetidae allow for the proposal of a new, more general, scenario for the Eocene–Oligocene transition on a European scale, which is more complex than the “Grande Coupure” sensu stricto as initially proposed by Stehlin in 1909.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA