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Size of the lower carnassial in the arctic and the red fox from Late Pleistocene in Belgium compared to other ancient and extant populations
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Lengths, widths, and size proportions (length to width) of the lower carnassial were measured in 45 teeth of the arctic fox and 35 teeth of the red fox from Belgium radiocarbon dated to 46 640–14 120 ka BP. Data the Late Pleistocene foxes from Belgium were compared to 20 ancient and extant populations form Europe, Asia, and North America. The Pleistocene arctic fox from Belgium showed larger carnassial than in all recent samples of this species, whereas the Belgian fossil red foxes were characterized by the carnassial size comparable to that of the recent Siberian red foxes. Both fox species from the Pleistocene of Belgium showed the highest index of the carnassials length to width, which means increase in carnivorous adaptation. We conclude that the higher level of carnivorous specialization reached by the Belgian arctic and red foxes at the end of the Late Pleistocene reflected their scavenging on kills of large carnivores and human hunters (remains of megafauna). Harsh environmental conditions of that period and specific composition of ecosystems led to adapting to a more carnivorous food niche in both foxes.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Were ancient foxes far more carnivorous than recent ones? Carnassial morphological evidence
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Crown shape variation of the first lower molar in the arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was analyzed using five groups of morphotypes. Carnassial morphologies were compared between the species and between spatially and temporally distant populations: one Late Pleistocene (n = 45) and seven modern populations of the arctic fox (n = 259), and one Late Pleistocene (n = 35) and eight modern populations of the red fox (n = 606). The dentition of Holocene red foxes had larger morphotype variability than that of arctic foxes. The lower carnassials of the red fox kept have some primitive characters (additional cusps and stylids, complex shape of transverse cristid), whereas the first lower molars of the arctic fox have undergone crown shape simplification, with the occlusal part of the tooth undergoing a more pronounced adaptation to a more carnivorous diet. From the Late Pleistocene of Belgium to the present days, the arctic fox’s crown shape has been simplified and some primitive characters have disappeared. In the red fox chronological changes in the morphology of the lower carnassials were not clearly identified. The phyletic tree based on morphotype carnassial characteristics indicated the distinctiveness of both foxes: in the arctic fox line, the ancient population from Belgium and recent Greenland made separate branches, whereas in the red foxes the ancient population from Belgium was most similar to modern red foxes from Belgium and Italy.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Pollen-derived biomes in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor
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Aim To evaluate the biomization technique for reconstructing past vegetation in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor using an extensive modern pollen data set and comparing reconstructions to potential vegetation and observed land cover data. Location The region between 28–48°N and 22–62°E. Methods We apply the biomization technique to 1,387 modern pollen samples, representing 1,107 entities, to reconstruct the distribution of 13 broad vegetation categories (biomes). We assess the results using estimates of potential natural vegetation from the European Vegetation Map and the Physico-Geographic Atlas of the World. We test whether anthropogenic disturbance affects reconstruction quality using land use information from the Global Land Cover data set. Results The biomization scheme successfully predicts the broadscale patterns of vegetation across the region, including changes with elevation. The technique discriminates deserts from shrublands, the prevalence of woodlands in moister lowland sites, and the presence of temperate and mixed forests at higher elevations. Quantitative assessment of the reconstructions is less satisfactory: the biome is predicted correctly at 44% of the sites in Europe and 33% of the sites overall. The low success rate is not a reflection of anthropogenic impacts: only 33% of the samples are correctly assigned after the removal of sites in anthropogenically altered environments. Open vegetation is less successfully predicted (33%) than forest types (73%), reflecting the under-representation of herbaceous taxa in pollen assemblages and the impact of long-distance pollen transport into open environments. Samples from small basins (<1 km2) are more likely to be reconstructed accurately, with 58% of the sites in Europe and 66% of all sites correctly predicted, probably because they sample an appropriate pollen source area to reflect regional vegetation patterns in relatively heterogeneous landscapes. While methodological biases exist, the low confidence of the quantitative comparisons should not be over-emphasized because the target maps themselves are not accurate representations of vegetation patterns in this region. Main Conclusions The biomization scheme yields reasonable reconstructions of the broadscale vegetation patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor, particularly if appropriate-sized sampling sites are used. Our results indicate biomization could be used to reconstruct changing patterns of vegetation in response to past climate changes in this region.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Temnodontosaurus zetlandicus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Molecular composition and ultrastructure of Jurassic paravian feathers
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The Middle-Late Jurassic fossil assemblage found in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning Province in northeastern China has yielded unparalleled evidence on the early evolution of birds1–4. Most importantly, the identification of various feather-like integumental appendages in non-avian and stem avialan theropods has illuminated the diversity and distribution of plumage structures during their adaptive transition towards use in flight4. Epidermal traces in the Tiaojishan Formation are preserved as either faint impressions or phosphatised and carbonised residues4,5. The latter were long thought to be a product of keratin-degrading bacteria6. However, more recent interpretations have favoured fossilised melanosomes; that is, melanin-bearing cellular organelles responsible in part for the colouration of skin and its structural derivatives7. This landmark hypothesis has spawned an entirely new field of exploratory inference into dinosaurian colour5,7–11, behaviour5 and physiology12.
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RBINS collections by external author(s)
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Late is not too late: redescriptions of some Carboniferous insects from Western Europe studied by Daniel Laurentiaux (Palaeodictyoptera, Paoliida)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Revised lithostratigraphic scale of the Devonian of Belgium: An introduction and an homage to Pierre Bultynck
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Lower Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Middle Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Upper Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
