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Skeleton of a new owl from the early Eocene of North America (Aves, Strigiformes) with an accipitrid-like foot morphology
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We describe a partial skeleton of a large-sized owl from Wasatchian strata of the Willwood Formation (Wyoming, U.S.A.). The holotype of Primoptynx poliotauros, gen. et sp. nov., includes all major postcranial bones and is one of the most substantial Paleogene records of the Strigiformes. The fossil shows that owls exhibited a considerable morphological diversity in the early Eocene of North America and occupied disparate ecological niches. As in the protostrigid taxon Minerva from the late early to early middle Eocene of North America, but unlike in extant owls, the ungual phalanges of the hallux and the second toe of the new species are distinctly larger than those of the other toes. Primoptynx poliotauros gen. et sp. nov., however, does not exhibit the derived tibiotarsus morphology of the Protostrigidae. Even though the new species may well be a stem group representative of protostrigid owls, current data do not allow an unambiguous phylogenetic placement. Concerning the size of the ungual phalanges, the feet of P. poliotauros correspond to those of extant hawks and allies (Accipitridae). We therefore hypothesize that it used its feet to dispatch prey items in a hawk-like manner, whereas extant owls kill prey with their beak. Primoptynx and protostrigid owls were possibly specialized in foraging on prey items that required an accipitrid-like killing strategy, such as larger-sized or more defensive mammals. The extinction of these peculiar owls may have been related to the radiation of accipitrid diurnal birds of prey, which appear to have diversified in the late Eocene and early Oligocene.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Skull ecomorphological variation of narwhals (Monodon monoceros, Linnaeus 1758) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas, Pallas 1776) reveals phenotype of their hybrids
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Skull morphological variation in a British stranded population of false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens): a 3D geometric morphometric approach
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Slow evolution in an ancient asexual ostracod
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Small is beautiful: diversity of freshwater ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in marginal habitats of the province of Parma (northern Italy)
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Small is Beautiful: the Erquelinnes mammal fauna from the earliest Eocene of the southern Mons Basin, belgium
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In 1880, the early Eocene fluvial deposits of the Erquelinnes sand quarry in the southern part of the Mons basin in Belgium yielded their first mammal fossil, a well preserved jaw of a primitive perissodactyl. By 1927, about 40 mammal specimens had been recovered from Erquelinnes and were attributed to Adapisorex, ‘Protomomys’, Paramys, Plesiadapis, Arctocyonides, Hyracotherium, Coryphodon and ‘Oxyaena or Miacidae’. By that time however, the Erquelinnes fauna had already been eclipsed by the contemporaneous Dormaal fauna from northeastern Belgium, which yielded thousands of specimens rather than only a few dozen. Since then, attention for the Erquelinnes fauna has therefore been limited to the passing mentions of referred specimens in the formal descriptions of the new plesiadapiform Platychoerops georgei and of the miacid Gracilocyon solei. Here we present an updated faunal list of the complete Erquelinnes mammal fauna. We show that also hyaenodontids, mesonychids, hyopsodontids, and dichobunid artiodactyls are present in the Erquelinnes fauna, and some of the earlier identifications are corrected or detailed further. This update of the Erquelinnes mammal fauna almost doubles its diversity, and strengthens the correlation with the earliest Eocene (MP7) Dormaal reference fauna. Results from δ13Corg analysis of the mammal-bearing level at Erquelinnes and the strata immediately below it, seem to independently support the faunal correlation. Faunal differences between Erquelinnes and Dormaal are most likely the result of subtle differences in depositional environments and thus in taphonomic bias. Details of the stratigraphic origin of the Erquelinnes perissodactyl specimens however show that these are derived from two distinct stratigraphic levels, which potentially have significantly different age correlations.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Small suspension-feeding amphipods play a pivotal role in carbon dynamics around offshore man-made structures
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Small things can make a big difference: a comparison of pollen and macrobotanical records of some food plants from medieval and post-medieval cesspits in the Netherlands and northern Belgium
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This paper presents a review of records of pollen and botanical macroremains of a selection of food plants from late and post-medieval cesspits (12th century-19th century ad) in the Netherlands and northern Belgium. The presented data demonstrate that several food plants remain largely invisible in the macrobotanical records. These are all plants from which the flowers or flower buds (Borago officinalis, Capparis, Carthamus tinctorius, Crocus sativus, Syzygium aromaticum) or leaves (Anthriscus cerefolium, Spinacia oleracea) are eaten, or that are typical components of honey (Cistus). As a result, little is known about the import or local production and consumption of these food plants in these times. This review now shows that past use of some of these plants is reflected in the pollen assemblages of (post-) medieval cesspits. For the first time, a large archaeobotanical dataset is presented, including pollen, providing information on the past use of these plants between the 12th and 19th century ad in the Netherlands and Belgium.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Soil properties only weakly affect subterranean ant distribution at small spatial scales
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Soil-litter arthropod communities under pasture land use in southern Rwanda
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Land use change caused by human activities is the main driver of biodiversity loss and changes in ecosystem functioning. However, less is known about how the conversion of a natural to pasture land favour the biological diversity of soil-litter arthropods to advance effective conservation plans and management systems. To fill the gap, this study focussed on soil-litter arthropod communities under a pasture land use in southern Rwanda. Data have been collected using pitfall traps and hand collection between April and June 2021. Sampled specimens of soil-litter arthropods have been identified to order and family levels by using dichotomous keys. Further, the species name was given when the identification key was available, while the morphological description was provided in absence of the identification keys. Results indicated a total of 3013 individuals of soil-litter arthropods grouped into 3 classes, 13 orders, 46 families and 87 morpho-species. Coleoptera showed a high number of families, while higher abundance and the number of morpho-species were found for ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Higher abundance of sampled soil-litter arthropods is a sign that the studied area offers suitable habitat for soil-litter arthropods. However, less abundance found for some groups of soil-litter arthropods might be influenced by the used sampling techniques which were not appropriate for them. We recommend surveys using multiple sampling techniques to maximize chances of capturing a wide range of soil-litter arthropods.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
