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Article Reference François Roffiaen's terrestrial and freshwater gastropod types in the collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Jean François Xavier Roffiaen (1820–1898) was a Belgian landscape painter with a profound interest in malacology. A founding member of the Société malacologique de Belgique, Roffiaen contributed several publications on molluscs. Among such studies, his 1868 paper on Swiss terrestrial and freshwater gastropods introduced 14 new taxa (species and varieties) belonging to the Clausiliidae, Discidae, Helicidae, Lymnaeidae, Valvatidae, and Viviparidae. However, Roffiaen’s malacological contributions largely faded from recognition, primarily due to the unknown whereabouts of his type material. This study revisits his work by identifying and analysing specimens from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). Of the 14 taxa described by Roffiaen, type specimens for nine (including the two full species) have been recovered, enabling a reassessment of their taxonomic status as synonyms of better-known and widespread species. The serendipitous finding of these type specimens reaffirms the importance of maintaining museum collections, and the implementation of digitization programs to uncover/recover such “lost” information, enabling it to be made available to the scientific community at large.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Extreme tooth enlargement in a new Late Cretaceous rhabdodontid dinosaur from Southern France
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Synchrotron scanning reveals amphibious ecomorphology in a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Taming the late Quaternary phylogeography of the Eurasiatic wild ass through ancient and modern DNA
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference A forgotten cirripedological gem: a new species of whale barnacle of the genus Cetopirus from the Pleistocene of the United States West Coast
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago
The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica. Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments. Uncertainty remains regarding whether domestic cats originated in the Levant, Egypt, or elsewhere in the natural range of African wildcats. The timing and circumstances of their dispersal into Europe are also unknown. In this study, the analysis of 87 ancient and modern cat genomes suggests that domestic cats did not spread to Europe with Neolithic farmers. Conversely, they were introduced to Europe around 2000 years ago, probably from North Africa. In addition, a separate earlier introduction (first millennium before the common era) of wildcats from Northwest Africa may have been responsible for the present-day wild population in Sardinia. Tracing the origins of domestic cats (Felis catus) has been limited by a lack of ancient DNA for these animals, as well by their morphological similarity to the African wildcat (F. lybica lybica) and European wildcat (F. sylvestris). De Martino et al. generated low- to medium-coverage genomes for 87 ancient, museum, and modern cats (see the Perspective by Losos). They found that domestic cats are most genetically similar to African wildcats, although there has been widespread gene flow between wild and domestic populations. European samples that cluster with domestic cats only appear in the 1st century CE, suggesting a later dispersal of domestic cats than previously thought. Although broader sampling is needed, this study shows the complexity of population dynamics that is often revealed when looking beyond mitochondrial DNA.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Unusual geologic evidence for coeval seismic shaking and tsunamis reinforces variability in earthquake size and recurrence in the area of the giant 1960 Chile earthquake.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference First record of a Lessepsian migrant: the sea cucumber Holothuria (Theelothuria) hamata Pearson, 1913
First record of a Lessepsian migrant: the sea cucumber Holothuria (Theelothuria) hamata Pearson, 1913. A single specimen of the Indo-West Pacific sea cucumber Holothuria (Theelothuria) hamata Pearson, 1913 has been captured in 2017 in the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Iskenderun Bay, at 30 m depth. This specimen is here described, and the taxonomy of the species is briefly discussed. Despite the lack of timed biogeographic evidence, we here argue that H. hamata is a Lessepsian migrant; the first in its genus and only the second holothuroid.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference The sea cucumber Holothuria lineata Ludwig, 1875 (Holothuroidea, Aspidochirotida, Holothuriidae) re-described from the newly found type
A re-description of the little-known holothurian species Holothuria (Lessonothuria) lineata Ludwig, 1875 is given. It is based on the single recovered type specimen and an individual recently collected on Glorioso Islands, near Madagascar. A key to separate three closely related and commonly confused species, i.e., Holothuria (Lessonothuria) pardalis Selenka, 1867, Holothuria (Lessenothuria) verrucosa Selenka, 1867 and Holothuria (Lessonothuria) insignis Ludwig, 1875, is presented.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Salvation and documentation: additional (probable) type material of South American land-snail species (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024