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Article Reference A critical evaluation of fossil reports from the lower Palaeozoic of the Stavelot-Venn Inlier (Belgium, western Germany)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference Brain size reduction in dogs was already established at least by the Late Neolithic of Western Europe, 5000 years ago
The timing and causes of brain size reduction in domestic dogs remain uncertain. Using endocast volume as a proxy for brain size, this study provides a first insight into long-term brain size evolution in the wolf-dog lineage. We compared endocranial volumes of 185 modern and 22 prehistoric wolves and dogs ranging from Western Europe to Australia, and spanning the Pleniglacial (35 000 yr BP) to the Late Neolithic (5000 yr BP). Our results reveal that Pleistocene so-called ‘protodogs’ show no brain size reduction compared with coeval Pleistocene wolves. Instead, we observed a slightly larger relative endocranial volume in the 35 000-year-old 'protodog' from Goyet, which could suggest increased behavioural flexibility in the presence of humans. In contrast, Late Neolithic dogs show a drastic brain size reduction (46\%) with endocranial volumes comparable to modern small terrier and toy breeds. We speculate that the anxious and wary temperaments of these Late Neolithic dogs, induced by the brain tissue reorganization associated with such a size reduction, could have served an alerting purpose, among the many other potential roles dogs could have played within these Late Neolithic socio-ecosystems.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
Article Reference Marine Chersodromia Walker (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Mediterranean coastline of Morocco: description of three new species with new records, supported by COI barcoding/strong
Three new species for science of Chersodromia Walker are described from the Moroccan Mediterranean coastline (C. kessabae sp. nov., C. moroccensis sp. nov. and C. estuaria sp. nov.), with the first record of Chersodromia oraria Collin, 1966 in Morocco and new distributional data are provided for Chersodromia pseudohirta Chvála, 1970. This study is based on intensive field surveys conducted by the third author along the Mediterranean coastline of Morocco between 2022 and 2024, targeting especially a variety of coastal habitats. Illustrations of the new species are given, along with COI barcodes of all species recorded. A key to the Moroccan Mediterranean species of Chersodromia is also provided.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference Cataulacus nywelendefu sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a New Arboreal Ant from Tanzania
A new species of the genus Cataulacus: Cataulacus nywelendefu sp. nov. is described from the Segoma Forest in Northeastern Tanzania. An addition to the existing key for Afrotropical Cataulacus species is given.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
Article Reference Introduced or established? Convergent evidence indicates imported pine wood nematode vectors occupy gaps in native distribution
Monitoring regulated quarantine plant pathogens and, when relevant, their vectors is compulsory in the European Union. Local Monochamus species (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) vector the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a non-native pest already established in most of Portugal. Only 29 M. galloprovincialis individuals were trapped in Belgium in ten years (2013–2022), despite a dense coverage of pheromone-baited traps, suggesting absence or a very rare local occurrence in the country. In the northern neighbouring countries, only one single established population is known in The Netherlands and one in Denmark. A species distribution model based on pheromone-trap catches (negative and positive) of M. galloprovincialis from 4,914 traps in 29 European countries between 2008 and 2019 was developed, using the overall climate conditions and the distribution of seven pine tree species as explanatory variables. The effect of spatial scale was tested with a multi-scale approach. With a 225*225 km spatial grain, the major explanatory variables were the mean diurnal temperature range and, to a lesser extent, the presence of Pinus spp. The model predicted a low probability of presence in Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain and north-western Germany compared to southern Europe. Genotyping allowed to conclude that at least some of the beetles caught in Belgium originated from foreign locations. All catches were located close to entry points, suggesting introduction with imported material. The small size of most of the Belgian pine stands may also explain the absence or apparently transient status, or rareness of Monochamus spp. This study thus suggests that surveys in Belgium should privilege entry points rather than local forest stands.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
Article Reference A three-species problem: a further example of homeomorphy in freshwater Ostracoda (Crustacea), with the description of a new genus and new species from a Brazilian river
Homeomorphy is common in the valves and carapaces of Ostracoda. One of the best-known examples in non-marine ostracods is the morphological similarity in the extreme armature of anterior and posterior spines on the left valve in both Strandesia bicornuta Hartmann, 1964 from India and in Rudjakoviella prolongata (Triebel, 1962) Malz, 1973 from Margarita Island (West Indies). Here, we describe a third representative with such armature, Pseudocypricercus bonito gen. nov. spec. nov. from Brazil. These new taxa belong to the Cypricercinae McKenzie, 1971, which is characterized by the presence of the Triebel's loop in the middle of the attachment of the caudal ramus. The main characteristics of Pseudocypricercus gen. nov. are the shape and length of the β seta on the mandibular palp, which is slender and elongated, compared to other genera of this subfamily; the absence of seta d on the first thoracopod, and the absence of seta d2 on the second thoracopod, amongst other features. Pseudocypricercus bonito gen. nov. spec. nov. also has large anterior and posterior spines on the left valve as well as a posterior spine and the anterior blunt protrusion on the right valve. In addition, both the mandibular coxa and the third endite of the maxillula have remarkable large fist-like setae, while the male right prehensive palp has a perpendicularly positioned second segment. The similar armature on left valve and right valve in this taxon makes the homeomorphy known from R. prolongata and S. bicornuta into a “three-species problem”.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference A Revision of the Prionus gahani Species Group (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae: Prionini)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference Sarimini from Vietnam: first record of the genus Tetrichina with a new species, and a new species of Dactylissus (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Issidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Observations of Afrocymbella Krammer (Cymbellales, Bacillariophyta) in the guts of the cichlid fish Oreochromis leucostictus (Trewavas, 1933) from the Edward-George system, East Africa, with the description of a new species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference A double-sided ivory comb with two animal pursuit scenes from a 6th century CE burial at Deiningen, Germany
In the Roman world, as in many other cultures, ivory was perceived as raw material suitable for the carving of prestigious personal items. The types of Roman and Late Antique carved ivory objects that survived as well as their quantity and stylistic range is probably a result of their preservation contexts as well as their appreciation and sometimes ongoing use in later epochs. Regarding ivory combs decorated with bas-relief carvings, only nine specimens are ascribed to the Mediterranean and NW-Europe during Late Antiquity, all exclusively present biblical iconography. Information about their origin, object history and age is usually very limited. The first evidence that hunting scenes were still part of the ivory carving tradition in Late Antiquity is provided by a comb discovered in a mid-6th-century male inhumation burial at Deiningen, Nördlinger Ries. In addition to stylistic and technological comparison, SEM-imaging, ZooMS, ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios were applied to identify the species and possible origin. While size and structure point toward Loxodonta africana as a likely source, poor preservation of the material hindered more refined results by ZooMS or aDNA analyses and consequently a precise triangulation of the source area in combination with the strontium isotope ratios. Besides being a singular piece of craftsmanship, the ivory comb fits into an assumed network of production and distribution that spanned from Northern Africa to the Frankish realm north of the Alps.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA