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Article Reference The first fossil mysid statolith (Crustacea) to be described from western Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The first fossil record of Lophiomys in Egypt
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The first lower jaw of a ctenacanthid shark from the Late Devonian (Famennian) of Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The first record of the genus Olcinia Stäl, 1877 from Cambodia and Vietnam with the description of two new species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Cymatomerini)
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Inbook Reference The first record of the genus Trichogomphus Burmeister from Nepal, and a checklist of Nepalese Dynastinae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The first species of Hapalodectes (Mesonychia, Mammalia) from the Middle Paleocene of China (Qianshan Basin, Anhui Province) sheds light on the initial radiation of hapalodectids
A lower jaw of the mesonychian Hapalodectes is reported from Nongshanian sediments (Upper Doumu Formation; middle Paleocene) of the Qianshan Basin (Anhui Province, China). The fragmentary mandible is only the third specimen of Hapalodectidae discovered in Paleocene deposits, and the first in south east China; it is moreover the oldest, the two other specimens having been found in Gashatan (late Paleocene) localities. The premolars and molars of the new fossil are morphologically similar to Hapalodectes dux (late Paleocene of Mongolia), which has been considered to be the most primitive hapalodectid, but their relative proportions recall H. paleocenus and the Eocene Hapalodectes species. As a result, the fossil described herein appears to be different from the other previously described species of Hapalodectes in being morphologically intermediate between H. dux and the other Hapalodectes species, notably the Bumbanian Hapalodectes hetangensis and H. huanghaiensis from China; it is thus identified as a new species, Hapalodectes lopatini (possibly a male individual). Its discovery is important because it sheds light on the initial radiation of hapalodectids. The presence of one primitive hapalodectid in Mongolia previously suggested the Mongolian Plateau as the centre of origination of this carnivorous family, but the discovery of H. lopatini in older sediments from south-east China challenges this hypothesis. In the earliest Eocene, Hapalodectes dispersed from Asia to North America; this event being part of the ‘East of Eden’ dispersals. This event resulted in the geographical separation of two distinct Hapalodectes groups, in North America and south-eastern China respectively.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference The flies of the family Hybotidae (Diptera, Empidoidea) collected during the Boyekoli Ebale Congo 2010 Expedidion in democratic Republic of Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The fossil bivalve Angulus benedeni benedeni: a potential seasonally resolved stable isotope-based climate archive to investigate Pliocene temperatures in the southern North Sea basin
Bivalves record seasonal environmental changes in their shells, making them excellent climate archives. However, not every bivalve can be used for this end. The shells have to grow fast enough so that micrometre- to millimetre-sampling can resolve sub-annual changes. Here, we investigate whether the bivalve Angulus benedeni benedeni is suitable as a climate archive. For this, we use ca. 3-million-year-old specimens from the Piacenzian collected from a temporary outcrop in the Port of Antwerp area (Belgium). The subspecies is common in Pliocene North Sea basin deposits, but its lineage dates back to the late Oligocene and has therefore great potential as a high-resolution archive. A detailed assessment of the preservation of the shell material by micro-X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and electron backscatter diffraction reveals that it is pristine and not affected by diagenetic processes. Oxygen isotope analysis and microscopy indicate that the species had a longevity of up to a decade or more and, importantly, that it grew fast and large enough so that seasonally resolved records across multiple years were obtainable from it. Clumped isotope analysis revealed a mean annual temperature of 13.5 ± 3.8 ∘C. The subspecies likely experienced slower growth during winter and thus may not have recorded temperatures year-round. This reconstructed mean annual temperature is 3.5 ∘C warmer than the pre-industrial North Sea and in line with proxy and modelling data for this stratigraphic interval, further solidifying A. benedeni benedeni's use as a climate recorder. Our exploratory study thus reveals that Angulus benedeni benedeni fossils are indeed excellent climate archives, holding the potential to provide insight into the seasonality of several major climate events of the past ∼ 25 million years in northwestern Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference The fossil mammals of Spy.
The large faunal sample from Spy, a Belgian cave site famous for its Neandertal remains, is for the first time studied in detail. Some 11,600 bones were examined. A wide spectrum of Pleistocene species is present. Horse, cave hyena, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and reindeer are the primary taxa. Hyena scavenging activities are indicated by the gnawed mammoth and rhinoceros postcranial bones and cervid antlers. Bears used the cave as a hibernation den evidenced by remains of cubs, and of female and male adult bears. Indications of human manipulation (cut marks, ochre traces, worked bone/tooth) occur especially on remains from foxes, mammoth and deer. The age profile of the mammoth is dominated by calves. This selective mortality suggests that they were hunted by prehistoric people. AMS dates range from c. 44,400 BP to c. 25,700 BP. The Spy bone assemblage therefore accumulated through a series of agents over a long period of the Pleniglacial.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The freshwater animal diversity assessment: an overview of the results. In: BALLIAN, E. et al. (eds.): Freshwater animal diversity assessment
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications