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Article Reference A diverse bird assemblage from the Ypresian of Belgium furthers knowledge of Early Eocene avifaunas of the North Sea Basin
We describe an assemblage of 54 avian bones from early Eocene marine sediments of the Ampe quarry near Egem in Belgium. The fossils belong to at least 20 species in more than 11 higher-level taxa. Well-identifiable specimens are assigned to the Odontopterygiformes, Galliformes, Messelornithidae, Apodiformes, Halcyornithidae, Leptosomiformes (cf.Plesiocathartes), and Coraciiformes (cf. Septencoracias). Further specimens are tentatively referred to the phaethontiform Prophaethontidae and to the Accipitridae, Masillaraptoridae, and Alcediniformes. The threedimensionally preserved fossils from Egem provide new data on the osteology of taxa that are otherwise mainly known from compression fossils with crushed bones. The material also includes specimens that further knowledge of the composition of early Eocene avifaunas of the North Sea Basin. The comparatively well-represented small galliform species is clearly distinguished from the early Eocene Gallinuloididae and most closely resembles Argillipes aurorum, a largely ignored galliform species from the London Clay. The tentatively identified fossils of Accipitridae and Alcediniformes would represent the earliest fossil records of these clades. The bird assemblage from Egem includes relatively few seabirds (Odontopterygiformes, cf. Prophaethontidae) and is dominated by remains of terrestrial species (Galliformes, Messelornithidae). Arboreal birds (Halcyornithidae, Leptosomiformes, cf. Alcediniformes, Coraciiformes) are less abundant and aerial insectivores (Apodiformes) very scarce, which either indicates a taphonomic bias in the composition of the avifauna or particular paleoenvironmental characteristics of the nearshore habitats in that area of the southern North Sea Basin.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference A DNA-based approach to validate the identification of exotic mosquito species in Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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
Article Reference A European monsoon-like climate in a warmhouse world
The middle Eocene warmhouse period (45 million years ago) featured atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations equivalent to those projected under high future emission scenarios. Seasonal- to weather timescale climate reconstructions from this period can provide critical insight into the impact of Anthropogenic warming on intra-annual variability in temperature and precipitation. Here, we combine daily-scale reconstructions of the evolution of temperature and the water cycle in western Europe based on stable oxygen and clumped isotope analyses on the fastest-growing gastropod known in the fossil record: Campanile giganteum. Our dataset shows that the middle Eocene of western Europe featured monsoon-like conditions, with seawater temperatures of ˊ24 °C during mild and wet winters, 30 °C during hot and dry spring and autumn seasons, and ˊ28 °C during warm and comparatively wet summers. Coupled climate model simulations using the Community Earth System Model indicate these seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation were driven by shifting atmospheric and oceanic circulation regimes over Western Europe, with winds from different directions bringing distinct waters to the region and minimal wind during spring reducing cooling through diminished latent heat flux. Our results highlight that Europe may experience wetter summers with more frequent extreme rainfall events under future high emissions scenarios.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
Article Reference A European monsoon-like climate in a warmhouse world
The middle Eocene warmhouse period (45 million years ago) featured atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations equivalent to those projected under high future emission scenarios. Seasonal- to weather timescale climate reconstructions from this period can provide critical insight into the impact of Anthropogenic warming on intra-annual variability in temperature and precipitation. Here, we combine daily-scale reconstructions of the evolution of temperature and the water cycle in western Europe based on stable oxygen and clumped isotope analyses on the fastest-growing gastropod known in the fossil record: Campanile giganteum. Our dataset shows that the middle Eocene of western Europe featured monsoon-like conditions, with seawater temperatures of ˊ24 °C during mild and wet winters, 30 °C during hot and dry spring and autumn seasons, and ˊ28 °C during warm and comparatively wet summers. Coupled climate model simulations using the Community Earth System Model indicate these seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation were driven by shifting atmospheric and oceanic circulation regimes over Western Europe, with winds from different directions bringing distinct waters to the region and minimal wind during spring reducing cooling through diminished latent heat flux. Our results highlight that Europe may experience wetter summers with more frequent extreme rainfall events under future high emissions scenarios.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference A European network on evolutionary ecology of reproductive modes in non-marine Ostracoda: background and objectives. In: HORNE, D.J. & MARTENS, K. (eds.), The evolutionary ecology of reproductive modes in non-marine Ostracoda
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference A first, local DNA barcode reference database of the forensically important flies (Diptera) of the island of La Reunion
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference A forest fire and soil erosion event during the Late Devonian mass extinction.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A fossil heron from the early Oligocene of Belgium : the earliest temporary well-constrained record of the Ardeidae
We describe the earliest temporally well-constrained fossil that can be assigned to the Ardeidae (herons), from the lowermost Oligocene (32.0–33.0 million years ago) of Belgium. The specimen, a partial tarsometatarsus, belongs to a small species and is described as Proardea? deschutteri n. sp. It exhibits the characteristic tarsometatarsus morphology found in extant heron species, but a confident assignment to one of the ardeid subclades is not possible and even the assignment of the new fossil species to the crown group (the clade including the extant species) cannot be established. The fossil indicates a divergence of herons from their sister taxon by at least the earliest Oligocene, and current paleontological data suggest that herons arrived in Europe shortly after a major faunal turnover at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. We consider that dispersal is the likely reason for the sudden appearance of herons in the earliest Oligocene of Europe but it is uncertain from where exactly this took place, with Asia and Africa being among the candidate areas.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference A general purpose genotype in an ancient asexual
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications