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Article Reference The chronology of the Neolithic wetland site of Oudenaarde-Donk NEO 1 revisited (East Flanders, BE)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference A new gecko from the earliest Eocene of Dormaal, Belgium: a thermophilic element of the ‘greenhouse world’
We here describe a new gekkotan lizard from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of the Dormaal locality in Belgium, from the time of the warmest global climates of the past 66 million years (Myr). This new taxon, with an age of 56 Myr, together with indeterminate gekkotan material reported from Silveirinha (Portugal, MP 7) represent the oldest Cenozoic gekkotans known from Europe. Today gekkotan lizards are distributed worldwide in mainly warm temperate to tropical areas and the new gecko from Dormaal represents a thermophilic faunal element. Given the Palaeocene–Eocene thermal maximum at that time, the distribution of this group in such northern latitudes (above 50° North – the latitude of southern England) is not surprising. Although this new gekkotan is represented only by a frontal (further, dentaries and a mandibular fragment are described here as Gekkota indet. 1 and 2—at least two gekkotan species occurred in Dormaal), it provides a new record for squamate diversity from the earliest Eocene ‘greenhouse world’. Together with the Baltic amber gekkotan Yantarogekko balticus, they document the northern distribution of gekkotans in Europe during the Eocene. The increase in temperature during the early Eocene led to a rise in sea level, and many areas of Eurasia were submerged. Thus, the importance of this period is magnified by understanding future global climate change.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Revision of the oldest varanid, Saniwa orsmaelensis Dollo, 1923, from the earliest Eocene of northwest Europe
Saniwa is an extinct genus of varanid squamate from the Eocene of North America and Europe. Up to now, only one poorly known species, Saniwa orsmaelensis Dollo, 1923, has been reported from Europe. Diagnostic material was limited to vertebrae with only preliminary description and no figure provided, except of one dorsal vertebra that was designated as the lectotype. New specimens from the earliest Eocene of Dormaal, Belgium and Le Quesnoy, France, including recently recovered skull ma-terial, are described and illustrated here. These fossils representing the oldest varanid squamate allow further comparisons with the type species, Saniwa ensidens Leidy, 1870, from the early and middle Eocene of North America and to propose a new diagnosis for S. orsmaelensis. Its arrival in Europe is probably linked to rapid environmental changes around the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The occurrence of S. orsmaelensis is restricted to the early Eocene of northwest Europe and paleogeographic considerations regarding the distribution of the genus Saniwa Leidy, 1870 suggest an Asian origin, but an African origin cannot be completely excluded.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference New evidence of the emergence of the East Asian monsoon in the early Palaeogene
Previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions have implied that East Asia was dominated by a zonal climate pattern during the Eocene, with an almost latitudinal arid/semiarid band at ~ 30° N. However, this long-standing model has recently been challenged by growing body of multidisciplinary evidence. Some studies indicated that central China was characterized by climatic fluctuations between humid and drier conditions during the Early Eocene, akin to the present East Asian monsoon (EAM) regime. Using palynological assemblages in the Tantou Basin, central China, we quantitatively reconstructed climate changes from the Late Palaeocene to Early Eocene to better understand climate change in central China. Palynological assemblages revealed that the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in this area received no less than 800 mm of annual precipitation and experienced a climate change from warm and wet to relatively cool and dry. According to palaeoclimate curves, a sudden climate change occurred in the Early Eocene, with the mean annual temperature and precipitation decreasing by 5.1 °C and 214.8 mm, respectively, and the climate became very similar to the present climate, which is controlled by the monsoon. Therefore, this significant climate change during the Early Eocene may signal the emergence of the EAM in East Asia.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Sechelleptus arborivagus sp. nov., a new arboreal spirostreptid millipede (Diplopoda, Spirostreptidae) endemic to Mayotte Island (Comoros Archipelago), Indian Ocean
A new millipede species of the genus Sechelleptus Mauriès, 1980 is described and illustrated from Mayotte Island, Indian Ocean. This new species, S. arborivagus sp. nov., found on trees, looks particularly similar to the sympatric S. variabilis VandenSpiegel & Golovatch, 2007, but is much larger and has a very different ecological behavior. Phylogenetic analyses based on a concatenated dataset of the COI and 16S rRNA genes and including nine species of Spirostreptidae (including Sechelleptus, Doratogonus Attems, 1914, Bicoxidens Attems, 1928 and Spirostreptus Brandt, 1833), strongly support the monophyly of Sechelleptus. Despite the similarity of their genitalia, the molecular analyses also reveal a clear-cut genetic divergence between S. arborivagus sp. nov. and S. variabilis (22.55% for COI and 6.63% for 16SrRNA) and further suggest the presence of a higher diversity within the genus Sechelleptus on Mayotte.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference A new species of Platylomia Stål, 1870 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from Vietnam, with a key to species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Reassessment of historical sections from the Paleogene marine margin of the Congo Basin reveals an almost complete absence of Danian deposits
The early Paleogene is critical for understanding global biodiversity patterns in modern ecosystems. During this interval, Southern Hemisphere continents were largely characterized by isolation and faunal endemism following the breakup of Gondwana. Africa has been proposed as an important source area for the origin of several marine vertebrate groups but its Paleogene record is poorly sampled, especially from sub-Saharan Africa. To document the early Paleogene marine ecosystems of Central Africa, we revised the stratigraphic context of sedimentary deposits from three fossil-rich vertebrate localities: the Landana section in the Cabinda exclave (Angola), and the Manzadi and Bololo localities in western Democratic Republic of Congo. We provide more refined age constraints for these three localities based on invertebrate and vertebrate faunas, foraminiferal and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, and carbon isotope records. We find an almost complete absence of Danian-aged rocks in the Landana section, contrary to prevailing interpretations over the last half a century (only the layer 1, at the base of the section, seems to be Danian). Refining the age of these Paleocene layers is crucial for analyzing fish evolution in a global framework, with implications for the early appearance of Scombridae (tunas and mackerels) and Tetraodontiformes (puffer fishes). The combination of vertebrate fossil records from Manzadi and Landana sections suggests important environmental changes around the K/Pg transition characterized by an important modification of the ichthyofauna. A small faunal shift may have occurred during the Selandian. More dramatic is the distinct decrease in overall richness that lasts from the Selandian to the Ypresian. The Lutetian ofWest Central Africa is characterized by the first appearance of numerous cartilaginous and bony fishes. Our analysis of the ichthyofauna moreover indicates two periods of faunal exchanges: one during the Paleocene, where Central Africa appears to have been a source for the European marine fauna, and another during the Eocene when Europe was the source of the Central Africa fauna. These data indicate that Central Africa has had connections with the Tethyian realm.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Notes on Latest Cretaceous Cirripedes (Crustacea, Thoracica) from Tunisia - Part 1. A new species of Pachyscalpellum Buckeridge, 1991
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Webpublished Reference An update of the lithostratigraphy of the Ieper Group.
The objective of the present revision is to complement the lithostratigraphy of the Ieper Group published in 2001 (Laga et al., 2001). This last publication reflected the activities in the Tertiary Subcommission at that time. The review published in 2001 framed in an initiative of the National Stratigraphic Commission and was limited to the lithostratigraphy at formation level. The Laga et al (2001) reference document has been the basis for the NCS website until now. The Ieper Group is characterised by clay−dominated sediments overlying, in most situations, the Landen Group strata and, if not outcropping, underlying the sand−dominated Zenne Group sediments. According to Laga et al. (2001) in their reference document for Paleogene and Neogene lithostratigraphy, the Ieper Group consists of the Kortrijk, Tielt and Gentbrugge Formations and ,members in these Formations are only listed. These subdivisions are also used on the 1:50 000 geological maps of Flanders, edited in the last decades of the 20th century. Especially the additional description of the members, and where possible, horizons, identified in the Formations, made the present review necessary and also modifications at the formation level itself arisen since 2001 needed to be integrated in a new synthesis. The present update is based on the earlier description of members in Maréchal & Laga (1988), Geets et al. (2000) and Steurbaut (1998) as far as appropriate. All modifications, discussions and additions are supported by the relevant literature references.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Article Reference The 'Demange drawings': known and unknown malacological contributions of Victor Demange (1870-1940)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016