-
A new gastrotrich, Musellifer leasiae sp. nov. (Paucitubulatina: Muselliferidae), from Antarctica—the first Muselliferidae species description from the Southern Hemisphere
-
A new gastrotrich species, Musellifer leasiae sp. nov., is described from the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The species is recognised by its considerable size, up to 415 μm, and by its conspicuous three-lobed, keeled head scales. Besides the new species, the genus Musellifer accommodates five additional species known from the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Central-West Atlantic, the Northeast Atlantic, and the Northeast Pacific, and from depths ranging from sublittoral to 5.485 m depth. A representative of Musellifer has previously been reported from Antarctica, but M. leasiae sp. nov. represents the first formally described Muselliferidae species from the Southern Hemisphere, and from the polar regions.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2025
-
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
-
A new genus of Pseudospirobolellidae (Diplopoda, Spirobolida) from limestone karst areas in Thailand, with descriptions of three new species
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2022
-
A new Gryposaurus species (Dinosauria : Hadrosauridae) from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Far Eastern Russia
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
A new jewel-like species of the pill-millipede genus Sphaerobelum Verhoeff, 1924 (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae) from Thailand
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
-
A new kentriodontid dolphin (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Middle Miocene of the southeastern Pacific
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2026
-
A New Large Hyainailourine from the Bartonian of Europe and Its Bearings on the Evolution and Ecology of Massive Hyaenodonts (Mammalia)
-
We describe a new large-sized species of hypercarnivorous hyainailourine–Kerberos langebadreae gen. & sp. nov.–from the Bartonian (MP16) locality of Montespieu (Tarn, France). These specimens consist of a skull, two hemimandibles and several hind limb elements (fibula, astragalus, calcaneum, metatarsals, and phalanges). Size estimates suggest K. langebadreae may have weighed up to 140 kg, revealing this species as the largest carnivorous mammal in Europe at that time. Besides its very large size, K. langebadreae possesses an interesting combination of primitive and derived features. The distinctive skull morphology of K. langebadreae reflects a powerful bite force. The postcranial elements, which are rarely associated with hyainailourine specimens, indicate an animal capable of a plantigrade stance and adapted for terrestrial locomotion. We performed the first phylogenetic analysis of hyainailourines to determine the systematic position of K. langebadreae and to understand the evolution of the group that includes other massive carnivores. The analysis demonstrates that Hemipsalodon, a North American taxon, is a hyainailourine and is closely related to European Paroxyaena. Based on this analysis we hypothesize the biogeographic history of the Hyainailourinae. The group appeared in Africa with a first migration to Europe during the Bartonian that likely included the ancestors of Kerberos, Paroxyaena and Hemipsalodon, which further dispersed into North America at this time. We propose that the hyainailourines dispersed into Europe also during the Priabonian. These migrants have no ecological equivalent in Europe during these intervals and likely did not conflict with the endemic hyaenodont proviverrines. The discovery of K. langebadreae
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
A new Late Miocene beaked whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Pisco Formation, and a revised age for the fossil Ziphiidae of Peru
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2024
-
A new lithostratigraphy for the Quaternary sandy aeolian deposits in Belgium: revising the Gent formation
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2017
