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Inproceedings Reference The biodiversity of the Eocene Messel Pit
The Messel Pit is a Konservat-Lagerstätte in Germany, representing the deposits of a latest early to earliest middle Eocene maar lake, and one of the first palaeontological sites to be included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One aspect of Messel that makes it so extraordinary is that its sediments are rich in different fossilised organisms – microfossils, plants, fungi, invertebrate animals and vertebrates – that are rarely preserved together. We present an updated list of all taxa, named or not, that have been documented at Messel, comprising 1409 taxa, which represent a smaller but inexactly known number of biological species. The taxonomic list of Labandeira and Dunne (2014) contains serious deficiencies and should not be used uncritically. Furthermore, we compiled specimen lists of all Messel amphibians, reptiles and mammals known to us. In all, our analyses incorporate data from 32 public collections and some 20 private collections. We apply modern biodiversity-theoretic techniques to ascertain how species richness tracks sampling, to estimate what is the minimum asymptotic species richness, and to project how long it will take to sample a given proportion of that minimum richness. Plant and insect diversity is currently less well investigated than vertebrate diversity. Completeness of sampling in aquatic and semiaquatic, followed by volant, vertebrates is higher than in terrestrial vertebrates. Current excavation rates are one-half to two-thirds lower than in the recent past, leading to much higher estimates of the future excavation effort required to sample species richness more completely, should these rates be maintained. Species richness at Messel, which represents a lake within a paratropical forest near the end of the Early Eocene Climate Optimum, was generally higher than in comparable parts of Central Europe today but lower than in present-day Neotropical biotopes. There is no evidence that the Eocene Messel ecosystem was a “tropical rainforest.”
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The Botanic Garden Jean Massart as a reference site for the diversity of flies in Belgium (Insecta: Diptera)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference The Botanic Garden Jean Massart (Brussels-Capital Region): a hotspot for long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) in Belgium or not?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference The changing ecosystem of East Africa’s Mare Nostrum: Using ichthyology collections to identify the changes in the Lake Victoria region
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference The characteristics of the organic matter in biomineral flocs
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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 The cicada genus Megapomponia Boulard, 2005 from Laos, with description of a new species (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference The cranium and dentition of Khirtharia (Artiodactyla, Raoellidae): new data on a stem taxon to Cetacea
Raoellid mammals are small artiodactyls from the Eocene of Asia, hypothesized to be closely related to stem Cetacea. Knowledge of the cranial and dental morphology of Raoellidae comes mostly from one species, Indohyus indirae. Here we describe new material of another raoellid genus, Khirtharia, based on material retrieved from the Kalakot area, Jammu and Kashmir. This new material, comprising an almost complete, lightly deformed cranium and a partial snout with associated partial mandible, greatly adds to our knowledge of raoellid morphology. It highlights the similarity of cranial characters with Indohyus, such as a long snout with raptorial incisors, a thick and narrow supraorbital region, a strong postorbital constriction, a triangular shaped braincase, and a thickened medial wall to the auditory bulla (involucrum). The new specimen is similar to Indohyus cranially but differs dentally in being more bunodont. The presence of these traits in two different raoellid genera suggests they may be present more broadly across Raoellidae. These characters are also observed in early cetaceans, highlighting the need to investigate their phylogenetic impact. Some cranial features support aquatic habits of members of this family.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024 OA
Inproceedings Reference The defensive secretions of the giant millipede Anurostreptus sculptus (Spirostreptida, Harpagophoridae): their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference The Dispersal of the Domestic Cat: Paleogenetic and Zooarcheological Evidence
Domestication is one of the most interesting and challenging processes in human and animal evolution. The fundamental change in subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to farming that took place for the first time in the Levant more than ten thousand years ago profoundly changed human culture and biology, and set the groundwork for population growth, migrations, the rise of civilizations, and wealth disparities (Bocquet-Appel 2011; Gignoux, Henn, and Mountain 2011; Kohler et al. 2017).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020