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Inproceedings Reference First crocodyliform fossils from the Eocene of Indonesia
The Paleogene crocodyliform record is rich in taxonomic diversity, preserving crown and stemeusuchians alongside late-surviving neosuchians and notosuchians. This richness is mainly known from the extratropical latitudes of the New World and Eurasia, contrasting a poorly sampled tropical record. Within the tropics, the Paleogene of low-latitude southeast Asia is comparatively undersampled, with the Eocene Krabi Formation of Thailand representing the southernmost fauna. This crocodyliform fauna is composed of orientalosuchins and gavialoids, consistent with more northern records from southern Asia. Here we describe the first crocodyliform fossils from the Eocene of Indonesia, collected from the middle-late Eocene Talawi Member of the Sawahlunto Formation, west Sumatra. The Talawi Member represents a coastal swamp environment, preserving invertebrates, fish, and turtles along with rare frog, snake, and mammal fossils. Recovered crocodyliform fossils are often isolated and disarticulated, consisting of cranial remains including a partial braincase and jaw fragments, as well as relatively abundant teeth and osteoderms, vertebrae, and at least two autopodial elements. Procoelous vertebrae indicate eusuchian affinities. Osteoderms are diverse, with keeled and keelless squared and subrectangular forms. High and low-crowned fluted tooth morphotypes compare favorably to coeval gavialoids and orientalosuchins. A ziphodont form is present, potentially a planocraniid or sebecosuchian. External morphology of the braincase, such as narrow basioccipital tubera, a basioccipital plate bearing a crest, and a large basisphenoid exposure suggest a non-gavialoid identity. This is supported by preliminary observations of highresolution microCT scans, which imply a lateral carotid foramen ventral to the metotic foramen and laterally aligned medial and lateral eustachian foramina. The Sawahlunto fauna extends the southernmost geographical range of the Eocene southeast Asian crocodyliform fauna and represents the first multitaxon crocodyliform fauna from equatorial Asia. The ziphodont teeth either represent the last-occurring Asian planocraniids in a tropical refugium, or an incursion of Gondwanan sebecosuchians from India into the Asian tropics.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
Inproceedings Reference First detailed study of the Belgian Eocene sea turtle ‘Oligochelone rupeliensis’
In 1909, the famous palaeontologist Louis Dollo announced, in a paper about the Belgian fossil vertebrates, a new Oligocene (Rupelian) genus and species of sea turtle, ‘Oligochelone rupeliensis’. He indicated that it was established for a specimen that preserved the complete carapace and several appendicular bones, being characterized as “a typical marine turtle”. No further information, but neither photographs or drawings, were provided by him. He planned to publish the study of this species in the future, but this did not happen. Only a schematic drawing of the plastron of that specimen, as well as a photograph of a tibia attributed to this taxon without justification, were presented, by another author, seventy years later. The first-hand study of the specimen considered by Dollo allows us to observe that it does not preserve any tibia, so that attribution cannot be supported. Therefore, except for that imprecise drawing of the plastron published more than four decades ago, no additional information was available so far. In fact, ‘Oligochelone rupeliensis’ was recognized as a nomen nudum. After a preliminary analysis of the specimen considered by Dollo, one of us (APG) and other collaborators recently indicated, without justification, that, although ‘Oligochelone rupeliensis’ could be closely related to the Eochelone representatives, it differs from all defined members of Cheloniidae. Therefore, we point out that a detailed anatomical study of this form, as well as its comparison with other species, would be necessary to propose, for the first time, a diagnosis, if its specific validity can be confirmed. Taking this into account, that partial skeleton has been analyzed in detail by us. To improve the comparative framework, both the type material and additional individuals from all Eocene and Oligocene cheloniid taxa recognized for the Belgian record have also been analyzed first-hand. The preliminary results are presented here.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference First Detections of Culiseta longiareolata (Diptera: Culicidae) in Belgium and the Netherlands
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference First inventory of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with detection of potentially invasive species in National Park of Ehotilés islands, Côte d’Ivoire
Estuarine and wetland ecosystems are becoming increasingly altered by the concentration of human population near the coastline. A major threat to biodiversity related to this is the introduction of invasive alien species. This is particularly the case for isolated ecosystems like islands where the invasion of non-native species is often harmful. The National Park of Ehotilés Islands is an archipelago of 6 islands and a RAMSAR site subjected to disturbances, namely agriculture, illegal fisheries, and tourism. These factors often act as an accelerator for the introduction of invasive species. However, there is a lack of research on insects, specifically ants, on these islands. This study aimed to inventory the present ant fauna and estimate the vulnerability to tramp and potential invasive ant species. Ants were collected using Winkler, pitfall, and funnel traps on five islands. In total, 76 ant species were recorded. These species are distributed into 20 genera and five subfamilies: Dolichoderinae (5 species), Formicinae (11 species), Myrmicinae (49 species), Ponerinae (11 species) and Proceratiinae (1 species). We also detected two tramp and potentially invasive species: the ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum and the big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala. Ant communities are dominated by six species, namely Odontomachus troglodytes, Oecophylla longinoda, Nylanderia lepida, Pheidole sp.2, Monomorium invidium, and the invasive ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum. This work is the first to inventory ants on the Islands of Ehotilés National Park and may serve as a basis for conservation decisions as it demonstrates that this park is not spared from the introduction of invasive ant species.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference First Measurements of Mixed Floral Traits Influencing Anacardium occidentale (Anacardeacae) Attractiveness to Bees in Côte d'Ivoire: Conservation and Agricultural Implications
In Sub-Saharan Africa, cashew plants face challenges in suitable pollination and good agronomic performances. These challenges can largely be attributed to the ability of cashew floral traits in pollinator attraction. However, especially in Côte d'Ivoire, little is known about the roles of morphology and density of cashew flowers and floral rewards in attracting bee species. Likewise, the relationships between plants' attractiveness, number of pollinator visits, and fruiting rate are rarely the focus of study. Therefore, we contrasted in 3 Ivoirian regions two categories of cashew seeing the bees' foraging preference toward their flowers: trees with high foraging intensity versus trees with low activity (respectively called preferred versus non-preferred plants). Our aim was to know whether the floral traits varied among these categories of plants, and whether this variation might affect bees' foraging intensity and the yield. Results showed that the two categories of cashew were significantly different in density of flowers, quantity of pollens and nectars, and their contents in sugars and amino-acids in the pollens and nectars, and showed that these floral traits were strongly involved in bee pollinators recruitment (Wilks = 0.002384, df = 1, p < 0.0001). These floral traits also significantly increased the bees' visitation networks from 11 to 38 species and their interactions from 984 to 8271 visits, and agronomic performances from 10.63% ± 6.65% to 50.15% ± 5.34%. Floral traits related to bee visitations, if well-investigated, may be used to identify high-yielding cashew plants and preserve pollinators.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference First observation of Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Tshuapa province (Boende), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference First observations in Belgium of the introduced ‘minute hooded beetle’ Arthrolips fasciata (Erichson, 1842) (Coleoptera: Corylophidae)
In September 2020 a specimen of the Corylophidae Arthrolips fasciata (Erichson, 1842) was discovered in mushrooms on decaying beech in a garden in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. In October 2020 a second specimen of this species was discovered in Beisbroek Sint-Andries Bruges also on decaying beech. These are the first records of the species in Belgium. Hence, we expect more Belgian records of this species in the near future. A species list of the Corylophidae known to occur in Belgium is given.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference First outdoor record of Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1792) in Belgium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
We report the first observation of an outdoor nest of the ant species Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1792) in Belgium. In spring 2022, a nest of this species was discovered at Rood Klooster in Auderghem, Brussels Capital Region. Large and very active trails of workers were detected in a hedge and along the walls of a small building. The nest is probably already present several years and situated in the wooden construction of the building. Interactions with other ant species indicate that this new arrival will not immediately become an invasive problem for the local native ant fauna. We expect that more records of this species might be discovered in the near future in the neighborhood but also elsewhere in Belgium.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference First record and DNA identification of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793), in the southern Black Sea
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference First record of a Buccinum with “Bathybuccinum” affinities (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean, with description of a new species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024