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Article Reference Revision of a unique Australian leafhopper genus Stenopsoides Evans (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Idiocerinae: Macropsini)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Skeleton of a new owl from the early Eocene of North America (Aves, Strigiformes) with an accipitrid-like foot morphology
We describe a partial skeleton of a large-sized owl from Wasatchian strata of the Willwood Formation (Wyoming, U.S.A.). The holotype of Primoptynx poliotauros, gen. et sp. nov., includes all major postcranial bones and is one of the most substantial Paleogene records of the Strigiformes. The fossil shows that owls exhibited a considerable morphological diversity in the early Eocene of North America and occupied disparate ecological niches. As in the protostrigid taxon Minerva from the late early to early middle Eocene of North America, but unlike in extant owls, the ungual phalanges of the hallux and the second toe of the new species are distinctly larger than those of the other toes. Primoptynx poliotauros gen. et sp. nov., however, does not exhibit the derived tibiotarsus morphology of the Protostrigidae. Even though the new species may well be a stem group representative of protostrigid owls, current data do not allow an unambiguous phylogenetic placement. Concerning the size of the ungual phalanges, the feet of P. poliotauros correspond to those of extant hawks and allies (Accipitridae). We therefore hypothesize that it used its feet to dispatch prey items in a hawk-like manner, whereas extant owls kill prey with their beak. Primoptynx and protostrigid owls were possibly specialized in foraging on prey items that required an accipitrid-like killing strategy, such as larger-sized or more defensive mammals. The extinction of these peculiar owls may have been related to the radiation of accipitrid diurnal birds of prey, which appear to have diversified in the late Eocene and early Oligocene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Ancient DNA reveals lack of postglacial habitat tracking in the arctic fox
How species respond to an increased availability of habitat, for example at the end of the last glaciation, has been well established. In contrast, little is known about the opposite process, when the amount of habitat decreases. The hypothesis of habitat tracking predicts that species should be able to track both increases and decreases in habitat availability. The alternative hypothesis is that populations outside refugia become extinct during periods of unsuitable climate. To test these hypotheses, we used ancient DNA techniques to examine genetic variation in the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) through an expansion/contraction cycle. The results show that the arctic fox in midlatitude Europe became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene and did not track the habitat when it shifted to the north. Instead, a high genetic similarity between the extant populations in Scandinavia and Siberia suggests an eastern origin for the Scandinavian population at the end of the last glaciation. These results provide new insights into how species respond to climate change, since they suggest that populations are unable to track decreases in habitat availability. This implies that arctic species may be particularly vulnerable to increases in global temperatures. © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Whole-genome shotgun sequencing of mitochondria from ancient hair shafts
Although the application of sequencing-by-synthesis techniques to DNA extracted from bones has revolutionized the study of ancient DNA, it has been plagued by large fractions of contaminating environmental DNA. The genetic analyses of hair shafts could be a solution: We present 10 previously unexamined Siberian mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) mitochondrial genomes, sequenced with up to 48-fold coverage. The observed levels of damage-derived sequencing errors were lower than those observed in previously published frozen bone samples, even though one of the specimens was >50,000 14C years old and another had been stored for 200 years at room temperature. The method therefore sets the stage for molecular-genetic analysis of museum collections.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Monkeypox viruses circulate in distantly-related small mammal species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference Biodiversity changes in African forests and the emergence of infectious diseases: Should we worry?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference Uncovering the diversity and evolutionary histories of viruses from archived specimens from the Afrotropics
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference Diversity of rodents and their viruses from pristine to degraded habitat in DR Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference Molecular barcoding capacities for a sharper picture of wildmeat consumption in Central Africa
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Inproceedings Reference Biodiversity and seasonal abundance of ticks (Ixodina) parasitizing domestic pigs slaughtered at the IAT (Kisangani, DRC)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA