Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

972 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Inproceedings Reference New specimens and CT data of the longirostrine crocodylian Thoracosaurus isorhynchus from the Maastrichtian of Mont-Aimé (Paris Basin, France)
Thoracosaurs are a polyphyletic group of Cretaceous–Paleogene longisrostrine crocodylians from Europe and North America. Traditionally perceived as gavialoids, phylogenetically closer to Gavialinae than to Tomistominae, they play a key role in the gharial problem: their old age and seemingly close relationship to Gavialinae is inconsistent with molecular clock estimates indicating a far younger origin of Gavialoidea. Moreover, the phylogenetic position of thoracosaurs is debated, as recent studies suggested thoracosaurs are non-crocodylian eusuchians instead. Here we describe thoracosaur material from Mont-Aimé, France, rediscovered in the collections of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle de Lille. The Mont-Aimé is famous for its richness in fossil vertebrates, among which the longirostrine species Thoracosaurus isorhynchus (formerly T. macrorhynchus). Confusion about the age of the vertebrate layers has recently been solved, indicating that they are Maastrichtian in age instead of Danian. The new material most likely belongs to T. isorhynchus based on a flexure in the ectopterygoid–pterygoid suture, a distinctive character found in adults of this taxon. Our study reveals new characters not visible on previously known material. An example is the short posterior non-dentigerous process of the maxilla, a character shared with early Paleogene longirostrines and tomistomines but not with gavialines. Furthermore, microCT data of the skull reveal for the first time endocranial characters of this taxon, such as the presence of an internal recess in the parietal. Together with redescribed T. isorhynchus material from the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, this leads to an updated phylogenetic position of this taxon.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference New specimens of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the early Eocene of Wyoming and evaluation of body size through the PETM in North America
The Mesonychia is a group of archaic carnivorous mammals of uncertain phylogenetic affinities with a Holarctic distribution during the Paleogene. Intensive fossil collecting efforts in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, have resulted in recovery of the largest sample and most complete specimens yet known of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the second biozone of the Wasatchian North American Land Mammal Age (Wa-0). The Wa-0 biozone corresponds to the body of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a brief but intense global warming event that occurred ~56 myr ago that significantly impacted terrestrial mammal faunas, including dwarfing in many mammal lineages. To evaluate the potential response of this lineage to climate change, we compared the PETM sample of D. praenuntius with those recovered from just before the PETM in the last biozone of the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age (Cf-3) and just after the PETM in the Wa-1 biozone. While the sample size is still too small to say with certainty, tooth size (as a proxy for body weight) of D. praenuntius appears to be smaller during the late PETM than during either the pre-PETM Cf-3, or post-PETM Wa-1 biozones, suggesting the possibility of a muted dwarfing response to the PETM. However, the pattern observed for D. praenuntius differs from that of many other PETM mammals, as the shift to smaller body size is less pronounced and may have only occurred in late Wa-0.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Newly discovered crocodile mummies of variable quality from an undisturbed tomb at Qubbat al-Hawā (Aswan, Egypt)
A description is provided of the crocodile remains that were found during an excavation carried out in 2019 at Qubbat al-Hawā (Aswan, Egypt). The material consists of five more or less complete bodies and five heads that were in varying states of preservation and completeness. The absence of resin, which was apparently not used during the preparation of the mummies, and the almost complete loss of linen bandages, due to insect damage, allowed a detailed morphological and osteometric description of the remains. Attention was focused on the general state of preservation of the crocodiles, the completeness of their skeletons and skulls, the presence of cut or other marks that could indicate the cause of death, and the processing of the carcasses. Moreover, the possible provenance of the crocodiles, the methods of capture and killing of the animals and their possible chronological attribution are discussed. It is concluded that the manner in which these specimens were prepared, as well as the variation observed in the type of ‘final product’, are unlike any other crocodile material described so far. The preparation method suggests a pre-Ptolemaic date for the deposit. The morphological and metrical features indicate that both Crocodylus niloticus and the recently resurrected species Crocodylus suchus are present among these individuals that range from 1.8 to 3.5 m in length.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference no Name, No Game
No abstract
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference North American Branchiobdellida (Annelida: Clitellata) or Crayfish Worms in France: the most diverse distribution of these exotic ectosymbionts in Europe
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Northern Europe ’ s suitability for offshore European fl at oyster (Ostrea edulis) habitat restoration based on population dynamics
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Northern Europe's suitability for offshore European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) habitat restoration: A mechanistic niche modelling approach
1. After centuries of overexploitation, European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) habitats are increasingly being protected and large-scale oyster habitat restoration projects have been initiated in the North Sea, the English Channel, the Irish Sea and the north-eastern Atlantic. 2. Understanding the habitat requirements of flat oysters is key in the selection process of restoration sites. 3. In this study, a theoretical niche for all life stages of the flat oyster is determined using a dynamic energy budget model forced with temperature, chlorophyll a and salinity in combination with sediment composition. The suitability of Northern Europe's marine environment for flat oysters is evaluated by applying the proposed niche model on a spatial scale and evaluating spatio-temporal variability in life history traits and metabolic characteristics, such as fitness, reproductive output, settlement success and growth. 4. Results show that habitat suitability is limited by low maximum summer temperature and low food availability at higher latitudes and in areas under strong influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Restoration efforts in Ireland and Scotland should be confined to protected and shallow coastal environments. Suitability in the southern North Sea is patchy and mainly depends on seabed substrate. The nearshore areas of the English Channel are highly suitable. 5. The georeferenced dataset shared in this study will be useful for restoration practitioners.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Note on Asilidae (Diptera) collected near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
We present a list of five species of Asilidae collected in February-March 2018 near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Three species are new for science and are described here: Pegesimallus uhuruensis sp. nov., Ommatius uhuruensis sp. nov. and Oligopogon kilimanjaroensis sp. nov. Moreover, the species Machimus ugandiensis Ricardo, 1919 was recorded for the first time in Tanzania.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Note on Monophorus amicitiae Romani, 2015 (Gastropoda, Triphoridae), extension of its distribution to the Central Mediterranean Sea
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Note on some Ptomaphagus Hellwig, 1795 collected in the Jean Massart Botanical Garden (Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium) with a new record for the Belgian fauna (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Ptomaphagini)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021