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Original articleSystematics and diversity of the giant soft-shelled turtles (Cryptodira,Trionychidae) from the earliest Eocene of Belgium
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In 1909, the famous paleontologist Louis Dollo identified two putative new species of giant soft-shelled turtles from the lowest Eocene record of Belgium, ‘Trionyx erquelinnensis’ and ‘Trionyx levalensis’, from Erquelinnes and Leval, respectively. However, these proposals did not meet the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, so they were considered as nomina nuda. The information on these specimens or about any other specimen of this lineage of giant turtles from the Belgian record is currently extremely limited. Relatively scarce material from giant trionychids has been described for the lower Eocene record of other European regions. Considering the available information, all the European material has recently been recognized as belonging to the genus Axestemys, which has a North American origin, and possibly attributable to a single species, Axestemys vittata, which currently lacks a diagnosis. Numerous and well-preserved Belgian specimens are deposited in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. In addition to the cited individuals from Erquelinnes and Leval, additional specimens from both localities, as well as others from Orp-le-Grand, are part of this collection. These specimens, found between the decades of 1910 and 1930, have been recently restored, and their study is carried out here. The presence of Axestemys vittata in Belgium (in Leval and Orp-le-Grand) is confirmed. Knowledge about this species is significantly improved, and a diagnosis is proposed. However, the hypothesis proposed by Dollo is here confirmed, this species being not the only identified in the Belgian record. So, Axestemys erquelinnensis nov. sp. is defined based on the carapace from Erquelinnes known by Dollo, suggesting that the genus probably reached Europe during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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OUTFLOW Annual Network Report, 15/04/2021-15/04/2022
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Overview of myrmecological studies and a checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Democratic Republic of Congo
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The production of species checklists is fundamental to setting baseline knowledge of biodiversity across the world and they are invaluable for global conservation efforts. The main objective of this study is to provide an up-to-date extensive checklist of the ants of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, based on available literature to serve as a foundation for future research and ant faunistic developments. We gathered the literature available to us, most of it compiled from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) Project and treated the data to province level when possible. We also offer insight into who, when and where contributions have emerged to the current knowledge of the ants of the DRC and each of its 26 provinces. The current list is restricted to valid species and subspecies, discarding morphospecies and some misidentified taxa. The list comprises eight subfamilies, 64 genera and 736 species, the highest species diversity for a country located within the Afrotropical realm.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers
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Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Palaeopathological and demographic data reveal conditions of keeping of the ancient baboons at Gabbanat el-Qurud (Thebes, Egypt)
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Since predynastic times, baboons (Papio hamadryas and Papio anubis) were important in ancient Egypt for ritual and religious purposes. These species did not occur naturally in Egypt and therefore had to be imported, but little is known about their exact provenance and the conditions in which they were kept through time. Here, we analyse the skeletal remains of a collection of baboon mummies coming from Thebes (Egypt), representing a minimum of 36 individuals, from a palaeopathological and demographic point of view. The pathological cases are described, figured where relevant, and the discussion attempts to understand their aetiology. The prevalence of the different types of deformations and pathologies is compared with that of other captive baboon populations from more or less contemporary (Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara) or older (predynastic Hierakonpolis) sites. This is combined with observations on the age and sex distribution and the proportion of hamadryas and anubis baboons to draw conclusions about the conditions of keeping, possible breeding on-site, provenance of the animals and the trade routes used for import. As in Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara, the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud suffered from numerous metabolic diseases due to chronic lack of sunlight and an unbalanced diet. This and the demographic data suggest that there was a local breeding population derived from animals captured downstream from the Sudanese Nile Valley (for anubis) and from the Horn of Africa or the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (for hamadryas). A new series of radiocarbon dates is provided, placing the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud between the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Late Period.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Paleo-genetic and paleo-pathological studies at Pachacamac: methodological issues and characterization of a multiple burial context (in Spanish)
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Pachacamac is a major pre-Columbian site located on Peru’s Central Coast. Covering approximately 6 km2, the site was occupied for over a thousand years before the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century. In 2012, the Ychsma Project excavated a Late Intermediate Period (900 to 1470 AD) multiple tomb (Cx4) made of two funerary chambers covered by a vegetal roof, containing 89 deceased together with numerous grave goods. Over 60% of the individuals are subadults whose sex cannot be assigned based on osteological observations. Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be useful for sex determination, general mitochondrial lineage (haplogroup) and disease diagnosis. However, non-endogenous DNA contamination of archaeological material is a recurrent problematic, since excavation, handling and storage usually don't fit with the precautions recommended for ancient DNA analysis. Nevertheless, we obtained aDNA results from several human individuals recovered from the Cx4 context. Our objectives are to complete the demographic information and to characterize the health status of the population buried in this pilgrimage site dedicated to the eponymous healing god. Despite significant human modern contamination and low amounts of endogenous ancient DNA, our results show that sex could be assigned genetically in >80% of the cases, including subadults. Sex identification of infants, children and adolescents is crucial to fully understand this complex context and its funerary recruitment, and to perform an integrated and holistic analysis of all associated data. The genetic data were also used to estimate the presence of several pathogens using the KrakenUniq taxonomical classification tool.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Paleo-Pathological Studies at Pachacamac, Peru: Challenges and Preliminary Results
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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Paléobiologie et paléobiogéographie des amphibiens et reptiles : un hommage à Jean-Claude Rage – 2e partie
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Editorial for the special volume in honour of Jean-Claude Rage.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Parahiraciini planthoppers with elongate head from Vietnam: a new genus and species Pumatiracia venosa gen. et sp. nov. and first record of Laohiracia acuta Constant, 2021 (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Issidae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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Parameter Mapping Sonification of Human Olfactory Thresholds
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
