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Article Reference High ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversity revealed in Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda
Ants represent a crucial component of terrestrial ecosystems owing to their roles in nutrient cycling, soil aeration and predation. However, myrmecological studies are relatively rare in the Afrotropics, including Rwanda. This study reveals high ant diversity within Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda, an ecologically rich area comprising savannas, woodlands and wetlands. A nonsystematic sampling scheme was used across different habitats within the park, implementing various sampling techniques, namely pitfall traps, leaf litter sifting, Winkler leaf litter extraction, vegetation sweeping and hand collection from rocks, rotten wood and dead trees. The findings indicate a high diversity of ant species, with six subfamilies comprising 41 genera including 119 named species and 68 morphospecies. A minimum of 17 of these morphospecies represent undescribed species. Of the collected species, 149 were recorded for the first time in Rwanda. These findings highlight the status of Akagera National Park as a biodiversity hotspot. They also provide a baseline inventory for future entomological, ecological and conservation efforts in Akagera National Park. We recommend additional studies to formally describe the morphospecies currently confirmed as undescribed and to further investigate the status of the remaining unidentified morphospecies
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
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 comprehensive catalogue of hibernating Darwin wasps in the Western Palaearctic (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)
Background In the Western Palaearctic, many species of Darwin wasps exhibit a form of diapause known as free-living adult diapause, similar to hibernation in certain beetle, bumblebee and butterfly species. This study provides a first comprehensive overview of all known hibernating species and aims to improve the current ecological knowledge. New information We reviewed 439 species, confirming free-living adult diapause in 340; 81 remain unverified and 18 are excluded, which have been incorrectly reported as hibernators in the past. The validated dataset includes 7443 records from 27567 specimens, spanning over 235 years of both published and unpublished observations. We report 29 species as hibernators for the first time. Amongst the records, 388 provide the first evidence of hibernation for a species in a given country, with 67 also representing the species' first national record. We highlight the value of field-based data and caution against relying solely on collection dates to study diapause. The observed variability in diapause strategies and hibernacula underscores the importance of nature management for biodiversity conservation, especially preservation of microhabitats.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference New distributional data and species records of Cypriot ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on museum collections
Specimens deposited in Natural History Museum collections are vital for the study of biodiversity, human drivers of biodiversity loss, and other environmental and socioeconomic problems. Despite recent advances in filling our knowledge gaps regarding the myrmecofauna of Cyprus, the island’s biodiversity is considered to be under-sampled. In this article, ant specimens from Cyprus deposited at the Natural History Museums of Crete, the Agricultural University of Athens (Greece), the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève (Switzerland), the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Belgium), and the Lund University Biological Museum (Sweden) are examined, presenting a total of 163 specimens belonging to 24 species examined. Stigmatomma denticulatum Roger, 1859 (Amblyoponinae), Myrmecina graminicola (Latreille, 1802), Stenamma debile (Foerster, 1850) (Myrmicinae), and Biogeographia 40 (1): a047 Demetriou et al., 20252 Cryptopone ochracea (Mayr, 1855) (Ponerinae) are reported for the first time for the island of Cyprus, raising its known ant diversity from 77 to 81 species, while additional distributional data are given for species with only a handful of distributional records, i.e. Tapinoma festae Emery, 1925 (Dolichoderinae), Aphaenogaster subterraneoides Emery, 1881 (Myrmicinae), and Hypoponera eduardi (Forel, 1894) (Ponerinae.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference The extraordinary diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of leaf litter in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the highest diversity of ant species in the Afrotropical region, even though it remains largely understudied in the modern era. The aim of this study is to report on an inventory of the litter ants from the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve in the Tshopo Province, north of the Congo River. Three habitats (fallow, secondary forest and primary forest) were sampled at six localities. A total of 190 ant species belonging to 50 genera and 8 subfamilies, have been recorded in the Yangambi biosphere region. Besides, 96 species were added to Tshopo Province, bringing the total to 306, a 44% increase; and we added 55 species to the already diverse Democratic Republic of the Congo, raising the total record to 791 species, a 7% increase. At least 10% of the collected species are new to science.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference New mtDNA and Isotopic Evidence on Late Pleistocene Cave Bears in the Balkans: the Case-study of Magura Cave, NW Bulgaria
Recent genetic studies have shed light on the phylogeography of cave bears; however, their paleoecology and their diet are still debated, and data from south-eastern Europe are still scarce. Magura Cave, in northwest Bulgaria, has delivered rich faunal assemblages from the Late Pleistocene. The chronology of the excavated area spans from ca. 35 kya to more than 50 kya; the oldest stratigraphic layers being associated with final Middle Palaeolithic tools. The fauna comprises herbivores and carnivores, and potentially different taxa of cave bears, the dental remains of which also showed different tooth morphotypes, suggesting the co-existence of different dietary adaptations. We investigated the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages of the cave bears from Magura Cave as well as the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of the faunal assemblage. Our data revealed that, regardless of the tooth morphotypes, only maternal lineages of Ursus ingressus were present in Magura Cave. Interestingly, one specimen with Ursus arctos mtDNA was also found, showing a clear carnivore diet. In contrast, the U. ingressus specimens had a predominantly herbivorous diet. The tooth morphotypes were associated with significantly different δ13C values, suggesting different dietary adaptations.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Devonian and Carboniferous dendroid graptolites from Belgium and their significance for the taxonomy of the Dendroidea
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Inproceedings Reference Using ancient DNA to identify Bos primigenius in ancient cattle remains from Belgium
Aurochs (Bos primigenius) are the wild ancestors of the domesticated taurine cattle (Bos taurus). During the Holocene, populations of aurochs gradually declined until their extinction at the turn of the 17th century. DNA data suggest that domestic cattle in Europe descended from Near East aurochs that were domesticated and brought to Europe by the first farmers during the Neolithic period. Hybridization occurred more recently in Europe between domestic cattle and local wild aurochs. Most aurochs can be distinguished from domestic cattle osteometrically, but large-sized domestic cattle may be misidentified as aurochs. Based on mitochondrial DNA, most European aurochs differ from domestic cattle (haplogroup “P” versus “T”). With the aim to provide new data on the former distribution of aurochs in Europe, we used mitochondrial DNA to identify large bovid bones attributed to aurochs and dating from Epipaleolithic to medieval times. DNA was extracted from the bones of 11 specimens from Belgium in an ancient DNA lab. Shotgun DNA sequencing provided raw reads comprising 0.02-10% of endogenous DNA. For three samples, reads covered 74-98% of the bovid mitochondrial genome and enabled the identification of one aurochs from the Bronze Age (haplogroup “P”) and two cows from Roman and medieval times (haplogroup “T”). Among the other samples (covering 2-18% of the mitogenome), three Roman specimens could be assigned to the haplogroup “T” based on a few diagnostic positions. This study provides the first mitogenomic data for a Belgian aurochs and contributes to the identification of exceptionally large Roman bovid remains.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Anatomy, Relationships, and Paleobiology of Cambaytherium (Mammalia, Perissodactylamorpha, Anthracobunia) from the lower Eocene of western India
The anatomy of Cambaytherium, a primitive, perissodactyl-like mammal from the lower Eocene Cambay Shale Formation of Gujarat, India, is described in detail on the basis of more than 350 specimens that represent almost the entire dentition and the skeleton. Cambaytherium combines plesiomorphic traits typical of archaic ungulates such as phenacodontids with derived traits characteristic of early perissodactyls. Cambaytherium was a subcursorial animal better adapted for running than phenacodontids but less specialized than early perissodactyls. The cheek teeth are bunodont with large upper molar conules, not lophodont as in early perissodactyls; like perissodactyls, however, the lower molars have twinned metaconids and m3 has an extended hypoconulid lobe. A steep wear gradient with heavy wear in the middle of the tooth row suggests an abrasive herbivorous diet. Three species of Cambaytherium are recognized: C. thewissi (∼23 kg), C. gracilis (∼10 kg), and C. marinus (∼99 kg). Body masses were estimated from tooth size and long bone dimensions. Biostratigraphic and isotopic evidence indicates an age of ca. 54.5 Ma for the Cambay Shale vertebrate fauna, the oldest Cenozoic continental vertebrate assemblage from India, near or prior to the initial collision with Asia. Cambaytheriidae (also including Nakusia and Perissobune) and Anthracobunidae are sister taxa, constituting the clade Anthracobunia, which is sister to Perissodactyla. We unite them in a new higher taxon, Perissodactylamorpha. The antiquity and occurrence of Cambaytherium—the most primitive known perissodactylamorph—in India near or before its collision with Asia suggest that Perissodactyla evolved during the Paleocene on the Indian Plate or in peripheral areas of southern or southwestern Asia.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference New and poorly known species of Cancellariidae (Neogastropoda: Cancellarioidea) from the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020