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The delusion of stripes: A century-old mystery of five-lined sun skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae: Eutropis) of Peninsular India elucidated
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We re-evaluate the taxonomic identities of five-lined skinks of the genus Eutropis (E. trivittata, E. beddomei, E. nagarjunensis, and E. bibronii) inhabiting the Indian subcontinent. Previously it has been considered that E. trivittata is distributed in the western India and E. dissimilis in the northern India (from north-eastern India up to Pakistan). Based on our analysis, we revealed that the illustration (iconotype) of the untraceable type specimen of E. trivittata depicted by Hardwicke in Gray (1834) from “Dumdum” near Kolkata, West Bengal matches the typical E. dissimilis, also described from “Bengal”. The senior synonym, E. trivittata is a morphologically unique species, which is also supported by divergence in the mitochondrial 12S and 16S regions. E. trivittata is clearly separated with divergences of 5–7% from E. beddomei, E. vertebralis and E. nagarjunensis for 16S rRNA. After placing E. dissimilis with the synonymy of E. trivittata, the taxonomic status of the western Indian ‘E. trivittata’ required to be clarified. Therefore, we resurrect Mabuia vertebralis Boulenger, 1887, a junior synonym of western Indian E. trivittata, and redescribe its holotype collected from “Belgaum”, Karnataka. Although, morphologically closest to E. beddomei, Eutropis vertebralis comb. nov. is sister to E. nagarjunensis with divergence of 4% in the same mitochondrial regions. Based on our update of the currently confirmed localities for E. vertebralis comb. nov. and E. trivittata, we conducted Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) using the Maximum Entropy algorithm to predict its distribution range, and we discuss its conservation status.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Cranial osteology of Hypoptophis (Aparallactinae: Atractaspididae: Caenophidia), with a discussion on the evolution of its fossorial adaptations
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Fossoriality evolved early in snakes, and has left its signature on the cranial morphology of many extinct Mesozoic and early Caenozoic forms. Knowledge of the cranial osteology of extant snakes is indispensable for associating the crania of extinct lineages with a particular mode of life; this applies to fossorial taxa as well. In the present work, we provide a detailed description of the cranium of Hypoptophis wilsonii, a member of the subfamily Aparallactinae, using micro-computed tomography (CT). This is also the first thorough micro-CT-based description of any snake assigned to this African subfamily of predominantly mildly venomous, fossorial, and elusive snakes. The cranium of Hypoptophis is adapted for a fossorial lifestyle, with increased consolidation of skull bones. Aparallactines show a tendency toward reduction of maxillary length by bringing the rear fangs forward. This development attains its pinnacle in the sister subfamily Atractaspidinae, in which the rear fang has become the “front fang” by a loss of the part of the maxilla lying ahead of the fang. These dentitional changes likely reflect adaptation to subdue prey in snug burrows. An endocast of the inner ear of Hypoptophis shows that this genus has the inner ear typical of fossorial snakes, with a large, globular sacculus. A phylogenetic analysis based on morphology recovers Hypoptophis as a sister taxon to Aparallactus. We also discuss the implications of our observations on the burrowing origin hypothesis of snakes.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds
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Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Tidal inlets in the Anthropocene: Geomorphology and benthic habitats of the Chioggia inlet, Venice Lagoon (Italy)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Description of a new species of Platypalpus of the candicans - cursitans subgroup from the Peloponnesus, Greece (Diptera: Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Description of a peculiar new species of the genus Platypalpus Macquart, 1827 (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Caucasus
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Two new Drapetis species (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Sweden
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Review of two Tonnoir moth fly species, overlooked for a century (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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The thermal properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group
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The Mercia Mudstone Group (MMG) crops out extensively across England and Wales and its thermal properties are required for the design of infrastructure such as ground source heating and cooling schemes and electrical cable conduits. Data from the literature and new data from a borehole core have been compiled to generate an updated range of thermal conductivities related to rock type and the lithostratigraphy. These indicate a total range in saturated vertical thermal conductivity of 1.67– 3.24 W m−1 K−1, comprising 1.67–2.81 W m−1 K−1 for mudstones, 2.12–2.41 W m−1 K−1 for siltstones and 2.3–3.24 W m−1 K−1 for sandstones. These data are all from measurements on samples and there will be uncertainty when considering the thermal properties of the rock mass owing to micro- and macrostructural features. Geometric mean modelling of thermal conductivity based on mineralogy has overestimated the thermal conductivity. Correction factors for the modelled thermal conductivities have been calculated to allow a first estimate of MMG thermal conductivities when only mineralogical data are available. Measured thermal diffusivities from the borehole core were in the range of 0.63–3.07 × 10−6 m2 s−1 and are the first measured thermal diffusivities to be reported for the MMG.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Morphological evidence for early dog domestication in the European Pleistocene: New evidence from a randomization approach to group differences
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The antiquity of the wolf/dog domestication has been recently pushed back in time from the Late Upper Paleolithic (~14,000 years ago) to the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP; ~36,000 years ago). Some authors questioned this early dog domestication claiming that the putative (EUP) Paleolithic dogs fall within the morphological range of recent wolves. In this study, we reanalyzed a data set of large canid skulls using unbalanced‐ and balanced‐randomized discriminant analyses to assess whether the putative Paleolithic dogs are morphologically unique or whether they represent a subsample of the wolf morpho‐population. We evaluated morphological differences between 96 specimens of the 4 a priori reference groups (8 putative Paleolithic dogs, 41 recent northern dogs, 7 Pleistocene wolves, and 40 recent northern wolves) using discriminant analysis based on 5 ln‐transformed raw and allometrically size‐adjusted cranial measurements. Putative Paleolithic dogs are classified with high accuracies (87.5 and 100.0%, cross‐validated) and randomization experiment suggests that these classification rates cannot be exclusively explained by the small and uneven sample sizes of reference groups. It indicates that putative Upper Paleolithic dogs may represent a discrete canid group with morphological signs of domestication (a relatively shorter skull and wider palate and braincase) that distinguish them from sympatric Pleistocene wolves. The present results add evidence to the view that these specimens could represent incipient Paleolithic dogs that were involved in daily activities of European Upper Paleolithic forager groups.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
