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Article Reference Revision of the oldest varanid, Saniwa orsmaelensis Dollo, 1923, from the earliest Eocene of northwest Europe
Saniwa is an extinct genus of varanid squamate from the Eocene of North America and Europe. Up to now, only one poorly known species, Saniwa orsmaelensis Dollo, 1923, has been reported from Europe. Diagnostic material was limited to vertebrae with only preliminary description and no figure provided, except of one dorsal vertebra that was designated as the lectotype. New specimens from the earliest Eocene of Dormaal, Belgium and Le Quesnoy, France, including recently recovered skull ma-terial, are described and illustrated here. These fossils representing the oldest varanid squamate allow further comparisons with the type species, Saniwa ensidens Leidy, 1870, from the early and middle Eocene of North America and to propose a new diagnosis for S. orsmaelensis. Its arrival in Europe is probably linked to rapid environmental changes around the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The occurrence of S. orsmaelensis is restricted to the early Eocene of northwest Europe and paleogeographic considerations regarding the distribution of the genus Saniwa Leidy, 1870 suggest an Asian origin, but an African origin cannot be completely excluded.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference New evidence of the emergence of the East Asian monsoon in the early Palaeogene
Previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions have implied that East Asia was dominated by a zonal climate pattern during the Eocene, with an almost latitudinal arid/semiarid band at ~ 30° N. However, this long-standing model has recently been challenged by growing body of multidisciplinary evidence. Some studies indicated that central China was characterized by climatic fluctuations between humid and drier conditions during the Early Eocene, akin to the present East Asian monsoon (EAM) regime. Using palynological assemblages in the Tantou Basin, central China, we quantitatively reconstructed climate changes from the Late Palaeocene to Early Eocene to better understand climate change in central China. Palynological assemblages revealed that the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in this area received no less than 800 mm of annual precipitation and experienced a climate change from warm and wet to relatively cool and dry. According to palaeoclimate curves, a sudden climate change occurred in the Early Eocene, with the mean annual temperature and precipitation decreasing by 5.1 °C and 214.8 mm, respectively, and the climate became very similar to the present climate, which is controlled by the monsoon. Therefore, this significant climate change during the Early Eocene may signal the emergence of the EAM in East Asia.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference The importance of correct labelling of types: an example in Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) and its rectification
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference A new species of Platylomia Stål, 1870 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from Vietnam, with a key to species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Inbook Reference Measuring Performances, Skill and Accuracy in Operational Oceanography: New Challenges and Approaches
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Three new species of Muricidae (Ocenebrinae, Pagodulinae) from the Gulf of California, Mexico and update of the living muricids from the area
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Description of a remarkable and huge new species of Zacatrophon (Muricidae: Ocenebrinae) from the Gulf of California
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Description of a new species of the genus Prionus Geoffroy, 1762 from northern Vietnam (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Calcardea junnei Gingerich, 1987 from the late Paleocene of North America is not a heron, but resembles the early Eocene Indian taxon Vastanavis Mayr et al., 2007
We revisit the holotype of Calcardea junnei Gingerich, 1987 from the latest Paleocene (Clarkforkian) of the Willwood Formation (Wyoming, USA). The species is based on a partial skeleton and was originally assigned to the Ardeidae (herons). As we show, this classification cannot be upheld and Calcardea Gingerich, 1987 more closely resembles the taxon Vastanavis Mayr et al., 2007 (Vastanavidae), a parrot-like bird from the early Eocene of India. Even though C. junnei is a large bird, its long wings and short tarsometatarsus argue against a predominantly terrestrial way of living, and the morphology of the tarsometatarsus and pedal phalanges instead suggest strong grasping feet.We conclude that an assignment of Calcardea to the landbird clade (Telluraves) is better supported than its classification into the waterbird clade (Aequornithes), which includes Ardeidae and other ‘ciconiiform’ and ‘pelecaniform’ taxa. Calcardea junnei is one of the oldest known representatives of Telluraves and its morphology shows plesiomorphic features, which contributed to its previous misidentification as a heron. Calcardea exhibits a distinctive osteology and affords a glimpse of a previously unknown late Paleocene avian morphotype.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference New fossils, systematics, and biogeography of the oldest known crown primate Teilhardina from the earliest Eocene of Asia, Europe, and North America
Omomyiform primates are among the most basal fossil haplorhines, with the oldest classified in the genus Teilhardina and known contemporaneously from Asia, Europe, and North America during the PaleoceneeEocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) ~56 mya. Characterization of morphology in this genus has been limited by small sample sizes and fragmentary fossils. A new dental sample (n ¼ 163) of the North American species Teilhardina brandti from PETM strata of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, documents previously unknown morphology and variation, prompting the need for a systematic revision of the genus. The P4 of T. brandti expresses a range of variation that encompasses that of the recently named, slightly younger North American species ‘Teilhardina gingerichi,’ which is here synonymized with T. brandti. A new partial dentary preserving the alveoli for P1-2 demonstrates that T. brandti variably expresses an unreduced, centrally-located P1, and in this regard is similar to that of T. asiatica from China. This observation, coupled with further documentation of variability in P1 alveolar size, position, and presence in the European type species T. belgica, indicates that the original diagnosis of T. asiatica is insufficient at distinguishing this species from either T. belgica or T. brandti. Likewise, the basal omomyiform ‘Archicebus achilles’ requires revision to be distinguished from Teilhardina. Results from a phylogenetic analysis of 1890 characters scored for omomyiforms, adapiforms, and other euarchontan mammals produces a novel clade including T. magnoliana, T. brandti, T. asiatica, and T. belgica to the exclusion of two species previously referred to Teilhardina, which are here classified in a new genus (Bownomomys americanus and Bownomomys crassidens). While hypotheses of relationships and inferred biogeographic patterns among species of Teilhardina could change with the discovery of more complete fossils, the results of these analyses indicate a similar probability that the genus originated in either Asia or North America.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019