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Reassessment of the small "arctocyonid" Prolatidens waudruae from the Early Paleocene of Belgium, and its phylogenetic relationships with ungulate-like mammals
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‘Arctocyonids’ are generally considered as including some of the most primitive ‘ungulates’ from the Paleocene. Although more than 15 genera are known from North America, European members of this order are less common and mainly belong to derived genera such as Arctocyon. However, one species of primitive arctocyonid, Prolatidens waudruae, was described from the early Paleocene of Hainin, Mons Basin, Belgium. Here we describe new dental positions of this small taxon, including for the first time upper molars and upper fourth premolar. Morphological comparisons confirm the position of P. waudruae among primitive ‘ungulates,’ with the closest North American arctocyonids being Prothryptacodon furens and Oxyprimus galadrielae. Oxyprimus galadrielae features slightly more primitive morphological traits than both other species. Apheliscids share several characters with Prolatidens, but the latter lacks the apomorphies defining the family. Among ‘arctocyonids,’ Prolatidens shares with only Protungulatum and Oxyprimus the incomplete lingual cingulum at the base of the protocone of M1. Prolatidens waudruae is unique among Procreodi in its combination of primitive and derived characters. The cladistic analysis places P. waudruae close to the base of the ingroup, indicating that this species is among the most primitive members of the Paleocene ‘ungulates.’ However, the lower nodes of the trees are not well supported and definitive conclusions should await more complete specimens and analysis. Apheliscids are situated relatively far from Prolatidens, suggesting that the resemblances between them are better considered as convergences. Based on the morphological comparisons, the arctocyonid from Hainin correlates best with North American Torrejonian taxa.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Reassignment of Pentamerus davyi Oehlert to Zdimir robustus (Barrande) (Brachiopoda, Devonian): Stratigraphic and palaeogeographic implications
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Recent advances in heteromorph ammonoid palaeobiology
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Recent Advances in Sponge Biodiversity Inventory and Documentation. Xth Workshop on Atlanto-Mediterranean Sponge Taxonomy
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Recent and old records of the rare myrmecophilous beetle Haeterius ferrugineus (Olivier 1789) in Belgium, Luxembourg and North-East of France
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Haeterius ferrugineus (Olivier 1789) is a rarely observed histerid beetle which lives permanently in ant nests. We provide the first records of this species in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, and give an overview of the scattered records for this species in Belgium, Grand-Duché of Luxembourg and the border region in the North of France gathered over the past 150 years.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Recent Belgian records of the hornet rove-beetle Quedius (Velleius) dilatatus (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Recent Belgian records of the hornet rove-beetle Quedius (Velleius) dilatatus (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)
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We report recent records of the rove beetle Quedius dilatatus (Fabricius, 1787) in Belgium. This beetle lives in nests of the European hornet Vespa crabro L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and possibly profits of the recent expansion of its host. However, it seems its recent distribution is also linked to the use of recently more often used trap types, baited with an ethanol, water, glycerol and acetic acid mixture, or baited with red wine with ethanol or even white or red wine vinegar, mimicking the smell of freshly decaying wood. These methods of trapping are discussed in this paper.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Recent Belgian records of the hornet rove-beetle Quedius (Velleius) dilatatus (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Recent Belgian records of the hornet rove-beetle Quedius (Velleius) dilatatus (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Recent data on the enigmatic family Raoellidae: how aquatic…how cetacean?
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At the beginning of the 21st century, the discovery of an involucrum on the auditory bulla of Indohyus, a small raoellid artiodactyl from the Indian subcontinent, triggered the phylogenetic gathering of Raoellidae with the Cetacea clade, making them pivotal in addressing questions surrounding the land-to-water transition in Artiodactyla. Micro CT scan investigations and newly collected material from the Kalakot area (Jammu and Kashmir, India), recently greatly increased our knowledge of the cranial and dental features of this group. Here we present new data on cranial morphology of Raoellidae deriving from micro CT scan investigations of Indohyus indirae and Khirtharia inflata. This new body of data comprises investigations of the endocast of the braincase, the complete middle ear including the ossicles and auditory bulla, the petrosal bone, and the cast of the bony labyrinth. It also includes the reconstruction of the complete anterior dentition. This study gives us a comprehensive picture of the features of the Raoellidae head and improves our understanding of their semiaquatic habits. This increased knowledge of raoellids further extends the list of features they share with the first archeocetes, calling into question the definition of the clade Cetacea.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
