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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
Article Reference Reassessment of historical sections from the Paleogene marine margin of the Congo Basin reveals an almost complete absence of Danian deposits
The early Paleogene is critical for understanding global biodiversity patterns in modern ecosystems. During this interval, Southern Hemisphere continents were largely characterized by isolation and faunal endemism following the breakup of Gondwana. Africa has been proposed as an important source area for the origin of several marine vertebrate groups but its Paleogene record is poorly sampled, especially from sub-Saharan Africa. To document the early Paleogene marine ecosystems of Central Africa, we revised the stratigraphic context of sedimentary deposits from three fossil-rich vertebrate localities: the Landana section in the Cabinda exclave (Angola), and the Manzadi and Bololo localities in western Democratic Republic of Congo. We provide more refined age constraints for these three localities based on invertebrate and vertebrate faunas, foraminiferal and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, and carbon isotope records. We find an almost complete absence of Danian-aged rocks in the Landana section, contrary to prevailing interpretations over the last half a century (only the layer 1, at the base of the section, seems to be Danian). Refining the age of these Paleocene layers is crucial for analyzing fish evolution in a global framework, with implications for the early appearance of Scombridae (tunas and mackerels) and Tetraodontiformes (puffer fishes). The combination of vertebrate fossil records from Manzadi and Landana sections suggests important environmental changes around the K/Pg transition characterized by an important modification of the ichthyofauna. A small faunal shift may have occurred during the Selandian. More dramatic is the distinct decrease in overall richness that lasts from the Selandian to the Ypresian. The Lutetian ofWest Central Africa is characterized by the first appearance of numerous cartilaginous and bony fishes. Our analysis of the ichthyofauna moreover indicates two periods of faunal exchanges: one during the Paleocene, where Central Africa appears to have been a source for the European marine fauna, and another during the Eocene when Europe was the source of the Central Africa fauna. These data indicate that Central Africa has had connections with the Tethyian realm.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019