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Ant biodiversity conservation in Belgian calcareous grasslands: Active management is vital
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A list of ant species collected in eight calcareous grasslands in the Viroin valley (Viroinval, Belgium) is presented. Thirty species were identified, including Temnothorax albipennis, for the first time recorded in Belgium. Ant community composition and chorology of some ant species are discussed. Recommendations on how to use ant community composition and nest densities of several ant species to evaluate management in calcareous grasslands are given. It appears that in locations with encroachment of tall grasses (especially Brachypodium pinnatum) and spontaneous afforestation, due to a complete lack of or to inadequate management, most of the often rare xerophilic ant species are replaced by mesophilic, rather common species.
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Esperiopsis koltuni sp. nov. (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida: Esperiopsidae), a carnivorous sponge from deep water of the Sea of Okhotsk (North Pacific)
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Esperiopsis koltuni, a new species of the sponge family Esperiopsidae, is described from deep water of the Sea of Okhotsk. The new species has a unique growth form: there is a basal plate with radiating cylindrical branches, whose oval flat distal parts bear filament-like outgrowths. Megascleres are arranged differently in the main part of branches and in their distal flat parts. The dermal membrane contains isochelae with protruding alae and abundant sigmancistras. Microscleres are represented by large anchorate spatuliferous isochelae, small isochelae, sigmas and sigmancistras. Esperiopsis koltuni sp. nov. is hermaphroditic, with parenchymella larva. The larval skeleton consists only of sigmas and sigmancistras. Esperiopsis koltuni sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from other Esperiopsis species by dimensions and combination of spicule types. In particular, it is the only species in the genus with three different size categories of styles. The new species lacks the aquiferous system, has a characteristic body plan with symmetrical lateral expansions, an unusual arrangement of microscleres in the dermal membrane and true sigmancistras. Moreover, prey capture by a filament-like outgrowth of the flat distal part was observed. All of these characteristics indicate that Esperiopsis koltuni sp. nov. is a carnivorous sponge.
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Antrobathynella stammeri (Jakobi, 1954) : The first record of bathynellacea (Crustacea : Syncarida) in Belgium
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Spiniferaphonte, a new genus of Laophontidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida), with notes on the occurrence of processes on the caudal rami
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A new genus and species of Laophontidae, Spiniferaphonte ornata n. gen., n. sp., is described from the coast of Kenya. The new genus is closely related to Laophontina and Wellsiphontina as shown by the following synapomorphies: a denticulate operculum, a sexually dimorphic P4 exopod (reduced chaetotaxy of the ultimate segment in the male), and the absence of sexual dimorphism in the P2 and P3 endopods. The two-segmented exopod of P1 and the presence of a seta on the endopodal part of the male P5 are plesiomorphies indicating that the new genus represents a separate lineage within this group. The proposal of the new genus Spiniferaphonte is supported by the following autapomorphies: three smooth setae on the female P5 exopod and a robust, dorsally bent, and strongly sclerotised caudal seta V. Within the Laophontidae, it is striking that the presence of distinct, thorn-like processes on the caudal rami is limited to interstitial genera. Distinct processes on the proximal segments of the antennule and a proximally thickened caudal seta V also appear to be associated with this interstitiality. These structures may play a role in the movement and the anchoring of the animals in their interstitial habitat.
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Revision of the genus Tapholeon Wells, 1967 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Laophontidae)
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To date, only two species are known in the laophontid genus Tapholeon Wells, 1967 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida). In the present contribution, a redescription of the type species T. ornatus Wells, 1967, based on the type material, is provided. Furthermore, two new species are described from the coast of Kenya, T. inconspicuus sp. nov. and T. tenuis sp. nov. Two species, formerly attributed to Asellopsis Brady and Robertson, 1873 (namely A. arenicola Chappuis, 1954 and A. chappuisius Krishnaswamy, 1957), are allocated to Tapholeon based on the absence of sexual dimorphism in the swimming legs P2-P4. The former of the two species is redescribed based on additional material from the Comoros. An updated generic diagnosis and a key to the six species of Tapholeon are included. © 2007 Taylor & Francis.
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New insights into cave hyena ethology and the implications for territorial competition with hominins in Late Pleistocene north-west Europe: the case of Caverne Marie-Jeanne (Belgium)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Past beaked whale diversity in the North Sea: reappraisal through a new Miocene record and biostratigraphic analyses
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Late Miocene survival of a hyper-longirostrine dolphin and the Neogene to Recent evolution of rostrum proportions among odontocetes
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Uncovering the diversity and evolutionary histories of viruses from archived specimens from the Afrotropics
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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The scientific legacy of Eugène Henri Joseph Leloup (1902–1981)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
