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Article Reference Two new species of robber fly in the genus Saropogon Loew, 1847 from Southeast Asia (Diptera: Asilidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference A synopsis of the euphaeidae (Odonata: Zygoptera) of Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species of Euphaea
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference Hydrogen isotopes in Quaternary mammal collagen from Europe
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference Vestibular sensitivity and locomotor behavior in early paleocene mammals
The end-Cretaceous extinction triggered the collapse of ecosystems and a drastic turnover of mammalian communities. During the Mesozoic, mammals were ecologically diverse, but less than extant species. Modern ecological richness was established by the Eocene, but questions remain about the ecology of the first wave of mammals radiating after the extinction. Postcranial fossils are often used to determine locomotor behavior; however, the semicircular canals of the inner ear also represent a reliable proxy. These canals detect the angular acceleration of the head during locomotion and transmit neuronal signals to the brain to allow stabilization of the eyes and head. Accordingly, vestibular sensitivity to rapid rotational head movements is higher in species with a larger canal radius of curvature and more orthogonal canals. We used high-resolution computed tomography scanning to obtain inner ear virtual endocasts for 30 specimens. We supplemented these with data from the literature to construct a database of 79 fossils from the Jurassic to the Eocene and 262 extant mammals. We compared data on canal morphology and another lifestyle proxy, the size of the petrosal lobules, which have a role in maintaining eyes’ movements and position. We find that Paleocene mammals exhibited a lower average and more constricted range of Agility Indices (AI), a new measure of canal radius size relative to body size, compared to Mesozoic, Eocene and extant taxa. In the early Paleocene, body mass and canal radius increased, but the former outpaced the latter leading to an AI decline. Similarly, their petrosal lobules were relatively smaller on average compared to other temporal groups, which suggests less ability for fast movements. Additionally, Paleocene mammals had similar AIs to extant scansorial and terrestrial quadrupeds. In contrast, the lack of canal orthogonality change from the Mesozoic to the Paleocene indicates no trend toward lower vestibular sensitivity regardless of changes in body size. This result may reflect functional differences between canal orthogonality and radius size. Our results support previous work on tarsal morphology and locomotor behavior ancestral state reconstruction suggesting that ground dwelling mammals were more common than arboreal taxa during the Paleocene. Ultimately, this pattern may indicate that the collapse of forested environments immediately after extinction led to the preferential survivorship of more terrestrially adapted mammals. Funding Sources Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: IF, European Research Council StG, National Science Foundation, Belgian Science Policy Office, DMNS No Walls Community Initiative.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Brawn before brains in placental mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction
Mammals are the most encephalized vertebrates, with the largest brains relative to body size. Placental mammals have particularly enlarged brains, with expanded neocortices for sensory integration, the origins of which are unclear. We used computed tomography scans of newly discovered Paleocene fossils to show that contrary to the convention that mammal brains have steadily enlarged over time, early placentals initially decreased their relative brain sizes because body mass increased at a faster rate. Later in the Eocene, multiple crown lineages independently acquired highly encephalized brains through marked growth in sensory regions. We argue that the placental radiation initially emphasized increases in body size as extinction survivors filled vacant niches. Brains eventually became larger as ecosystems saturated and competition intensified.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference A new gecko from the earliest Eocene of Dormaal, Belgium: a thermophilic element of the ‘greenhouse world’
We here describe a new gekkotan lizard from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of the Dormaal locality in Belgium, from the time of the warmest global climates of the past 66 million years (Myr). This new taxon, with an age of 56 Myr, together with indeterminate gekkotan material reported from Silveirinha (Portugal, MP 7) represent the oldest Cenozoic gekkotans known from Europe. Today gekkotan lizards are distributed worldwide in mainly warm temperate to tropical areas and the new gecko from Dormaal represents a thermophilic faunal element. Given the Palaeocene–Eocene thermal maximum at that time, the distribution of this group in such northern latitudes (above 50° North – the latitude of southern England) is not surprising. Although this new gekkotan is represented only by a frontal (further, dentaries and a mandibular fragment are described here as Gekkota indet. 1 and 2—at least two gekkotan species occurred in Dormaal), it provides a new record for squamate diversity from the earliest Eocene ‘greenhouse world’. Together with the Baltic amber gekkotan Yantarogekko balticus, they document the northern distribution of gekkotans in Europe during the Eocene. The increase in temperature during the early Eocene led to a rise in sea level, and many areas of Eurasia were submerged. Thus, the importance of this period is magnified by understanding future global climate change.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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 Microphthalma europaea Egger, 1860 (Diptera: Tachinidae), un diptero endoparasito de Calicnemis obesa (Erichson, 1841) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) en Cadiz. Espana
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference On the identity and status of Darala lineosa (Lepidoptera: Eupterotidae)
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
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)