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Article Reference Zur Synonymie und neun neue Taxa von Bockkäfern aus Asien (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference Drei neue Bockkäferarten aus dem Himalaya und neue Synonyme im Tribus Acanthocinini Blanchard, 1845 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference New species and new records of Tingida (Insecta: Heteroptera) from Vietnam
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference On Plesiocetus Van Beneden, 1859 (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference First record of the globally invasive crab, Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1867), in Benin, with notes on its taxonomy (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae)
The Indo-Pacific portunid, Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1867), is a crab species native to the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans and has previously colonized the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Atlantic. It is now recorded in the Eastern Atlantic, on the coast of Benin, where a thriving population has established. This invasive and widely distributed species exhibits morphological variations within and between populations, which are discussed in detail. Its current distribution is presented, and its future expansion along the West African coast and future impact on coastal ecosystems and local fisheries are the object of tentative forecasts. Illustrations of sexually mature specimens from different sizes and regions are presented, and their allometric, individual and geographical variations are discussed. A new synonymy and a new account on the taxonomy and the biology of the species are presented. Illustrations of the lectotype and the paralectotype of C. hellerii are also provided for the first time. Charybdis spinifera (Miers, 1884), C. merguiensis (De Man, 1887) and C. vannamei Ward, 1941 are here treated as subjective junior synonyms of C. hellerii. The holotype of C. spinifera and two syntypes of C. merguiensis are illustrated. Key words: alien species, Eastern Atlantic, West Africa, systematics, type material https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4576.2.1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C21B66E0-E7BF-4E82-9EBE-24F7CDEFC8A5
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Description of two additional new Sarmydus species from China (5th contribution to the study of genus Sarmydus Pascoe, 1867) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Description de nouvelles espèces d'Erioderus Thomson, 1861 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae, Macrotomini)
Located in Library / No RBINS Staff publications
Article Reference Des Taxons d'Anthiini décrits par Pierre Basilewsky dans un manuscrit traitant des Anthiini africains, sans titre (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anthiinae, Anthiini)
Located in Library / No RBINS Staff publications
Inproceedings Reference First virtual endocasts of the Paleocene arctocyonids Arctocyon and Chriacus: Insight into the behavior of early placental mammals after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction
The vacant niches left by the non-avian dinosaurs and other vertebrates after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, provided a crucial opportunity for placental mammal diversification. The general neurosensory organization exhibited by extant mammals has been maintained since the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic. Much later during the Eocene, fossils of early members of extant placentals display neurosensory innovations, such as a proportionally larger neocortex and a higher encephalization quotient (EQ), compared to their Mesozoic ancestors. However, few studies have focused on the brain of the oldest placentals that lived during the Paleocene. We analysed the neurosensory system of two species of arctocyonid ‘condylarths’, a likely nonmonophyletic group, including some species potentially implicated in the origins of extant ungulates. ‘Arctocyonids’ were of small-to-medium size, omnivorous and mainly terrestrial. We obtained cranial and bony labyrinth endocasts for Arctocyon and two species of Chriacus using high-resolution computed tomography. Both species exhibit plesiomorphic features shared with other early Paleocene mammals such as a relatively small lissencephalic brain with an EQ range of 0.07-0.31 using Eisenberg’s equation. The olfactory bulbs and the petrosal lobules represent 7% and less than 1% of the total endocranial volume, respectively. The neocortical height represents ~25% of the total endocranial height. Based on the cochlea, these species had hearing capabilities similar to extant wild boars. Agility scores between 2 and 3, show that these taxa were similar to the American badger and the crab-eating raccoon, suggesting that Arctocyon and Chriacus were moderately agile. These results support the growing evidence that early placentals had low EQs and less expanded neocortices compared to Eocene and later taxa, potentially indicating that complex neurosensory organization was not key to the placental radiation after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. This research has been funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: Individual Fellowship, European Research Council Starting Grant, National Science Foundation, and Belgian Science Policy Office.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Inproceedings Reference Eocene fossil dermochelyid provides insights into why leatherback turtles “want to become” marine mammals
Leatherbacks constitute a bizarre clade of marine turtles today represented by a single species, Dermochelys coriacea. A series of peculiar physiological adaptations and behaviors make this species particularly reminiscent to some marine mammals. These include particularly advanced skeleton adaptations for swimming, the largest body size among living reptiles, highly elevated growth and metabolic rates, and coldwater tolerance, which enable D. coriacea to lead a truly pelagic, highly migratory, cosmopolitan lifestyle. It is one of the deepest diving animal today, which aids searching for its almost exclusive prey of jellyfishes. Due to their pelagic lifestyle and reduced skeleton, however, the fossil record of leatherbacks is very poor. Here we evaluate the skeletal anatomy of Eosphargis gigas from the Ypresian of Belgium, represented by one of the earliest and most completely preserved fossil dermochelyid. E. gigas already shows several of the anatomical specializations of the extant leatherback but it is primitive in retaining a more ossified shell. The autapomorphic rugose surface decoration of the dermal skull indicates high degree of vascularization, which in turn likely aided regulation of acid–base balance relating to hypercapnia (excess blood carbon dioxide) and/or lactate acidosis based on modern and fossil analogies. Both type of acidosis typically occurs during diving and thus E. gigas likely had deep diving capabilities, which is consistent with its postcranial skeleton. The jaw apparatus also shares many specializations with D. coriacea that may represent adaptation for preying on jellyfish. The emerging hypothesis is that the skeletal and physiological adaptations of leatherbacks are all related to feeding specializations and associated deep diving. Many of these evolved early in the lineage under greenhouse climatic conditions with the likely associated deeper placement of the gelatinous plankton zone compared to icehouse conditions. This study was supported by the SYNTHESYS program (grants AT-TAF 1441, FR-TAF 4290, GB-TAF 1882, BE-TAF 5292); Train2Move-Marie Curie Fellowship awarded to M.R.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019