The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences(RBINS) holds a collections of well over 7000 Cretaceous fossils that were collected by the RBINS staff in the early 1930ies during the construction of several coal mine shafts in the eastern part of the Belgian Campine Basin. These fossils include ammonites, nautilids, belemnites, bivalves (inoceramids and other), gastropods, crustaceans, brachiopods, echinoderms and other. The majority of the material is from mine shafts 1 and 2 of the Houthalen and Zolder mines, in-between 400 and 600 m below surface. Both mines are located in the eastern part of the Campine Basin. Since their discovery, the majority of this material has never been thoroughly studied and published. Detailed listings of the fauna and an overview in relation to the stratigraphy are absent. In the 1930ies, by the varying amounts of glauconite, chalk, sand, sandstone and the ‘Gyrolithes’ ichnofossils, the sediments between 400 and 600 m depth were interpreted as belonging to the ‘Smectite de Herve’ facies. Therefore, early students referred to fossils from this locality as Campanian in age, while more recent studies and ongoing work document Santonian to Maastrichtian ages with (from bottom to top) the Asdonk and Sonnisheide Members (Vaals Formation), the Zeven Wegen, Beutenaken Marl, Beutenaken Chalk, Vijlen and Lixhe Members (Gulpen Formation). The CRETACAM project aims for fully documenting the lithological, stratigraphical, paleontological and paleo- ecological changes in the Santonian to Maastrichtian sequence of the eastern part of the Campine Basin. In a first step, all locality information of all 7000 specimens was digitalized. In a second and ongoing step, the taxonomy of all specimens will be revised by an international team of paleontologists.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
To advance our restricted knowledge on mosquito biodiversity and distribution in Belgium, a national inventory started in 2007 (MODIRISK) based on a random selection of 936 collection points in three main environmental types: urban, rural and natural areas. Additionally, 64 sites were selected because of the risk of importing a vector or pathogen in these sites. Each site was sampled once between May and October 2007 and once in 2008 using Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus traps. Diversity in pre-defined habitat types was calculated using three indices. The association between species and environmental types was assessed using a correspondence analysis. Twenty-three mosquito species belonging to traditionally recognized genera were found, including 21 indigenous and two exotic species. Highest species diversity (Simpson 0.765) and species richness (20 species) was observed in natural areas, although urban sites scored also well (Simpson 0.476, 16 species). Four clusters could be distinguished based on the correspondence analysis. The first one is related to human modified landscapes (such as urban, rural and industrial sites). A second is composed of species not associated with a specific habitat type, including the now widely distributed Anopheles plumbeus. A third group includes species commonly found in restored natural or bird migration areas, and a fourth cluster is composed of forest species. Outcomes of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed sampling scheme and support the choice of the trap type. Obtained results of this first country-wide inventory of the Culicidae in Belgium may serve as a basis for risk assessment of emerging mosquito-borne diseases.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
