Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

1546 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Article Reference High-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy and mammalian faunal change at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in the Honeycombs area of the Southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A mitochondrial phylogeographic scenario for the most widespread African rodent species , Mastomys natalensis
In order to evaluate the contribution of geological, environmental, and climatic changes to the spatial distri- bution of genetic variation of Mastomys natalensis, we analysed cytochrome b sequences from the whole dis- tribution area of the species to infer its phylogeographic structure and historical demography. Six well-supported phylogroups, differentiated during the Pleistocene, were evidenced. No significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances was found at the continental scale, and the geographic distributions of the observed phylogroups have resulted from extensive periods of isolation caused by the presence of putative geographic and ecological barriers. The diversification events were probably influenced by habitat contraction/expansion cycles that may have complemented topographic barriers to induce genetic drift and lineage sorting. According to our results, we propose a scenario where climate-driven processes may have played a primary role in the differ- entiation among phylogroups.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Discovery of a new duiker species (Bovidae: Cephalophinae) from the Dahomey Gap, West Africa
Among the two most widely distributed duiker species, Philantomba monticola (Thunberg, 1789) and Philantomba maxwelli (C.H. Smith, 1827), the latter shows geographic variation in pelage color and body size. This issue was not investigated in detail so far, especially in the eastern region of its distribution area, notably due to the lack of material from the Dahomey Gap. We undertook a species-level revision of Philantomba in West Africa, notably including a series of specimens collected in Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Using morphological measurements (craniometry) and genetic data (two mitochondrial and three nuclear markers), we describe a new duiker species occurring in the Dahomey Gap (Togo, Benin) and the Niger delta, Philantomba walteri sp. nov. This discovery highlights the importance of the Dahomey Gap for the evolutionary history of the West African forest faunas. It also has conservation implications given that the new species is one of the main targets of the local bushmeat trade.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A reassessment of the fossil goose Anser scaldii Lambrecht, 1933
The name Anser scaldii was first used by Van Beneden (1872) in a brief text that read ‘Nous avons recu un humérus dans un parfait état de conservation, trouvé dans le crag, à Anvers’. The name was also used by Van Beneden (1873), but in both instances it is a nomen nudum. The name was made valid for the purposes of nomenclature by Lambrecht (1933: 368) when he entered Anser scaldii Van Beneden, 1872, with the following description and information: ‘Humerus typisch anserin, von der Größe von Tadorna casarca. Länge 129 mm. Material: Humerus im Mus. Bruxelles. Alter und Fundort: Obermiozän (Bolderian), Antwerpen. Etymologie: Artname nach der Schelde: Scaldia.’ At the same time he mistakenly gave the original combination as Anas scaldii Van Beneden 1872, which error was perpetuated by Gaillard (1939), Brodkorb (1964), Howard (1964), and Bochenski (1997), as noted by Mlíkovský (2002: 125). The statement by Lambrecht that this fossil is of similar length to humeri of Tadorna prompted Worthy et al. (2007) to suggest that Anser scaldii may have a bearing on the evolution of Tadornini in Europe. Accordingly, we re- examined the holotype in the Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, to ascertain its relationships and its significance in Anseriform evolution.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Low genetic diversity in tepui summit vertebrates
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference From Amazonia to the Atlantic forest:molecular phylogeny of Phyzelaphryninae frogs reveals unexpected diversity and a striking biogeographic pattern emphasizing conservation challenges
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Cryptic species in Iphisa elegans Gray, 1851 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) revealed by hemipenial morphology and molecular data
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A phylogeny and taxonomy of the Thai-Malay Peninsula Bent-toed Geckos of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae): combined morphological and molecular analyses with descriptions of seven new species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Ecophysiology of dorsal versus ventral cuticle in flattened sawfly larvae.
Platycampus larvae are highly cryptic leaf feeders characterised by a dorso-ventrally flattened body, the dorsal integument resembling a shield. Dorsal and ventral cuticles from Platycampus luridiventris were compared by histology and gel electrophoresis. By Azan-staining, a red and a blue layer were distinguished in the dorsal cuticle, while the ventral cuticle showed one, almost uniform blue layer, as in both cuticles of control species. The two cuticles from P. luridiventris had similar amounts and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles of soluble proteins, but not insoluble proteins. One insoluble protein (MW approximately 41 kDa) was visible as a large band in the ventral cuticle only. It is likely that this protein renders the cuticle elastic, and that the dorsal, red layer is the exocuticle, mainly composed of insoluble proteins. We discuss eco-physiological implications of the exocuticle in insects. Further, data from the literature indicate that the defence strategy in P. luridiventris larvae relies on being visually cryptic towards avian predators and tactically cryptic towards arthropod predators and parasitoids. Crypsis in both senses is favoured by the shield effect, itself based on an abnormally thick dorsal exocuticle. Although the larvae are external feeders, they may be considered as hidden from an ecological perspective.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications