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Inproceedings Reference Reassessment of the morphology and taxonomic status of the varanid lizard Saniwa orsmaelensis from the early Eocene of Northwest Europe
Saniwa is an extinct genus of varanid lizard from the Eocene of North America and Europe. It is the sister taxon to the crown-group Varanus. Up to now, only one poorly known species is recognized from Europe, Saniwa orsmaelensis from the earliest Eocene of Dormaal, Belgium. This species originally named by Louis Dollo nearly a century ago, is the earliest varanid of Europe. Unfortunately, the material was limited to vertebrae with only preliminary description and no figure provided, except for one dorsal vertebra that later has been designated as the lectotype. Here we describe and illustrate new fossil specimens collected from Dormaal and other early Eocene localities of the Paris Basin, France, including dentary and maxilla fragments as well as skull material, allowing to reassess the validity of the European taxon. These fossils allow further comparisons with the type-species, Saniwa ensidens, from the late early Eocene Bridger and Green River formations of Wyoming and to propose a new diagnosis for S. orsmaelensis. The occurrence of S. orsmaelensis is restricted to the early Eocene of Northwest Europe and its geographic origin is unresolved because the earliest record of Saniwa in North America is also from the earliest Eocene. The brief presence of varanid lizards in the European Paleogene could result from two major climatic events. At the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, large biotic interchanges occurred in the northern hemisphere allowing new dispersals into Europe. However, at the end of the Eocene, thermophilic lizards disappeared due to cooler conditions. Another hypothesis for their disappearance could be the competition that occurred with other anguimorph lizards. Grant Information: This abstract is a contribution to the Belspo Brain network project BR/121/A3/PalEurAfrica funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference Constructing a DNA barcode database of Belgian rove beetles (Staphylinidae) and its application in forensic cases
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Inproceedings Reference Untangling possible relationships between urbanization and the eco-evolutionary dynamics of the land snail Cepaea nemoralis
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Inproceedings Reference Molecular analysis of the Baikalodrilus species flock (Clitellata, Naididae), an endemic genus to Lake Baikal (Siberia, Russia)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Inproceedings Reference Molecular taxonomy and phylogeography of the endemic Cuban terrestrial gastropod Emoda sagraiana (Helicinidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Inproceedings Reference DNA barcoding of ants from the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Inproceedings Reference Unravelling the eco-evolutionary dynamics of two non-marine ostracods in response to urbanization
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Article Reference The malacological handwritings in the autograph collection of the Ph. Dautzenberg archives, Brussels
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Addition to the knowledge of the genus Dinoprionus Bates, 1875 with the description of a new species from Asia and the female of D. cephalotes Bates, 1875 (Coleoptera, Cerambycideae, Prioninae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference New insights into the marine contribution to ancient Easter Islanders' diet.
Easter Island (or Rapa Nui), internationally renowned for its megalithic statues, is the most isolated inhabited island of the Pacific. Archaeological surveys undertaken fromthe end of the 19th century led to the discovery of the remains of several hundred human individuals. The majority were buried in monuments (funerary stone platform called ahu) or in caves. This paper presents a study of the ancient Easter Islanders' diet through carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of human tooth and bone collagen and, more particularly, evaluates the impact of gender, age, social status and location of burials. The 125 studied individuals are from 16 sites, which date mainly fromthe 17th to the 19th centuries. This anthropological material is housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural sciences and the Father Sebastián Englert Anthropological Museum of Easter Island. One hundred and seven individuals showed well-preserved collagen. The stable isotope data provide new information on ancient Easter Islander dietary habits. They demonstrate gender disparity in access to food resources and show that children were breastfed until 3 years of age. Furthermore, the isotopic signatures cluster according to the place of burial (ahu) indicating family dietary specificities. Finally, our study reveals influences of social status on food intake: individuals from Ahu Nau Nau, which is said to be the royal ahu, display the highest nitrogen and carbon isotope values. A greater consumption of marine products may explain this distinction.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications