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Article Reference Skull ecomorphological variation of narwhals (Monodon monoceros, Linnaeus 1758) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas, Pallas 1776) reveals phenotype of their hybrids
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Ecological signal in the size and shape of marine amniote teeth
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Antwerp sewer system, Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Predicting the evolution of the Lassa virus endemic area and population at risk over the next decades
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Evolution and Diversity of Bat and Rodent Paramyxoviruses from North America
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference A double-sided ivory comb with two animal pursuit scenes from a 6th century CE burial at Deiningen, Germany
In the Roman world, as in many other cultures, ivory was perceived as raw material suitable for the carving of prestigious personal items. The types of Roman and Late Antique carved ivory objects that survived as well as their quantity and stylistic range is probably a result of their preservation contexts as well as their appreciation and sometimes ongoing use in later epochs. Regarding ivory combs decorated with bas-relief carvings, only nine specimens are ascribed to the Mediterranean and NW-Europe during Late Antiquity, all exclusively present biblical iconography. Information about their origin, object history and age is usually very limited. The first evidence that hunting scenes were still part of the ivory carving tradition in Late Antiquity is provided by a comb discovered in a mid-6th-century male inhumation burial at Deiningen, Nördlinger Ries. In addition to stylistic and technological comparison, SEM-imaging, ZooMS, ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios were applied to identify the species and possible origin. While size and structure point toward Loxodonta africana as a likely source, poor preservation of the material hindered more refined results by ZooMS or aDNA analyses and consequently a precise triangulation of the source area in combination with the strontium isotope ratios. Besides being a singular piece of craftsmanship, the ivory comb fits into an assumed network of production and distribution that spanned from Northern Africa to the Frankish realm north of the Alps.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026 OA
Article Reference The first species of Hapalodectes (Mesonychia, Mammalia) from the Middle Paleocene of China (Qianshan Basin, Anhui Province) sheds light on the initial radiation of hapalodectids
A lower jaw of the mesonychian Hapalodectes is reported from Nongshanian sediments (Upper Doumu Formation; middle Paleocene) of the Qianshan Basin (Anhui Province, China). The fragmentary mandible is only the third specimen of Hapalodectidae discovered in Paleocene deposits, and the first in south east China; it is moreover the oldest, the two other specimens having been found in Gashatan (late Paleocene) localities. The premolars and molars of the new fossil are morphologically similar to Hapalodectes dux (late Paleocene of Mongolia), which has been considered to be the most primitive hapalodectid, but their relative proportions recall H. paleocenus and the Eocene Hapalodectes species. As a result, the fossil described herein appears to be different from the other previously described species of Hapalodectes in being morphologically intermediate between H. dux and the other Hapalodectes species, notably the Bumbanian Hapalodectes hetangensis and H. huanghaiensis from China; it is thus identified as a new species, Hapalodectes lopatini (possibly a male individual). Its discovery is important because it sheds light on the initial radiation of hapalodectids. The presence of one primitive hapalodectid in Mongolia previously suggested the Mongolian Plateau as the centre of origination of this carnivorous family, but the discovery of H. lopatini in older sediments from south-east China challenges this hypothesis. In the earliest Eocene, Hapalodectes dispersed from Asia to North America; this event being part of the ‘East of Eden’ dispersals. This event resulted in the geographical separation of two distinct Hapalodectes groups, in North America and south-eastern China respectively.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Environmental and climatic reconstruction of MIS 3 in northwestern Europe using the small-mammal assemblage from Caverne Marie-Jeanne (Hastière-Lavaux, Belgium)
Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, ca. 60–30 ka) is characterized by dynamic alternations of forest expansion with semi-arid area expansion in accordance with the warming and cooling, respectively, of the sea-surface temperatures in Northern Europe. It was in this context of rapid fluctuations that the terrestrial sequence of Caverne Marie-Jeanne (Hastière-Lavaux, Belgium) in northwestern Europe was formed. The habitat weighting method and the bioclimaticmodel, as well as the Simpson diversity index, are applied to the small-mammal assemblage of CaverneMarie-Jeanne in order to reconstruct the environmental and climatic fluctuations that are reflected in the MIS 3 sequence of the cave. Revision of the small-mammal fossil material deposited in the collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS, Brussels, Belgium) shows that the lower layers (6 to 4) of the cave, pertaining to MIS 3 (ca. 50–40 ka), underwent cold, dry environmental and climatic conditions for these layers. This is indicated by temperatures lower than at present and precipitation slightly higher than at present, together with an environment dominated by openwoodland formations and open dry meadows. Our results are consistent with the available chronological, large-mammal, herpetofaunal and mollusc datasets for this lower part of the sequence. They are also consistentwith regional loess studies in Belgium andwith previouswork performed on small mammals from MIS 3 in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Understanding late medieval farming practices: an interdisciplinary study on byre remains from the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium)
During the preventive archaeological excavation in the cellar of the site of petite Rue des Bouchers in the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium), the waterlogged remains of a thirteenth century AD sunken byre (potstal) were discovered. The exceptional preservation instigated a multiproxy approach, including micro-archaeology, micromorphology, phytolith and endoparasite egg analysis on thin sections, palynology and the study of plant macroremains on the fill of the structure. Beyond permitting to detail the content and the multiple origins of the fill (including excremental waste and urines, fodder and bedding material, plaggen and/or soil sods, household and construction waste), this study also provides detailed insights into the foddering customs, hygienic conditions within the stable, and the health status of the animals kept. On a more general scale this study documented late medieval farming practices in Brussels, more specifically the need to collect substantial amounts of manure to add as fertilizer onto the cultivated poor sandy soils.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Breeding probability, survival, and causes of mortality in translocated Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) in the Hautes Fagnes, Belgium
The mortality process is a key factor in avian population dynamics and conservation strategies like translocation. Understanding mortality drivers, particularly in translocated individuals, is essential for Grouse conservation. Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) populations have strongly declined across Western and Central Europe. We studied five reinforcement campaigns of the last Belgian population in the Hautes Fagnes, using wild individuals translocated from Sweden. Between 2018 and 2024, we monitored 65 released individuals and investigated 44 deaths. Predation accounted for 88.7%, maybe 93.2%, of all recorded deaths, largely attributable to mammalian predators (72.8%), whereas 15.9% of death were caused by raptors. However, in 36.4% of mammalian predation cases, we could not determine ante-mortem nor post-mortem injuries due to insufficient traces. Other causes of mortality were rare, with fence collisions accounting for 4.5%, and no evidence of disease-related deaths. Mortality causes and cumulative mortality risks were independent of sex. Survival analysis showed high mortality in the first two months (26.7% per month), followed by a lower but ongoing rate (7.5% per month). During the first year, overall survival was 24.6%. Survival varied greatly from year to year, ranging from 100 to 30% after 60 days post-release. Breeding probability was also assessed. Around 50% of first-year females are expected initiate incubation if not predated, though the observed rate dropped to 23.9% with predation. Among these, 33.3% of nests are lost, potentially predated, and half of the mothers were lost during chick dependence. In contrast, females tracked into their second year experienced no predation nor their eggs, though the small sample size warrants caution in interpretation. The data collected show that increasing predator control, particularly in the first two months post-release but also beyond, is essential to enhance the restoration success of this Black Grouse population by improving survival, nesting success, and chick recruitment rate.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026