-
Collagen stable isotopes provide insights into the end of the mammoth steppe in the central East European plains during the Epigravettian
-
Higher δ15N values in bone collagen of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) compared with coeval large herbivores is a classic trait of the mammoth steppe. An exception applies to the Epigravettian site of Mezhyrich (ca. 18–17.4 ka cal BP) in the central East European plains, where mammoth bones have δ15N values equivalent to or in a lower range than those of horse specimens (Equus sp.). We expanded our preliminary dataset to a larger sampling size of mammoth, other large herbivores, and carnivores from contemporaneous and nearby sites of Buzhanka 2, Eliseevichi, and Yudinovo. The unusual low mammoth δ15N values were confirmed at Buzhanka 2 and for some specimens from Eliseevichi, while most individuals from Yudinovo displayed the expected high δ15N values, meaning similar to those of the large canids. The possibility of a contrast in migration pattern is not supported since the δ34S values, a marker of mobility, do not correlate with the δ15N values of mammoth bone collagen. No clear chronological tendency could be revealed, at least not at the scale of radiocarbon dating. The low range in δ15N values is likely to reflect a change in the specific niche of the mammoth in the southern part of its distribution.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
Relation between mitochondrial DNA hyperdiversity, mutation rate and mitochondrial genome evolution in Melarhaphe neritoides (Gastropoda: Littorinidae) and other Caenogastropoda
-
Mitochondrial DNA hyperdiversity is primarily caused by high mutation rates (µ) and has potential implications for mitogenome architecture and evolution. In the hyperdiverse mtDNA of Melarhaphe neritoides (Gastropoda: Littorinidae), high mutational pressure generates unusually large amounts of synonymous variation, which is expected to (1) promote changes in synonymous codon usage, (2) reflect selection at synonymous sites, (3) increase mtDNA recombination and gene rearrangement, and (4) be correlated with high mtDNA substitution rates. The mitogenome of M. neritoides was sequenced, compared to closely related littorinids and put in the phylogenetic context of Caenogastropoda, to assess the influence of mtDNA hyperdiversity and high µ on gene content and gene order. Most mitogenome features are in line with the trend in Mollusca, except for the atypical secondary structure of the methionine transfer RNA lacking the TΨC-loop. Therefore, mtDNA hyperdiversity and high µ in M. neritoides do not seem to affect its mitogenome architecture. Synonymous sites are under positive selection, which adds to the growing evidence of non-neutral evolution at synonymous sites. Under such non-neutrality, substitution rate involves neutral and non-neutral substitutions, and high µ is not necessarily associated with high substitution rate, thus explaining that, unlike high µ, a high substitution rate is associated with gene order rearrangement.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
A scientific name for Pacific oysters
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
Effects of hydrocarbon extraction on freshwaters
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
-
On the first Belgian record of the Eifelian (Middle Devonian) ammonoid cephalopod Subanarcestes (Suborder Anarcestina)
-
Ammonoid cephalopods are extremely rare in the Lower and Middle Devonian sedimentary rocks of Belgium, which contrasts with the neighboring sedimentary basins. However, searches in old collections and recent collecting efforts show that ammonoids do occur in these beds in Belgium, which allows to enlarge our knowledge of Lower and Middle Devonian ammonoid occurrences. Here, a record of the Eifelian (Middle Devonian) anarcestid ammonoid genus Subanarcestes is described for the first time from Belgium based on a specimen from the Jemelle Formation (Chavées Member). This specimen was collected more than a century ago by Eugène Maillieux at Trou Bodet near Couvin. It laid unrecognized as an ammonoid cephalopod for many decades in the collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, while being previously identified as Cryptoceras or ‘Nautilus’ fossil, which if correct, constituted Belgium’s oldest Nautilida fossil. Micro-CT imaging greatly helped in the taxonomic assignment of the specimen.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2023
-
A Santonian record of the nautilid cephalopod Angulithes westphalicus (Schlüter, 1872) from the subsurface of the Campine, north-east Belgium, with comments on regional lithostratigraphic problems
-
Newly recognised material of the Late Cretaceous nautilid Angulithes westphalicus is described from the subsurface of the eastern part of the Campine in north-east Belgium. This constitutes the first formal documentation of this genus and species from the Cretaceous of Belgium, having been identified amongst a large suite of fossils collected from the Voort Shafts I & II of the Zolder colliery during the first half of the twentieth century. The specimens originate from an interval of marine calcareous sand with a marly glauconiferous base, dated as late middle Santonian (Gonioteuthis westfalicagranulata belemnite Zone) and for which a deepening of the depositional environment is documented. Lithostratigraphically, the specimens occur within the Vaals Formation, within the upper part of the Asdonk Member or alternatively within the lower part of the Sonnisheide Member. The early Campanian age of the Asdonk Member suggested previously is refuted, the age of the Sonnisheide Member needs further study. The position of the siphuncle in A. westphalicus is illustrated for the first time; it is positioned closer to the venter than the dorsum, which confirms the close evolutionary relationship with Angulithes galea, which ranges from the upper Turonian to middle Coniacian in central Europe.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2023
-
The fossil bivalve Angulus benedeni benedeni: a potential seasonally resolved stable isotope-based climate archive to investigate Pliocene temperatures in the southern North Sea basin
-
Bivalves record seasonal environmental changes in their shells, making them excellent climate archives. However, not every bivalve can be used for this end. The shells have to grow fast enough so that micrometre- to millimetre-sampling can resolve sub-annual changes. Here, we investigate whether the bivalve Angulus benedeni benedeni is suitable as a climate archive. For this, we use ca. 3-million-year-old specimens from the Piacenzian collected from a temporary outcrop in the Port of Antwerp area (Belgium). The subspecies is common in Pliocene North Sea basin deposits, but its lineage dates back to the late Oligocene and has therefore great potential as a high-resolution archive. A detailed assessment of the preservation of the shell material by micro-X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and electron backscatter diffraction reveals that it is pristine and not affected by diagenetic processes. Oxygen isotope analysis and microscopy indicate that the species had a longevity of up to a decade or more and, importantly, that it grew fast and large enough so that seasonally resolved records across multiple years were obtainable from it. Clumped isotope analysis revealed a mean annual temperature of 13.5 ± 3.8 ∘C. The subspecies likely experienced slower growth during winter and thus may not have recorded temperatures year-round. This reconstructed mean annual temperature is 3.5 ∘C warmer than the pre-industrial North Sea and in line with proxy and modelling data for this stratigraphic interval, further solidifying A. benedeni benedeni's use as a climate recorder. Our exploratory study thus reveals that Angulus benedeni benedeni fossils are indeed excellent climate archives, holding the potential to provide insight into the seasonality of several major climate events of the past ∼ 25 million years in northwestern Europe.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2023
-
New data on the Devonian and Carboniferous Graptolithina (Dendroidea) from Belgium with notes on possible occurrences of Rhabdopleuridae in the Belgian Carboniferous
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2023
-
Tracking the source of lead of medieval glazed pottery of the Meuse valley (Belgium) through lead isotope analyses.
-
Abstract Lead isotope analyses (by MC-ICP-MS) have been performed on lead-glazed pottery artefacts from several production and consumption sites in the Meuse basin (Belgium) spanning a long-time period from the 9th to the 16th century AD. Comparison of the lead isotope data of the glazes from three mosan workshops with those of galenas from Palaeozoic (Variscan) Pb-Zn deposits from both Belgium and Western Germany points to a common Pb source that we identify as the regional Pb deposits hosted in Dinantian limestones of the Ardenno-Rhenish Massif, more specifically in the Namur and Verviers synclines in Belgium and in the Aachen-Stolberg mining district in Germany. The overall similarity of isotopic compositions between the medieval artefacts and the Variscan galenas implies that the mosan medieval potters used accessible local Pb-Zn ores mined between Namur and Huy. On the consumption sites of Dinant, the slightly different isotopic compositions of some potteries suggest that other regional Pb sources were used to produce the glazes. A comparison with Roman lead objects discovered in north-western Europe (Northern Gaul) shows the very good correspondence of the Pb isotopic compositions with those of the Medieval artefacts which indicates a very long continuity of regional lead supply and consequently of lead ore mining. Keywords: Lead-glazed pottery; Middle Age; Lead isotope analysis; Lead ores; Sourcing; Mosan valley; Belgium
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2021
-
Complementarity of LA-ICP-MS and petrography in the analysis of Neolithic pottery from the Scheldt River valley, Belgium.
-
Abstract This paper presents the results of laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of the clay fraction in 70 Late Mesolithic and Early/Middle Neolithic pottery sherds from the Scheldt basin and 10 sampled sediments. The elemental concentration results were visualized using multivariate chemometric techniques and compared to the results of petrographic analysis of the same ceramics in order to investigate the complementarity of both approaches. In addition, the results for the pottery and sediments were compared for clay sourcing purposes. Overall, the elemental analysis was able to confirm part of the observations from the petrographic analysis. However, a large part of the ceramics clustering was driven by heterogeneity in the elemental composition that does not stem from differences in the clay source used. Furthermore, no conclusions could be drawn on the use of the sampled sediments for pottery production. Therefore, it is concluded that LA-ICP-MS analysis of the clay fraction in pottery can complement petrography, but petrographic analysis remains indispensable for clay sourcing of pottery from northern Belgium. Keywords: ceramic petrography, LA-ICP-MS, t-SNE, elemental analysis, Neolithic pottery, Belgium
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2021
