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Article Reference Variation in ostracod (Crustacea, Ostracoda) communities in the alluvial valleyof the upper Parana River (Brazil) in relation to substrate
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Variation that can be expected when using particle tracking models in connectivity studies
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Vertebral morphology and intracolumnar variation of the iconic African viperid snake Atheris (Serpentes, Viperidae)
We here provide a detailed description of the vertebral morphology of the African arboreal viperid snakes of the genus Atheris. Vertebrae of three different species of the genus, i.e., Atheris desaixi, Atheris hispida, and Atheris katangensis, were investigated via the aid of μCT (micro‐computed tomography) scanning. We describe several vertebrae from different regions of the vertebral column for all three species, starting from the atlas‐axis complex to the caudal tip, in order to demonstrate important differences regarding the intracolumnar variation. Comparison of these three species shows an overall similar general morphology of the trunk vertebrae among the Atheris species. We extensively compare Atheris with other known viperids. As the sole arboreal genus of Viperinae the prehensile nature of the tail of Atheris is reflected in its caudal vertebral morphology, which is characterized by a high number of caudal vertebrae but also robust and anteroventrally oriented pleurapophyses as a skeletal adaptation, linked with the myology of the tail, to an arboreal lifestyle. We anticipate that the extensive figuring of these viperid specimens will also aid identifications in paleontology.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Vertebrate Palaeoecology of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Glimpses into the Ancient Humboldt Current Ecosystem
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Vertebrate predation in the Late Devonian evidenced by bite traces and regurgitations: implications for an early tetrapod freshwater ecosystem
The terrestrialization process by vertebrates occurred during the Devonian period, with fully land-dwelling tetrapods recorded in the Carboniferous. Thus, the Late Devonian is an important period for deciphering the ecological pressures that applied during the water-to-land transition. Higher predation pressures in the underwater environment have been suggested as an influential biotic evolutionary factor in this key habitat shift. Direct evidence of ancient predation on Palaeozoic vertebrates is seen in the form of rare traces preserved on fossils, and these range from trauma observed on the skeleton (such as attack marks) to ingested food remains (bromalites). The late Famennian freshwater ecosystem of Strud (Belgium) consists of a rich assemblage of many coeval gnathostomes or jawed fishes (placoderms, ‘acanthodians’, actinopterygians, and various sarcopterygian groups including tetrapods). Here we analyse the record of direct evidence for predation in the Strud vertebrate fossil assemblage. We recognize 12 regurgitalites and 13 bite traces, including a rare case of a tooth embedded in its original prey body target. Fossils from regurgitalites were imaged using scanning electron microscopy and chemically analysed to test for their possible ingestion signature by comparison with other isolated skeletal remains from the same locality. From this evidence, tristichopterid tetrapodomorphs are inferred to be the highest consumers of the trophic network, targeting small placoderms, and porolepiforms, and probably congeners. We observe two possible prey patterns in regurgitalites, for sarcopterygians and actinopterygians, both of which are associated with acanthodians. In Strud, no trophic position can be deduced for tetrapods from direct fossil evidence of predation.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Vertical and lateral distribution of Foraminifera and Ostracoda in the East Frisian Wadden Sea – developing a transfer func-tion for relative sea-level change.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Vertical stratification of the termite assemblage in a neotropical rainforest
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Vestibular sensitivity and locomotor behavior in early paleocene mammals
The end-Cretaceous extinction triggered the collapse of ecosystems and a drastic turnover of mammalian communities. During the Mesozoic, mammals were ecologically diverse, but less than extant species. Modern ecological richness was established by the Eocene, but questions remain about the ecology of the first wave of mammals radiating after the extinction. Postcranial fossils are often used to determine locomotor behavior; however, the semicircular canals of the inner ear also represent a reliable proxy. These canals detect the angular acceleration of the head during locomotion and transmit neuronal signals to the brain to allow stabilization of the eyes and head. Accordingly, vestibular sensitivity to rapid rotational head movements is higher in species with a larger canal radius of curvature and more orthogonal canals. We used high-resolution computed tomography scanning to obtain inner ear virtual endocasts for 30 specimens. We supplemented these with data from the literature to construct a database of 79 fossils from the Jurassic to the Eocene and 262 extant mammals. We compared data on canal morphology and another lifestyle proxy, the size of the petrosal lobules, which have a role in maintaining eyes’ movements and position. We find that Paleocene mammals exhibited a lower average and more constricted range of Agility Indices (AI), a new measure of canal radius size relative to body size, compared to Mesozoic, Eocene and extant taxa. In the early Paleocene, body mass and canal radius increased, but the former outpaced the latter leading to an AI decline. Similarly, their petrosal lobules were relatively smaller on average compared to other temporal groups, which suggests less ability for fast movements. Additionally, Paleocene mammals had similar AIs to extant scansorial and terrestrial quadrupeds. In contrast, the lack of canal orthogonality change from the Mesozoic to the Paleocene indicates no trend toward lower vestibular sensitivity regardless of changes in body size. This result may reflect functional differences between canal orthogonality and radius size. Our results support previous work on tarsal morphology and locomotor behavior ancestral state reconstruction suggesting that ground dwelling mammals were more common than arboreal taxa during the Paleocene. Ultimately, this pattern may indicate that the collapse of forested environments immediately after extinction led to the preferential survivorship of more terrestrially adapted mammals. Funding Sources Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: IF, European Research Council StG, National Science Foundation, Belgian Science Policy Office, DMNS No Walls Community Initiative.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference Vingt siècles d’exploitation des argiles plastiques d’Andenne (Belgique) : du gisement au musée de la céramique.
Arranged in strings, the plastic clay deposits from Andenne are fillings of cryptokarsts of white and colored clays associated with three layers of Dinantian Frasnian limestone oriented EW. Sands, brown coal and Tertiary (Neogene) clays have accumulated according to thekarstic dissolution forming a pocket of up to 100m deep. The sulphuric acid stemming from the oxidation of sulphides of brown coals is the main responsible for the formation of kaolinitic clays at the expense of clay minerals and the feldspathic sands. The circulation of water induced the leaching of the iron and their accumulation in certain horizons. White clays rich in alumina and of low iron and alkali content were the most looked for their refractory properties. Exploitedat first on surface then in subterranean galleries, the extraction reached its maximal development around the 19 and 20th centuries to stop definitively in 1970. The clay and the white sand were used in the industries of fire: glassware, crystal, metallurgy... and fed the pottery, brick, tile, earthenware factory, porcelain factories, pipe factory and the industrial refractories. The white clay first and then the final products have been exported since the Middle Ages in Holland, Germany and France, contributing to the international reputation of the clays from Andenne. Depressions generated by the subsidence as a consequence of the underground extractions form a string of pools and ponds, sources of biodiversity. Finally, the Ceramics Museum preserves the traces of this remarkable geological, mining, industrial and artistic with its outstanding collections of pottery, porcelain and pipes. Living museum holder of memory, it provides educational and cultural functions from its exhibitions.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Virtual reconstruction of the Neandertal lower limbs with an estimation of hamstring muscle moment arms
A major problem of fossil hominid analysis is a lack of complete specimens. Many individual specimens have been damaged by the effects of diagenesis and excavation. Significant advances in the field of three dimensional image processing (3D) have enabled the creation of accurately scaled reconstructions of individual fossil bones using mirrored parts of the same fossil bone or human/fossil hominid equivalents. This study presents, for the first time, a method to reconstruct a 3D virtual model of the lower limb of the Neandertal using different bones from different fossil remains (Spy II, Neandertal 1 and Kebara 2) and integrating them into a single model of the Neandertal lower limb. A biomechanical analysis of the model was performed, including computer graphics visualization of the results, motion displacement graphs and muscle moment arms. The overall method has been implemented into an open-source customized software (lhpFusionBox) developed for the biomechanical study of the musculoskeletal system.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications