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Geodiversity of a stone deposit in the old city centre of Antwerp. Source of information on roman and medieval trade and use. 8th International Geologica Belgica Meeting 2024, 11-13 September 2024, Liège.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Archeologische opgraving Noorderterras. Natuursteen in de depositie van ballaststeen en hergebruikte bouwmaterialen van de Burcht, Scheldekaaien – Noorderterras (Antwerpen): aanvullend onderzoek van gesteenten opgeslagen in het Felixarchief.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Een licht gekleurd alternatief voor blauwe steen: Comblanchien.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Natuursteenonderzoek Sint-Amanduskerk Denderleeuw. In opdracht van : INTERGEMEENTELIJKE SAMENWERKING VOOR STREEKONTWIKKELING IN ZUID OOST-VLAANDEREN
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Middeleeuwse aanlegplaats “Bierwerf” aan de Scheldekaaien in Antwerpen. Natuursteenbeschrijving en -interpretatie. Studie in opdracht van: Stad Antwerpen, Dienst Stadsontwikkeling.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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The biodiversity of the Eocene Messel Pit
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The Messel Pit is a Konservat-Lagerstätte in Germany, representing the deposits of a latest early to earliest middle Eocene maar lake, and one of the first palaeontological sites to be included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One aspect of Messel that makes it so extraordinary is that its sediments are rich in different fossilised organisms – microfossils, plants, fungi, invertebrate animals and vertebrates – that are rarely preserved together. We present an updated list of all taxa, named or not, that have been documented at Messel, comprising 1409 taxa, which represent a smaller but inexactly known number of biological species. The taxonomic list of Labandeira and Dunne (2014) contains serious deficiencies and should not be used uncritically. Furthermore, we compiled specimen lists of all Messel amphibians, reptiles and mammals known to us. In all, our analyses incorporate data from 32 public collections and some 20 private collections. We apply modern biodiversity-theoretic techniques to ascertain how species richness tracks sampling, to estimate what is the minimum asymptotic species richness, and to project how long it will take to sample a given proportion of that minimum richness. Plant and insect diversity is currently less well investigated than vertebrate diversity. Completeness of sampling in aquatic and semiaquatic, followed by volant, vertebrates is higher than in terrestrial vertebrates. Current excavation rates are one-half to two-thirds lower than in the recent past, leading to much higher estimates of the future excavation effort required to sample species richness more completely, should these rates be maintained. Species richness at Messel, which represents a lake within a paratropical forest near the end of the Early Eocene Climate Optimum, was generally higher than in comparable parts of Central Europe today but lower than in present-day Neotropical biotopes. There is no evidence that the Eocene Messel ecosystem was a “tropical rainforest.”
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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West African Hastula (Gastropoda: Terebridae) with the description of three new cryptic species from the Cape Verde and Canary Islands
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Rediscovery and redescription of Dixonius siamensis (Boulenger, 1899) (Squamata: Gekkonidae), type species of the genus, with lectotype designation
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We redescribe the type material of Phyllodactylus siamensis Boulenger, 1899, type species of the Southeast Asian gekkonid genus Dixonius Bauer, Good & Branch, 1997, using external morphology and cranial osteology (by Micro-Computed Tomography, µ-CT). There is some evidence that the type series contains more than one species; we hence designate a lectotype in order to stabilize nomenclature and provide more precision on the geographical location of the type locality. Because the current concept of Dixonius siamensis auctorum is incomplete and composite, we provide a revised diagnosis based on the presently designated lectotype and a paralectotype from the same locality, as well as observations on new material from the type locality and the first photographs of live topotypical individuals. We regard Dixonius siamensis as probably geographically restricted to the Dong Phaya Yen mountain range in central Thailand, and the numerous published mentions of this species from outside this range likely refer to other or undescribed taxa. We treat Phyllodactylus burmanicus Annandale, 1905 from Tavoy, southern Myanmar, as a valid species, as Dixonius burmanicus comb. nov.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Vertebral morphology and intracolumnar variation of the iconic African viperid snake Atheris (Serpentes, Viperidae)
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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.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Secondary sex estimation using morphological traits from the cranium and mandible: application to two Merovingian populations from Belgium
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It is generally accepted that the coxal bone is the most reliable bone for estimating the sex of adult subjects. When the coxal bone is not usable, researchers generally turn to methods based on the skull (cranium and mandible). However, these methods are less reliable, because they are largely based on an estimate of the robusticity, which can be influenced by characteristics independent of the sex of the subject. In the context of primary sex estimation, skull-based methods should therefore be avoided. However, by using morphological traits of the cranium and the mandible as part of a secondary sex estimation, we were able to estimate the sex of a relatively large number of individuals with a minimum reliability of 95%. Our study thus illustrates the value of using morphological characteristics of the skull for a secondary sex estimation conducted with a reliable statistical method.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024