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Article Reference Were all Devonian seeds cupulate? A reinvestigation of Pseudosporogonites Hallei, Xenotheca Bertrandii and Aglosperma spp.
Premise of research. Although the most comprehensively known Devonian seeds were borne in a “telomic” cupule, those of some species have been postulated as being borne terminally on naked axes lacking a cupule. Uncertainty remains as to whether such seeds were shed from a cupule before preservation. We reinvestigate the Upper Devonian fossils Pseudosporogonites hallei and Xenotheca bertrandii from Belgium and the similar ovules Aglosperma quadrapartita and Aglosperma avonensis from Britain and Aglosperma sp. from North America to consider their structure and organization and to determine whether they were cupulate. Methodology. Compressions/adpressions of X. bertrandii and Pseudosporogonites from Belgium and A. quadrapartita and A. avonensis from the United Kingdom, as well as Anglosperma sp. from Pennsylvania, were prepared, mainly by dégagement. Observation and photography were carried out using crossed polarizing filters. Pivotal results. Pseudosporogonites hallei, X. bertrandii, and A. quadrapartita comprise single ovules borne within small, radially symmetrical, uniovulate cupules. Integuments are entire at the chalaza but form flattened lobes distally. While a cupule is unknown in A. avonensis, its comparable integument morphology suggests that it was shed from a uniovulate cupule. Although the species are distinct from each other, their similarities show that they are closely related and belong to a single genus, for which the name Pseudosporogonites has priority. We emend P. hallei in light of our findings and erect the combinations P. bertrandii (Stockmans) C. Prestianni, J. Hilton et W. Cressler, P. quadrapartitus (J. Hilton et D. Edwards) C. Prestianni, J. Hilton et W. Cressler, and P. avonensis (J. Hilton) C. Prestianni, J. Hilton et W. Cressler. Conclusions. The uniovulate cupule in Pseudosporogonites is distinct from multiovulate telomic cupules of other Devonian seeds and expands the phenotypic diversity seen during the earliest phase of seed plant radiation, which was geologically instantaneous. Hydrasperman pollination in all proven Devonian seeds demonstrates evolution from a common ancestor, but finding morphological intermediates between seed and free-sporing plants remains a significant challenge to evolutionary plant biology.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Garrouste et al. reply to Hörnschemeyer et al.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Possible evidence of mammoth hunting at the Neanderthal site of Spy (Belgium)
Spy, a Belgian cave site famous for its Neanderthal remains, contains a wide spectrum of Pleistocene species. Horse, cave hyena, woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and reindeer are the primary taxa. The Spy cave was used alternately by prehistoric humans and Pleistocene carnivores. This study considers whether prehistoric humans or carnivores are responsible for the large number of mammoth remains at the site. It is argued, on the basis of the frequency distribution of the skeletal elements of the mammoth, the age distribution of the mammoth molars, and the diet of the large carnivores and of the prehistoric humans, that the mammoth assemblage of Spy accumulated at the site through the activities of prehistoric humans. On the basis of AMS dates, the stratigraphic position of a number of mammoth molars and the absence of red ochre on the mammoth molars, it was concluded that these prehistoric humans were Neanderthals rather than Anatomically Modern Humans.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Proceedings Reference New data from and old site : Neandertals at Goyet (Belgium) and their mortuary behavior
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Community structure of harpacticoid copepods in intertidal and shallow-water habitats of Cat Ba archipelago (Vietnam, South China Sea)
The assemblage structure of harpacticoid copepods inhabiting the soft sediments of littoral and sublittoral areas of Cat Ba archipelago (South China Sea) is analysed. Three basic types of harpacticoid taxocenes were observed in the upper sublittoral. Main dominant species of taxocenes were Amphiascoides sp., Stenhelia latioperculata, Paramphiascella sp., Phyllopodopsyllus sp., Tisbe sp.1 and Amphiascoides sp. In addition, the main characteristics of harpacticoid species composition in littoral rock pools are described. A comparative analysis of shallow-water harpacticoid communities from different biotopes of the tropical region is presented, and shows that harpacticoid diversity and abundance are lowest in muddy sediments. Highest diversity and abundance are found in washed sands and silty sands with detritus. In general, the structure of muddy bottom communities is the most homogeneous throughout the tropics. Mangrove forests have no significant influence on harpacticoid taxocene structure. Harpacticoid associations of washed sands and silty sands with detritus demonstrate greater diversity and are region-specific.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference On the brink - investigating biodiversity in endangered crater lakes of the Amber Mountains National Park (Madagascar)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inbook Reference Ectoparasitic Nematodes
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inbook Reference Structure and Classification
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Camels in the northern Provinces of the Roman Empire
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A peculiar case of intraspecific variability in the Chinese Notholca dongtingensis (Rotifera: Monogononta: Brachionidae)
We review the rare Chinese rotifer Notholca dongtingensis Zhuge, Kutikova & Sudzuki, 1998, including abundant material collected during the winter months of 2009–2011 in and around the man-made Dishui Lake Southeast of Shanghai, PR China. Both an SEM study of its trophi and an account of its intraspecific variability are provided. The latter consists in particular of a unique and previously unknown type of spine formation involving the anterolateral spines, a character previously considered morphologically constant and even diagnostic in Notholca and related genera. The observations indicate that phenotypic plasticity invoked by a plesiomorphic triggering mechanism is not per se connected to the type or position of structures developed, but may activate responses resulting in the formation of quite different, autapomorphic structures throughout monogonont Rotifera.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications