Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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The use of vertebral measurements for body length and weight reconstruction of pike (Esox lucius) from archaeological sites
- Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North America that has been exploited since prehistoric times as is shown by the skeletal remains found on numerous archaeological sites. The role the species played in the subsistence of inland human settlements can be documented by its proportion within the spectrum of exploited fish and by reconstructing the body lengths of the pike and the amount of meat they represent. Osteometrical data in the literature allow size and, sometimes, meat weight reconstructions on the basis of the measurements of isolated cranial bones, but little attention has been paid thus far to the use of vertebrae for such reconstructions. Using a series of 27 dry skeletons of modern pike, here, we provide regression equations that allow an accurate estimation of the body length and weight of the fish on the basis of each of the first five vertebrae. Analysis of the size variation of the height, width and length of all the vertebral centra along the vertebral column, through the construction of the so-called Global Rachidian Profile, showed that only the length measurements can be of potential use for a rather crude estimation of body length. Finally, a case study is provided, using a large assemblage of Early Neolithic pike vertebrae, to show the potential of the new osteometrical data.
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Plant economy and vegetation of the Iron Age in Bulgaria: archaeobotanical evidence from pit deposits
- Major social and economical changes occurred in human societies during the Iron Age of Southeastern Europe: increasing structuring of societies, intensifying production and metal technologies and the establishment of a market economy. However, the related plant economy of the region is still poorly studied and understood. The Iron Age `pit field sites' (groups of pits distributed over a certain area) in south-eastern Bulgaria were recently intensively excavated, and their study provides rich archaeobotanical assemblages, which are used for filling this gap in our knowledge. The current study presents the archaeobotanical information from 196 flotation samples from 50 Iron Age pits. The results show a wide range of annual crops, the most important of which seem to be hulled wheats (mainly einkorn), barley and also millet. A variety of pulses and fruits is retrieved, each in small quantities. Some species like Olea europaea and Cucumis melo are an indication for contacts with adjacent regions (especially the Mediterranean area). The archaeobotanical assemblages also documented the environment and land use, revealing the exploitation of a variety of habitats like cropland, open grassland, shrub land and wetland. The archaeobotanical analyses of the Iron Age pit fields show that this type of structures can be an important source of information on the Iron Age plant economy in the region.
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First record of the ant Pheidole megatron Fischer and Fisher, 2013 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Rwanda
- We present the first record of the ant Pheidole megatron Fischer and Fisher, 2013 in Rwanda, a species thought to be endemic to the Malagasy region. Specimens were collected in July 2019, in one of the houses located at Kivumu, in the center of Rwanda. They were first morphologically identified as Pheidole megatron using a recent identification key. Molecular identification through mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) confirmed the morphological identification. The Rwanda sample clustered with samples from the Comoros, and it belongs to the group megacephala. Future studies may focus on the biology and ecology of this ant species in Africa. Moreover, we suggest the screening of other African populations of Pheidole megacephala using finer genetic markers with higher mutation rates to clarify the identification and spread of the species.
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Contribution to the knowledge of the Prioninae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from the Mizoram State (India), with the first report of the genus Megobaralipton Lepesme & Breuning and new records from the country
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Notes on a small collection of Prioninae from North-East Madagascar with the description of a new Schizodontus Quentin & Villiers, 1974 (Cerambycidae, Closterini)
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Drivers of morphological evolution in the toothed whale jaw
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Ways forward in quantifying data uncertainty in geological databases
- Issues of compatibility of geological data resulting from the merging of many different data sources and time periods may jeopardize harmonization of data products. Important progress has been made due to increasing data standardization, e.g., at a European scale through the SeaDataNet and Geo-Seas data management infrastructures. Common geological data standards are unambiguously defined, avoiding semantic overlap in geological data and associated metadata. Quality flagging is also applied increasingly, though ways in further propagating this information in data products is still at its infancy. For the Belgian and southern Netherlands part of the North Sea, databases are now rigorously re-analyzed in view of quantifying quality flags in terms of uncertainty to be propagated through a 3D voxel model of the subsurface (https://odnature.naturalsciences.be/tiles/). An approach is worked out to consistently account for differences in positioning, sampling gear, analysis procedures and vintage. The flag scaling is used in the interpolation process of geological data, but will also be used when visualizing the suitability of geological resources in a decision support system. Expert knowledge is systematically revisited as to avoid totally inappropriate use of the flag scaling process. The quality flagging is also important when communicating results to end-users. Therefore, an open data policy in combination with several processing tools will be at the heart of a new Belgian geological data portal as a platform for knowledge building (KB) and knowledge management (KM) serving the marine geoscience, the policy community and the public at large.
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A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna
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Cirripedes (Thoracica, Crustacea) from the Maastrichtian of Kalaat Senan, Tunisia
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Further consideration of the curvature of the Neandertal Femur
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A redescription of the Neotropical lanternfly Coptopola cincticrus Stål, 1869 (Fulgoridae: Poiocerinae: Poiocerini)
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Molecular phylogeny of Trictenotomidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea): insights into species validation and biogeography of genus Autocrates
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Calicnemis latreillei Laporte, 1832 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae), a new host for the Tachinid fly Microphthalma europaea Egger, 1860
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Maximum bottom stresses and other hydrodynamic parameters in the Princess Elisabeth offshore wind farm zone (Belgium).
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Effect of wind farms on the siltation of gravel beds
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Tracking the human influence on the modern sedimentary system of the North Sea
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Archeo-antropologisch assessment van de opgraving en de menselijke resten van de opgraving “Sint-Michielskaai, Antwerpen (2021-2022)” (2023-7)
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Sea spiders (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) from ten recent research expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Scotia Arc and Weddell Sea - data
- This dataset contains information on specimens of Southern Ocean Pycnogonida (Arthropoda), that were collected from ten different research cruises, spanning 13 years. The individual aims and objectives of each cruise can be found in their cruise reports. The specimens have been collated into a single dataset, forming the basis of J. Maxwell’s PhD. The dataset will be used to investigate the community structure of Antarctic pycnogonids and the factors which influence its composition. This dataset is published by SCAR-AntOBIS under the licence CC-BY 4.0. Please follow the guidelines from the SCAR and IPY Data Policies (https://www.scar.org/excom-meetings/xxxi-scar-delegates-2010-buenos-aires-argentina/4563-scar-xxxi-ip04b-scar-data-policy/file/) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, please do not hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via data-biodiversity-aq@naturalsciences.be. This dataset adds vital occurrence and abundance data for pycnogonids from 10 previously unexamined research cruises from the Weddell Sea, Antarctic Penisula and the islands of the Scotia Arc. It includes the first pycnogonid data from the Prince Gustav Channel. The 197 sampling stations within this dataset represent an 11\% increase in the number of stations where pycnogonids have been recorded in the Southern Ocean, southern South America and New Zealand waters and an 18\% increase for above 60 degrees latitude. Presence data for any observed epifauna are also included.
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The Dispersal of the Domestic Cat: Paleogenetic and Zooarcheological Evidence
- Domestication is one of the most interesting and challenging processes in human and animal evolution. The fundamental change in subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to farming that took place for the first time in the Levant more than ten thousand years ago profoundly changed human culture and biology, and set the groundwork for population growth, migrations, the rise of civilizations, and wealth disparities (Bocquet-Appel 2011; Gignoux, Henn, and Mountain 2011; Kohler et al. 2017).
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Records of the slugs Ariolimax columbianus (Ariolimacidae) and Prophysaon foliolatum (Arionidae) imported into Sweden
