Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Fishing at the Late Islamic settlement in Kharā’ib al-Dasht, Failaka Island, Kuwait
- The Kharā’ib al-Dasht settlement, located on the north-eastern coast of the island of Failaka in Kuwait, has been excavated systematically since 2013 by the Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission. The investigated area yielded remains dated to the Late Islamic period, from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In the northernmost part of the site, a fish processing area was uncovered, while the remains of residential structures (houses 1 and 2), as well as a mosque, were discovered in the eastern part of the site. Concentrations of fireplaces, hearths and ovens were discovered inside the houses and courtyards of what seems to be the centre of the settlement as well as from the periphery of the site. Fishing was evidenced not only by the presence of fish bones but also by recovered fishing technologies, including the remains of stone fish traps that were discovered in the coastal waters near to the site. The excavations yielded 12,182 bones of marine fishes. Twenty eight families are represented, including six families of cartilaginous fishes. Ariidae bones were most numerous followed by Haemulidae,Sciaenidae and Carcharhinidae. The analysis of the assemblage shows that fishing could have been of great importance to the inhabitants of the settlement. Moreover, we attest different patterns in the fish assemblages between the two different parts of the village. The fish processing area can be seen as a workplace, while the daily activity took place in the village. These differences can also be used to shed light on the fishing techniques these people used.
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Diet, hygiene and health in Roman period northern Gaul: A multidisciplinary study of a latrine from an artisan household in the vicus Orolaunum (Arlon, southern Belgium, c. 250–280 CE)
- Botanical (macro remains and pollen) and animal remains, including intestinal parasites, from a latrine dated between c. 250 CE and 280 CE from the artisan quarter of the vicus Orolaunum (Arlon) have been studied. The results provide information on the diet and health of a non-elite and poorly understood part of the population in northern Gaul. The identified plant remains document a diet which include several Roman introductions to the region, but hardly any truly exotic imports. Also the remains of fish sauce have been identified, but this was a locally produced variety and possibly a cheaper version of the typical Mediterranean product. The results indicate that the diet of the household using the latrine was strongly influenced by romanisation and that the lack of exotic imports was most likely the result of a low economic status rather than a lack of interest for these products. The people using the latrine were also infected with both roundworm and whipworm, two intestinal parasites that were probably common in the population of northern Roman Gaul and which are spread when sanitation is ineffective.
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CARPOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK VAN BUIKHOLTESTALEN SINT- GILLISVOORPLEIN (SG 004)
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Stratigraphical reinterpretation of Devonian strata underlying the Mons Basin based on cuttings from the Saint-Ghislain borehole, Hainaut, Belgium
- It is revealed that the lowest 1010 m of the Saint-Ghislain borehole (-4393 to -5403 m), of which cuttings are available, constitutes a crucial source of information to investigate, amongst others, the deep geothermal potential within the Brabant Parautochthon, underlying the Mons Basin, Hainaut. The lithological succession of this interval was reconstructed based mainly on visual analysis and calcimetry of 852 cutting samples as well as four core samples. Additionally, palynological, magnetic susceptibility and X-ray diffraction analyses were conducted in order to complement the dataset. The lower section of the investigated borehole sequence mainly consists of grey calcareous shale while the middle section is dominated by blue-grey shaly limestone and the upper section is mainly composed of green shale. Palynomorphs found at -5261 m suggest an uppermost Givetian–Lower Frasnian age. A new lithostratigraphical interpretation of the deepest part of the Saint-Ghislain borehole is proposed. The lower calcareous shale from -5403 m to -5100 m is interpreted as the Bovesse Formation (Lower Frasnian) and at its base possibly uppermost Givetian. The overlying limestones from -5100 to -4790 m can be attributed to the Rhisnes Formation (Upper Frasnian), and the green shale between ca. -4393 and -4790 m, to the Bois de la Rocq Member (Famennian). These results open new insights regarding the geological interpretation of the basement underlying the Mons Basin. They also present a promising approach and example regarding interpretations based on cuttings. KEYWORDS: Brabant Parautochthon, Mons Basin, Frasnian, Famennian, geothermal energy, Saint-Ghislain borehole
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BrugeoTool: “All in One” Professional Geoscientific Tool of Brussels.
- Key words: Shallow geothermal, Resources assessment, Geoscientific tool, Brussels Since 2015, the interest in installing shallow geothermal systems has significantly increased in Brussels Capital Region (BCR). However, limited knowledge of ground conditions, lack of public awareness and an urban context restrict the development of shallow geothermal systems in the BCR despite the high potential of this technique in the area. The BRUGEO project was launched thanks to ERDF funding and aims to facilitate accessibility and the efficient use of shallow geothermal energy in the Brussels region. In this four years project (2016-2020), specific actions promoting the geothermal potential of the BCR are addressed: 1- Collect existing data related to the knowledge on Brussels subsurface (geological, hydrogeological, and geothermal data); 2- Conduct new laboratory and field tests in order to complete geological analyses and to assess geothermal parameters; 3- Map the geothermal potential for open and closed systems. The BrugeoTool was developed in 2020 conjointly with Brussels Environment and intends to be a useful tool at any stage of the process of a geothermal project for citizens, project managers as well as for experts. From the project manager side, BrugeoTool provides information on geothermal potential for open and closed systems, plans and controls the stages of a geothermal project, analyzes environmental constraints and helps to prepare the application for an environmental permit, and predesigns a geothermal installation using the Smartgeotherm tool developed by the Belgian Building Research Center. From the expert point of view, BrugeoTool allows to consult geological, hydrogeological, geothermal and environmental data in the form of maps (2D), it automatically draws up a lithostratigraphic (1D) log synthesizing the geological, hydrogeological and geothermal parameters, explores the Brustrati3D geological model (3D), evaluates the (pre) feasibility of a shallow (<300 m) vertical geothermal project for open or closed systems and carries out its pre-sizing. Finally, this webtool lets the citizens to familiarize themselves with the geology and hydrogeology of Brussels and its environmental context.
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Timing of intercontinental faunal migrations: Anguimorph lizards from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of Dormaal, Belgium
- Here we report on anguimorph lizards from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of the Dormaal locality in Belgium, from the time of the warmest global climate of the past 66 million years. Several clades can be identified in this site: Glyptosauridae, Varanidae, and Palaeovaranidae. Our study focuses on glyptosaurid specimens previously reported from the site, some of which had been provisionally described as a new species,?Placosaurus ragei, and some assigned to an unnamed Placosauriops-like ‘melanosaurine’. Our study presents data on new material, including an almost complete glyptosaurine frontal that has enabled us to assign much of the previously described material to a single genus and species. The specimens that had been assigned to both ?P ragei and the ‘melanosaurine’ share apomorphies (flat osteoderms and chevron-shaped osteoderms) with Gaultia, a glyptosaurid previously known from the earliest Eocene of Wyoming, USA. The Dormaal material represents the first record of this genus outside North America. In fact, the only potential evidence of the occurrence of ‘Melanosaurinae’ in Dormaal might be a single isolated vertebra described here. Here we also describe previously unfigured material of Saniwa and palaeovaranids from Dormaal. The presence of previously reported helodermatids cannot be supported in this Belgian site.
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Harde zandsteen onderbelicht
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A new physeteroid from the late Miocene of Peru expands the diversity of extinct dwarf and pygmy sperm whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae)
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EXPLOITING 3 D MULTISPECTRAL TEXTURE FOR A BETTER FEATURE IDENTIFICATION FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE
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Sawflies containing toxic peptides
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Whelks, rock-snails, and allied: a new phylogenetic framework for the family Muricidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda)
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Development of surveillance program and identification tools for non-european fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Belgium
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What did DNA barcoding do for millipede taxonomy?
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The defensive secretions of the giant millipede Anurostreptus sculptus (Spirostreptida, Harpagophoridae): their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity
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Just below the surface, the pelagic haplochromine cichlids from the Lake Edward system
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Species depauperate communities and low abundances of monogenean gill parasites at the edge of the natural distribution range of their cichlid hosts in northern Africa
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Molecular phylogeny of the snorkel snail Rhiostoma housei, a species complex from Thailand with descriptions of three new species
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A review of the present-day Australian species of the gastropod subgenus Rissoina (Rissolina) (Rissooidea: Rissoinidae) with descriptions of two new species
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Haplotaxis gordioides (Hartmann in Oken, 1819) (Annelida, Clitellata) as a subcosmopolitan species: a commonly held view challenged by DNA barcoding
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A plea for preregistration in taxonomy
