Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Reassignment to the Middle Devonian of some rugose corals investigated by LE MAÎTRE (1934) in the Chalonnes Formation from the Southeastern Armorican Massif (France)
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Stratigraphic distribution of massive rugose corals at the base of the Late Frasnian in Belgium
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Inclusiveness and Diversity in Citizen Science
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Nuclear phylogenomics, but not mitogenomics, resolves the most successful Late Miocene radiation of African mammals (Rodentia: Muridae: Arvicanthini)
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Ontogenetic divergence generates novel phenotypes in hybrid cichlids
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Development of a Biofertilizer from Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Isolated from Millipede Fecal Pellets
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Stick insects from Vietnam: The new genus Mycovartes gen. nov., with two new species and two new species of Neooxyartes Ho, 2018 (Phasmida: Lonchodidae: Necrosciinae)
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The faunal remains in Bukova Pusta IV
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The Lanternflies (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha, Fulgoridae) of Khao Krachom Mountain, Thailand
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Exploring sexual dimorphism of human occipital and temporal bones through geometric morphometrics in an identified Western-European sample
- Abstract Sex estimation is a paramount step of bioprofiling in both forensic anthropology and osteoarchaeology. When the pelvis is not optimally preserved, anthropologists commonly rely on the cranium to accurately estimate sex. Over the last decades, the geometric morphometric (GM) approach has been used to determine sexual dimorphism of the crania, in size and shape, overcoming some difficulties of traditional visual and metric methods. This article aims to investigate sexual dimorphism of the occipital and temporal region through GM analysis in a metapopulation of 50 Western-European identified individuals. Statistical analyses were performed to compare centroid size and shape data between sexes through the examination of distinct functional modules. Regression and Procrustes ANOVA were used to examine allometric and asymmetrical implications. Discriminant functions, combining size and shape data, were established. Significant dimorphism in size was found, with males having larger crania, confirming the major influence size has on cranial morphology. Allometric relationships were found to be statistically significant in both right and left temporal bones while shape differences between sexes were only significant on the right temporal bone. The visualization of the mean consensus demonstrated that males displayed a larger mastoid process associated with a reduced mastoid triangle and less projected occipital condyles. This exploratory study confirms that GM analysis represents an effective way to quantitatively capture shape of dimorphic structures, even on complex rounded ones such as the mastoid region. Further examination in a larger sample would be valuable to design objective visualization tools that can improve morphoscopic sex estimation methods.
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The last interglacial‑glacial cycle in the Meuse Valley (southern Belgium) inferred from the amphibian and reptile assemblages: implications for Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans
- The Meuse and its tributary valleys contain numerous Late Pleistocene cave sites that have yielded one of the largest collections of Neanderthal and Mousterian lithic industries in Europe. Today, it is an important north–south migratory corridor for flora and fauna, generating rich biotopes. The Quaternary collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Brussels, Belgium) are here used to complement our knowledge of the successive herpetofaunal assemblages in Belgium during the last interglacial-glacial cycle (marine isotope stages 5 to 1). Herpetofauna from 18 caves are described for the first time. In total, 17 taxa (10 amphibians and seven reptiles) are identified, three of which correspond to their first fossil record for Belgium (Alytes obstetricans, Pelobates fuscus, and Hyla arborea). The thermophilic snake Zamenis longissimus is documented for the first time in the Holocene (Atlantic/Subboreal period) of Belgium. After marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, the Belgian herpetofauna was still reasonably diverse during MIS 3, but it seems to be represented only by the common frog Rana temporaria and a viper during MIS 2. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions are proposed for a selection of the chronologically best-constrained sites, using the quantified ecology method. More specifically, the late Magdalenian of the Trou de Chaleux is reconstructed as particularly cold and dry. The seasonal contrast reaches its maximum during this period. The quantitative parameters calculated in this study provide a new paleoecological context for understanding the conditions with which the successive human species had to cope in Northwestern Europe during the last interglacial-glacial cycle.
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Geosite Goudberg – Hoegaarden
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Climatic changes and sea-level fluctuations in the Danian/Selandian boundary interval of Tunesia: an ostracod perspective.
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Stable isotope (13C, 18O) analyses on marine ostracod shells from the Danian/Selandian boundary (Paleocene) of Tunisia
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Detailed Early Eocene dinocyst studies from eastern Peri-Tethys: new evidence for long-distance correlations and paleoceanographic reconstructions.
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PETM effects in a coastal Tethyan environment: a clear paleoenvironmental change
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Early Ypresian microfossil assemblages and stable isotopes during a distinct plankton peak in the Corbières (Aude, France) continental margin record
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Identification and characterisation of early Eocene hyperthermals in shallow marine sequences
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The Latest Danian Event along a paleobathymetric gradient in the Nile Basin (Eastern Desert, Egypt).
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Multiple environmental perturbations in the Nile Basin, Egypt: expressions of hyperthermals?
