Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Spatio-temporal variation of ant abundance among ground layers in a tropical forest
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First Clarkforkian Equivalent Land Mammal Age in the Latest Paleocene Basal Sparnacian Facies of Europe: Fauna, Flora, Paleoenvironment and (Bio)stratigraphy
- The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is correlated with the first occurrences of earliest modern mammals in the Northern Hemisphere. The latest Paleocene Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age, that has yielded rodents and carnivorans, is the only exception to this rule. However, until now no pre-PETM localities have yielded modern mammals in Europe or Asia. We report the first Clarkforkian equivalent Land Mammal Age in the latest Paleocene deposits of the basal Sparnacian facies at Rivecourt, in the north-central part of the Paris Basin. The new terrestrial vertebrate and macroflora assemblages are analyzed through a multidisciplinary study including sedimentologic, stratigraphic, isotopic, and palynological aspects in order to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and to evaluate biochronologic and paleogeographic implications. The mammals are moderately diverse and not abundant, contrary to turtles and champsosaurs. The macroflora is exceptional in preservation and diversity with numerous angiosperms represented by flowers, fruits, seeds and wood preserved as lignite material, revealing an abundance of Arecaceae, Betulaceae, Icacinaceae, Menispermaceae, Vitaceae and probably Cornaceae. Results indicate a Late Paleocene age based on carbon isotope data, palynology and vertebrate occurrences such as the choristoderan Champsosaurus, the arctocyonid Arctocyon, and the plesiadapid Plesiadapis tricuspidens. However, several mammal species compare better with the earliest Eocene. Among these, the particular louisinid Teilhardimys musculus, also recorded from the latest Paleocene of the Spanish Pyrenees, suggests a younger age than the typical MP6 reference level. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of the Rivecourt fauna is the presence of dental remains of a rodent and a ‘‘miacid’’ carnivoran, attesting to the presence of two modern mammalian orders in the latest Paleocene of Europe. Interestingly, these two groups are also the only modern groups recorded from the latest Paleocene of North America, making Rivecourt the first direct equivalent to the Clarkforkian Land Mammal Age outside of North America.
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Endocranial morphology of Palaeocene Plesiadapis tricuspidens and evolution of the early primate brain
- Expansion of the brain is a key feature of primate evolution. The fossil record, although incomplete, allows a partial reconstruction of changes in primate brain size and morphology through time. Palaeogene plesiadapoids, closest relatives of Euprimates (or crown-group primates), are crucial for understanding early evolution of the primate brain. However, brain morphology of this group remains poorly documented, and major questions remain regarding the initial phase of euprimate brain evolution. Micro-CT investigation of the endocranial morphology of Plesiadapis tricuspidens from the Late Palaeocene of Europe—the most complete plesiadapoid cranium known—shows that plesiadapoids retained a very small and simple brain. Plesiadapis has midbrain exposure, and minimal encephalization and neocorticalization, making it comparable with that of stem rodents and lagomorphs. However, Plesiadapis shares a domed neocortex and downwardly shifted olfactory-bulb axis with Euprimates. If accepted phylogenetic relationships are correct, then this implies that the euprimate brain underwent drastic reorganization during the Palaeocene, and some changes in brain structure preceded brain size increase and neocortex expansion during evolution of the primate brain.
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Consumption refuse, carcasses and ritual deposits at Tell Beydar (northern Syria)
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Densite et distribution de Tetrodromus tetradactylus tordayi (Macroscelididae, Mammalia) dans la reserve forestiere de Yoko (R.D.Congo)
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Effets de lisière et sex ratio de rongeurs forestiers dans un écosystème fragmenté en République Democratique du Congo (Réserve de Masako, Kisangani)
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Water level fluctuations and metapopulation dynamics as drivers of genetic diversity in populations of three Tanganyikan cichlid fish species
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Rediscovery of Glauconycteris superba Hayman, 1939 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) after 40 years at Mbiye Island, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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The role of dispersal and vicariance in Pleistocene history of an East African mountain rodent, Praomys delectorum
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A new hero emerges: another exceptional mammalian spine and its potential adaptive significance
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Baseline levels and trophic transfer of persistent organic pollutants in sediments and biota from the Congo River Basin (DR Congo)
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The littoral sea cucumber (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) fauna of Guam re-assessed
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Potential effects of the invasive ‘killer shrimp’ (Dikerogammarus villosus) on macroinvertebrate assemblages and biomonitoring indices
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A new Circulus species (Gastropoda, Rissoidea) from Senegal
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Lioconcha kavalisi, a new species from the Red Sea, situated within the Lioconcha ornata (Dillwyn, 1817) complex (Bivalvia: Veneridae)
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First records of trickle midges in Flanders (Diptera: Thaumaleidae)
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Effect of water quality on blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Flanders (Belgium)
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Distribution and ecology of soldier fly larvae captured in Flemish surface waters (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)
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Effect of water quality on waterbugs (Hemiptera: Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha) in Flanders (Belgium): results from a large-scale field survey
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Updated Red List of the water bugs of Flanders (Belgium) (Hemiptera: Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha)
