Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Beyond Photography: An Interdisciplinary, Exploratory Case Study in the Recording and Examination of Roman Silver Coins
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Archeo-antropologische studie van de resten opgegraven in Bruxella 1238 (BR319-01)
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Voorlopig inventarisrapport voor de tentoonstelling van menselijke resten in Bruxella 1238 (BR319-01) (Ancien couvent des Récollets)
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Resultados de la 14a campaña de excavación arqueológica del Proyecto Qubbet el-Hawa de la Universidad Jaén en Asuán (Egipto) (2022)
- El presente artículo proporciona información sobre los resultados preliminares de la 14ª campaña de excavación arqueológica del Proyecto Qubbet el-Hawa de la Universidad de Jaén. Desde hace más de una década, el proyecto desarrolla su investigación en la necrópolis más meridional de Egipto. Consideramos importante destacar las nuevas incorporaciones al equipo interdisciplinar que han permitido, entre otros avances, el estudio de las momias de cocodrilos halladas con anterioridad o el descubrimiento de una mina de época bizantina. Sin embargo, también es destacable la continuación de otros estudios ya iniciados en anteriores campañas e incluso la finalización de los trabajos arqueológicos en diferentes áreas de la colina. Sin duda, y como cada año, el Proyecto Qubbet el-Hawa puede congratularse de la realización de una campaña exitosa, llena de resultados muy relevantes para la investigación.
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The impact of extraction on the bottom shear stress using the proposed new extraction limit levels
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Diversity of mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean - A phylogeographic perspective using DNA barcoding
- Small mesopelagic fish are ubiquitous in the ocean, representing an important trophic link between zooplankton and tertiary consumers such as larger fish, marine mammals and birds. Lanternfishes (Myctophidae) are common worldwide as well as in the Southern Ocean. However, only 17 of the approximately 250 myctophid species occur exclusively in sub-Antarctic or Antarctic waters. It is unclear whether they colonized these latitudes once and diversified from there, or whether multiple colonization events took place in which multiple ancestral phenotypes entered the Southern Ocean at various times. Phylogeographic patterns have been investigated for individual myctophid species, but so far no study has compared species across the Southern Ocean. Here, we present a dataset with previously unpublished cytochrome c oxidase I (COI; n = 299) and rhodopsin (rh1; n = 87) gene sequences from specimens collected at various locations in the Southern Ocean. Our data extend the DNA barcode library of Antarctic mesopelagic fish substantially. Combined morphological and molecular taxonomy lead to confident species level identification in 271 out of 299 cases, providing a robust reference dataset for specimen identification, independently of incomplete morphological characters. This is highly topical in light of prospective ecological metabarcoding studies. Unambiguous sequences were subsequently combined with publicly available sequences of the global DNA barcode library yielding a dataset of over 1,000 individuals for phylogenetic and phylogeographic inference. Maximum likelihood trees were compared with results of recent studies and with the geographical origin of the samples. As expected for these markers, deep phylogenetic relationships remain partially unclear. However, COI offers unmatched sample and taxon coverage and our results at the subfamily to genus level concur to a large extent with other studies. Southern Ocean myctophids are from at least three distant subfamilies suggesting that colonization has occurred repeatedly. Overall, spatial divergence of myctophids is rare, potentially due to their enormous abundance and the homogenizing force of ocean currents. However, we recommend further investigation of the phylogenetic position of Symbolophorus boops and highlight potential (pseudo-)cryptic or unrecognized species in Gymnoscopelus bolini, Lampanyctus achirus, and the non-myctophid genus Bathylagus. © 2018 Christiansen, Dettai, Heindler, Collins, Duhamel, Hautecoeur, Steinke, Volckaert and Van de Putte.
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Whale evolution: Ancient toothed relative of baleen whales breaches northward
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Generality of biodiversity-production relationships in global forests
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Reproduction and populations structure of the Sciuridae (rodentia, mammalia) of the forest reserve of Yoko (Ubundu city, DR Congo)
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Pressure of hunting on Petrodrumus tetradactylus tordayi (Thomas, 1910: Mammalia) in six villages of surrounding of the Yoko Reserve Forest (Tshopo province, DR Congo)
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Caribbean Bulimulus revisited: physical moves and molecular traces (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Bulimulidae)
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Annotated type catalogue of the Orthalicoidea (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) in the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Geneva
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From the shadows of the past: Moricand senior and junior, two 19th century naturalists from Geneva, their newly described taxa, and molluscan types
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Prestonellinae – validation of the name as a new subfamily of Bothriembryontidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Orthalicoidea)
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Oligodon saiyok, a new limestone-dwelling kukri snake (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand
- We describe Oligodon saiyok sp. nov. from Benjarat Nakhon Cave Temple, Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. It is characterized by a maximal known SVL of 626.1 mm; 13 maxillary teeth, the posterior two enlarged; 8 supralabials; 17-17-15 dorsal scale rows; 181-187 ventrals and 38-43 subcaudals; a single anal; hemipenes extending in situ to the 18(th) subcaudal; dorsum with 21-22 dark blotches or white rings without vertebral or lateral stripes; and venter with a dense network of subrectangular dark blotches. It is the 7th squamate species believed to be endemic to Sai Yok District.
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A new kukri snake (Colubridae: Oligodon) from Hua Hin District, and the first record of O. deuvei from Thailand
- We describe Oligodon huahin sp. nov. from a bamboo forest locality on the road to Pala-U waterfall, Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand. It is characterized by a maximal known SVL of 553.7 mm; 6 maxillary teeth, the posterior two enlarged; 17-17-15 or 17-15-15 dorsal scale rows; 166-173 ventrals and 35-41 subcaudals in males; a single anal; deeply forked hemipenes lacking spines and papillae, extending in situ to the 14(th) subcaudal; faint to nearly indistinct vertebral, paravertebral and lateral stripes; no dorsal or supracaudal blotches or crossbars; and an uniformly ivory venter lacking subrectangular or squarish blotches. We also report the first finding of Oligodon deuvei in Thailand based on a specimen from Loei Province.
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A new limestone-dwelling leaf-toed gecko (Gekkonidae: Dixonius) from Khao Sam Roi Yot massif, peninsular Thailand
- We describe Dixonius kaweesaki sp. nov. from Khao Daeng, a limestone mountain in Khao Sam Roi Yot massif, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand. It is diagnosed from all other species by a combination of maximal SVL of 41.6 mm; 12 or 13 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 24 longitudinal rows of ventrals across the abdomen; a continuous series of 9-11 precloacal pores in males, no pores in females; and two bold dark stripes from the snout to the base of the tail separated by a contrasting light vertebral stripe. It is the eighth species in the genus Dixonius. Lastly, we discuss the type locality of Phyllodactylus paviei, currently regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Dixonius siamensis.
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Hydroclimatic conditions and fishing practices at Late Paleolithic Makhadma 4 (Egypt) inferred from stable isotope analysis of otoliths
- The late Paleolithic site of Makhadma 4, located along the Nile River in Upper Egypt, yielded an important ichthyofauna characterized by a very high proportion of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). We used isotopic analysis (d18O) of well-preserved otoliths (“ear stones”) of tilapia to reconstruct the former hydrological conditions, as well as the fishing strategies of the site's inhabitants. Otoliths from two modern fish captured in the Nile River near Esna were also examined to test how accurately tilapia otoliths reflect their ambient environment. All otoliths were sequentially micromilled to recover high resolution isotopic profiles along the main growth axis. Comparison of the modern otolith profiles with environmental data shows that tilapia d18O values record seasonal variations of the modern Nile hydroclimate but that their values are offset. The archaeological otoliths record very large intraindividual cyclical variations in d18O values, with relatively consistent amplitude, as well as very high seasonal maximum values (up to þ8.3‰), compared with the modern otoliths. The hydrological regime of the water body in which the archaeological fish lived was characterized by a reduced Nile water inflow that could not negate the effect of local evaporation during spring. The reconstructed hydrological conditions are in accordance with a new model of Nilotic behavior that assumes the creation of lakes by damming of the Nile as a result of a high eolian activity during hyper-arid periods of the Late Pleistocene. Although large seasonal evaporation may have resulted in a severe seasonal reduction in the lake's volume and extent, the lake was, nevertheless, maintained for several years. Cyclic variations in otolith d18O values permit reconstruction of the period of the hydrological cycle during which the fish were captured. Fishing of young individuals occurred mostly after the maximum input of inflow water from the Nile, when evaporitic conditions were at their lowest, i.e. during fall.
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New contribution to the study of the tribe Aegosomatini in Vietnam with the description of a new species of Aegolipton Gressitt, 1940 and a note on the identity of the female sex of Aegosoma george Do, 2015 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae)
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De opgravingen van Thurn en Taxis: een inkijk op het Romeinse landschap en de voedseleconomie (Brussel)
