Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Depth dependence and intra-tidal variability of Suspended Particulate Matter transport in the East Anglian plume
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Gigantic mysticete predators roamed the Eocene Southern Ocean
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Beef, pork and mutton. An archaeological survey of the meat consumption in medieval and postmedieval towns in the southern Low Countries (Flanders & Brussels, Belgium)
- A survey is presented of archaeozoological information from medieval and postmedieval towns in the southern Low Countries (the present regions of Flanders and Brussels, in Belgium). Diachronic changes in the consumption of the three main domestic meat-suppliers (cattle, pig, sheep) in nine towns are investigated, and trends are compared among these towns. At the same time, possible geographical differences in meat consumption are traced. The observed differences in time and space are then explained as part of the economics of animal husbandry and of the interaction between town and countryside. From a methodological standpoint, this survey demonstrates that in a number of cases, information from archaeozoological contexts with varying depositional histories, often reflecting different socio-economic strata, can be combined to obtain a picture of meat consumption, and thus of the town's food provisioning, through time.
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New specimens of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the early Eocene of Wyoming and evaluation of body size through the PETM in North America
- The Mesonychia is a group of archaic carnivorous mammals of uncertain phylogenetic affinities with a Holarctic distribution during the Paleogene. Intensive fossil collecting efforts in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, have resulted in recovery of the largest sample and most complete specimens yet known of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the second biozone of the Wasatchian North American Land Mammal Age (Wa-0). The Wa-0 biozone corresponds to the body of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a brief but intense global warming event that occurred ~56 myr ago that significantly impacted terrestrial mammal faunas, including dwarfing in many mammal lineages. To evaluate the potential response of this lineage to climate change, we compared the PETM sample of D. praenuntius with those recovered from just before the PETM in the last biozone of the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age (Cf-3) and just after the PETM in the Wa-1 biozone. While the sample size is still too small to say with certainty, tooth size (as a proxy for body weight) of D. praenuntius appears to be smaller during the late PETM than during either the pre-PETM Cf-3, or post-PETM Wa-1 biozones, suggesting the possibility of a muted dwarfing response to the PETM. However, the pattern observed for D. praenuntius differs from that of many other PETM mammals, as the shift to smaller body size is less pronounced and may have only occurred in late Wa-0.
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A reassessment of the Oligocene hyracoid mammals from Malembo, Cabinda, Angola
- The Oligocene Malembo locality, Cabinda exclave, Angola, has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna represented by fragmentary remains. This fossiliferous locality is the only definite occurrence of Oligocene terrestrial mammals in sub-Saharan West Africa. The hyracoids from Malembo have only been very succinctly described and compared thus far, so that their systematic attribution is not consensual among specialists. A revision now allows the identification of three (or four) medium to large-sized species represented by Geniohyus dartevellei, Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus, and two undetermined taxa. The species G. dartevellei is revived for the holotype of Palaeochoerus dartevellei Hooijer, 1963; this species is unique to Malembo but appears close to Geniohyus mirus, a species only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum, Egypt. Other species of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax crassidentatus are also only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum. The presence of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus at Malembo thus supports an early Oligocene age for the fauna.
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A late early to early middle Eocene mammal assemblage from Bayan Ulan (Inner Mongolia, China): Implication for the reassessment of the Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Age
- Paleogene mammal localities of North China are particularly well represented in the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia. Among them, the locality of Bayan Ulan is most famous for its late Paleocene Gashatan fauna. However, the younger Arshantan fauna of the same site is not well known, since no extensive study has been done so far. Here, we present a small mammal assemblage based on dental and tarsal material from a new Arshantan collection retrieved from the red beds of the late early to early middle Eocene Arshanto Formation at Bayan Ulan. It consists of at least six different taxa: the basal lagomorph Dawsonolagus antiquus, the large pantodont Pantolambdodon sp., the tapiroid Schlosseria magister, and the rhinocerotoids Hyrachyus crista and Rhodopagus guoi nov. sp. The assemblage is dominated by perissodactyls, especially Lophialetidae and Hyracodontidae. For the first time, p4-m1 of Dawsonolagus antiquus, tarsal material from Pantolambdodon sp., and lower dentition and tarsals of Hyrachyus crista are described and illustrated. Unlike other described Arshantan faunas, the Bayan Ulan Arshantan mammal assemblage has been collected exclusively from a single locality, which contributes to the reassessment of the misunderstood Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Age.
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Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity
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On the Roman use of “Belgian marbles” in the Civitas Tungrorum and beyond
- Various red, black and grey “Belgian marbles” (coloured dense fossiliferous Palaeozoic limestones suitable for polishing – “calcaires marbriers”) decorated private and public buildings as well as sanctuaries within and beyond the civitas Tungrorum. These hard limestones have all been quarried in southern Belgium, at the heart of the civitas. For their transport, trade and distribution, fluvial routes were most probably used. The “Belgian marbles” have been employed as tesserae in mosaics, opus sectile, marble veneers and various smooth or sculptured wall and floor decorative elements. The strongly veined Gris des Ardennes and the wild cherry-red Rouge de Rance were the most popular ones, whereas the spotless black Namur “marble” was preferentially used in floor mosaics in combination with white tesserae. The grey Meuse limestone was the most commonly used decorative stone showing a broad spectrum of applications. In this paper, the geographical-geological provenances and stratigraphical assignments of the “Belgian marbles” (and related limestones) are discussed, whereas an overview is given of their major macroscopical-microscopical characteristics and known distribution.
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NATUURSTEENGROEVEN LANGS DE MAAS Amarant, 14/07/2017
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Amarant groeventocht Soignies - Lessines - Oostvlaamse dorpskerken zaterdag 17.6.2017
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Evolution of the hypercarnivorous dentition in mammals (Metatheria, Eutheria) and its bearing on the development of tribosphenic molars
- One major innovation of mammals is the tribosphenic molar, characterized by the evolution of a neomorphic upper cusp (¼protocone) and a lower basin (talonid) that occlude and provide shearing and crushing functions. This type of molar is an evolutionarily flexible structure that enabled mammals to achieve complex dental adaptations. Among carnivorous mammals, hypercarnivory is a common trend that evolved several times among therians (marsupials, placentals, and stem relatives). Hypercarnivory involves an important simplification of the carnassial molar pattern from the ancestral tribosphenic molar pattern, with the modification of the triangular tooth crown, and the loss of several cusps and cuspids typical of the tribosphenic molar. These losses confer to the molars of the hypercarnivorous mammals a plesiomorphic /paedomorphic morphology that resembles more the earliest mammaliaforms than the earliest therians. Here, we demonstrate that the modification of the molar morphology is fully explained by a patterning cascade mode of cusp development. Contrary to what was previously proposed, our study concludes that the metaconid (mesiolingual cusp of lower molars, associated with a puncturing function) does not influence cusp development of the talonid (distal crushing heel of lower molars). Moreover, it provides a new example of how heterochronic changes were crucial to the evolution of mammal dentition. To overcome the difficulty of applying behavioral or ecological definitions of diets to fossil animals, we characterize hypercarnivorous dentitions on the basis of the molar morphology and more particularly on the loss or retention of crushing structures, each dentition resulting from adaptations to a distinct ecomorphotype. Despite repeated and convergent evolution of hypercarnivorous forms, hypercarnivory appears as a highly constrained specialization (i.e., “dead end”) that is unlikely to evolve back to omnivorous dentition, especially when the crushing structures are lost.
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New fossils of Hyaenodonta (Mammalia) from the Eocene localities of Chambi (Tunisia) and Bir el Ater (Algeria), and the evolution of the earliest African hyaenodonts
- We present and describe new fossils from the Eocene North African localities of Chambi (Tunisia; late Ypresian or early Lutetian) and Bir el Ater (Algeria; latest Bartonian or earliest Priabonian). The specimens from Chambi allow recognizing two recently described hyainailourines: Furodon crocheti and Parvavorodon gheerbranti; these taxa were previously known from the Gour Lazib area (Algeria; late Ypresian or early Lutetian). The new material from Tunisia includes a fragmentary dentary of Parvavorodon that substantially supports the hyainailourine status of this genus and represents the oldest dentary fragment presently known for a juvenile of Hyaenodonta in Africa. The presence of Furodon and Parvavorodon in Chambi strengthens support for the hypothesis of contemporaneity of the Eocene Gour Lazib and Chambi mammalbearing localities. In addition, the find of a typical teratodontine fourth premolar in Chambi testifies to the presence of a small representative of this group. The fossil record in Bir el Ater is scarcer than in Chambi. However, we recognize specimens attributable to a hyainailourine and a teratodontine. The latter is referred as Masrasector cf. ligabuei, and is the oldest record for this genus. We tentatively identify a modification of the hyaenodont fauna in the Maghreb after the “Early Eocene Climatic Optimum” (EECO). This faunal change might be related to the decrease of the global temperature after the EECO event. It appears contemporaneous of a drastic replacement in the composition of the mammal faunas in Africa. Finally, the end of the Eocene (Priabonian) shows an increase in the subfamilial richness amongst hyaenodonts.
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Premier crâne partiel de l'espèce type de Hyaenodon, H. leptorhynchus (Mammalia, Hyaenodonta) Réflexion sur la division des niches des mammifères carnassiers européens au cours du Paléogène
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De groeve van Triffoy – Een overzicht van de Famenniaanflora en fauna in de omgeving rond Marchin (Deel I)
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De groeve van Triffoy – Een overzicht van de Famenniaanflora en fauna in de omgeving rond Marchin (Deel II)
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La bouillabaisse de Bernissart
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De bouillabaisse van Bernissart
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Surface suspended particulate matter concentration in the Taiwan Strait during summer and winter monsoons
- The Taiwan Strait (TS), situated between Taiwan and China, is shallow, relatively turbid, and characterized by strong tidal currents and winter and summer monsoon seasons. The aim of this study was to use images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua satellite to investigate how local sediment sources in addition to the seasonality in wind, oceanographic currents, and waves influence the suspended particulate matter (SPM) dynamics in the TS. In winter, northeast (NE) winds drive the China Coastal Current southward. Cold water with a high SPM concentration is transported southward into the Strait. After the highest SPM concentration reaches its peak in December and January, the winds weaken and the SPM concentration decreases. During summer, winds are less strong and SPM concentration is lower. Although typhoons typically occur in summer, they generate only a weak signal in the surface SPM concentration data from MODIS because of the low number of cloud-free images during these periods. Typhoons result in a short-term increase in the SPM concentration but do not strongly influence the seasonal values in the satellite-derived SPM concentration maps.
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Monitoring en Modellering van het cohesieve sedimenttransport en evaluatie van de effecten op het mariene ecosysteem ten gevolge van bagger- en stortoperatie (MOMO). Activiteitsrapport 1 juli 2016 – 31 december 2016
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Monitoring en Modellering van het cohesieve sedimenttransport en evaluatie van de effecten op het mariene ecosysteem ten gevolge van bagger- en stortoperatie (MOMO). Activiteitsrapport 1 januari 2016 – 30 juni 2016
