Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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A new Jurassic theropod from China documents a transitional step in the macrostructure of feathers
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Velaux-La Bastide Neuve (Bouches-du-Rhône), un gisement exceptionnel du Campanien supérieur à restes de dinosauriens et autres reptiles
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Vitrolles-la-Plaine (Maastrichtien supérieur, Bouches-du-Rhône): un autre site remarquable proche de la limite K/T, au carrefour des mammifères et des derniers dinosaures de Provence
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Age, sedimentology and paleoecology of Kulinda, an exceptional Middle Jurassic dinosaur locality from Siberia
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Distribution and paleoenvironmental framework of middle Miocene marine vertebrates along the western side of the lower Ica Valley (East Pisco Basin, Peru)
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An annotated checklist of the leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from El Salvador, with additions from the Bechyné collection in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
- A checklist of the species of leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of El Salvador is presented based on data from literature and a digitization project of the Bechyné collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The RBINS collections contain a total of 2797 individual chrysomelid specimens from El Salvador, sorted into 89 species and 132 genera. In total, the current checklist contains 420 species, of which 33 are new records for El Slavador from the Bechyné collection. In these collections, there are also ten nomina nuda named by Bechyné, which need further study. The leaf beetle diversity in El Salvador, partly due to the country’s unstable political history, remains poorly studied, and many (new) species await discovery. This checklist provides a baseline for further study in El Salvador and nearby region.
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Ant assemblage structure on cocoa trees in smallholder farms in the Centre Region of Cameroon
- We investigated the ant community structure in cocoa farms in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Ants were collected on the cocoa trees during the years 2006 and 2007 using chemical knock‐down. We tested the hypothesis of the existence of deterministic factor in the structuration of ant mosaic using C‐Score; we assessed the relationship between the numerical dominant and subdominant ant species using Spearman correlation test and discussed on the influence of vegetation structure and farm management on the ant community structure. A total of 53 ant species belonging to 20 genera and five subfamilies were identified from a set of 51,525 workers collected. C‐score analysis supported the hypothesis that ant community were structured by competition. Negative relationships were found between dominant ant species. Farming practices which were mainly pruning, chemical treatment and habitat structure appeared to influence the ecological status and distribution of dominant ant species.
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Diversity of Ants and Termites of the Botanical Garden of the University of Lomé, Togo
- Ants and termites are used as bioindicators in many ecosystems. Little knowledge is available about them in Togo, especially ants. This study aimed to find out how ants and termites could be used to assess the restoration of former agricultural land. These insect groups were sampled within six transects of 50 × 2 m2 (using pitfall traps, monoliths, baits for ants and hand sampling for termites) in two consecutive habitats: open area (grassland) and covered area (an artificial forest). Seventeen termite species and 43 ant species were collected. Seven ant species were specific to the covered area against four for the open area, while four unshared species of termite were found in the open area against three in the covered area. The presence of unshared species was linked to vegetation, as Trinervitermes (Holmgren, 1912), a grass feeding termite, was solely found in open area. Also, for some ant species like Cataulacus traegaordhi (Santschi, 1914), Crematogaster (Lund, 1831) species, Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille, 1802) and Tetraponera mocquerysi (Brown, 1960), all arboreal species, vegetation was a determining factor for their presence. The occurrence of these species together with Basidentitermes mactus (Sjöstedt, 1911), Strumigenys bernardi (Brown, 1960) and S. sistrura (Bolton, 1983), suggest a more advanced level of restoration of the covered area.
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A database of threat statuses and life-history traits of Red List species in Flanders (northern Belgium)
- Red Lists estimate the extinction risk of species at global or regional levels and are important instruments in conservation policies. Global Red List assessments are readily available via the IUCN website (https://www.iucnredlist.org) and are regularly updated by (taxonomic) experts. Regional Red Lists, however, are not always easy to find and often use local criteria to assess the local extinction risk of species.
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First Record of the Holarctic and Northern Oriental Genus Gymnopternus Loew (Diptera: Dolichopodidae, Dolichopodinae) near the Equator: Description of a New Species from a Swamp Forest in Singapore
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Hemiptera: Fulgoridae, Lanternflies, Sakondry
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New contribution to the study of genus Aegosoma Audinet-Serville, 1832 in Vietnam with description of a new species from the central part (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae)
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Geophilus easoni Arthur et al., new to Belgium (Myriapoda: Chilopoda: Geophilidae)
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Ant communities in recently restored dune grassland ecosystems in Belgium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
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First record of the sharpshooter leafhopper genus Spinctogonia Breddin, 1901 in Vietnam (Hemiptera: Membracoidea: Cicadellidae)
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Extending Our Scientific Reach in Arboreal Ecosystems for Research and Management
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Etude carpologique du comblement médiéval (14e-15e siècle) de la rivière la Senne à Bruxelles – résultats préliminaires
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Exemple d’interdisciplinarité en Région bruxelloise : les latrines du Café Greenwich à Bruxelles
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Le Moustier 1 Neandertal – The discovery of two new sets of casts, 3D reconstruction and comparison with original fossils
- The postcranial skeleton of the Le Moustier 1 Neandertal was severely damaged and burnt at the end of the Second World War. A series of plaster casts were realized on the skeleton before it was destroyed. Five casts are already known to be in existence. This study brings to light two more sets of casts which were recently discovered in Belgium. One set is from the Louis Deroubaix Museum (LDM) and the other set is from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The casts at the LDM were processed by Computed Tomography and three-dimensional models were produced. Measurements were taken both virtually and physically on all available postcranial bones from both LDM and RBINS casts. These measurements were then compared with previously published measurements taken on the original bones and the other available casts. There were no statistical differences between measurements on the original fossils and other existing casts and the physical and digitised casts from LDM and RBINS. The discovery of these new Le Moustier 1 casts is interesting because the original bones of the Neandertal juvenile Le Moustier 1 were destroyed and pre-adolescent Neandertals are not frequently found in the paleoanthropological record. Virtual copies of these casts are now freely available to other researchers and the public.
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HOME project and the creation of an ethical policy – two Belgian initiatives
- Summary Background Starting in December 2019, the “HOME: Human Remains Origin(s) Multidisciplinary Evaluation” project has been granted funding for a duration of 2 years, focusing on historical collections of human remains in a network of seven institutional partners. Through the BRAIN-be 2.0 Pillar 2 “Heritage science”, call, the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) provided funding for Provenance research. The call “Heritage Science” concerns scientific research in support of the federal – scultural, scientific and historical – heritage and in particular that in Belgian Federal Scientific Institutions (FSIs). Objectives and expected results The HOME project will result in a multidisciplinary evaluation of the historical collections of human remains in Belgium, particularly in the FSIs. The deliverables of the project include reports on the collections in the different institutions detailing the inventories. The reports will also advise on how to best manage the diverse human remains collections in Belgium as well as propose management scenarios in response to existing and future requests of repatriation. There is also no best practice in Belgium on how to manage human remains collections. As a separate initiative but with parallel aims of the HOME project, an independent group from the Royal Museum of Art and History (RMAH) is establishing a Belgian policy about the study, preservation and exhibition of human remains in a museum context.
