Using DNA metabarcoding and direct behavioural observations to identify the diet of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in the Kinabatangan Floodplain, Sabah.

Characterizing the feeding ecology of threatened species is essential to establish appropriate conservation strategies. We focused our study on the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), an endangered primate species which is endemic to the island of Borneo. Our survey was conducted in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS), a riverine protected area that is surrounded by oil palm plantations.

Assembling Ancestors: the manipulation of Neolithic and Gallo-Roman skeletal remains from Pommerœul, Belgium.

The ancient cemetery of Pommerœul, Belgium, was classified as Gallo-Roman in the 1970s', yielding 76 cremation graves and one inhumation. However, subsequent radiocarbon analyses dated the inhumation to the Late Neolithic (4-3 millennium calBC). We report osteoarchaeological analysis indicating that the inhumation was composed of bones from multiple individuals, afterwards buried as "one".

Phytoliths in dicotyledons occurring in North-western Europe: Establishing a baseline.

Background And Aims: The absence of a modern plant-based 'dicotyledon' phytolith reference baseline impedes the accurate interpretation of fossil phytolith records in archaeological and palaeoecological research within North-western Europe. This study aims to fill this gap by documenting and analysing the phytolith record from modern dicotyledon taxa occurring in this region.

Methods: Phytoliths were extracted from several plant parts of 117 plant specimens representing 74 species (1-2 specimens/species).

An endemic species flock of Candonidae Kaufmann, 1900 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from wells in Benin (Africa), with the description of a new subfamily, a new genus and five new species.

Between 2015 and 2022, over 200 wells were sampled in four catchment areas of Benin, using both Cvetkov plankton nets (funnel 200 µm mesh size, 150 µm below valve) and baited traps. As artificial wells serve as ecotones (interfaces between surface and groundwater ecosystems), the ostracod fauna is mostly represented by two families; Cyprididae (mainly epigeic) and Candonidae (hypogeic). Here, we describe a new subfamily of Candonidae from the wells in Benin, the Benincandoninae subfam.

Two new cave-dwelling species of Bent-toed Geckos from Saraburi and Loei provinces, Thailand (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus).

We describe Cyrtodactylus meesookae sp. nov. from a cave on Khao Nam Phu (14°34'33.

Description of a new genus of North and Central American planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) with fourteen new species.

The fulgorid name Alphina glauca (Metcalf) has been used erroneously since its inception to refer to a primarily southeastern U.S. species described originally as Calyptoproctus marmoratus Spinola.

Description of twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart from Europe and the Middle East (Diptera, Empidoidea, Hybotidae).

Twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart from Europe and the Middle East are described, classified in three out of the eleven West-Palaearctic species groups. The albiseta group is represented by only one species: P. flavisetoides sp.

A Tale of Three Oceans-Taxonomy of the Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868 complex (Echinodermata: Holoturoidea: Holothuriidae).

The ubiquitous sea cucumber Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868, externally characterized by a double row of dark blotches of various sizes on its dorsal body wall and a cryptic behaviour, is generally assumed to have a wide tropical distribution, although it has not been reported from the Eastern Atlantic. Careful morphological examination, with emphasis on the ossicle assemblage, of type and non-type H. arenicola specimens sampled in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, its subjective synonyms and species with a similar colouration and habit, revealed that H.

Another new micro-endemic, limestone-dwelling leaf-toed gecko (Gekkonidae: Dixonius) from Phetchaburi Province, western Thailand.

We describe Dixonius chotjuckdikuli sp. nov. from Khao Ebid (Mount Ibit), Khao Yoi District, Phetchaburi Province, western Thailand.

Rediscovery and redescription of Dixonius siamensis (Boulenger, 1899) (Squamata: Gekkonidae), type species of the genus, with lectotype designation.

We redescribe the type material of Phyllodactylus siamensis Boulenger, 1899, type species of the Southeast Asian gekkonid genus Dixonius Bauer, Good & Branch, 1997, using external morphology and cranial osteology. There is some evidence that the type series contains more than one species; we hence designate a lectotype in order to stabilize nomenclature and provide more precision on the geographical location of the type locality. Because the current concept of Dixonius siamensis auctorum is incomplete and composite, we provide a revised diagnosis based on the presently designated lectotype and a paralectotype from the same locality, as well as observations on new material from the type locality and the first photographs of live topotypical individuals.

New species and records of the genus Hercostomus Loew (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Thailand mangroves, with notes on the Hercostomus fauna of Singapore mangroves.

The long-legged fly genus Hercostomus Loew, 1857 is reported for the first time from mangrove habitats in Thailand. Two new species, H. obtusus sp.

Molecular methods for the detection and identification of parasitoids within larval wheat midges.

Three species of cecidomyiid midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) cause significant yield losses on wheat in Europe: Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), Contarinia tritici (Kirby) and Haplodiplosis marginata (von Roser). Eggs and young larvae may be parasitised by a complex of hymenopteran parasitoids belonging to the Pteromalidae and Platygastridae families which contributes to natural pest control. We have developed molecular tools for detecting and identifying seven parasitoid species previously encountered in Belgium inside individual wheat midge larvae.

A molecular mechanism for bright color variation in parrots.

Parrots produce stunning plumage colors through unique pigments called psittacofulvins. However, the mechanism underlying their ability to generate a spectrum of vibrant yellows, reds, and greens remains enigmatic. We uncover a unifying chemical basis for a wide range of parrot plumage colors, which result from the selective deposition of red aldehyde- and yellow carboxyl-containing psittacofulvin molecules in developing feathers.

Triple-oxygen isotopes of stony micrometeorites by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS): Olivine, basaltic glass and iron oxide matrix effects for sensitive high-mass resolution ion microprobe-stable isotope (SHRIMP-SI).

Rationale: Micrometeorites are extraterrestrial particles smaller than ~2 mm in diameter, most of which melted during atmospheric entry and crystallised or quenched to form 'cosmic spherules'. Their parentage among meteorite groups can be inferred from triple-oxygen isotope compositions, for example, by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). This method uses sample efficiently, preserving spherules for other investigations.

Overview of myrmecological studies and a checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The production of species checklists is fundamental to setting baseline knowledge of biodiversity across the world and they are invaluable for global conservation efforts. The main objective of this study is to provide an up-to-date extensive checklist of the ants of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, based on available literature to serve as a foundation for future research and ant faunistic developments. We gathered the literature available to us, most of it compiled from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) Project and treated the data to province level when possible.

Sphaeroptica: A tool for pseudo-3D visualization and 3D measurements on arthropods.

Natural history collections are invaluable reference collections. Digitizing these collections is a transformative process that improves the accessibility, preservation, and exploitation of specimens and associated data in the long term. Arthropods make up the majority of zoological collections.

The Population History of Domestic Sheep Revealed by Paleogenomes.

Sheep was one of the first domesticated animals in Neolithic West Eurasia. The zooarchaeological record suggests that domestication first took place in Southwest Asia, although much remains unresolved about the precise location(s) and timing(s) of earliest domestication, or the post-domestication history of sheep. Here, we present 24 new partial sheep paleogenomes, including a 13,000-year-old Epipaleolithic Central Anatolian wild sheep, as well as 14 domestic sheep from Neolithic Anatolia, two from Neolithic Iran, two from Neolithic Iberia, three from Neolithic France, and one each from Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Baltic and South Russia, in addition to five present-day Central Anatolian Mouflons and two present-day Cyprian Mouflons.

Network for forest by-products charcoal, resin, tar, potash (COST Action EU-PoTaRCh).

The COST EU-PoTaRCh Action establishes a network focused on the past, present, and future significance, production, and use of major forest by-products in Europe and beyond. The Action centers around forest by-products-primarily potash, tar, resin, and charcoal (PoTaRCh), along with plant extracts-which have been produced and utilized for over 100,000 years due to their unique chemical, biological, and therapeutic properties. The primary goal of the Action is to demonstrate the importance of these products for the socio-economic development of European countries and beyond, as well as their impact on biodiversity and the natural environment.