News

Turn your smartphone into a video guide and walk the 'Our Natural Selection' Tour.

Researchers of our Institute have described the oldest mammalian predator of Europe. Vassacyon prieuri from Northern France is 57 million years old and is considered the earliest ancestor of modern-day cats and dogs. “The fossil exemplifies the early flourishing of carnivoran mammals on our continent after the dinosaurs became extinct”, says RBINS palaeontologist Floréal Solé, who collaborated with Romanian and French colleagues.

European populations changed dramatically at the end of the last Ice Age. This is what scientists have revealed as a result of DNA analysis of more than thirty fossils from six countries. Moreover, the genetic material of Belgian fossils indicates that the modern humans have migrated from Africa straight to Europe without making a detour through Asia, which was originally thought.

How can we protect biodiversity in developing countries, and stimulate their development in a sustainable manner at the same time? This was the key issue that was discussed at Biodiversity and Development, A Global Heritage, the symposium organised by our CEBioS programme. More than twenty speakers presented their views on the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems in developing countries.

Belgian palaeontologists have described baby dinosaurs with associated shell fragments. The Saurolophus dinosaurs were likely from a nest. The find sheds more light on the earliest stages of development of this giant hadrosaur species with typical crest.

Our colleague, palaeontologist Olivier Lambert, has found a 9 million year old fossil of a beaked whale and its last meal. This extremely rare find suggests that part of the beaked whales lived close to the water surface at that time, while the modern species are deep divers.

The newly launched European satellite Sentinel-2A turns out to be very useful for marine researcher, says bio-engineer Dimitry Van der Zande of our Institute, who presented the first images in Milan. The satellite, launched in June, was originally designed for land applications, but now also offers opportunities for the study of coastal areas. 

Our colleague and palaeontologist Thierry Smith has discovered a 70 million year old mammal with red teeth in Transylvania, Romania. Iron strengthened Barbatodon transylvanicus’ incisors and molars and gave them their red colour. Barbatodon is the oldest known fossil mammal with iron in its teeth and its skull is the most complete mammal fossil from the Upper Cretaceous period in Europe.