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Risultati della ricerca
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2017
Journal article
Making sense of the senses across species boundaries: designing the Animal Senses gallery at National Museums Scotland
As one of a suite of natural science galleries in the National Museum of Scotland, Animal Senses presents a comprehensive overview of how animals have evolved senses as they have adapted to different ecological niches in order to find food or avoid predation. Using different sensory channels, they also have...Kitchener, Andrew C
animals, Senses, interpretation, exhibition, and communication
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2020
Journal article
Small carnivorans, museums and zoos
Small carnivorans are generally poorly represented in zoos, probably because they are small, mostly nocturnal and solitary hunters. However, there is limited knowledge about the ecology and behaviour of a large number of these and many species are threatened with extinction or their conservation status is poorly known or even...Kitchener, Andrew C
museums , zoo, small carnivoran , research , taxonomy , conservation , collection, anatomy , and biobanking
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2021
Journal article
Machine learning ATR-FTIR spectroscopy data for the screening of collagen for ZooMS analysis and mtDNA in archaeological bone
Faunal remains from archaeological sites allow for the identification of animal species that enables the better understanding of the relationships between humans and animals, not only from their morphological information, but also from the ancient biomolecules (lipids, proteins, and DNA) preserved in these remains for thousands and even millions of... -
2020
Journal article
Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in captive gorillas (Gorilla Spp.): Appearance and diagnosis
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a disorder of unknown cause, in which new bone forms in soft tissues attached to the skeleton. Originally described in humans, in whom it is quite common, it is usually asymptomatic. New bone may completely bridge across joints, especially in the spine. However, it...Livingstone, Brian ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hull, Gordon ; Schwarz, Tobias ; Vijayanathan, Sanjay …
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2022
Journal article
Genetic examination of historical North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) bone specimens from the eastern North Atlantic: Insights into species history, transoceanic population structure, and genetic diversity
Species monitoring and conservation is increasingly challenging under current climate change scenarios. For the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) this challenge is heightened by the added effects of complicated and uncertain past species demography. Right whales once had a much wider distribution across the North Atlantic Ocean, although the...Frasier, Brenna A ; Springate, Leah ; Frasier, Timothy R ; Brewington, Seth ; Carruthers, Martin …
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2022
Journal article
Abnormal (Hydroxy)proline Deuterium Content Redefines Hydrogen Chemical Mass
Analyzing the δ2H values in individual amino acids of proteins extracted from vertebrates, we unexpectedly found in some samples, notably bone collagen from seals, more than twice as much deuterium in proline and hydroxyproline residues than in seawater. This corresponds to at least 4 times higher δ2H than in any...Gharibi, Hassan ; Chernobrovkin, Alexey L ; Eriksson, Gunilla ; Saei, Amir Ata ; Timmons, Zena …
Biopolymers, Ions, Hydrogen , Peptides , Anatomy, proteins, and isotopes
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2021
Journal article
Expediency of photographs to study the distribution of wildcats in South-west Asia
By compiling a wildcat catalogue of georeferenced digital photographs from Southwest Asia, we investigated the plausibility of phenotypically identifying Felis silvestris caucasica (Caucasian wildcat), Felis lybica ornata (Asiatic wildcat) and Felis lybica lybica (African wildcat) through external phenotypic traits, in order to verify their known distribution, and identify any inconsistencies...Wuest, Dina ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Ghoddousi, Arash ; Gerngross, Peter ; Barashkova, Anna …
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2022
Blog post
On the edge: COP 15 and disappearing species
With COP 15 taking place in China this month, Principal Curator of Vertebrates Andrew Kitchener explores the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker. Thought to be extinct, but with potential sightings still reported, this bird is just one of many species we’re at risk of losing forever.Kitchener, Andrew C
Conservation , Birds , Natural Sciences , Audubon , and Natural World
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2022
Journal article
Novel mtDNA haplotypes represented in the European captive population of the Endangered François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)
Assessing the genetic diversity of captive populations of endangered species is key to the successful management of conservation-breeding programs. In this study, we sequenced a 393-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of 23 captive individuals of the Endangered François’ langur ( ) to assess the mtDNA diversity...Farré, Marta ; Johnstone, Cameron ; Hopper, Jane ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Roos, Christian …
Captive populations, mtDNA , Conservation genetics , and François’ langurs
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Lecture
Bones, teeth and gum: How museums can contribute to improving animal welfare
How museums can contribute to improving animal welfareKitchener, Andrew C
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Poster (unpublished)
CryoArks – The UK’s first zoological biobank
National Museums Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are partners in a UK-wide collaboration to create the UK’s first comprehensive zoological Biobank network for research and conservation.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Murray-Dickson , Gill
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2022
Blog post
Dedicated collector: Michael Daniels and his Eocene birds
A stunning collection of over 700 bird fossils has been bequeathed to National Museums Scotland. Collected in Essex by Michael Daniels, the fossils date from 54-56 million years ago, the beginning of the Eocene period. They represent the early stages in the evolution of modern birds and contain many species...Kitchener, Andrew C
Conservation , Fossil Hunters , Palaeontology, Birds , Collections, Fossils , and Natural Sciences
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2022
Journal article
New fossils from the London Clay show that the Eocene Masillaraptoridae are stem group representatives of falcons (Aves, Falconiformes)
The Eocene taxon Masillaraptoridae includes long-legged, raptorial birds, the phylogenetic affinities of which are poorly resolved. Here, fossils from the London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, U.K.) are described, which corroborate the hypothesis that masillaraptorids are stem group representatives of the Falconiformes (falcons). Two partial skeletons are assigned to a new...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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2022
Journal article
Oldest fossil loon documents a pronounced ecomorphological shift in the evolution of gaviiform birds
We describe a stem group representative of Gaviiformes (loons or divers) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). The holotype of Nasidytes ypresianus gen. et sp. nov. is a partial skeleton including the mandible and all major limb bones. The new species is the oldest unambiguously identified...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Nasidytes ypresianus, Walton-on-the-Naze, Aves, fossil birds, and London Clay
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2022
Journal article
Early Eocene fossil illuminates the ancestral (diurnal) ecomorphology of owls and documents a mosaic evolution of the strigiform body plan
We describe a partial skeleton of a fossil owl (Strigiformes) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). The holotype of Ypresiglaux michaeldanielsi, gen. et sp. nov. is one of the most complete specimens of a Palaeogene owl and elucidates the poorly known ecomorphology of stem group Strigiformes....Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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2022
Journal article
Phenotypic plasticity determines differences between the skulls of tigers from mainland Asia
Tiger subspecific taxonomy is controversial because of morphological and genetic variation found between now fragmented populations, yet the extent to which phenotypic plasticity or genetic variation affects phenotypes of putative tiger subspecies has not been explicitly addressed. In order to assess the role of phenotypic plasticity in determining skull variation,... -
Presentation
Extending the archive of life: Contemporary collecting in Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland
What objects will tell the stories of 21st-century Scotland? What themes, events, and ideas represent Scotland today? How do we ‘future proof’ our contemporary collecting? National Museums Scotland is hosting a one-day symposium on contemporary collecting. It will explore how we build representative collections for the future, covering Scotland’s present...Kitchener, Andrew C
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2022
Journal article
Biogeography in the deep: Hierarchical population genomic structure of two beaked whale species
The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth, yet little is known about the processes driving patterns of genetic diversity in its inhabitants. Here, we investigated the macro- and microevolutionary processes shaping genomic population structure and diversity in two poorly understood, globally distributed, deep-sea predators: Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius... -
2022
Journal article
When did Alexander Philipp Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied-Neuwied, first describe Felis macroura?
The margay, Leopardus wiedii Schinz, 1821, is a Neotropical small spotted cat, whose nomenclatural history has long been confused (Thomas 1903; Pocock 1917; Allen 1919). This confusion began with Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du roi published in 1765,...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Sanderson, James G
Leopardus macrourus, margay, Leopardus wiedii, wild cat, Heinrich Rudolf Schinz, Reise nach Brasilien, and Felis wiedii
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2022
Blog post
First British record of the short-finned pilot whale
What is the difference between the long-finned and the short-finned pilot whale? Andrew Kitchener explains how the examination of the skull of a stranded whale revealed the true identity of the species and the most northerly stranding of a short-finned pilot whale in the northeast Atlantic.Kitchener, Andrew C
Britain , Stranding , Whales, Short-Finned Pilot Whale, Pilot Whale , and Whale
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Journal article
First recorded stranding of a short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, in Britain
A male pilot whale, Globicephala sp., was reported as a live stranding on 1st March 2012 at Hazelbeach, near Neyland, Pembrokeshire. It was euthanased and its skull was recovered during an onsite necropsy. Examination of the skull and contemporary photographs of the stranded animal confirm that this is the first...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg ; Penrose, R S ; Perkins, M W ; Deaville, R
Globicephala melas, Delphinidae, skull, and Globicephala macrorhynchus
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2022
Journal article
Psittacopedids and zygodactylids: The diverse and species-rich psittacopasserine birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK)
The Daniels collection of fossil birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK) contains multiple specimens of the Psittacopedidae and Zygodactylidae, which are here for the first time studied in detail. The Psittacopedidae include Parapsittacopes bergdahli, Psittacomimus eos, gen. et sp. nov., ?Psittacopes occidentalis, sp. nov., and...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Psittacopasseres, evolution, fossil birds, Aves, and systematics
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2023
Blog post
Entangled Knowledges: Sharing collections in Albany
Since 2021 Ali and Andrew have been participating in a project which aims to highlight Menang Nyungar knowledge embedded in a historical collection of fishes and cultural objects and return this knowledge to the Menang community in Western Australia. Here they tell us about this collection, their recent visit to...Clark, Ali ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Research, Collections , Fish , and Colonial Histories And Legacies
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2023
Journal article
Range-wide whole-genome resequencing of the brown bear reveals drivers of intraspecies divergence
Population-genomic studies can shed new light on the effect of past demographic processes on contemporary population structure. We reassessed phylogeographical patterns of a classic model species of postglacial recolonisation, the brown bear ( ), using a range-wide resequencing dataset of 128 nuclear genomes. In sharp contrast to the erratic geographical...de Jong, Menno J ; Niamir, Aidin ; Wolf, Magnus ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Lecomte, Nicolas …
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2023
Journal article
The prevalence of vestigial teeth in two beaked whale species from the North Atlantic
Beaked whales, Family Ziphiidae, occur in deep offshore and oceanic seas, where they are very difficult to study, so that much of our knowledge about them is derived from stranded animals. Most beaked whales (e.g., genera and ) have only one pair of mandibular teeth. A reduced dentition is widely...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Doeschate, Mariel ten ; Davison, Nicholas J ; Brownlow, Andrew …
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2023
Interview (radio, television)
Moby the sperm whale interview
In Edinburgh, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke remain on the coast for a cetacean celebration before saying goodbye to the wild badger sett they’ve been following all series.Kitchener, Andrew C
contemporary collecting, cetacean collections, skull, Physeter catodon (sperm whale), and whale stranding
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2023
Research report
Scottish Wildcat Action: Final Summary Report
The wildcat, Felis silvestris, is one of our most iconic species. Elusive and rarely seen, it is threatened by a combination of extremely challenging factors, in particular hybridisation with domestic cats. Its secretive nature has made it a difficult animal to study in the wild, making it harder to design...Kitchener, Andrew C
Felis silvestris, ecology , population, and wildcat