Katja Waskow

University of Bonn | Uni Bonn · Intitute of geosciences section paleontology

Nicht nur die Anzahl der Arten ist weltweit in dramatischer Weise rückläufig, sondern auch die Zahl der Artenkennerinnen und Artenkenner. Das FörTax-Projekt hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, dem entgegen zu wirken und Interesse und Wissen im Bereich der Artenkenntnis aller taxonomischen Gruppen Mitteleuropas zu fördern. Die Maßnahmen sind, neben einer Bes...

The main objective of FörTax is to promote taxonomic knowledge as a basis for nature conservation in order to counteract the erosion of taxonomy and species knowledge in various fields of application. FörTax is part of the Federal Biodiversity Programme, funded by the BfN and BMUV over a period of six years. Since the project was launched in Septe...

Das Buch zur großen Wanderausstellung „Facettenreiche Insekten" Im Rahmen von „ProInsekt" erscheint neben der Wanderausstellung auch ein Begleitbuch. In diesem Buch, das die Themen der gleichnamigen Wanderausstellung aufgreift und vertieft, haben renommierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sowie am Insektenschutz Beteiligte eine Reihe von...

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial vertebrates; yet despite a robust global fossil record, the paucity of cranial remains complicates attempts to understand their paleobiology. An assemblage of small diplodocid sauropods from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Montana, USA, has produced the smallest diplodocid skull yet discovere...

Thalattosuchian crocodiles belonging to the taxon Metriorhynchidae are among the first fossil reptiles ever discovered. Taxa belonging to this morphologically distinctive, stratigraphically long-lived, and widely spread group were described long before Richard Owen in 1841 coined the term “dinosaur” (e.g., Geosaurus giganteus described by von Soemm...

Fossil remnants of tetrapods have been collected in the Weser and Wiehen Mountains since the 1980s. The faunal spectrum has so far largely mirrored that of contemporaneous sites in England and France, thus adding to our knowledge of the biogeographical circumstances in central Europe 165 million years ago. These rare nds attest to a remarkable dive...

Bone histology is an important tool for uncovering life history traits of extinct animals, particularly those that lack modern analogs, such as the non-avian dinosaurs. In most studies, histological analyses preferentially focus on long bones for understanding growth rates and determining age. Here we show, by analyzing ornithischians (a stegosaur...

Thalattosuchian crocodiles belonging to the taxon Metriorhynchidae are among the first fossil reptiles ever discovered. Taxa belonging to this morphologically distinctive, longlived and widely spread group were described long before Richard Owen in 1841 named and described the first dinosaurs (e.g., Geosaurus giganteus described by Sömmering 1816)....

Bone histology reveals important information about life history traits of extinct animals lacking modern analogues like non-avian dinosaurs. In general, long bones are preferred to analyze histology. Following the lead of Waskow and Sander (2014) who postulated the skeletochronological usefulness of Camarasaurus sp. ribs, here we show, that rib his...

Graviportal taxa show an allometric increase of the cross-sectional area of supportive bones and are assumed to display microanatomical changes associated with an increase in bone mass. This evokes osteosclerosis (i.e. an increase in bone compactness observed in some aquatic amniotes). The present study investigates the changes in bones' microanato...

Several histological studies have attempted to derive life history parameters of sauropod dinosaurs. However, verification of sexual maturity and growth rate has been impeded by strong remodeling in sampled sauropod long bones. Here, for the first time, histological variation in the rib cage of Camarasaurus sp. is studied based on a single, relativ...