Quelques nouvelles données sur la répartition et l'écologie des sauriens en Guyane française

Data on taxonomy, distribution, and life-history are given for 28 species of terrestrial lizards observed in French Guyana. Particular emphasis is laid (1) upon the microhabitats of the various species within the rain-forest ecosystem, and (2) upon the relationships belween some morphological features and the locomotion and feeding habits of the species concerned. The partitioning of the forest environment (as well as of its associàted open areas) between the major taxonomie categories of neotropical lizards is discussed. The ecological specialization of the various groups quite likely took place quickly after the separation of South America from the rest of the Gondwanian blac

The Prince's tears, a large cable-driven parallel robot for an artistic exhibition

International audienceThis paper presents the development and results of a large 3 d.o.f cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) that has been extensively used between June and August 2019 for an artistic exhibition. The purpose of the exhibition was to 3D print a wall of glass powder, which will slowly collapse after the deposit of each layer. Positioning control on the assigned trajectory was an issue because of the CDPR geometry imposed by the specific configuration of the exhibition place. We describe how this problem was solved using a combination of cable length estimation based on the winch rotation measured by encoder, together with 3 on-board lidars that were used to provide a measure of the robot position. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that such method was used for controlling a large CDPR. This CDPR has run for 174 hours since 6/18/2019, averaging a run time of 4h15mn per day. The 3D printing of the wall started on 7/18/2019 and stops on 8/31/2019. During this period the robot was used for 32 days with an average of 2h18mn run-time per day. The robot has traveled on a total distance of 4757 meters, of which 3893 meters on the assigned trajectory. During the period 76 layers have been deposited, representing a mass of 1.5 tons of glass powder

Bill and hyoid apparatus of pigeons (Columbidae) and sandgrouse (Pteroclididae): A common adaptation to vegetarian feeding?

For the present study, 15 species of pigeons representing the 5 sub-families usually recognized, and 3 species of sandgrouse were examined. The skeleton and musculature of the bill and hyoid apparatus are described. Morpho-functional analyses show that from a key adaptation to the removal and deglutition (without processing) of attached plant items, pigeons would have followed two pathways, one based on the joint muscular control of the movement of the jaws (Columbinae, Treroninae, Gourinae), the other on the separate muscular control (Didunculinae, Otidiphabinae). Sandgrouse would have diverged from this latter, developing the ability to very selectively remove attached plant items as well as to peck particularly small seeds on the ground. Unexpected differences appeared between sandgrouse species which raise eco-ethological problems

Form, Function, transformation

No transformational theory could have been proposed before clear definitions were derived for the concepts of form and function. The maturation of these concepts followed the slow discovery of the rules that underlie the structural and functional basis of living beings. This question raises apparent contradictions that overcome, but still left some pitfalls for evolutionary biology. The main one is the remmants of teleology in the heart of the adaptation concept, necessary to recognize the effects of natural selection. Functional Morphology has the hard task to naviguate through these difficulties

Préface

Georges Cuvier a 60 ans lorsqu’en 1829 il débute une série de cours au Collège de France traitant de l’Histoire des sciences naturelles. Selon son habitude, il n’écrit pas son propos. Il a dû utiliser des petits carnets où sont seulement notées des idées générales, des noms et des dates, jalons pour sa prodigieuse mémoire. Comme ses « leçons d’anatomie comparée » avaient été dès le début de sa carrière publiées sur la base des notes prises par Constant Duméril, les cours d’Histoire des scienc..

Foreword

Georges Cuvier was sixty years old when in 1829 he began to give a series of lectures on the “history of the natural sciences” at the College of France. As usual, he did not write down the content of his lectures. He probably used instead small notebooks in which he only entered general ideas, names and dates, and points of reference for his prodigious memory. While his “lessons on comparative anatomy,” given at the beginning of his career, were published on the basis of notes taken by Consta..

Annexe

In 2007, the Société des Amis du Muséum et du Jardin des Plantes celebrates the centennial of its foundation. Instigated in 1907 by Edmond Perrier, then Director of the Museum, the Society has uninterruptedly stood beside the Muséum to assist it in the accomplishment of its missions, through acquiring scientific collections, funding travels of discovery, or contributing to the publication costs of remarkable volumes. As a private body gathering individuals who are strongly committed to suppor..