Papers by Nigel T Monaghan
Geological Curator
The geological collections of the National Museum of Ireland are wide ranging in terms of their h... more The geological collections of the National Museum of Ireland are wide ranging in terms of their history, geography and geology. Specimens have come from a variety of sources, including nineteenth-century museums, private individuals, state institutions and the collecting activities of museum staff. Some of the history and scope of the collections has already been published (O'Riordan 1983; Monaghan 1984); what follows is a summary which includes information on developments in the last decade and a list of major collections now incorporated into the museum.
Journal of Quaternary Science
Geological Curator
Obituary
Geological Curator
The antlers of the late Pleistocene giant deer Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach 1799) adorn the ... more The antlers of the late Pleistocene giant deer Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach 1799) adorn the walls of many a stately home throughout Ireland and Britain. They are also widespread in museum collections, having attracted attention for centuries as the largest antlers of any animal, living or extinct. One example is documented back to about 1588 when Adam Loftus of Rathfamham Castle in south County Dublin made a drawing (now preserved in the National Museum of Ireland NMING : GLM26) of a specimen sent by him to Sir Henry Cecil, Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth 1. The antlers have survived and are on exhibition in the Provincial Museum of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (P. Doughty pers. comm. 1990).
Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from pol... more Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has only been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown. Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age. We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, when brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped. Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear ance...
Cranium, 2019
Megaloceros giganteus is a species of gigantic deer, or 'reuzenhert' in Dutch. The classic locali... more Megaloceros giganteus is a species of gigantic deer, or 'reuzenhert' in Dutch. The classic locality is Ireland but these animals ranged widely across Europe and much farther east into Asia. They are found throughout the Pleistocene, but are most abundant in sediments of latest Pleistocene age. Many examples have been found in Doggerland, and fragments of antler, jaws, teeth and other bones have been discovered along the Dutch coastline. Their fossils have attracted attention for over 400 years. They have been called 'Irish Elk' because of their large flat antlers, similar to true elk. Dutch settlers in Ireland as far back as the 17 th century have contributed to discoveries that ended up in English royal palaces and Irish castles.
Zootaxa, 2012
John Robert Kinahan (b. 1828, d. 1863) published new names for Brachyura collected from Australia... more John Robert Kinahan (b. 1828, d. 1863) published new names for Brachyura collected from Australia, Ireland and Peru inthree publications. The dates of publication of these papers have not been previously determined accurately and some wereissued as separates and/or issued in multiple journals. The dates of these publications are determined, and a list of allknown new names proposed by Kinahan for the Brachyura (and their current identities) is provided. Kinahan is also de-termined to be the author of the family-group name Litocheiridae by an overlooked set of criteria making the name available in 1856.
Current Biology, 2011
Background: Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are among those species most susceptible to the rapidly... more Background: Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are among those species most susceptible to the rapidly changing arctic climate, and their survival is of global concern. Despite this, little is known about polar bear species history. Future conservation strategies would significantly benefit from an understanding of basic evolutionary information, such as the timing and conditions of their initial divergence from brown bears (U. arctos) or their response to previous environmental change. Results: We used a spatially explicit phylogeographic model to estimate the dynamics of 242 brown bear and polar bear matrilines sampled throughout the last 120,000 years and across their present and past geographic ranges. Our results show that the present distribution of these matrilines was shaped by a combination of regional stability and rapid, long-distance dispersal from ice-age refugia. In addition, hybridization between polar bears and brown bears may have occurred multiple times throughout the Late Pleistocene. Conclusions: The reconstructed matrilineal history of brown and polar bears has two striking features. First, it is punctuated by dramatic and discrete climate-driven dispersal events. Second, opportunistic mating between these two species as their ranges overlapped has left a strong genetic imprint. In particular, a likely genetic exchange with extinct Irish brown bears forms the origin of the modern polar bear matriline. This suggests that interspecific hybridization not only may be more common than previously considered but may be a mechanism by which species deal with marginal habitats during periods of environmental deterioration.
Journal of Natural Science Collections, 2022
Dodo remains in some museums are not well known or publicised. The fossil bones in the National M... more Dodo remains in some museums are not well known or publicised. The fossil bones in the National Museum of Ireland are described and their provenance discussed. Dodo remains in Trinity College Dublin and those exhibited at a scientific meeting in Dublin in 1866 are also reviewed. The Dublin skeleton is a composite, mostly acquired by the Royal Dublin Society at auction in London in 1866, and mounted by Edward Gerrard junior in 1871.
William Bookey Brownrigg, who discovered the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) vertebrate fossi... more William Bookey Brownrigg, who discovered the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) vertebrate fossils at Jarrow Colliery, Co. Kilkenny in 1864, published a short paper on the material. Shortly afterwards E.P. Wright, a zoologist from Trinity College Dublin, contacted Thomas Henry Huxley with a view to publishing a full description of the material. In November 1865 Huxley wrote to Brownrigg about his involvement and in his reply Brownrigg agreed to Huxley describing the material. Ultimately, when it came to the publication of the fossil fauna, Brownrigg was side-lined. Brownrigg's letter to Huxley is transcribed here.
Molecular biology and evolution, Jan 20, 2018
Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from pol... more Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has mainly been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown. Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age. We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, when brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped. Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear an...
Advances in Irish Quaternary Studies, 2016
Journal of Paleontology, 1995
Uploads
Papers by Nigel T Monaghan
George Victor Du Noyer produced a significant archive of scientific illustrations, a great many of which were never published or used during his lifetime. The drawings and watercolours he generated in the early part of his professional career show a very competent artist in the process of learning the particular skills of the scientific illustrator. His drawings for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland were influenced by the scientists who worked alongside him, and this prepared him not only for a career as an important illustrator of Ireland’s geological landscapes but also as a field geologist for the Geological Survey of Ireland.
significant work in recent decades that allows for clear sequencing of faunas and notable advances in understanding for particular species. The primary resource for study is the museum collections of bones excavated from Irish caves in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known faunas are much more limited in diversity and antiquity than those of Britain or continental Europe. The oldest vertebrate fossils were discovered in sediments from 109 to 74 ky BP in the form of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) late in MIS 5, or early in MIS 4. The pre-Last Glacial Maximum fauna also included spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), horse (Equus ferus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), stoat (Mustela erminea), collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus), Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus) and mountain hare (Lepus timidus). Faunas of the Woodgrange Interstadial include remains from open sites as well as caves and are dominated by discoveries of giant deer, but red deer, reindeer, brown bear, wolf, stoat and hare are also present. By the Holocene, Ireland was an island with its first human settlements, and faunas show their impacts through introductions and extirpations, but there are also indications of some species surviving through the Younger Dryas into the Holocene.