Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary Land Mammal Faunas, Bolivia

研究包括一个跨学科的国际（美国-法国-玻利维亚）古生物学项目的延续和扩展，以记录玻利维亚中南部晚白垩纪（Maestrichtian）时代El Molino组和Maestrichtian和/或古新世时代Santa Lucia组的脊椎动物进化，特别是哺乳动物的进化。在Tiupampa的El Molino组的动物群在分类群的数量和标本的数量和质量上都非常丰富——到目前为止，哺乳动物有600多个标本，包括大约500个孤立的牙齿，60个带牙齿的部分颌骨，4个部分骨骼，4个完整的和4个部分头骨。这些标本总共代表了至少20种兽类哺乳动物，包括11种有袋动物和9种胎盘动物。在这些有袋类动物中，有南美洲最早记录的有袋类动物有：刺足科、双足科、微生物科、刺足科和刺足科；以及南美洲唯一的变形门、Pantodonta和毫无疑问的mioclaenine下颌齿类尖锐湿疣目的记录。Tiupampa哺乳动物对理解许多有争议的方面（以及产生新的争议）具有重要意义，这些方面是关于南美洲特别是西半球早期新生代哺乳动物群体的生物地理历史和系统发育关系的。P.I.将：1)收集更多的化石；2)寻找其他地点（包括坎帕尼亚时代的Chauanaca组）；3)准备好手头的化石和其他待收集的化石；4)模具和铸件类型及重要标本分发给有兴趣的同事和世界各地的其他研究机构；5)研究并公布结果。

Research involves the continuation and expansion of an interdisciplinary-international (US-French-Bolivian) paleontological program to document vertebrate evolution, particularly of mammals, in the Late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian) age El Molino Formation and Maestrichtian and/or Paleocene age Santa Lucia Formation in southcentral Bolivia. The fauna from the El Molino Formation at Tiupampa is spectacularly rich in both number of taxa and number and quality of specimens--thus far the mammals are represented by over 600 specimens, including about 500 isolated teeth, 60 partial jaws with teeth, four partial skeletons, four complete and four partial skulls. Collectively these specimens represent at least 20 species of therian mammals, including 11 marsupials and 9 placentals. Among the marsupials are the earliest South American records of the families Peradectidae, Didelphidae, Microbiotheriidae, Caroloameghiniidae, and Borhyaenidae; and the only South American records of Proteutheria, Pantodonta, and undoubted mioclaenine hyopsodontid Condylarthra. The Tiupampa mammals are proving of great importance for understanding many debated aspects (and creating new controversies) about the biogeographic histories and phylogenetic relationships of early Cenozoic age mammal groups in South America in particular and in the Western Hemisphere in general. P.I. will: 1) collect additional fossils; 2) prospect additional sites (including the Campanian age Chauanaca Formation); 3) prepare fossils in hand and others to be collected; 4) mold and cast type and important specimens for distribution to interested colleagues and other research institutions around the world; and 5) study and publish the results.