Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary Land Mammal Faunas, Bolivia

研究工作包括继续和扩大一个跨学科国际（美国-法国-玻利维亚）古生物学方案，以记录玻利维亚中南部晚白垩世（Maestrichtian）埃尔莫利诺地层和Maestrichtian和/或古新世圣露西亚地层的脊椎动物进化，特别是哺乳动物的进化。蒂乌潘帕埃尔莫利诺组的动物群在分类群数量和标本数量及质量方面都非常丰富-迄今为止，哺乳动物标本有600多个，包括大约500个孤立的牙齿、60个有牙齿的部分颌骨、4个部分骨骼、4个完整的头骨和4个部分头骨。总的来说，这些标本代表了至少20种兽目哺乳动物，包括11种有袋动物和9种胎盘动物。有袋类动物中有南美最早的有袋类、有袋类、微兽科、Caroloameghiniidae和Borhyaenidae记录;也有南美唯一的有变形兽科、全齿兽科和小隐齿兽科Condylarthra记录。蒂乌潘帕哺乳动物被证明是非常重要的了解许多有争议的方面（并创造新的争议）的地理历史和早期新生代哺乳动物群体的系统发育关系，特别是在南美洲和西半球一般。P.I.威尔：1）收集更多的化石; 2）前景更多的地点（包括Campanian时代的Chauanaca组）; 3）准备手头的化石和其他要收集的化石; 4）模具和铸件类型和重要标本，以分发给世界各地感兴趣的同事和其他研究机构; 5）研究和发表结果。

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.