US- France Cooperative Research: Systematics of Late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian) Land Mammals in Bolivia

该奖项将支持加州伯克利拉里·g·马歇尔博士人类起源研究所和法国巴黎国家自然历史博物馆古生物学研究所的克里斯蒂安·德·穆森博士的合作研究。Drs。马歇尔和德·穆松过去曾成功地合作收集了玻利维亚晚白垩纪埃尔莫利诺组的哺乳动物和其他脊椎动物。研究人员现在提议准备两本关于南美洲最古老哺乳动物群中一些最重要物种的专著。专著1将是关于alciddedorbignya inopinata的标本——_______________ _________已知的最早、最小和最普遍的Pantodonta目成员。专著2将是关于双翅有袋类动物Pucadelphys和inus的标本（包括完整的头骨和几乎完整的相关骨骼）。在Tiupampa区系中，A. inopinata是最___________ ________ _________丰富的胎盘类，P. andinus是最丰富的有袋类________。这两本专著的准备工作将涉及：1)评估每个物种的牙齿变异；2)评估每个物种内可能的两性二态性；3)对所有牙齿、颅骨和颅后器官的详细描述；4)与其他类群生理亲和性的比较描述与评价；5)评估Pucadelphys骨骼的功能方面；6)为学习和___________出版制作照片；7)讨论每个物种的进化和生物地理重要性。这项工作的结果应该引起哺乳动物进化学者的极大兴趣。

This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Larry G. Marshall Institute of Human Origins, Berkeley, California and Dr. Christian de Muizon of the Institute of Paleontology, National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France. Drs. Marshall and de Muizon have worked together successfully in the past in the collection of mammals and other vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous age El Molino Formation in Bolivia. The investigators now propose to prepare two monographs on some the most important species in the oldest mammalian faunas of South America. Monograph 1 will be on specimens of Alcidedorbignya inopinata--the _______________ _________ earliest, smallest, and most generalized member of the order Pantodonta known. Monograph 2 will be on specimens (including complete skulls and nearly complete associated skeletons) of the didelphid marsupial Pucadelphys andinus. A. inopinata is the most ___________ _______ _ _________ abundant placental, and P. andinus is the most abundant marsupial _ _______ in the Tiupampa fauna. Preparation of both monographs will involve: 1) assessment of dental variation within each species; 2) assessment of possible sexual dimorphism within each species; 3) detailed descriptions of all dental, skull, and postcranial elements; 4) comparative descriptions and assessment of phyogenetic affinity with other taxa; 5) assess functional aspects of the skeletons of Pucadelphys; 6) make photographs for study and ___________ publication; and 7) discuss the evolutionary and biogeographic importance of each species. The results of this work should be of great interest to scholars of mammalian evolution.