Collaborative Research: Fort Payne Formation Echinoderms: Systematics, Paleoecology and Regional Synthesis (Lower Mississippian, Midcontinental U.S.)

具有石灰岩的基本沉积学和埋藏学 在佩恩堡地层中已知的堆积，一个详细的系统 将对海百合动物群（棘皮动物门）进行研究。 佩恩堡组是下密西西比（晚奥赛纪; 大约3.5亿年），这项研究将是 在肯塔基州中南部的岩石中进行。 其中这些 岩石在地下，它们是石油和天然气的生产者。 因为海百合遗骸是 石灰岩堆积，充分记录其多样性至关重要 了解它们的古生态分布。 这将 从而更好地了解其起源和分布 这些石灰石的。 建议研究的具体目标包括1， 佩恩堡海百合动物群的种级系统学， 包括记录物种内的变化， 大量的收藏; 2，海百合的测定 佩恩堡古群落的物种组成; 3、评价 动物群在石灰岩差异发育中的作用 4、这些数据与海百合物种的整合 分布在美国中部， 更好地了解区域分布控制， 奥萨吉海百合 这项研究将导致最 对神秘的下南极洲进行了详尽的古生物研究 密西西比期瓦索期相 进一步了解结果 奥萨吉晚期海百合的化石将是最全面的 古生代大型无脊椎动物的数据集。 的 由此产生的系统学、相分布 古地理学和群落古生态学将是一个丰富的来源 为了将来的研究， 古生态学的问题可以得到解决。

With the basic sedimentology and taphonomy of limestone buildups known in the Fort Payne Formation, a detailed systematic study of the crinoid fauna (Phylum Echinodermata) will be made. The Fort Payne Formation is Lower Mississippian (late Osagean; approximately 350 million years old), and this study will be conducted in rocks from south-central Kentucky. Where these rocks are in the subsurface, they are oil and gas producers. Because crinoidal remains are the dominant component in the limestone buildups, it is vital to document fully their diversity and to understand their paleoecologic distribution. This will result in a better understanding of the origin and distribution of these limestones. Specific objectives of the proposed research include 1, species-level systematics of the Fort Payne crinoid fauna, including documentation of within-species variations from the large collections available; 2, determination of the crinoid species composition of Fort Payne paleocommunities; 3, evaluation of the faunal role in the differential development of limestone buildups; 4, integration of these data with crinoid species distributions throughout the midcontinental U.S. in order to understand better the regional distributional controls on late Osagean crinoids. This research will result in the most thoroughly documented paleontologic study of the enigmatic Lower Mississippian Walsortian facies. Further the resulting knowledge of late Osagean crinoids will be one of the most comprehensive data sets available for Paleozoic macroinvertebrates. The resulting regional synthesis of systematics, facies distribution, paleogeography and community paleoecology will be a rich source for future research to which fundamental evolutionary and paleoecologic questions can be addressed.