Dissertation Research: Mammalian Paleoecology of the Fayum of Egypt

关于高等灵长类动物早期进化的信息 （）主要是从挖掘在法尤姆， 埃及 许多关于法尤姆灵长类化石的描述， 这些年来出版的，但很少有人试图把 在生态环境或其生态环境的背景下， 与其他现存哺乳动物物种的关系。 这个项目 将试图详细说明法尤姆的哺乳动物组成部分 社区及其结构随时间的任何变化。 已开始在法尤姆河上进行物种鉴定 化石存放在杜克大学，并将完成对这些 在开罗地质博物馆的收藏中。 识别 将通过牙齿分析来完成。 有了物种相对丰度的数据，PI将被 能够研究成分随时间的变化， 可能是空间，从而提供了一个更清晰的图片的起源 高级灵长类动物。

Information on the early evolution of the higher primates (anthropoids) is largely known from excavations at the Fayum in Egypt. Many descriptions of the Fayum fossil primates have been published over the years but there has been little attempt to put them in the context of an ecological setting or their ecological relationships to other extant mammalian species. This project will seek to detail the mammalian component of the Fayum community and any changes in its structure over time. Identification of species has already been initiated on the Fayum fossils housed at Duke University and will be completed on those in the collection at the Cairo Geological Museum. Identification will be accomplished through dental analysis. With data on the relative abundance of species, the PIs will be able to investigate changes in the composition over time and possibly space and thus provide a clearer picture of the origin of the higher primates.