COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Paleoenvironments and Patterns of Vertebrate Evolution in the Early Cretaceous of Texas

这项分析将测试古环境分布和适应在四足动物谱系进化起源中的作用，以及德克萨斯州早白垩世动物种群更替的局部模式的原因。保存完好的脊椎动物群是从一个跨越15个世纪的序列中产生的，包括各种鱼类、两栖动物、撕裂动物、恐龙和哺乳动物，其中许多是新发现的。动物群存在于科曼奇系列的海洋和陆地之间的沉积物中，栖息地从开阔的海架到内陆半干旱的泛滥平原。将对通过该剖面的脊椎动物类群的丰富度进行定量分析，以确定种类与特定环境的关系及其在该剖面的变化模式。将根据脊椎动物所在地的沉积环境对古环境进行评估。在已有样本的基础上，脊椎动物记录的地层和古环境多样性将通过屏幕清洗计划和可行的采石进一步发展。搜索工作将集中在德克萨斯州中部采样较差的地层区间，以及西部和南部保存下来的更多内陆环境。

This analysis will test the roles of paleoenvironmental distribution and adaptation in the evolutionary origins of tetrapod lineages and the causes of local patterns of faunal turnover in the Texas Early Cretaceous. The well preserved vertebrate fauna being produced from a sequence spanning as much as 15 my includes diverse fishes, amphibians, lacertilians, dinosaurs, and mammals, many of which are new. Faunas are found in the intercalated marine and terrestrial sediments of the Comanche Series, in habitats ranging from open marine shelf to inland semi-arid floodplain. Abundances of vertebrate taxa through the section will be analyzed quantitatively to determine the relationships of taxa to specific environments and their patterns of change through the section. Paleoenvironments will be assessed based on the sedimentary context of vertebrate localities. Building upon samples already in hand the stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental diversity of the vertebrate record will be further developed through a program of screen washing and through quarrying where feasible. Search efforts will focus on poorly sampled stratigraphic intervals in central Texas and on more inland environments preserved to the west and south.