Continued Research on the Vertebrate Paleontology of the Upper Fremouw (Early-Middle Triassic) and the Falla Formations (Jurassic), Beardmore Glacier Region, Antarctica

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9315830 Hammer This award supports continued research on Triassic and Jurassic age vertebrate material collected in the Beardmore Glacier region of the Transantarctic Mountains. The fossils include Triassic synapsids and the first Jurassic dinosaurs from Antarctica. This continued funding is required because of the large amount of material that was collected during the previous field work and because of the time consuming nature of fossil preparation work. The collection to date has produced at least five taxa of Jurassic age, including a new large crested carnivorous dinosaur. Other dinosaur material includes portions of a prosauropod and teeth of a scavenging carnivore. In addition to the dinosaur material, other Jurassic animals identified include a pterosaur and a tritylodont synapsid. Early Jurassic fauna under study is one of only a few high latitude faunas known and so has considerable paleoclimatic significance. In addition, because Early Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate faunas are relatively rare, these fossils could provide significant information about the evolution of lineages between the Late Triassic and the Middle to Late Jurassic. Preparation of the Triassic material will follow the completion of the Jurassic material. ***