Anatomy and Adaptations of Early Eocene Mammals from Wyoming

9419776玫瑰现代哺乳动物最早出现在化石记录中，并在始新世早期开始多样化，距今52-5500万年前。这项研究将使用现存的最广泛的早期始新世哺乳动物骨骼集合，首次全面概述早期始新世哺乳动物的骨骼解剖和适应。灭绝的哺乳动物化石的运动和相关行为将通过与现代哺乳动物的严格解剖学比较来确定，现代哺乳动物的行为已经被记录在案。对现代哺乳动物关节和骨骼形状的定量图像分析将识别与特定运动模式相关的骨骼结构。这些结果将被用来根据化石哺乳动物的骨骼解剖来推断它们的运动行为。对300万年间密集分布的化石中保存极为完好的牙齿和头骨的定量分析，将定义哺乳动物化石的解剖和关系，并展示始新世物种多样性增加期间的进化过程。这项研究将为现代哺乳动物目的基本成员及其古代同代人的解剖、适应、行为和进化提供新的数据。它将通过哺乳动物的近代史和对哺乳动物群落随时间的稳定性的洞察，导致对群落进化的更广泛的理解。

9419776 Rose Modern orders of mammals first appeared in the fossil record and began to diversify during the early Eocene age, 52-55 million years ago. This research will use the most extensive collection of early Eocene mammal skeletons in existence to present the first comprehensive overview of the skeletal anatomy and adaptations of early Eocene mammals. Locomotion and related behaviors of extinct fossil mammals will be determined through rigorous anatomical comparisons with modern mammals whose behavior has been documented. Quantitative image analyses of joint and bone shapes in modern mammals will identify skeletal structures that are associated with particular modes of locomotion. Those results will be used to infer the locomotor behavior of fossil mammals from their skeletal anatomy. Quantitative analysis of exceptionally well-preserved teeth and skulls from fossils closely-spaced throughout the 3 million year period will define the anatomy and relationships of fossil mammals and show how evolution proceeded during the Eocene increase in species diversity. This research will provide new data on the anatomy, adaptations, behavior, and evolution of the basal members of modern mammalian orders and their archaic contemporaries. It will lead to a broader understanding of community evolution through the recent history of mammals and insight into the stability of mammal communities over time.