CAREER: Skull Evolution in Early Mammals and Advanced Cynodonts

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9527892 Luo In a CAREER project with both research and education components, Dr. Zhexi Luo of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the University of Pittsburgh is studying new fossils of early mammals, mostly from China, and using Computer Tomography (CT) methods to acquire internal anatomical characters for comparative phylogenetic analyses. The three-dimensional graphical CT methods allow non-destructive sampling of fossils that might otherwise be rare or inaccessible to detailed study. Reptilian forms usually placed in the "cynodonts" are thought to represent animal groups from which the first true mammals evolved. New fossil findings in China have provided much new material of these animals, some with cranial remains that provide features of the nasal, orbital, sphenoidal, and ear regions. Changes in the structure of the skull attendant on the evolutionary transition to mammals likely relate to functional changes in feeding, respiration, olfaction, and hearing. With access to these new fossils through colleagues in China and elsewhere, the PI is in an excellent position to acquire new and potentially decisive data bearing on structural and functional changes in the early evolution of mammals from reptilian cynodonts. This paleontological research is to be conducted with the help of undergraduate students enrolled in programs both at Carnegie Museum and at University of Pittsburgh, where the PI will be working with colleagues in biology and geology to establish new teaching and research programs in systematic biology and vertebrate paleontology. Students will have access to the impressive collections at the Carnegie Museum, along with associated curatorial expertise, while retaining valuable pedagogical links at the University.