Continued Research on the Triassic and Jurassic Vertebrate Faunas From the Transantarctic Mountains

摘要该奖项支持对横贯南极山脉三叠纪和侏罗纪脊椎动物化石的持续研究。在1995/96年的南方夏季，一个野外小组从沙克尔顿冰川附近的地点收集了120个新的三叠纪脊椎动物标本。在前几个季节，在比尔德莫尔冰川附近的地方发现了三叠纪到侏罗纪时期的脊椎动物。该奖项支持继续准备和研究这些收藏，特别是最近收集的材料。这些新发现的化石都来自早三叠世的Fremouw组，它们代表了至少12-16个不同的分类群，其中一些似乎是新的。其中包括15-20个部分或完整的骨骼和许多额外的头骨，颌骨，以及许多草食性和肉食性下孔类动物，小型下孔类动物，原松音类无孔类动物和temnospondyl两栖动物的其他诊断碎片。在进行更精确的鉴定之前，需要对大多数标本进行准备。这些大量的材料将用于确定沙克尔顿冰川地区发现的与比尔德莫尔冰川附近的类似年龄的集合相比，更大的组合多样性是由于气候还是相。沙克尔顿地区是比尔德莫尔脊椎动物遗址的高地，气候的差异可能影响了动物的相对多样性。还将对每个地点的地层学/沉积环境作出解释。最后，继续研究中生代（早三叠世、早中三叠世和早侏罗世）高纬度脊椎动物群的进化意义。由于现在在南极洲发现了从三叠纪到侏罗纪的几个不同时代的脊椎动物，它们为研究高纬度动物的进化提供了一个独特的机会。这些动物也有助于我们了解这一时期的高纬度气候。

OPP 9614928 Hammer Abstract This award supports continued research on Triassic and Jurassic fossil vertebrates from the Transantarctic Mountains. During the 1995/96 austral summer, a field team collected 120 new specimens of Triassic vertebrates from sites near the Shackleton Glacier. In previous seasons Triassic to Jurassic age vertebrates were recovered from localities near the Beardmore Glacier. This award supports the continued preparation and study of these collections, particularly the material collected recently. The new fossils are all from the Early Triassic age lower Fremouw Formation and they represent at least 12-16 different taxa, several of which appear to be new. Included are 15-20 partial to complete skeletons and numerous additional skulls, jaws, and other diagnostic pieces of numerous herbivorous and carnivorous synapsids, small diapsids, procolophonid anapsids and temnospondyl amphibians. Preparation of most of the specimens is required before more precise identifications can be made. This extensive amount of material will be used to determine whether the greater diversity in assemblages found in the Shackleton Glacier area compared to similar age collections made near the Beardmore Glacier is due to climate or facies. The Shackleton localities are upland from the Beardmore vertebrate sites and the climatic differences may have effected the relative diversity of the faunas. An interpretation of the taphonomic/depositional settings for each locality will also be made. Finally, studies on the evolutionary significance of the high latitude vertebrate faunas from the Mesozoic (Early Triassic, early Middle Triassic and Early Jurassic) will continue. Because vertebrates of several different ages spanning the Triassic to Jurassic are now known from Antarctica, they provide a unique opportunity to study the evolution of high latitude faunas. These faunas also contribute to our understanding of high latitude climates during this time.