SBER Instrumentation: Vehicle Acquisition for Paleontological Research

在国家科学基金会和杜克大学的配套资金支持下，Elwyn Simons博士将购买一辆丰田陆地巡洋舰旅行车（GX型号），用于他的埃及古生物学研究。位于埃及北方沙漠法尤姆、莫加拉和邻近地区的遗址极为重要，因为它们为了解始新世和渐新世期间非洲脊椎动物的进化提供了一个独特的窗口。他们记录了非洲高等灵长类动物起源的故事，包括大约3600万至1700万年前原始猴子或猿的辐射。此外，还收集了来自各种群体的哺乳动物、爬行动物和鸟类，以及地质、地层和环境数据。在这个持续多年的项目中，已经发现或命名了25种不同的灵长类动物，属于至少9科15属。在过去的七年里，51位美国和国际科学家合作发表了93篇论文。目前，另有35份文件正在印刷或编写中。 在道路状况不佳或不存在的沙漠地区运输和维护研究项目是极其困难的。由于化石地点的分布，该小组必须维持三个营地，这大大增加了后勤问题。一辆新的丰田陆地巡洋舰将大大提高研究的效率。多年来，研究生和本科生都参与了这一领域的研究，许多人现在都是活跃的研究人员。因此，该项目的培训和教育方面也很重要。

With matching funds from the National Science Foundation and Duke University, Dr. Elwyn Simons will purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser Station Wagon (GX Model) for use in his Egyptian paleontological research. Sites located at Fayum, Moghara and adjacent regions in the northern Egyptian desert are extremely important because they provide a unique window into vertebrate evolution in Africa during the Eocene and Oligocene periods. They document the story of higher primate origins in Africa, including the radiation of proto-monkeys or apes between about 36 and 17 million years ago. Mammals, reptiles and birds from a broad array of groups are also collected as is geological, stratigraphic and environmental data. Over the many years of this continuing project, twenty-five different primate species have been discovered or named, belonging to at least nine families and fifteen genera. Over the last seven years, fifty-one US and international scientists have collaborated to publish over 93 papers. At present 35 additional papers are in press or in progress. It is extremely difficult to transport and maintain a research project in a desert area where roads are poor or absent. Because of the distribution of fossil sites, the group must maintain three camps and this significantly increases logistic problems. A new Toyota Land Cruiser will greatly increase the efficiency of the research. Over the many years of its existence both graduate and undergraduate students have participated in this field research and many are now active researchers. The training and educational aspects of the project therefore are also significant.