Vertebrate Paleontology of the Triassic to Jurassic Sedimentary Sequences in Southern Victoria Land and the Beardmore Glacier Area, Antarctica

该奖项由极地计划办公室南极地质和地球物理计划提供，支持横贯北极山脉的脊椎动物古生物研究。南极的野外工作将在1999-2000年的南半球夏季进行，以寻找和采集新的三叠纪和侏罗纪陆生脊椎动物。在这个季节，将在麦克默多站直升机的支持下，探索维多利亚陆地南部的羽毛和拉什利地层的暴露情况。现场工作将集中在寻找相当于汉森组的暴露，该组产生了南极洲唯一的侏罗纪恐龙动物群，并寻找新的中、上三叠世脊椎动物化石。除了收集新的化石标本外，还将对每个地点的挖掘/沉积背景进行解释。脊椎动物的准备和研究将在该项目的第二年进行，并将包括调查这些高纬度中生代动物群的成员分类群的进化意义。近年来发现的跨越三叠纪至侏罗纪的几种不同年龄的南极脊椎动物，为研究高纬度动物群的演化提供了独特的机会。这些动物群也有助于我们了解中生代的高纬度气候。

This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports vertebrate paleontological research in the Transantarctic Mountains. Antarctic field work, to search for and collect new terrestrial vertebrates of Triassic and Jurassic age, will be conducted in the austral summer of 1999-2000. During this season, exposures of the Feather and Lashly Formations in southern Victoria Land will be explored with the support of helicopters operating from McMurdo Station. Field efforts will concentrate on finding exposures equivalent to the Hanson Formation that has produced the only Jurassic dinosaur fauna from Antarctica and searching for new middle to upper Triassic fossil vertebrates. In addition to collecting new fossil specimens, an interpretation of the taphonomic/depositional settings for each of the localities will be made. The preparation and study of the vertebrates will occur during the second year of this project and will include investigation of the evolutionary significance of the member taxa of these high latitude Mesozoic faunas. Antarctic vertebrates of several different ages spanning the Triassic to Jurassic that have been discovered in recent years provide a unique opportunity to study the evolution of high latitude faunas. These faunas also contribute to our understanding of high latitude climates during the Mesozoic.