Anatomy and relationships of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Plateosaurus from the Norian of Frick, Jura Mountains, Switzerland

恐龙在晚三叠世(220 Ma前)的进化是陆地生态系统历史上的一件大事，因为恐龙将在接下来的1.55亿年里主宰它们。从进化的角度来看，恐龙特别令人感兴趣，因为它们与哺乳动物(以及在它们之前)一样，进化出了许多适应大型陆地脊椎动物高度活跃的生活方式的能力。早期恐龙，其中中欧高原龙是已知的最好的材料，因此在理解这些事件和过程中具有特别重要的意义。这里提出的这项研究对恐龙生物学的一个核心方面有重大影响，即高代谢率的进化。在最近发表在《科学》杂志上的一篇论文中，申请人表明，基于骨骼组织学，平台龙的生活史是高度可塑性的，并假设这反映了吸热进化的早期阶段。对这一假设至关重要的是，弗里克(瑞士)和特罗辛根(德国)的Plateosaurus遗骸是否代表单一物种，因为否则，观察到的生活史上的可变性可能是种间的。Frick Plateosaurus从来没有被详细研究过，而且新的材料不断被发现，所以这个样本最适合解决这个问题。这项工作将包括准备工作、详细描述以及与其他地方的高原龙的比较。一个新颖的方面是在个体水平上对弗里克材料的系统发育分析。

The evolution of the dinosaurs in the Late Triassic (220 Ma ago) was a major event in the history of terrestrial ecosystems because dinosaurs were to dominate them for the next 155 million years. From an evolutionary perspective, dinosaurs are of particular interest because convergently to mammals (and before them) they evolved many adaptations to a highly active life style ofa large terrestrial vertebrate. Early dinosaurs, among which the central European Plateosaurus is known from the best material, are thus of particulary importance in understanding these events and processes. The study proposed here has major implications for a central aspect of dinosaur biology, i.e. the evolution of a high metabolic rate. In a paper recently published in the journal Science, the applicant showed that based on bone histology Plateosaurus life history was highly plastic and hypothesized that this reflects an early stage in the evolution of endothermy. Crucial to this hypothesis is the question whether the Plateosaurus remains from Frick (Switzerland) and Trossingen (Germany) represent a single species because otherwise the observed variability in life history could be interspecific. The Frick Plateosaurus has never been studied in detail, and new material is constantly being discovered, so that this sample is best suited to address the issue. The work will consist of preparation, detailed description, and comparison with Plateosaurus from other localities. A novel aspect is a phylogenetic analysis ofthe Frick material at the level of the individual.