RUI: Osteology and Phylogeny of Early Tertiary Perissodactyls (Mammalia) of Eurasia

欧亚大陆早第三纪周趾类(哺乳动物)的骨学和系统发育研究罗文大学的霍尔布鲁克博士获得了一项资助，用于研究不同类群的周趾类之间的相互关系。周指动物是一群哺乳动物，其中包括活着的马、犀牛和披肩，以及可以追溯到大约5500万年前的一大批化石。尽管近足趾是众所周知的，但它们的起源和进化模式还没有被很好地理解。这其中的一个原因是，在全球许多地方都有化石，而且很少有研究试图在他们的调查中涵盖这种广泛的地理分布。另一个原因是，多年来，牙齿是已知的大多数化石的唯一样本，因此大多数分析仅限于研究牙齿特征。因此，这项研究将实现两个目标。首先，它将提供北美和欧亚周趾动物最广泛的数据组合，涵盖早期周趾动物多样化的两个最重要的领域。其次，它将包括以前被忽视的指骨周骨解剖学领域的数据，特别是头骨和颅后骨骼。在这项研究的过程中，霍尔布鲁克博士和他的学生们将检查北美和欧亚大陆各地的博物馆中发现的化石和活的周指动物标本，包括美国、英国、法国、比利时、德国、俄罗斯和中国的藏品。他们将检查这些标本的牙齿、头骨和其他骨骼元素，以寻找不同的指骨周长所共有的特征，这将有助于阐明它们之间的关系。最终，这些数据将被计算机分析，以确定关系的最佳支持假设。霍尔布鲁克博士和他的同事们将利用这一信息来研究有关异脚趾动物进化的其他问题，特别是在不同的地质年代中，外脚趾动物是如何在各大洲分布的。在整个研究过程中，本科生将与霍尔布鲁克博士合作，学习大量关于科学过程和脊椎动物古生物学技术的知识。这一背景将为学生进行研究生学习做好准备，包括作为科学家的学术培训。这项工作的成果最终将在国家和国际科学会议上公布，并在科学期刊上发表。

ABSTRACTOsteology and Phylogeny of Early Tertiary Perissodactyls (Mammalia) of Eurasia A grant has been awarded to Dr. Holbrook at Rowan University to study how different groups of perissodactyls are related to one another. Perissodactyls are a group of mammals that includes the living horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs, as well as a host of fossils that date back to as early as about 55 million years ago. Although perissodactyls are well known, their origins and the pattern of their evolution is not well understood. One reason for this is that fossil perissodactyls are known from many parts of the globe, and few studies have even attempted to cover this broad geographic distribution in their investigations. Another reason is that, for many years, teeth were the only specimens known for most fossil perissodactyls, so most analyses limited themselves to studying tooth characteristics. This study will therefore accomplish two goals. First, it will provide the most extensive combination of data from North American and Eurasian perissodactyls, covering the two most important areas of early perissodactyl diversification. Second, it will include data from previous neglected areas of perissodactyl anatomy, specifically the skull and the postcranial skeleton. During the course of this study, Dr. Holbrook and his students will examine specimens of fossil and living perissodactyls found in museums throughout North America and Eurasia, including collections in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Russia, and China. They will examine teeth, skulls, and other elements of the skeletons of these specimens looking for features shared by different perissodactyls that will help elucidate their relationships. Ultimately, these data will be analyzed by computer in order to determine the best supported hypothesis of relationships. Once the pattern of perissodactyl evolution has been investigated, Dr. Holbrook and his colleagues will use this information to investigate other questions regarding perissodactyl evolution, in particular how perissodactyls came to be distributed on the various continents through geologic time. Throughout the course of this study, undergraduate students will be working with Dr. Holbrook and learning a great deal about the process of science and the techniques of vertebrate paleontology. This background will prepare the students for postgraduate study, including academic training as scientists. The results of this work will ultimately be presented at national and international scientific meetings and published in scientific journals.