U.S.-Egypt Cooperative Research: Archaeocete Whales and Other Fossil Vertebrates of Eocene Wadi Hitan (FAYUM)

项目描述：本项目支持密歇根大学安娜堡古生物博物馆的Philip Gingrich博士和埃及开罗环境事务局（EEAA）的Moustafa Fouda博士的合作研究。他们将在埃及法尤姆地区对古鲸和其他始新世瓦迪希坦的脊椎动物化石进行研究。在埃及法尤姆省西部的Wadi Hitan发现了保存完好的古鲸化石。这个地区现在是瓦迪拉延保护区的一部分，也是一个受欢迎的沙漠旅游目的地。智力优势：这项研究旨在发现、绘制、收集和描述在Wadi Hitan和周围沙漠中——在地质上既古老又年轻的地层中——新的鲸鱼化石。较老的鲸鱼化石对于理解从早期的半水生原始古鲸类到保存在Wadi Hitan的水生龙王鲸类的转变很重要，而较年轻的鲸鱼化石对于理解从Wadi Hitan的水生龙王鲸到像今天生活的现代鲸鱼的转变很重要。更广泛的影响：这项研究的一部分是应用和教育，因为它涉及在Wadi Rayan游客中心和开罗地质博物馆开发Wadi Hitan化石鲸鱼的公共展览，以提高公众对鲸鱼进化和我们在自然界中的地位的理解。鲸鱼化石的新发现、与之相关的新展览、以及围绕这两者的宣传，有望为瓦底和滩野外生态旅游的可持续发展做出贡献。该项目得到了美国-埃及联合基金项目的支持，该项目向两国的科学家和工程师提供赠款，以开展这些合作活动。

0513544GingerichProject Description: This project supports a collaborative research between Dr. Philip Gingrich, Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Dr. Moustafa Fouda, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), Cairo, Egypt. They will conduct research on archaeocete whales and other fossile vertebrates of Eocene Wadi Hitan, in the Fayoum region in Egypt. A rich fauna of well-preserved archaeocete fossil whales has been developed in Wadi Hitan in western Fayum Province, Egypt. This area is now part of the Wadi Rayan Protected Area and a popular desert tourist destination.Intellectual merit: The research is designed to discover, map, collect, and describe new fossil whales in Wadi Hitan and in the surrounding desert-- in strata that are geologically both older and younger. Older fossil whales are important for understanding the transition from earlier semiaquatic protocetid archaeocetes to the aquatic basilosaurids preserved in Wadi Hitan, and younger fossil whales are important for understanding the transition from aquatic basilosauruds in Wadi Hitan to modern whales like those living today.Broader impacts: Part of this research is applied and educational in that it involves development of public exhibits of Wadi Hitan fossil whales in the Wadi Rayan Visitors Center and the Cairo Geological Museum to enhance public understanding of whale evolution and our place in the natural world. New discoveries of fossil whales, new exhibits related to these, and publicity surrounding both are expected to contribute to sustainable development of ecotourism at the Wadi Hitan field site. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.