Collaborative Research: A New Vertebrate Fauna from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Utah: Ecological and Evolutionary Implications

犹他州晚白垩世（坎帕期）的新脊椎动物区系：生态学和进化意义PIs: Scott D. Sampson, Kirk R. Johnson Co-PIs: Eric M. Roberts, Patrick M. O？白垩纪晚期是一个海平面上升和温室气候的时期。浅海淹没了包括北美在内的许多大陆。在大约2500万年的时间里，晚白垩纪内陆海道从北冰洋延伸到墨西哥湾，有效地将北美大陆划分为两块大陆。在西部大陆，夹在东部的海道和西部高耸的山脉之间，恐龙经历了戏剧性的多样化，可能达到了它们进化史的顶峰。该项目旨在继续和扩大Kaiparowits盆地项目，该项目旨在探索保存在犹他州南部大楼梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑Kaiparowits盆地的晚白垩纪（约7500万年）生态系统。更具体地说，两个地质单元将成为目标？凯帕洛韦特和瓦威普地层？与发现放置到系统发育，地层学，古环境，和生物地理背景。迄今为止的研究结果是惊人的，其中包括一种新的恐龙群，包括角龙（有角的恐龙）、鸭嘴龙（鸭嘴龙）、甲龙（有甲的恐龙）、厚头龙（圆顶头的恐龙）、次栉龙鸟脚亚目（小身体的两足恐龙）、大身体的暴龙、兽脚亚目（食肉恐龙）和各种小身体的兽脚亚目。许多形式都是由特殊的材料代表的，包括大部分完整的头骨和骨骼，以及脚印和皮肤印痕。然而，大多数脊椎动物（脊骨）物种目前只从碎片遗骸中被发现，大片荒地仍未被开发，这表明我们才刚刚开始意识到这些单位的潜力。我们建议通过一个包括脊椎动物和无脊椎动物古生物学、古植物学和地质学在内的综合多学科项目来扩展早期的努力。该项目的主要目标是重建在Kaiparowits和Wahweap组中保存的晚白垩世陆生动物，并将其与西部内陆盆地（WIB）南北准同生的例子进行比较。植物多样性也将是一个主要的研究目标，试图更好地了解这些恐龙丰富的生态系统的本质。对犹他州Kaiparowits盆地上白垩纪地层中更多完整化石的发现和严格的系统发育分析，以及它们在地质背景中的放置，将为白垩纪北美陆地生态系统的进化模式和速度提供重要的新线索。特别是，我们将测试有关进化更替和假定的物种南北生物地理分区的假设。随着工作的继续，我们相信Kaiparowits组的脊椎动物群将成为白垩纪晚期最著名的例子之一，也是WIB南部记录最全面的动物群。与过去一样，该项目坚定地致力于为研究生和本科生，包括妇女和少数民族学生提供一个培训基地。与以往一样，该项目的成果将通过各种渠道向科学界和公众传播，包括原创出版物、媒体曝光、互联网、博物馆展览和讲座/研讨会。外展的亮点包括计划在盐湖城新建的耗资1亿美元的犹他自然历史博物馆的永久展览，该博物馆将详细描绘凯帕洛韦茨地层生态系统的重建，以传达自然系统的一般运作，并将这个晚白垩纪的例子与现代栖息地进行比较。

0745495JohnsonA NEW VERTEBRATE FAUNA FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (CAMPANIAN) OF UTAH: ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS PIs: Scott D. Sampson, Kirk R. Johnson Co-PIs: Eric M. Roberts, Patrick M. O?Connor, Mark A. Loewen The Late Cretaceous was a period of elevated sea levels and hothouse climates. Shallow seas flooded many continental landmasses, including North America. For about 25 million years, the Late Cretaceous Interior Seaway extended from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, effectively dividing the North American continent into two landmasses. On the western landmass, sandwiched between the seaway to the east and rising mountains to the west, dinosaurs underwent dramatic diversification, achieving perhaps the acme of their evolutionary history. This project seeks to continue and expand the Kaiparowits Basin Project, designed to explore Late Cretaceous (approximately 75 million year old) ecosystems preserved in the Kaiparowits Basin, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah. More specifically, two geologic units will be targeted?the Kaiparowits and Wahweap formations?with findings placed into phylogenetic, stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and biogeographic context. Results to date have been spectacular, highlighted by a new dinosaur fauna that includes ceratopsians (horned dinosaurs), hadrosaurs (duckbill dinosaurs), ankylosaurs (armored dinosaurs), pachycephalosaurs (dome-headed dinosaurs) hypsilophodont ornithopods (small-boded, bipedal forms), large-boded tyrannosaur theropods (carnivorous dinosaurs), and a variety of smaller-bodied theropods. Many forms are represented by exceptional materials, including mostly complete skulls and skeletons, as well as footprints and skin impressions. Yet the majority of vertebrate (back-boned) species are presently known only from fragmentary remains, and vast expanses of badlands remain unexplored, suggesting that we have only begun to realize the potential of these units. We propose to expand upon earlier efforts through an integrative, multi-disciplinary project that encompasses vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, and geology. The principle project goal is to reconstruct the Late Cretaceous terrestrial faunas preserved within the Kaiparowits and Wahweap formations, and to compare these with penecontemporaneous examples north and south within the Western Interior Basin (WIB). Plant diversity will also be a major target of study, in an attempt to better understand the nature of these dinosaur-rich ecosystems. The discovery and rigorous phylogenetic analysis of additional and more complete fossils from Upper Cretaceous horizons in the Kaiparowits Basin of Utah, and their placement into geological context, will shed significant new light on the mode and tempo of evolution within terrestrial ecosystems in Cretaceous North America. In particular, we will test hypotheses relating to evolutionary turnover and putative north-south biogeographic zonation of species. With continued work, we are confident that the vertebrate fauna from the Kaiparowits Formation in particular will become one of the best known examples of Late Cretaceous age, and the most comprehensively documented fauna from the southern portion of the WIB. As in the past, this project is firmly committed to providing a training ground for graduate and undergraduate students, including women and minorities. Also as in the past, results of this project will be disseminated to both the scientific community and the general public through a variety of outlets, including original publication, media exposure, the internet, museum displays, and lectures/seminars. Outreach highlights include permanent exhibits planned for a new, $100 million Utah Museum of Natural History facility in Salt Lake City, which will portray a detailed reconstruction of the Kaiparowits Formation ecosystem in order to convey the workings of natural systems generally, and to compare this Late Cretaceous example with modern habitats.