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

0745495约翰逊犹他州白垩纪晚期（坎帕尼阶）的一种新脊椎动物群：生态和进化含义PI：Scott D. Sampson，Kirk R.约翰逊合作PI：Eric M. Robert，帕特里克M. O？作者声明：康纳晚白垩世是一个海平面上升和温室气候的时期。浅海淹没了许多大陆，包括北美。在大约2500万年的时间里，晚白垩世内陆海道从北冰洋延伸到墨西哥湾，有效地将北美大陆分为两块陆地。在西部大陆上，夹在东部的海道和西部的山脉之间，恐龙经历了戏剧性的多样化，可能达到了进化史的顶峰。该项目旨在继续和扩大Kaiparowits盆地项目，旨在探索保存在犹他州南部大阶梯-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，两个地质单位将成为目标？Kaiparowits和Wahweap编队？并将研究结果纳入系统发育、地层、古环境和地理背景。到目前为止，研究结果是壮观的，突出的是一个新的恐龙动物群，包括角龙（有角恐龙），鸭嘴龙（鸭嘴恐龙），甲龙（装甲恐龙），厚头龙（圆顶恐龙），hypsilophodont鸟脚亚目（小身体，两足形式），大身体的龙兽脚亚目（食肉恐龙），以及各种较小身体的兽脚亚目。许多形式都是由特殊的材料代表的，包括大多数完整的头骨和骨骼，以及脚印和皮肤印。然而，大多数脊椎动物（脊椎动物）物种目前只知道从零碎的遗骸，和荒地的广阔仍然没有探索，这表明我们才刚刚开始认识到这些单位的潜力。我们建议通过一个综合的，多学科的项目，包括脊椎动物和无脊椎动物古生物学，古植物学和地质学，扩大早期的努力。项目的主要目标是重建保存在Kaiparowits和Wahweap地层中的晚白垩世陆生动物群，并将其与西部内陆盆地（WIB）北部和南部的准同期样本进行比较。植物多样性也将是研究的一个主要目标，以更好地了解这些植物丰富的生态系统的性质。在犹他州的Kaiparowits盆地的上白垩纪地层中发现了更多更完整的化石，并对其进行了严格的系统发育分析，并将其置于地质背景中，这将为白垩纪北美陆地生态系统的演化模式和克里思提供重要的新线索。特别是，我们将测试有关的进化营业额和假定的南北物种地理区划的假设。通过持续的工作，我们相信，特别是Kaiparowits组的脊椎动物群将成为晚白垩世最著名的例子之一，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培训场所。与过去一样，该项目的成果将通过各种渠道向科学界和公众传播，包括原始出版物、媒体曝光、互联网、博物馆展览和讲座/研讨会。外展亮点包括计划在湖城新建一座耗资1亿美元的犹他州自然历史博物馆的永久性展览，该博物馆将详细重建Kaiparowits地层生态系统，以传达自然系统的一般运作方式，并将白垩纪晚期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.