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

合作研究：犹他州晚白垩世（坎帕阶）的一个新脊椎动物群：生态和进化意义

• 批准号: 0745495
• 负责人: Kirk Johnson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-04-01 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0745495&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; New; Vertebrate; Fauna

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.

0745495 Johnsona来自犹他州晚白垩纪（Campanian）的新脊椎动物动物群：生态和进化的影响PIS：Scott D. Sampson，Kirk R. Johnson Co-Pis：Eric M. Roberts，Patrick M. Roberts，Patrick M. O？Connor，Mark A. Loewen晚期的高架时期和Hoth sea and Hoth sea and Hothouse and Hothouse and Hothouse and Hothouse和Hothouse Hothouse。浅海淹没了包括北美在内的许多大陆陆地。在大约2500万年中，晚白垩统内部海道从北极海洋延伸到墨西哥湾，有效地将北美大陆分为两个陆地。在西部陆地上，将恐龙夹在东部的海道和西部的山脉之间，进行了戏剧性的多样化，也许实现了其进化史的acme。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大楼梯 - 埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑的Kaiparowits Basin中的晚白垩纪（约7500万年）的生态系统。更具体地说，将针对两个地质单元？木马和wahweap地层？在系统发育，地层，古环境和生物地理环境中的发现。 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霸龙兽脚类动物（食肉恐龙）和各种较小的兽脚类动物。许多形式都以特殊的材料表示，包括大多数完整的头骨和骨骼以及足迹和皮肤印象。然而，大多数脊椎动物（后骨）物种目前仅从碎片遗体中才知道，并且大量的荒地膨胀尚未探索，这表明我们才开始意识到这些单位的潜力。我们建议通过一个综合，多学科的项目来扩展早期的努力，该项目涵盖了脊椎动物和无脊椎动物古生物学，古生物和地质学。主要项目的目标是重建木马和瓦韦普形成中保存的晚白垩纪陆地动物群，并将其与西部盆地（WIB）中北部和南方的Penecontembosanous实例进行比较。植物多样性也将成为研究的主要目标，以便更好地了解这些恐龙丰富的生态系统的性质。从犹他州Kaiparowits盆地的上白垩纪地平线上的其他和更完整的化石的发现和严格的系统发育分析，以及它们在地质环境中的位置，将为北美白垩纪北美的地形生态系统内的进化模式和速度提供重大的新阐述。特别是，我们将检验与进化转换和假定的南北生物地理分区有关的假设。通过持续的工作，我们相信，尤其是Kaiparowits组的脊椎动物动物群将成为白垩纪晚期最著名的例子之一，也是最全面的文献记载的动物群。与过去一样，该项目坚定地致力于为包括妇女和少数民族在内的研究生和本科生提供培训场。同样与过去一样，该项目的结果将通过各种媒体传播给科学界和公众，包括原始出版物，媒体曝光，互联网，博物馆展示和讲座/研讨会。外展亮点包括计划在盐湖城举行的新的，1亿美元的犹他州自然历史博物馆设施的永久性展览，该博物馆将描绘出Kaiparowits组地层生态系统的详细重建，以便将自然系统的运作通常传达，并将这个晚期果酱的例子与现代习惯进行比较。