Collaborative Research: Paleontological Investigation of Early Primate Evolution in Asia

合作研究：亚洲早期灵长类进化的古生物学研究

• 批准号: 0820485
• 负责人: Daniel Gebo
• 金额: $ 8.29万
• 依托单位: Northern Illinois University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0820485&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Paleontological; Investigation; Early

With support from the National Science Foundation, an international team of biological anthropologists and paleontologists will explore early Cenozoic (ca. 60-45 million year old) rock strata in the Erlian Basin of Inner Mongolia for evidence of the earliest phases of primate evolution. American members of the scientific team are based at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, PA), Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL), and the American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY). Several different lines of evidence, including the fossil record and reconstructions of evolutionary relationships based on analyses of long sequences of DNA, suggest that the earliest phases of primate evolution likely transpired in Asia. However, the fossil record of primate evolution in Asia remains spotty, and most of the Asian primates from this time interval are documented by very fragmentary anatomical remains. As a result, there is no scientific consensus about how these Asian fossils fit on the family tree of primate evolution. More generally, there is no consensus regarding where and when such important events in primate evolution as the origin of primates and the origin of anthropoids (the group of primates that includes living monkeys, apes, and humans) occurred. The Erlian Basin, which straddles the modern border between China and Mongolia, is the only depositional basin in Asia bearing rock strata of the appropriate age to yield fossil primates from the crucial interval of early Cenozoic time when primates and anthropoids are thought to have originated. Field methods will include three modes of paleontological exploration (surface prospecting, quarrying, and screen-washing) to locate new fossil primates in the Erlian Basin. Analytic methods include computer-assisted reconstructions of evolutionary relationships based on anatomical features, as well as high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) studies of anatomy. Working with geologists and experts on paleoenvironmental reconstruction, the team will establish the basic chronology of primate evolution in the Erlian Basin. These data will allow testing of competing models of when and where primates evolved. A particularly interesting goal of this project is to determine whether ancient episodes of primate dispersal across the Bering land bridge between Alaska and Siberia correspond precisely to ancient global warming events. The scientific results from this project will enlighten understanding of where, when, and how earliest primate ancestors evolved. This will result in greater knowledge of how these earliest primates migrated from Asia to adjacent continents (notably including North America) as the physical environment of the planet shifted due to plate tectonics and changing climate. Broader impacts of the project include enhanced scientific cooperation between American and Chinese scholars, training of undergraduate and graduate students in both field and laboratory techniques, and multiple forms of public educational outreach (including museum exhibits, television documentaries, popular publications, and public lectures).

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，一个由生物人类学家和古生物学家组成的国际团队将在内蒙古二连盆地探索新生代早期（约 60-4500 万年前）岩层，以寻找灵长类进化最早阶段的证据。科学团队的美国成员来自卡内基自然历史博物馆（宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡）、北伊利诺伊大学（伊利诺伊州迪卡尔布）和美国自然历史博物馆（纽约州纽约）。一些不同的证据，包括化石记录和基于长DNA序列分析的进化关系重建，表明灵长类动物进化的最早阶段可能发生在亚洲。然而，亚洲灵长类动物进化的化石记录仍然参差不齐，这一时期的大多数亚洲灵长类动物都是由非常零碎的解剖遗骸记录的。因此，对于这些亚洲化石如何符合灵长类进化谱系，科学界尚未达成共识。更一般地说，对于灵长类进化中诸如灵长类起源和类人猿（包括现存猴子、猿和人类的灵长类动物）起源等重要事件发生的地点和时间，尚未达成共识。二连盆地横跨中国和蒙古的现代边界，是亚洲唯一一个沉积盆地，其岩层年龄适中，可以在新生代早期的关键时期（被认为是灵长类动物和类人猿起源的时期）产生灵长类动物化石。野外方法将包括三种古生物勘探模式（地表勘探、采石和洗网），以在二连盆地寻找新的灵长类动物化石。分析方法包括基于解剖特征的进化关系的计算机辅助重建，以及解剖学的高分辨率计算机断层扫描（CT）研究。该团队将与地质学家和古环境重建专家合作，建立二连盆地灵长类动物进化的基本年表。这些数据将允许测试灵长类动物何时何地进化的竞争模型。该项目的一个特别有趣的目标是确定古代灵长类动物跨越阿拉斯加和西伯利亚之间的白令陆桥的扩散事件是否与古代全球变暖事件精确对应。该项目的科学结果将有助于了解最早的灵长类祖先在何处、何时以及如何进化。随着地球物理环境因板块构造和气候变化而发生变化，这将使人们更加了解这些最早的灵长类动物如何从亚洲迁徙到邻近大陆（特别是北美）。该项目的更广泛影响包括加强中美学者之间的科学合作，对本科生和研究生进行现场和实验室技术培训，以及多种形式的公共教育推广（包括博物馆展览、电视纪录片、流行出版物和公开讲座）。