Collaborative Research: Late Cretaceous-Paleogene Vertebrates from Antarctica: Implications for Paleobiogeography, Paleoenvironment, and Extinction in Polar Gondwana

合作研究：来自南极洲的白垩纪晚期-古近纪脊椎动物：对极地冈瓦纳古生物地理学、古环境和灭绝的影响

• 批准号: 1142052
• 负责人: Ross MacPhee
• 金额: $ 5.09万
• 依托单位: American Museum Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1142052&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Late; Cretaceous; Paleogene

Intellectual Merit: The role that Antarctica has played in vertebrate evolution and paleobiogeography during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene is largely unknown. Evidence indicates that Antarctica was home to a diverse flora during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene, yet the vertebrates that must have existed on the continent remain virtually unknown. To fill this gap, the PIs have formed the Antarctic Vertebrate Paleontology Initiative (AVPI), whose goal is to search for and collect Late Cretaceous-Paleogene vertebrate fossils in Antarctica at localities that have never been properly surveyed, as well as in areas of proven potential. Two field seasons are proposed for the James Ross Island Group on the northeastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula. Expected finds include chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fishes, marine reptiles, ornithischian and non-avian theropod dinosaurs, ornithurine birds, and therian and non-therian mammals. Hypotheses to be tested include: 1) multiple extant bird and/or therian mammal lineages originated during the Cretaceous and survived the K-Pg boundary extinction event; 2) the ?Scotia Portal? permitted the dispersal of continental vertebrates between Antarctica and South America prior to the latest Cretaceous and through to the late Paleocene or early Eocene; 3) Late Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs from Antarctica are closely related to coeval taxa from other Gondwanan landmasses; 4) terminal Cretaceous marine reptile faunas from southern Gondwana differed from contemporaneous but more northerly assemblages; and 5) the collapse of Antarctic ichthyofaunal diversity during the K-Pg transition was triggered by a catastrophic extinction.Broader impacts: The PIs will communicate discoveries to audiences through a variety of channels, such as the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the outreach programs of the Environmental Science Institute of the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Carnegie Museum will launch a student-oriented programming initiative using AVPI research as a primary focus. This array of activities will help some 2,000 Pittsburgh-area undergraduates to explore the relevance of deep-time discoveries to critical modern issues. The AVPI will provide research opportunities for eight undergraduate and three graduate students, several of whom will receive field training in Antarctica. Fossils will be accessioned into the Carnegie Museum collection, and made accessible virtually through the NSF-funded Digital Morphology library at University of Texas.

知识分子的优点：南极洲在白垩纪和早期古纪期间在脊椎动物进化和古生物地理学中扮演的角色是未知的。有证据表明，在晚白垩纪和古近纪期间，南极是多种植物区系的家园，但是在非洲大陆上必须存在的脊椎动物几乎是未知的。为了填补这一空白，PI形成了南极脊椎动物古生物学倡议（AVPI），其目标是在南极洲的南极地区搜索并收集从未经过适当调查的地区的南极地区的白垩纪晚期脊椎动物化石，也是在公认的潜力。在南极半岛东北边缘的詹姆斯·罗斯岛集团（James Ross Island Group）提出了两个野外赛季。预期的发现包括Chondrichthyan和Osteichthyan鱼类，海洋爬行动物，Ornithischian和非阿比亚果蝇恐龙，鸟嘌呤鸟，以及Therian和Therian和非刺激性哺乳动物。要测试的假设包括：1）多个现存的鸟类和/或Therian哺乳动物谱系起源于白垩纪，并在K-PG边界灭绝事件中幸存下来； 2）“斯科舍省门户”？允许在最新白垩纪和古代晚期或早期始新世之前，在南极洲和南美之间散布大陆脊椎动物； 3）来自南极洲的晚白垩统非阿奇恐龙与其他冈瓦南陆地的同时分类群密切相关； 4）来自南部冈瓦纳南部的白垩纪海洋爬行动物动物群与同时但更北的组合不同。 and 5) the collapse of Antarctic ichthyofaunal diversity during the K-Pg transition was triggered by a catastrophic extinction.Broader impacts: The PIs will communicate discoveries to audiences through a variety of channels, such as the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the outreach programs of the Environmental Science Institute of the University of Texas at Austin.此外，卡内基博物馆将以AVPI Research作为主要重点启动以学生为导向的编程计划。这些活动将有助于约2,000名匹兹堡地区的本科生探索深度发现与关键现代问题的相关性。 AVPI将为八名本科生和三名研究生提供研究机会，其中一些将在南极洲接受现场培训。化石将被加入卡内基博物馆藏品，并通过德克萨斯大学的NSF资助的数字形态图书馆实际上可以访问。