Collaborative Research: Continued Research on the Jurassic Vertebrate Fauna from the Beardmore Glacier Region of Antarctica

智力价值：该提案要求支持对南极洲比尔德莫尔冰川地区早侏罗世脊椎动物动物群的研究。该项目将支持对在横贯北极山脉中部采集到的四种南极恐龙进行的准备、系统和古生物学研究，其中包括两个新物种。有了这种新材料，冷冻磷龙将成为已知的最完整的早侏罗世兽脚类恐龙之一，从而有可能成为解决兽脚类恐龙早期进化史争议的关键分类群。兽脚类恐龙是鸟类的起源。两个新的恐龙标本包括一个几乎完整的幼年蜥脚龙关节骨骼，以及另一个小个体的髋关节区域。两者似乎都是新的分类群。汉森组的恐龙代表了侏罗纪已知的一些最高纬度的脊椎动物。PI将为冰龙和更完整的新蜥脚龙物种生成CT数据集，以挖掘系统发育特征信息，并研究它们的比较神经解剖学和摄食行为。组织学数据集将从所有四个mt.的多个骨骼元素生成。柯克帕特里克分类，以了解极地恐龙不同支系的生长模式，并将它们与来自古纬度较低的近亲进行比较。这项对南极洲相对多样化的蜥脚龙分类群样本的古组织学研究，可能有助于确定这些恐龙是否以及如何对当代气候极端做出反应。广泛的影响：作为先前研究的一部分，PI已经建立了一个成功的本科生培训计划。来自奥古斯塔纳的暑期实习生在菲尔德博物馆接受标本准备、策展、成型/铸造和组织取样方面的培训。他们还参加了现有的野外博物馆REU项目，包括一门关于系统发育系统学的课程。四个本科生实习和学生研究项目将通过这项提案得到支持。PI将开发一个关于南极中生代古生物学的巡回展览，他们估计在五年的旅游中将有250万人观看。

Intellectual Merit: This proposal requests support for research on Early Jurassic vertebrate fauna of the Beardmore Glacier region of Antarctica. The project will support preparation and systematic and paleobiological research on four Antarctic dinosaurs, including two new species, collected in the Central Transantarctic Mountains. With the new material Cryolophosaurus will become one of the most complete Early Jurassic theropods known, and thus has the potential to become a keystone taxon for resolving the debated early evolutionary history of theropod dinosaurs, the group that gave rise to birds. Two new dinosaur specimens include a nearly complete articulated skeleton of a juvenile sauropodomorph, and the articulated hip region of another small individual. Both appear to be new taxa. The dinosaurs from the Hanson Formation represent some of the highest paleolatitude vertebrates known from the Jurassic. The PIs will generate CT datasets for Cryolophosaurus and the more complete new sauropodomorph species to mine for phylogenetic trait information, and to investigate their comparative neuroanatomy and feeding behavior. Histological datasets will be generated from multiple skeletal elements for all four Mt. Kirkpatrick taxa to understand patterns of growth in different clades of polar dinosaurs and compare them to relatives from lower paleolatitudes. This paleohistological study of a relatively diverse sample of sauropodomorph taxa from Antarctica may contribute to determining whether and how these dinosaurs responded to contemporary climatic extremes.Broader impacts: The PIs have established a successful undergraduate training program as part of previous research. Summer interns from Augustana are trained at the Field Museum in specimen preparation, curation, molding/casting, and histological sampling. They also participate in existing Field Museum REU programs, including a course on phylogenetic systematics. Four undergraduate internships and student research projects will be supported through this proposal. The PIs will develop a traveling exhibit on Antarctic Mesozoic paleontology that they estimate will be seen by 2.5 million people over the five-year tour.