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

智力优势：申请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。该项目将支持对四种南极恐龙（包括两种新物种）的准备和系统的古生物学研究，这些恐龙是在中横贯南极山脉收集的。有了新材料，冰龙将成为已知最完整的早侏罗纪兽脚亚目恐龙之一，因此有可能成为解决兽脚亚目恐龙早期进化史的关键分类群，兽脚亚目恐龙是鸟类的起源。两个新的恐龙标本包括一个几乎完整的幼年蜥脚类恐龙的关节骨骼，以及另一个小型个体的关节臀部区域。两者似乎都是新的分类群。来自汉森组的恐龙代表了侏罗纪已知的古纬度最高的脊椎动物。pi将生成冰龙和更完整的新蜥脚类物种的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。将从柯克帕特里克山所有四个分类群的多个骨骼元素生成组织学数据集，以了解极地恐龙不同分支的生长模式，并将其与来自低古纬度的近亲进行比较。这项对来自南极洲的相对多样化的蜥脚类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极端气候做出反应。更广泛的影响：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/铸造和组织学取样方面的培训。他们还参加现有的野外博物馆REU项目，包括系统发育系统学课程。该提案将支持四个本科生实习和学生研究项目。pi将开发一个关于南极中生代古生物学的巡回展览，他们估计在五年的巡回展览中将有250万人参观。

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.