U.S.-Poland Project Development: Research on Rare Horseshoe Crabs in a Jurassic (160-145 million years old) Fossil Deposit in Poland

该项目的目标是在俄亥俄州肯特州立大学的罗德尼·m·费尔德曼（Rodney M. Feldmann）博士和波兰科学院华沙古生物研究所的布拉泽耶·布拉泽乔斯基（Blazej Blazejowski）博士之间发起一项美国-波兰合作。他们将一起研究最近在波兰中部Owadów-Brezizinki采石场发现的100多个约1.6 - 1.45亿年前的马蹄蟹化石标本。这个由美国和波兰组成的研究小组希望他们的实地考察和实验室研究能够为马蹄蟹的进化和生态提供新的线索。马蹄蟹是一种有着很长地质历史的物种，但在化石记录中却很少有记录。除了少数例外，这种标本的大量沉积是极其罕见的。进入波兰最近发现的地点提供了一个难得的机会，可以更多地了解古代马蹄蟹的进化和生态，以及这可能如何影响现代沿海环境。在波兰的Owadów-Brezizinki遗址，这些化石被作为完整的动物保存下来。有些标本被保存下来，关节附属物暴露在下面的体表上。因此，波兰和美国的研究人员希望开始描述生长模式，研究蜕皮阶段，确定性别，并探索群体行为。初步的技术成果将探索马蹄铁古生物学的几个领域，目的是测试今天的马蹄是否真的是“活化石”。马蹄蟹是节肢动物动物群中最有趣和最古老的元素之一，不仅因为它们是古老的，而且因为在现代，由于它们的运动节奏模式，光感受器，免疫系统成分，以及一般的生态意义和商业潜力，它们吸引了研究人员的兴趣。这一发展中的美国与波兰合作将使一名美国研究生参与久经考验的学习技术和实地实践。研究小组的初步发现有望帮助解释导致马蹄蟹保存完好的因素，并为后续的合作研究确定方向，以增加我们对1.6亿至1.45亿年前马蹄蟹多样性的基本了解。研究结果将发表在经过审查的国际期刊上，并将新数据输入古生物学数据库。总的来说，这项国际探索、合作和教育努力的更广泛影响有望推进我们在古生物学方面的基础知识，并对未来的古生态学、水动力学和角质层研究有潜在的贡献。

The goal of this project is to initiate a U.S.-Polish collaboration between Dr. Rodney M. Feldmann at Kent State University, Ohio, and Dr. Blazej Blazejowski, at the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Paleobiology, Warsaw. Together, they will examine the recent discovery of over 100 specimens of ~160-145 million year old horseshoe crab fossils from the Kcynia Formation in the Owadów-Brezizinki quarry located in central Poland. The U.S.-Polish team expects their exploratory field and laboratory research to shed new light on the evolution and ecology of horseshoe crabs, (limulines) a group that has had a very long geological history, but has been poorly represented in the fossil record. With a few exceptions, abundant deposits of such specimens are extremely rare. Access to the recently discovered locality in Poland presents an exceptional opportunity to learn more about ancient horseshoe crab evolution and ecology and how this might affect modern coastal environments. At the Owadów-Brezizinki site in Poland, the fossils are preserved as whole animals. Some specimens are preserved with articulated appendages exposed on underlying body surfaces. Therefore, the Polish and U.S. researchers expect to begin to characterize growth patterns, study molt stages, determine gender, and explore group behavior. Preliminary technical results will probe several areas of horseshoe paleobiology with the goal of testing whether today's limulines are truly "living fossils." Horseshoe crabs stand out as one of the most intriguing and ancient elements of arthropod fauna not only as ancients, but because in the modern era they have attracted interest of researchers due to their rhythmic patterns of locomotion, photoreceptors, immune system components, and general ecological significance and commercial potential.This developmental U.S.-Polish collaboration will engage a U.S. graduate student in well tested study techniques and field practices. The team's initial findings are expected to help explain the factors that led to remarkable preservation and define the direction for follow-on cooperative research to add to our basic understanding of the diversity of horseshoe crabs ~160-145 million years ago. Results will be published in reviewed, international journals and new data entered into the Paleobiology Database. Altogether, the broader impacts of this international exploratory, collaborative and educational effort are expected to advance our fundamental knowledge in paleontology, with potential contributions to future paleoecological, hydrodynamic, and cuticle research.