HRRBAA: Paleontological reconnaissance of a potential early Miocene catarrhine site in the Turkana Basin

HRRBAA：图尔卡纳盆地潜在的早中新世卡他碱遗址的古生物学勘察

• 批准号: 1929450
• 负责人: Gabrielle Russo
• 金额: $ 3.5万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-07-15 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1929450&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: HRRBAA; Paleontological; reconnaissance; potential; early

The Miocene (~23-5 million years ago) is a period of primate evolution critical to understanding the roots and diversification of the group that includes ourselves and our close ape relatives. Though many primates are known from this time period, their paleobiology and evolutionary relationships are not well understood. This project will investigate the extent of paleontological and geological data from a potentially early Miocene site - Napenagila South - in West Turkana, Kenya. The site was unexpectedly discovered in 2018 when primate teeth and an abundance of fauna were found. Preliminary observations of the teeth suggest that they may belong to a previously unknown extinct ape species. Systematic data collection and analysis will be used to confirm preliminary geological observations, and the researchers will excavate the area where the primate teeth were found. Training, mentorship, and research opportunities in the field and laboratory will be extended to students, including individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM. The project also will foster and expand international collaborations with Kenyan researchers and students. The researchers will conduct fieldwork at Napenagila South and perform subsequent lab analyses in order to determine the extent of the sediments and conduct a detailed assessment of the site's geological context, obtain additional samples to more precisely constrain the site's dates, and collect and conduct analyses of primate and other mammalian fossils. Local stratigraphic sequences will be measured, described, and sampled in detail. Laboratory characterization of the sediments, along with separation of mineral phases for isotopic dating, will be undertaken at Rutgers University. Field protocols for the collection of faunal fossil specimens have already been developed by the PIs and will be employed at Napenagila South. Field data will be entered into the national fossil database and added to the archive established and maintained by the Turkana Basin Institute. This grant is jointly supported by the Biological Anthropology and Sedimentary Geology & Paleobiology programs at NSF.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

中新世（距今2300 - 500万年前）是灵长类动物进化的一个时期，对于理解包括我们自己和我们的近亲猿在内的灵长类动物的起源和多样化至关重要。虽然许多灵长类动物都来自这一时期，但它们的古生物学和进化关系还没有得到很好的理解。该项目将调查肯尼亚西图尔卡纳一个可能早中新世的遗址——Napenagila South——的古生物学和地质数据的范围。该遗址是在2018年意外发现的，当时发现了灵长类动物的牙齿和大量的动物。对这些牙齿的初步观察表明，它们可能属于一种以前不为人知的灭绝猿类。系统的数据收集和分析将用于确认初步的地质观测，研究人员将挖掘发现灵长类动物牙齿的区域。现场和实验室的培训、指导和研究机会将扩大到学生，包括来自STEM中代表性不足的群体的个人。该项目还将促进和扩大与肯尼亚研究人员和学生的国际合作。研究人员将在南Napenagila进行实地考察，并进行后续的实验室分析，以确定沉积物的范围，并对该地点的地质环境进行详细评估，获得更多的样本，以更精确地限制该地点的日期，并收集和分析灵长类动物和其他哺乳动物的化石。将对当地地层序列进行详细的测量、描述和取样。罗格斯大学将对沉积物进行实验室表征，并分离矿物相进行同位素测年。各保护区已经制定了收集动物化石标本的实地规程，并将在南内佩纳吉拉采用。实地数据将输入国家化石数据库，并加入图尔卡纳盆地研究所建立和维持的档案。该基金由美国国家科学基金会生物人类学和沉积地质学与古生物学项目共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。