Collaborative Research: Snapshots from the ancient Indo-Pacific: remarkable Eocene fish faunas and their Implications for the origin of a modern marine biodiversity hotspot

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Some regions of the world are home to a greater variety of species than others. How these so-called biodiversity hotspots arise and change over time is an important question, especially as these areas are under pressure from human activities. The major marine hotspot lies in the Indo-West Pacific region, and is home to the greatest diversity of fishes anywhere on the planet. The sparse fossil record of fishes in the region, however, has been an obstacle to understanding the origin of this remarkably diverse modern fauna. This project will focus on three distinct assemblages of marine fish fossils from Pakistan that begin to fill this gap. Between 48 and 43 million years old, these fossils date to a time when Indo-Pakistan was a large island in what would become the Indian Ocean. They provide ‘snapshots’ of fish life in the Old World Tropics and provide important clues into how the modern biodiversity hotspot came to be. This study will provide training for undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD students at two public universities. Results will be published in scientific articles and presented at professional meetings. Outcomes from the project will be shared with the public through a combination of visible preparation labs, events held at museums and other public venues, and an interactive display featuring fossil specimens, touchable casts, and life reconstructions of fossil fishes.The fossils examined are from two marine Eocene formations in Pakistan, representing three distinct environments. Specimens will be prepared using chemical approaches, mechanical techniques, micro-CT scanning, or radiography, depending on their mode of preservation. Taxonomic identifications will be made through comparison with skeletal preparations of modern and fossil specimens. We will quantify the similarity of the Eocene assemblages from Pakistan to modern and ancient marine fish faunas to test hypotheses of a shifting marine biodiversity hotspot proposed on the basis of other taxonomic groups. A select number of specimens will be subject to detailed anatomical and phylogenetic analysis incorporating morphological, molecular, and stratigraphic data. Resulting phylogenies will be used to test hypotheses about the timing of trophic and ecological innovation apparent among some early Paleogene teleostean fishes.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.