The soft tissue fossil record to elucidate the origin and diversification of vertebrates

软组织化石记录阐明脊椎动物的起源和多样化

• 批准号: 2108358
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2108358
• 关键词: soft; tissue; fossil; record; elucidate

The origin and diversification of vertebrates is a major event in the history of life on earth. A rich and well studied fossil record of jawed and jawless fishes exists following the advent of biomineralized hard tissues such as bone, but prior to this we are limited the soft tissue record. Soft bodied fossil vertebrates have the potential to help us understand the timing of key vertebrate innovations, including biomineralization itself. Indeed some taxa have been interpreted as exhibiting a kind of transitional state between the two conditions. The fossil record of soft bodied taxa is challenging however; the remains are subjected to decay, collapse, and distortion before and during preservation. These challenges have led to some disputes and a lack of consensus exists over the anatomy and affinity of these important fossils. New fossil discoveries, along with recent advances in scanning technology and a wealth of experimental decay data, means that it is now possible to she new light these previously enigmatic taxa and the nature of this important evolutionary event.

脊椎动物的起源和多样化是地球生命史上的重大事件。随着骨头等生物矿化硬组织的出现，有颚鱼和无颚鱼的化石记录丰富且经过充分研究，但在此之前，我们对软组织记录的了解有限。软体脊椎动物化石有可能帮助我们了解关键脊椎动物创新的时间，包括生物矿化本身。事实上，有些分类群被解释为表现出一种介于这两种条件之间的过渡状态。然而软体动物的化石记录是具有挑战性的;在保存之前和保存过程中，遗骸会腐烂、坍塌和变形。这些挑战导致了一些争议，对这些重要化石的解剖和亲和力缺乏共识。新的化石发现，沿着扫描技术的最新进展和丰富的实验衰变数据，意味着现在有可能揭示这些以前神秘的分类群和这一重要进化事件的性质。