新疆哈密翼龙动物群及其集群死亡事件研究

近十年来，新疆哈密地区发现一新的白垩纪翼龙动物群，化石埋藏极为丰富，首次发现大量三维保存的雌雄翼龙个体及共生的翼龙蛋和胚胎化石等。本项目将在野外剖面观察、化石发掘和修理基础上，重建哈密翼龙的骨骼形态及雌雄翼龙个体的头饰形态；研究共生的恐龙等脊椎动物化石，寻找可能的翼龙新属种，了解动物群面貌和多样性特征；利用高精度CT扫描等，对翼龙胚胎进行三维重建，对翼龙蛋壳与胚胎骨骼进行显微结构和组织学切片，并与恐龙、现生鸟类及爬行动物的蛋与胚胎进行对比，了解哈密翼龙的胚胎发育模式及繁殖习性；从胚胎到成年个体不同发育阶段的哈密翼龙同一骨骼的同一部位进行系统切片，建立骨组织的个体发育序列，了解生长速率的变化规律，并结合形态学研究，讨论哈密翼龙个体发育特征；在事件沉积、化石埋藏和古环境研究的基础上，明确哈密翼龙动物群的产出层位、地层序列、生存年代和古环境背景，分析哈密翼龙动物群特异埋藏规律和集群死亡的原因。

A new Cretaceous pterosaur fauna has been discovered from Xinjiang, China in the last ten years, in which the fossils are abundant. It is the first discovery of the three-dimensionally preserved male and female pterosaurs associated with their eggs and embryos. Basing on the exploration and excavation in field and the preparation in the lab, this project will reconstruct the skeleton of Hamipterus and its skull ridge. It will study dinosaurs and other vertebrates in this fauna, look for new pterosaur taxa, and understand the animal group and diversity. With the high resolution CT scanner, the pterosaur embryos will be reconstructed. Comparing the thin-section of the pterosaur eggshell and embryo bones with those of dinosaurs, birds, and other reptiles, we want to know more about the embryo development model and the reproduction strategy. The thin-section of the same position in the same bone from the different ontogenetic stages, from embryo to adult, will be sliced. We can establish an ontogenetic sequence of the bone tissue, and know the change of the growth rate. With the morphology study, the ontogenetic characters will be discussed. Basing on the study of the event deposit, taphonomy and paleoenviroment, we will understand the accurate horizons, the stratigraphic sequence, the living age, and the paleoenviroment background, and then we can analyze the reasons of special burying and mass morality.