Study of Fossils of Early Terrestrial Arthropods

这项提案要求提供资金，用于搜索和研究北美早期陆地动物的化石。要研究的时间间隔是志留纪和泥盆纪，从大约4.4亿年前到大约3.6亿年前。这些化石包括蜘蛛类(蜘蛛等)、多足类(蜈蚣和千足类)、昆虫以及一些完全灭绝的动物。这些化石作为有机遗骸保存在沉积岩中，并通过氢氟酸消化岩石而被移除。通过这种方式获得的材料将有助于理解陆地上早期生命的进化，命名群体内部和之间的关系，以及这些早期动物是如何发挥作用的。

This proposal requests funding to search for and study fossils of early land animals in North America. The time intervals to be studied are the Silurian and Devonian Periods, spanning from about 440 million years ago to about 360 million years ago. The fossils are of arachnids (spiders, etc.), myriapods (centipeds and millipeds), and insects as well as a few groups of animals that are entirely extinct. The fossils are preserved as organic remains in sedimentary rocks and are removed by digesting the rocks with hydrofluoric acid. The material obtained in this way will aid in understanding the evolution of early life on land, the relationships within and among the groups named, and how these early animals functioned.