Systematics, Ontogeny, Osteology and Historical Biogeography of Fossil and Living Bowfins (Actinopterygii: Amiiformes)

本研究是对弓鳍鱼及其近亲的比较解剖学研究。这个类群被命名为Amiiformes，只包含一个活着的物种，以及几十个灭绝的(化石)物种，这些物种可以追溯到1.5亿年前的岩石中。(活着的物种Amia Calva被许多古生物学家和动物学家称为“活化石”。)使用了一种综合的方法，观察胚胎学(与活的物种)、古生物学和比较骨骼解剖学。将进行一项搜索，以确定蜻蜓亚群特有的特殊形态特征，这些特征表明这些亚群的物种之间存在密切的关系。这项研究可能表明，AMIA是更好地理解脊椎动物胚胎学和解剖学的重要模型。大部分资金将用于化石和活体材料的准备、教育(资助一年博士后职位)和在广为阅读的科学期刊上发表结果。

This study is a comparative anatomical study of the bowfin fishes and their close relatives. The group, named Amiiformes, contains only a single living species, and several dozen extinct (fossil) species in rocks dating as far back as 150 million years before present. (The living species, Amia calva, is called a "living fossil" by many paleontologists and zoologists.) An integrative approach, looking at embryology (with the living species), paleontology, and comparative skeletal anatomy is used. A search will be made to identify specialized morphological features unique to subgroups within Amiformes which suggest close relationship among the species of those subgroups. This study may be able to show that Amia is an important model for a better understanding of vertebrate embryology and anatomy. The majority of the funds will be used for preparation of fossil and living material, education (funding a 1-year postdoctoral position) and publication of the results in widely read scientific journals.