Mississippian Fossil Tetrapods from Midcontinental North America and Early-Tetrapod Phylogeny

本研究调查了爱荷华州Delta和伊利诺伊州Goreville地区古生代原始人四足动物的形态变异。将准备新的化石材料，对标本进行描述，并对新标本进行命名和说明。该材料的制备和描述将使已知的密西西比四足动物属的数量增加约25%。目前，人们对最早的四足动物的形态和相互关系了解甚少，主要是因为可供研究的保存完好和准备充分的标本很少。此外，一些最具代表性的早期四足动物群体在形态上是高度衍生的。三角洲化石是在美国发现的最古老的陆生脊椎动物，也是世界上最古老的陆生脊椎动物之一，因为已知的年龄相等或更大的地方不超过十几个。三角洲和戈维尔遗址都孕育了保存异常完好的陆生动物物种。这两个地点标本的年代、特殊的保存、多样性和丰富度为了解早期陆生脊椎动物和脊椎动物谱系之间的形态多样化提供了绝佳的机会。

9306294 Bolt This research involves an investigation of morphological variation in protoanthracosaur tetrapods from Paleozoic sites in Delta, Iowa, and Goreville, Illinois. New fossil materials will be prepared, specimens will be described, and new specimens will be named and illustrated. The preparation and description of this material will increase by approximately 25% the number of known Mississippian tetrapod genera. %%% The morphology and relationships of the earliest tetrapods are poorly understood at present largely because there are few well preserved and well prepared specimens available for study. Furthermore, some of the best represented early tetrapod groups are highly derived morphologically. The Delta fossils are the oldest terrestrial vetebrates ever found in the United States and among the oldest in the world, as no more than a dozen localities are known to be of equal or greater age. Both the Delta and Goreville sites have produced exceptionally well preserved species of terrestrial animals. The age, exceptional preservation, diversity and abundance of specimens at both sites provide an extraordinary opportunity to learn about early terrestrial vertebrates and morphological diversification among vertebrate lineages.