Anatomy and Adaptations of Early Eocene Mammals from Wyoming

小行星9419776 哺乳动物的现代目的第一次出现在化石记录中，并在5200万至5500万年前的始新世早期开始多样化。 这项研究将使用 这是现存最广泛的始新世早期哺乳动物骨骼的收集，首次全面概述了始新世早期哺乳动物的骨骼解剖和适应。 灭绝的化石哺乳动物的运动和相关行为将通过与现代哺乳动物的行为进行严格的解剖学比较来确定。 对现代哺乳动物关节和骨骼形状的定量图像分析将识别与特定运动模式相关的骨骼结构。 这些结果将用于从骨骼解剖学推断化石哺乳动物的运动行为。 对300万年来化石中保存非常完好的牙齿和头骨进行定量分析，将确定化石哺乳动物的解剖结构和关系，并显示在始新世物种多样性增加期间进化是如何进行的。 这项研究将提供新的 解剖学，适应性，行为， 以及现代哺乳动物目的基础成员及其古代同时代人的进化。 它将导致通过哺乳动物的近代历史和洞察随着时间的推移哺乳动物群落的稳定性更广泛地了解社区的演变。

9419776 Rose Modern orders of mammals first appeared in the fossil record and began to diversify during the early Eocene age, 52-55 million years ago. This research will use the most extensive collection of early Eocene mammal skeletons in existence to present the first comprehensive overview of the skeletal anatomy and adaptations of early Eocene mammals. Locomotion and related behaviors of extinct fossil mammals will be determined through rigorous anatomical comparisons with modern mammals whose behavior has been documented. Quantitative image analyses of joint and bone shapes in modern mammals will identify skeletal structures that are associated with particular modes of locomotion. Those results will be used to infer the locomotor behavior of fossil mammals from their skeletal anatomy. Quantitative analysis of exceptionally well-preserved teeth and skulls from fossils closely-spaced throughout the 3 million year period will define the anatomy and relationships of fossil mammals and show how evolution proceeded during the Eocene increase in species diversity. This research will provide new data on the anatomy, adaptations, behavior, and evolution of the basal members of modern mammalian orders and their archaic contemporaries. It will lead to a broader understanding of community evolution through the recent history of mammals and insight into the stability of mammal communities over time.