Early Mammalian Evolution

这一建议旨在寻求机会来推进我们对早期哺乳动物形态学、功能解剖学和系统发育的认识。这些机会是由于最近在东格陵兰的弗莱明峡湾上部地层发现了一种哈拉米科哺乳动物的相关遗骸而产生的。这一发现不仅揭示了早期哺乳动物比以前所知的更大的多样性，而且还表明，根据新的证据，目前关于早期哺乳动物进化的概念框架是多么容易被重新排序。拟议的调查将通过从沉积物中恢复相关的骨骼遗骸来利用这一发现。从弗莱明峡湾组中恢复其他相关哺乳动物骨骼材料的现实前景为我们提供了极好的潜力，可以显著增加我们对哺乳动物早期进化的了解。

This proposal is designed to pursue opportunities to advance our knowledge of the morphology, functional anatomy, and phylogeny of early mammals. These opportunities developed as the result of the recent discovery of associated remains of a haramiyid mammal in the upper Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland. The discovery not only reveals greater diversity among early mammals than previously known, but also demonstrates how readily the current conceptual framework of early mammalian evolution may be reordered by new evidence. The proposed investigation will exploit this discovery by recovering associated skeletal remains from the deposits. The realistic prospect of recovering additional associated mammalian skeletal material from the Fleming Fjord Formation offers excellent potential to increase significantly our knowledge of the early evolution of Mammalia.