Anatomy and relationships of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Plateosaurus from the Norian of Frick, Jura Mountains, Switzerland

晚三叠纪（220万年前）恐龙的进化是陆地生态系统历史上的一个重大事件，因为恐龙在接下来的1.55亿年里占据了主导地位。从进化的角度来看，人们对恐龙特别感兴趣，因为它们与哺乳动物（以及在它们之前）趋同，进化出了许多适应大型陆生脊椎动物高度活跃的生活方式的能力。早期恐龙，其中中欧板龙是已知的最好的材料，因此对理解这些事件和过程特别重要。这里提出的研究对恐龙生物学的一个核心方面有重大影响，即高代谢率的进化。在最近发表在《科学》杂志上的一篇论文中，申请人表明，基于骨骼组织学，板龙的生活史具有高度的可塑性，并假设这反映了恒温动物进化的早期阶段。对这一假设至关重要的问题是，来自瑞士弗里克和德国特罗辛根的板龙遗骸是否代表一个单一物种，否则，观察到的生活史变化可能是种间的。弗里克板龙从未被详细研究过，新的材料不断被发现，所以这个样本最适合解决这个问题。这项工作将包括准备、详细描述和与其他地方的板龙进行比较。一个新颖的方面是在个体水平上对弗里克材料进行系统发育分析。

The evolution of the dinosaurs in the Late Triassic (220 Ma ago) was a major event in the history of terrestrial ecosystems because dinosaurs were to dominate them for the next 155 million years. From an evolutionary perspective, dinosaurs are of particular interest because convergently to mammals (and before them) they evolved many adaptations to a highly active life style ofa large terrestrial vertebrate. Early dinosaurs, among which the central European Plateosaurus is known from the best material, are thus of particulary importance in understanding these events and processes. The study proposed here has major implications for a central aspect of dinosaur biology, i.e. the evolution of a high metabolic rate. In a paper recently published in the journal Science, the applicant showed that based on bone histology Plateosaurus life history was highly plastic and hypothesized that this reflects an early stage in the evolution of endothermy. Crucial to this hypothesis is the question whether the Plateosaurus remains from Frick (Switzerland) and Trossingen (Germany) represent a single species because otherwise the observed variability in life history could be interspecific. The Frick Plateosaurus has never been studied in detail, and new material is constantly being discovered, so that this sample is best suited to address the issue. The work will consist of preparation, detailed description, and comparison with Plateosaurus from other localities. A novel aspect is a phylogenetic analysis ofthe Frick material at the level of the individual.