CNIC COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: US-Ethiopia planning visit for the investigation of non-marine Mesozoic ecosystems from the Northwestern Plateau, Ethiopia

该合作项目将支持对埃塞俄比亚的计划访问，以确定来自埃塞俄比亚西北高原的早期中生代非海洋化石是否可以帮助填补关于泛大陆超大陆分裂时期哺乳动物进化和分布的关键知识空白。该项目将专门研究上三叠纪-下侏罗纪地层，寻找脊椎动物化石，为研究脊椎动物在古非洲、欧亚大陆和美洲的进化、多样化和分散提供更好的信息。总体努力将支持四名教员和四名研究生前往埃塞俄比亚。除了他们在古生物学和地球科学方面的优秀资格和多样化的专业知识外，该团队还包括两名早期职业调查员，三名未被充分代表的少数民族和一名女性。该小组将与埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴大学的同行密切合作。为期一个月的计划访问将包括几天的研讨会和美国团队与埃塞俄比亚合作者在亚的斯亚贝巴之间的信息交流，三周的合作实地工作，在两个地点进行深入侦察，然后几天计划和启动样品处理，并开始撰写一份更大的后续提案。与世界其他地区相比，非洲中生代非海洋脊椎动物的化石记录实际上仍然是一块“空白石板”；然而，来自该地区的化石数据对于了解陆地群落如何应对大约1亿年前泛大陆的分裂至关重要。与北美、南美和亚洲相似年代的化石层相比，世界的这一部分相对来说仍然没有采样。埃塞俄比亚拥有广泛的中生代沉积岩地层，这些化石可能对提高对许多主要非海洋脊椎动物群体（如恐龙、哺乳动物、蜥蜴、蛇和两栖动物）的古生物地理学和进化的理解非常有价值。该团队在埃塞俄比亚确定了两个目标采样点，其中早中生代地层暴露良好，可以有效地探索和收集初步样本：青尼罗河上游（Abay）峡谷的晚侏罗世Mugher泥岩和Tigray省的早侏罗世Adigrat地层。这次美国-埃塞俄比亚合作计划的访问为开始扩展非洲中生代化石记录所需的多学科努力提供了一个宝贵的机会。该项目提供的化石和科学资料对于验证有关中生代早期生物群、泛大陆分裂后的古生物地理学、以及一些假设起源于非洲的现代脊椎动物群的进化和扩散的假设至关重要。这项工作将为美国团队，特别是两位早期职业教师和四位研究生提供宝贵的职业发展机会。这次计划访问还将为大约8名本科生提供机会，以获得新的研究技能和培训，化石准备和分析，以及博物馆策展，教育和公众宣传方面的经验。

This collaborative project will support a planning visit to Ethiopia to determine if early Mesozoic non-marine fossils from the Northwestern Plateau of Ethiopia can help fill a critical knowledge gap regarding mammalian evolution and distribution at the time of the breakup of the supercontinent of Pangaea. The project will look specifically at Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic formations, seeking to find vertebrate fossils that will provide better information on the evolution, diversification and dispersal of vertebrates across ancient Africa and into Eurasia and the Americas. The overall effort will support travel to Ethiopia by four faculty members and four graduate students. In addition to their excellent qualifications and diverse expertise in paleontology and geosciences, the team includes two early career investigators, three underrepresented ethnic minorities and a woman. The team will work closely with counterparts in Ethiopia from the University of Addis Ababa. The month-long planning visit will include several days for seminars and information exchange between the US team and their Ethiopian collaborators in Addis Ababa, three weeks of collaborative field work to conduct in depth reconnaissance at two sites, then several days to plan and initiate sample processing and begin writing a larger follow-on proposal. The Mesozoic non-marine vertebrate fossil record of Africa remains a virtual "blank slate" in comparison to other regions of the world; however, fossil data from this region is critical to understanding how terrestrial communities responded to the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea about 100 million years ago. This part of the world remains relatively un-sampled compared to fossil-bearing horizons of similar age in North and South America and Asia. Ethiopia is strategically positioned with extensive Mesozoic sedimentary rock formations and these fossils may prove very valuable to improving understanding of the paleobiogeography and evolution of many major non-marine vertebrate groups, such as dinosaurs, mammals, lizards, snakes and amphibians.The team has identified two target sampling sites in Ethiopia where early Mesozoic formations are well exposed and may be effectively explored and preliminary samples collected: the Late Jurassic Mugher Mudstone of the upper Blue Nile (Abay) Gorge, and the Early Jurassic Adigrat Formation of the Tigray Province. This collaborative US-Ethiopia planning visit provides a valuable opportunity to begin the multidisciplinary effort that is required to expand the Mesozoic fossil record from Africa. The fossils and science from this proposed project are essential to testing hypotheses regarding early Mesozoic biotas, paleobiogeography following the breakup of Pangaea, and the evolution and dispersal of several modern vertebrate groups hypothesized to originate in Africa. The effort will provide a valuable professional development opportunity for the US team, especially the two early career faculty and the four graduate students. This planning visit will also provide an opportunity for approximately eight undergraduates to gain new research skills and training, in fossil preparation and analysis, as well as experience in museum curation, education and public outreach.