Evolution and dispersal of Mammutidae (Proboscidea, Mammalia)

研究象科边缘科——北美象科的起源、分布和演化，特别是从侧长象向猛犸象的过渡。在欧洲文献中，北美猛犸象传统上被认为是上新世时期来自欧洲的晚期移民，而美国作者则认为它是中新世中期早期移民的地方性起源。造成这种差异的主要原因是信息量大的猛犸化石数量有限。申请人最近在北美中新世发现了3块迄今未发表的、信息丰富的化石，这为填补这一关键时期的信息空白提供了一种新的方法。虽然这些标本是几十年前挖掘出来的，但到目前为止还没有被研究过。待调查的新资料分别存放于不同的博物馆/馆藏；它包括俄勒冈州波特兰市技术博物馆（OMSI）的头盖骨和下颌骨，以及俄勒冈大学尤金市的上颌骨和下颌骨。在与美国同事的合作下，重建了这些发现的地层位置。它们来自中新世。与Zygolophodon proavus头骨的进一步比较研究是与Don Lofgren （Alf博物馆）合作进行的，Zygolophodon proavus头骨是北美唯一已知的该属颅骨，收藏于加利福尼亚州克莱蒙特的R. Alf博物馆。在欧洲方面，将研究一具未发表的部分骨骼，其中包括来自图林根上新世的下颌骨，该骨骼保存在施卢辛根博物馆。它是欧洲最新的猛犸象之一，也是来自中欧的最完整的猛犸象，因此对于与北美的谱系进行比较很重要。调查应由申请人与Ursula Göhlich一起完成，Ursula是新近系鼻部专家，在系统学、颅骨和颅骨后解剖学和饮食方面经验丰富。申请人WvK在咀嚼方面专门研究了长鼻动物的牙齿。安排并批准了与各藏品的美国同事的协议。

Origin, dispersal and evolution of the genus Mammut (Proboscidea, Mammutidae)The history of the North American Mammutidae, a marginal family of the Elephantoidea shall be investigated, especially the transition from Zygolophodon to Mammut. In the European literature, traditionally the North American Mammut is regarded as a late immigrant from Europe during the Pliocene, whereas American authors argue for an endemic origin from an early immigrant during the Middle Miocene. This discrepancy is caused mainly by the limited number of informative mammutid fossils. Recent detection made by the applicant of three so far unpublished and highly informative fossils from the Miocene in North America allow a new approach to fill the gap of information during this crucial period. Although these specimens were excavated decades ago, they were not studied so far. The new materials to be investigated are housed in different museums/collections; it includes a cranium with mandible in a technical museum (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon, and a maxilla and a mandible in Eugene, University of Orgeon. In cooperation with American colleagues, the stratigraphic positions of these finds were reconstructed. They are from the Miocene. Additional comparative studies with a skull of Zygolophodon proavus, the only known cranium of this genus from North America, housed in the R. Alf Museum in Claremont, CA, are intended in cooperation with Don Lofgren (Alf Museum). On the European side, an unpublished partial skeleton including a mandible from the Pliocene of Thuringia housed in the Museum of Schleusingen will be studied. It is one of the latest European mammutids and the most complete from Central Europe and therefore important for the comparison with the North American lineage. The investigations shall be done by the applicant together with Ursula Göhlich, a specialist on Neogene proboscidens, experienced in systematics, cranial and postcranial anatomy and diet. The applicant WvK has specialized on the dentition of proboscideans in terms of mastication. Agreements with the American colleagues of the various collections are arranged and granted.