Anatomy and evolution of stem primates

非人类灵长类动物作为我们最亲近的进化近亲，对我们来说有着特殊的兴趣。近年来，我们最早的亲戚——干灵长类动物的化石的新发现，已经开始揭示我们进化的第一阶段。本研究旨在通过两个相互关联的举措来继续这些进步。首先，高分辨率x射线CT （catscan）数据将用于重建化石灵长类动物和我们的近亲和化石亲属的内模（反映大脑解剖结构的颅骨内部模型）。这项研究将更好地了解灵长类动物大脑的大小和形状，并记录灵长类动物进化的前1500万年中这一重要器官的变化。其次，新的化石将被研究和描述，这些化石来自于蛇适应类家庭微蛇科及其近亲，从而更好地理解灵长类动物化石群体之间的关系，以及我们最终祖先的原始特征。这项研究的最终目标是在适应变化的关系和模式方面填补我们早期进化的图景，并帮助描述我们与其他哺乳动物不同的特征。

Non-human primates are of special interest to us as our closest evolutionary kin. In recent years new discoveries of fossils from our earliest relatives, the stem primate group the Plesiadapiformes, has begun to shed light on the first phases of our evolution. This research seeks to continue these advancements through two inter-related initiatives. First, high resolution X-ray CT (catscan) data will be used to reconstruct endocasts (internal models of the skull which reflect brain anatomy) from fossil primates and from our close living and fossil relatives. This research will provide a better understanding of what is primitive for Primates in terms of the size and form of the brain, and to document changes in this critical organ during the first 15 million years of primate evolution. Second, new fossils will be studied and described from the plesiadapiform family Microsyopidae and its close relatives, allowing for a better understanding of the relationships of groups of fossil primates to one another, and of the primitive traits that characterized our ultimate ancestors. The ultimate goal of this research is to fill out the picture of our early evolution in terms of both relationships and patterns of adaptive change, and to help to characterize what makes our Order distinct from the rest of Mammalia.