Vertebrate paleontology of terrestrial and marine squamates: testing the relationships of lepidosauria within sauropsida

我提出的研究重点是了解化石和活着的蛇和蜥蜴的起源、进化和系统发育。我们目前对它们进化的理解是基于从活着的物种获得的信息，很大程度上忽略了化石记录(250mya至今)。化石记录作为解剖学新颖性数据来源的重要性怎么强调都不为过。我的研究方法是使用化石中所有可用的证据，即解剖学、生物地层学和古生物地理学来构建假说，以及所有可用的来自活蛇和蜥蜴的数据(从解剖学到分子)。为了将这一拟议的研究周期与过去和未来的周期联系起来，我确定了两个主要的“研究目标”：1)增加我对陆地和海洋、化石和现代蛇和蜥蜴的研究的分类广度；2)通过研究更古老的更原始的爬行动物群体的解剖学，开始详细评估蛇和蜥蜴的形态进化。协作和学员/PDF培训对于此处列出的每个项目都是必不可少的。研究目标1将通过获取有关已知的最古老陆地蜥蜴(印度上三叠纪)、北美和欧洲侏罗纪、白垩纪和始新世蜥蜴的新数据来实现(在某些情况下，被认为与巨蜥、壁虎、石龙鱼密切相关，在另一些情况下，被认为是非常遥远的近亲)。我将继续我对摩洛哥和艾伯塔省白垩纪时代的马萨龙化石的研究，并将修改一些目前公认的组，如马萨龙属和Prognathodon属。对于蛇，我将收集新的硬和软的解剖学数据，关于盲穴蛇，新描述的化石蛇，以及来自北美的渐新世时期的半身蛇，以及研究蛇的牙齿的进化。为了实现研究目标2，将在钦勒组(北美三叠纪)进行野外工作，寻找上三叠纪的蛇/蜥蜴/蝶齿动物，识别它们最古老的近亲(三叠纪至侏罗纪)中蛇和蜥蜴的进化形态，并进行高水平的亲缘关系系统发育研究。

My proposed research is focused on understanding the origin, evolution, and phylogeny of fossil and living snakes and lizards. Our current understanding of their evolution is based on information obtained from living species, largely ignoring the fossil record (250mya-Present). The importance of the fossil record as a source of data on anatomical novelty cannot be overstated. My research approach is to use all available evidence from fossils, i.e., the anatomy, biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography in the construction of hypotheses, along with all available data from living snakes and lizards (anatomy through to molecules). To connect this proposed research cycle to past and future cycles, I have identified two principle "Research Goals": 1) Increase the taxonomic breadth of my studies of terrestrial and marine, fossil and modern snakes and lizards; 2) Initiate a detailed assessment of the morphological evolution of snakes and lizards by studying the anatomy of successively older groups of more primitive reptiles. Collaborations and student/PDF training are essential to each project outlined here. Research Goal #1 will be achieved by acquiring new data on on the oldest known terrestrial lizards (Upper Triassic, India), on Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene-aged lizards from North America and Europe (in some cases considered closely related to monitor lizards, gekkos, skinks, and in others, very distantly related). I will continue my study of Cretaceous-aged mosasaur fossils from Morocco and Alberta and will revise a number of currently recognized groups such as the genera Mosasaurus and Prognathodon. For snakes, I will collect new hard and soft anatomical data on blind burrowing snakes, newly described fossil snakes, and Oligocene-aged boiid snakes from North America, as well as examining the evolution of teeth in snakes. Research Goal #2 will be addressed by conducting fieldwork in the Chinle Formation (North American Triassic) prospecting for Upper Triassic snakes/lizards/sphenodontians, by identifying the evolutionary morphology of snake and lizard features in their most ancient relatives (Triassic to Jurassic), and by conducting high level phylogenetic studies of relationships.