Exceptionally well-preserved fossil plants from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and China

蒙古和中国晚侏罗世和早白垩世保存完好的植物化石

• 批准号: 1748286
• 负责人: Patrick Herendeen
• 金额: $ 56.77万
• 依托单位: Chicago Horticultural Society
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-05-15 至 2023-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1748286&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Exceptionally; well; preserved; fossil; plants

This project will document seed-bearing plants that lived during the age of dinosaurs in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China. Sediments laid down 100-125 million years ago in these areas produce many exceptionally well-preserved fossils that capture the biodiversity of Asia at the very beginning of the rise of flowering plants. Many seed-bearing plants during this time were close relatives of flowering plants yet later became extinct for reasons that are not well understood. Documenting these extinct seed-bearing plants will allow scientists to more fully understand the ecology of this ancient environment and the evolution of seed plants, including flowering plants that form the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems today. Researchers will unearth and describe seed plants preserved as compressed as well as three-dimensional fossils from multiple field sites. The project will train undergraduate and graduate students, including members of groups that are under-represented in science, and support the professional development of an early-career researcher. Researchers will educate the public about the Mongolian fossils by authoring a book of popular science non-fiction intended for wide audiences. Their outreach activities will build on popular interest in dinosaurs and will include materials and exhibits produced through the Chicago Botanic Garden. Project personnel will use next-generation science standards to engage middle-school students via an online, bilingual illustrated series about paleontology and earth science. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of a critical ecological transition period in the history of life. Research will add significantly to existing knowledge about seed plant diversity during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in Asia and the global distributions of these species. Researchers will uncover numerous fossil fragments of species, which will allow unprecedented opportunity to reassemble whole plants and compare different developmental stages. Researchers will analyze the morphology and anatomy of these fossils using scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray microtomography. Newly excavated and existing fossil specimens are expected to yield species new to science and as well as new insights about previously described species. Outcomes of this project will include improved understanding of ancient ecosystems, the historical biogeography of extinct seed plants across continents, and the homology of pollen- and seed-bearing organs among living and extinct seed plants, including flowering plants. The project will create new fossil collections and strengthen international research collaborations among US, Russian, Mongolian and Chinese scientists.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将记录恐龙时代生活在蒙古和中国内蒙古的种子植物。这些地区 100-1.25 亿年前沉积的沉积物产生了许多保存完好的化石，这些化石反映了亚洲开花植物兴起之初的生物多样性。这一时期的许多种子植物都是开花植物的近亲，但后来由于尚不清楚的原因而灭绝。记录这些灭绝的种子植物将使科学家能够更全面地了解这个古老环境的生态和种子植物的进化，包括构成当今陆地生态系统基础的开花植物。研究人员将从多个现场挖掘并描述保存为压缩形式的种子植物以及三维化石。该项目将培训本科生和研究生，包括科学界代表性不足的群体的成员，并支持早期职业研究人员的专业发展。研究人员将通过撰写一本面向广大读者的科普非小说类书籍，向公众介绍蒙古化石。他们的外展活动将建立在大众对恐龙的兴趣之上，并将包括通过芝加哥植物园制作的材料和展品。项目人员将使用下一代科学标准，通过有关古生物学和地球科学的在线双语插图系列吸引中学生。该项目将有助于更深入地了解生命史上关键的生态转型时期。研究将极大地丰富有关亚洲侏罗纪和早白垩世种子植物多样性以及这些物种的全球分布的现有知识。研究人员将发现许多物种的化石碎片，这将为重新组装整个植物并比较不同的发育阶段提供前所未有的机会。研究人员将使用扫描电子显微镜和高分辨率 X 射线显微断层扫描分析这些化石的形态和解剖结构。新挖掘的和现有的化石标本预计将产生科学上的新物种，以及对先前描述的物种的新见解。该项目的成果将包括更好地了解古代生态系统、各大洲灭绝种子植物的历史生物地理学，以及现存和灭绝种子植物（包括开花植物）花粉和种子器官的同源性。该项目将创建新的化石收藏，并加强美国、俄罗斯、蒙古和中国科学家之间的国际研究合作。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

项目成果

Middle to Late Paleocene Leguminosae fruits and leaves from Colombia

• DOI: 10.1071/sb19001
• 发表时间: 2019-01-01
• 期刊: AUSTRALIAN SYSTEMATIC BOTANY
• 影响因子: 1.6
• 作者: Herrera, Fabiany;Carvalho, Monica R.;Herendeen, Patrick S.
• 通讯作者: Herendeen, Patrick S.

Silicified cupulate seed-bearing structures from the Early Cretaceous of eastern Inner Mongolia, China: rethinking the corystosperm concept

• DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2022.2133644
• 发表时间: 2022-11
• 期刊: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
• 影响因子: 2.6
• 作者: G. Shi;Fabiany Herrera;P. Herendeen;E. G. Clark;P. Crane

The problematic genus Problematospermum

• DOI: 10.1002/tax.12722
• 发表时间: 2022-04
• 期刊: TAXON
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: P. Herendeen;M. Bickner;E. Bugdaeva;S. Naugolnykh;Elena Kostina

Reconstructing Krassilovia mongolica supports recognition of a new and unusual group of Mesozoic conifers

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226779
• 发表时间: 2020-01-15
• 期刊: PLOS ONE
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Herrera, Fabiany;Shi, Gongle;Crane, Peter R.
• 通讯作者: Crane, Peter R.

Eocene Fossil Legume Leaves Referable to the Extant Genus Arcoa (Caesalpinioideae, Leguminosae)

• DOI: 10.1086/701468
• 发表时间: 2019-02
• 期刊: International Journal of Plant Sciences
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: P. Herendeen;Fabiany Herrera