Investigation of the dinosaur fauna of the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan and insights into the evolutionary radiation and biogeography of dinosaurs in central Asia

吉尔吉斯斯坦中侏罗世巴拉班赛组恐龙区系调查及中亚恐龙演化辐射与生物地理学洞察

• 批准号: 504374519
• 负责人: Dr. Tom Hübner
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Naturkunde-Museum Bamberg
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2021-12-31 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/504374519?language=en
• 关键词: Investigation; dinosaur; fauna; Middle; Jurassic

Dinosaurs are among the most successful and widely distributed land vertebrates of all time. Their fossil remains are also commonly found making them ideal candidates exploring the evolution and distribution patterns of vertebrates. In the Middle Jurassic, between 174 and 163 million years ago, many of the main groups of dinosaurs evolved or were on the way to become established. Unfortunately, dinosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic are rare worldwide, so that the knowledge about their evolution is highly incomplete. In addition, the dinosaur fauna from east Asia possibly starts to evolve independently from the rest of the world in the Middle Jurassic, which culminated in the postulated isolation and endemism of that dinosaur fauna.The Balabansai Formation in the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan might be a key to solve questions about the evolution and distribution patterns of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs: 1) This formation is dated as being of Middle Jurassic in age, 2) it is well-known as comprising dinosaur fossil-bearing sediments, and 3) it is located geographically, then, as now, right between western Eurasia and east Asia. The recent discoveries of two partial skeletons of a sauropod and a theropod dinosaur furthermore confirms that scientifically important finds can be expected in these sediments.The first objective of this preliminary project is the documentation of already discovered dinosaur fossils and to identify new localities in the field for a larger-scaled subsequent project. Due to the scarcity of adequate fossils from the Middle Jurassic worldwide, every single new find will significantly increase the knowledge on the evolution and relationships of dinosaurs. In case the expectations on the quality and density of fossil finds can be confirmed, the fossils shall, in the subsequent project, be excavated and analyzed, and the dinosaur fauna of the Balabansai Formation shall finally be compared qualitatively and by means of statistical methods with the respective faunas of western Eurasia and east Asia. Thus, it can be tested whether the Kyrgyz fauna is more similar to one or the other fauna or whether it represents a mixture. With these data at hand, it might finally be possible to determine the location and time frame of a potential geographical barrier triggering the endemism of east Asian dinosaurs or if this whole hypothesis is actually only based on the incomplete fossil record.Beyond the scientific goals, it is additionally intended in the potential subsequent project to support the cooperating Kyrgyz partner, the Institute of Geology in Bishkek represented by Dr. Aizek Bakirov, enabling them to stepwise establish a modern scientific collection and independent paleontological research capabilities in Kyrgyzstan.

恐龙是有史以来最成功、分布最广泛的陆地脊椎动物之一。它们的化石遗骸也很常见，这使它们成为探索脊椎动物进化和分布模式的理想候选者。在 174 至 1.63 亿年前的中侏罗世，许多主要的恐龙类群已经进化或正在形成。不幸的是，中侏罗世的恐龙化石在世界范围内都很罕见，因此关于它们进化的知识非常不完整。此外，东亚的恐龙动物群可能在中侏罗世开始独立于世界其他地区进化，最终导致该恐龙动物群被假定为孤立和特有。中亚国家吉尔吉斯斯坦的巴拉班塞组可能是解决有关中侏罗世恐龙进化和分布模式问题的关键：1）该地层的年龄可确定为中侏罗世，2）它是众所周知，它包含含有恐龙化石的沉积物，3）它的地理位置无论当时还是现在都位于欧亚大陆西部和东亚之间。最近发现的蜥脚类恐龙和兽脚类恐龙的两具部分骨骼进一步证实，在这些沉积物中可以期待具有重要科学意义的发现。这个初步项目的首要目标是记录已发现的恐龙化石，并确定该领域的新地点以便进行更大规模的后续项目。由于世界范围内中侏罗世化石的稀缺性，每一项新发现都将显着增加有关恐龙进化和关系的知识。如果能够确认化石发现的质量和密度的预期，将在后续项目中对化石进行挖掘和分析，并最终通过定性和统计方法与Balabansai组的恐龙动物群进行比较。欧亚大陆西部和东亚各自的动物群。因此，可以测试吉尔吉斯动物群是否与一种或另一种动物群更相似，或者是否代表一种混合物。有了这些数据，最终就有可能确定引发东亚恐龙特有现象的潜在地理障碍的位置和时间框架，或者整个假设实际上是否仅基于不完整的化石记录。除了科学目标之外，它还打算在潜在的后续项目中支持吉尔吉斯斯坦的合作伙伴，以艾泽克·巴基洛夫博士为代表的比什凯克地质研究所，使他们能够逐步建立现代科学收藏和独立的古生物学研究能力在吉尔吉斯斯坦。