Project description
Studying the undescribed fossil record of North African long-necked dinosaurs
The Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, approximately 94 million years ago, was a period of sea level and temperature changes resulting in one of the major mass extinctions of the last 540 million years. The fossil material of long-necked dinosaurs in North Africa represents the single largest undescribed fossil record of the animal kingdom from any major continent during the latter half of the Mesozoic era which includes this event. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EvoSaurAf project will study the evolution of long-necked dinosaurs prior to the extinction event using virtual palaeontology techniques developed by the project, fossil histology, phylogenetic analysis and more.
Objective
The overall research goal of this proposal is to develop a multidisciplinary study of the little known long-necked dinosaurs of North Africa using virtual paleontology techniques (developed in my PhD thesis) histological data on the fossil material, pneumatic apparatus reconstruction and phylogenetic analysis to understand the significance of a range of new species. The project will have a major impact in the fields of paleontology and biology, generating critical new data on the large terrestrial vertebrates of a major continent during a period of the Mesozoic that experienced sea level and temperature changes resulting in major extinctions. The fossil material comprises the single largest undescribed fauna from any major continent during the latter half of the Mesozoic. The high-profile scientific results to come from this research over two-years in the Department of Organismal Biology (University of Chicago), under the supervision of Prof. Sereno, will boost my academic profile and experience in the fields of paleontology and evolution, significantly increasing the chance to continue my career by leading a multidisciplinary and diverse research group in the field of paleobiology in Europe.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global FellowshipsCoordinator
28015 Madrid
Spain