鹿科动物的起源和早期系统演化

Cerivdae is one of the successful families in the evolution of ruminants. The earliest fossil Cervoidea by far appeared in the Oligocene, the earliest characteristic antler was discovered from the late Early Miocene. The phylogenetic relationship between early cervid groups and other ruminant and the relationship within Cervidae are still in dispute and unclear. Previous studies are mainly based on traditional methods or cladistic analysis with a few characters in some selected groups. The origin and evolutionary process of Cervidae have not yet been studied systematically. This project will aim to study on all discovered Cervoidea fossils from China, especially from the Oligocene and Miocene, using cladistic analysis and combining with relevant stratigraphic ages to explore the origin and early evolutionary process of Cervidae in China.

鹿科动物是反刍动物中成功演化的重要的一支。已知最早的鹿超科化石出现在渐新世，具有鉴定意义的鹿角在早中新世晚期才出现。目前早期类群在分类阶元上的划分以及与其他反刍动物的亲缘关系、后期各类群间的系统关系等问题仅有传统古生物学基于形态特征的讨论，或是对某些类群选取少量性状做出的简单支序分析，缺乏对鹿科动物的起源和系统演化问题的全面深入研究。本课题拟在中国鹿科化石，特别是渐新世和中新世化石材料的研究基础上，通过对鹿科祖先类群及相关类群、早期鹿科动物及后期鹿科动物类群进行梳理，收集性状，进行支序分析，结合地层年代信息，探讨中国鹿科动物的起源和早期系统演化。