广西早泥盆世肉鳍鱼类形态学及古动物地理研究

The research on the origin and early evolution of sarcopterygians has been subjects of a series of studies. Over the last decade or more, a huge amount of exceptionally preserved sarcopterygian fossils from Yunnan greatly increased the diversity of Siluro-Devonian osteichthyans, early sarcopterygians in particular, and confirmed the hypothesis of South China being the center of origin and early diversification of sarcopterygians. Recently, the project team has conducted a series of productive field investigations and excavations from Guangxi, South China, and found some well-preserved sarcopterygian fossils, including stem sarcopterygians and lungfishes. The discovery shows that the early sarcopterygians from Guangxi bear some similarities to those from Yunnan, but also have some unique biological characteristics. Thus, the project will conduct field investigations in Xiangzhou and Liujing areas in Guangxi, and use high-resolution CT scanning (HRCT) and computerized three-dimensional reconstruction to exploit the significant anatomical characters of these primitive sarcopterygian fossil materials. The comparative anatomical studies on these fossils will help us gaining a profound understanding of the acquisition sequence of sarcopterygian endocranial characters in their early evolutionary history. These project will also deepen our understanding on the origin and early diversification of sarcopterygians and provide new evidences for the Devonian regional stratigraphic correlation between Yunnan and Guangxi.

肉鳍鱼类的起源和演化是现今古生物学研究中的热点话题之一。近三十年来，中国南方，特别是云南东部一系列珍贵早期肉鳍鱼类化石的发现，推动了肉鳍鱼类的深入研究，证实了华南是肉鳍鱼类的起源与早期演化中心。最近广西下泥盆统中发现了一些保存完好的肉鳍鱼类化石，包括基干肉鳍鱼类和肺鱼类等，鱼群面貌与云南东部的相比既具有一定的相似性，又具有一些独特的生物学特征。本项目拟在广西象州、六景地区的下泥盆统中展开深入的发掘工作，力争发现更多的肉鳍鱼类化石新材料，在详细的形态学研究基础上，应用高精度断层扫描和计算机三维虚拟重建等技术手段，对已有的和新发现的早期肉鳍鱼类开展深入的比较解剖学和系统学研究，为探讨早期肉鳍鱼类重要特征的演化序列和系统发育关系提供新的证据。本项目的研究工作还将拓宽肉鳍鱼类的空间分布范围，并为广西与云南的泥盆纪区域地层对比以及探讨早期肉鳍鱼类的生存环境、迁移扩散格局提供更为可靠的化石依据。

本项目四年来在广西南宁、岑溪、象州地区的下泥盆统中展开深入的发掘工作，发现了大量保存完好的肉鳍鱼类化石，包括基干肉鳍鱼类和肺鱼类等。鱼群面貌与云南东部的相比既具有一定的相似性，又具有一些独特的生物学特征。在详细的形态学研究基础上，应用高精度断层扫描和计算机三维虚拟重建等技术手段，对已有的和新发现的早期肉鳍鱼类开展深入的比较解剖学和系统学研究，为探讨早期肉鳍鱼类重要特征的演化序列、系统发育关系以及演化速率提供新的证据。本项目的研究工作拓宽了肉鳍鱼类的空间分布范围，并为广西与云南的泥盆纪区域地层对比以及探讨早期肉鳍鱼类的生存环境、迁移扩散格局提供更为可靠的化石依据。此外，本项目还尝试依靠古生物化石数据库和地理信息系统结合重建泥盆纪时期古地理面貌。