Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will ....Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will for the first time collect a vast comparative data base which will yield clues on the early evolution of the ear, eye and brain. Read moreRead less
Gondwana in East Asia? A biogeographic test using Permian marine invertebrate biota. Combining Permian fossil collections from key Australian, NE Chinese, East Russian and Japanese localities, coupled with a detailed quantitative biogeographical analysis, this project will provide fundamental data for evaluating current plate tectonic models regarding the palaeo-positions of some of the tectonic blocks in East Asia. In particular, this project will test, using biogeographical data, the validity ....Gondwana in East Asia? A biogeographic test using Permian marine invertebrate biota. Combining Permian fossil collections from key Australian, NE Chinese, East Russian and Japanese localities, coupled with a detailed quantitative biogeographical analysis, this project will provide fundamental data for evaluating current plate tectonic models regarding the palaeo-positions of some of the tectonic blocks in East Asia. In particular, this project will test, using biogeographical data, the validity of several recently proposed claims that continental East Asia contains some tectonic blocks of Gondwana origin. An improved understanding of the Permian palaeogeographical relationship between Gondwanaland and East Asia is critical for improving geological models for resources exploration and the understanding of earth history.Read moreRead less
A New Approach to the Collection of a Large Suite of Dinasour Specimens. Monash University and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, propose to cut of a tunnel in permafrost on the North Slope of Alaska during the early Spring. This is expected to lead to the acquisition of a new assembly of dinasour fossils. An important aspect of the project is its sponsorship by Big Island Pictures, Brisbane, who will produce a documentary about this unique experiment in palaeontological engineering. This no ....A New Approach to the Collection of a Large Suite of Dinasour Specimens. Monash University and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, propose to cut of a tunnel in permafrost on the North Slope of Alaska during the early Spring. This is expected to lead to the acquisition of a new assembly of dinasour fossils. An important aspect of the project is its sponsorship by Big Island Pictures, Brisbane, who will produce a documentary about this unique experiment in palaeontological engineering. This novel approach to recovering dinosaurs will lead to a new and perhaps more complete assemblage of specimens, whilst attracting a vast audience and conveying to the public how innovative science is done. The public interest is attested to by the consortium of sponsors that has been assembled by Big Island Pictures including major television stations in Australia, USA, England, France, and Germany and the Film Finance Corporation of Australia.Read moreRead less
Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray ....Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray computer tomography, and the Australian synchrotron, will be used to investigate ancient cells and preserved soft tissue structures, to search for evidence that copulation and internal fertilization, as in modern mammals, might have originated when jaws first evolved. Read moreRead less
The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodivers ....The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodiversity), Goal 1.7 (climate change and variability) and Goal 3.1 (breakthrough new knowledge). In addition, the project will enhance Australia's global research profile through multinational and multidisciplinary research collaborations, and, importantly, also provide a crucial training opportunity for the next generation of Australian palaeobiologists.Read moreRead less
Was there an unusual environment with equally remarkable inhabitants in Early Cretaceous southeast Australia? After more than two decades of effort, there is strong evidence that Early Cretaceous southeastern Australia was inhabited by a remarkably diverse polar terrestrial vertebrate fauna adapted to the coldest environment known to have existed anywhere in the late Mesozoic. In this unusual terrestrial habitat for that time, temnospondyl amphibians and allosaurid dinosaurs survived long ....Was there an unusual environment with equally remarkable inhabitants in Early Cretaceous southeast Australia? After more than two decades of effort, there is strong evidence that Early Cretaceous southeastern Australia was inhabited by a remarkably diverse polar terrestrial vertebrate fauna adapted to the coldest environment known to have existed anywhere in the late Mesozoic. In this unusual terrestrial habitat for that time, temnospondyl amphibians and allosaurid dinosaurs survived long after becoming extinct elsewhere. Here, too, are found what may be the oldest known and yet remarkably advanced placental mammals, the group to which we belong. To further corroborate or refute these hypotheses, some of which are highly contentious, is the aim of this project.Read moreRead less