Exceptionally well-preserved fossil plants from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and China

Chicago Horticultural Society, Glencoe IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will document seed-bearing plants that lived during the age of dinosaurs in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China. Sediments laid down 100-125 million years ago in these areas produce many exceptionally well-preserved fossils that capture the biodiversity of Asia at the very beginning of the rise of flowering plants. Many seed-bearing plants during this time were close relatives of flowering plants yet later became extinct for reasons that are not well understood. Documenting these extinct seed-bearing plants will allow scientists to more fully understand the ecology of this ancient environment and the evolution of seed plants, including flowering plants that form the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems today. Researchers will unearth and describe seed plants preserved as compressed as well as three-dimensional fossils from multiple field sites. The project will train undergraduate and graduate students, including members of groups that are under-represented in science, and support the professional development of an early-career researcher. Researchers will educate the public about the Mongolian fossils by authoring a book of popular science non-fiction intended for wide audiences. Their outreach activities will build on popular interest in dinosaurs and will include materials and exhibits produced through the Chicago Botanic Garden. Project personnel will use next-generation science standards to engage middle-school students via an online, bilingual illustrated series about paleontology and earth science. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of a critical ecological transition period in the history of life. Research will add significantly to existing knowledge about seed plant diversity during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in Asia and the global distributions of these species. Researchers will uncover numerous fossil fragments of species, which will allow unprecedented opportunity to reassemble whole plants and compare different developmental stages. Researchers will analyze the morphology and anatomy of these fossils using scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray microtomography. Newly excavated and existing fossil specimens are expected to yield species new to science and as well as new insights about previously described species. Outcomes of this project will include improved understanding of ancient ecosystems, the historical biogeography of extinct seed plants across continents, and the homology of pollen- and seed-bearing organs among living and extinct seed plants, including flowering plants. The project will create new fossil collections and strengthen international research collaborations among US, Russian, Mongolian and Chinese scientists. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.