DEADSharks · Divergence times, Evolution, and Anatomy Deciphered in early Sharks
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-12-01 → 2024-11-30
- EU contribution
- €187,624
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Divergence times, Evolution, and Anatomy Deciphered in early Sharks
Elasmobranchs (sharks & rays) are of great interest both to evolutionary biologists, as one of the most evolutionarily distinct groups of jawed vertebrates, and to conservationists, being important in food-webs but vulnerable to extinction. However, the timing of the evolution of living elasmobranch biodiversity remains poorly understood, in part due to a heavy reliance on the fossil record of isolated teeth to reconstruct the timing of the elasmobranch tree of life. In this project I aimed: (1) to use computed tomographic (CT) methods to reconstruct and redescribe the internal skeletons of key fossil elasmobranchs from the Mesozoic three-dimensionally; (2) incorporate these data into morphological phylogenetic analyses to give insight into the relationships of these extinct elasmobranchs; (3) combine this with genomic data in a first total-evidence tip-dating approach to the elasmobranch tree of life; and (4) combine shape data on the lower jaws of these taxa with data from extant elasmobranchs to understand how and when elasmobranch feeding diversity evolved.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The ancient elasmobranchs (sharks + rays) have the potential to provide great insight into evolutionary processes over large timescales, but this potential is limited by a poor understanding of the relationships between living and extinct groups and the timing of major divergence events. In this project I will address these knowledge gaps by combining new 3D tomographic data on key Mesozoic elasmobranch body fossils with genomic and anatomical data from their living relatives. I will then use this and a dataset of 3D elasmobranch lower jaws to investigate the dynamics of elasmobranch macroevolution, using the rate and mode of lower jaw shape evolution as a case study. In doing so I will build on my existing background in palaeobiology and 3D methods by learning new skills in genomics-based phylogenetics and 3D geometric morphometrics, while developing my skills as a supervisor, communicator, and leader. These new skills, along with the scientific groundwork laid by this project, will give me the tools to pursue an independent programme of research in the longer term, investigating the early evolution of elasmobranchs by combining data from animals both living and extinct.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- STICHTING NATURALIS BIODIVERSITY CENTER · LeidenCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101062426
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5036145ce&appId=PPGMS
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e511370696&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union