The early evolution and diversification of the dinosaurs remains largely unresolved, due to the scarcity of complete skeletons of certain transitional forms of Triassic age. Dr. Paul Sereno proposes to begin field collections in Triassic-aged strata in Argentina, in collaboration with in-country specialists. Preliminary finds suggest that new collections will provide critical observations of dinosaur anatomy that will settle long-standing controversies over ancestor-descendant relationships. Dinosaurs are but one of the major reptile groups that diversified in the early Mesozoic. The proposed research has the potential to advance our understanding of dinosaur evolution. It also has implications for the study of crocodiles, flying reptiles and birds, all of which are descendants of that period of differentiation. International scientific cooperation will also be improved.
