This proposal is designed to elucidate the changes in composition and diversity of mammals during the Paleocene Epoch, approximately 66 to 54 million years ago. During this interval of time mammals underwent a major adaptive radiation and became dominant land animals. Specifically, the data collected during the tenure of this grant will be analyzed to elucidate the general pattern of mammalian faunal evolution across the middle- late Paleocene boundary and to test previous hypotheses correlating faunal and climatic changes.
