BIO481Y Research Proposal:  Varanopseidae Classification
By:  Andrea Doolan
Professor:  Dr. R. Reisz

Hypothesis:  Unlike other locations where only one species of Varanopseidae (a pelycosaur mammal-like reptile family) is found, the fact that many different genera of varanopseids are found at the Dolese quarry in Oklahoma means something different is happens at this location.

Methods:  Drawing and describing nine different varanopseid mandibles from the Dolese quarry, and trying to classify them as best as possible.  Also, I will be researching the nature of the Dolese quarry.

Background history of the varanopseids, includes being part of Amniota, which is classified by those vertebrates whose eggs do not have to hatch in water.  The basal amniote was the ancestor of all mammals, birds and reptiles.  Varanopseids also belong to the clade Synapsida, in which all the amniotes have one lower temporal fenestra.  Varanopseids are also part of the Order Pelycosauria, which is an order that includes six families of basal synapsids.  The Pelycosaurs evolved in the Early Permian, about 290 million years ago.  One family of Pelycosauria is the Varanopseidae.  The Varanopseidae is a family of Pelycosaurs from the Early Permian in what is now North America.  There are four or five genera of varanopseids.  Common characteristics of varanopseids include long limbs, and a lightly built skeleton.  Palaeontologists believe these characters made the varanopseids quite agile.

The location where my nine specimens were collected was the Richards Spur Dolese Brothers quarry near Fort Sill Oklahoma.  In there quarry, there are a series of Ordovician Arbuckle limestone fissures.  Fossil-rich sediments of Permian age filled in these fissures at a late date.  The Permian sediments consist of soft clays and coarser clast-based sediments.  The vertebrate remains found in the quarry are very well preserved, and have no visible crushing or warping.  Some specimens, however, are chipped, which may indicate long-distance transportation of the Permian sediments to the fissures.

In summary, I will be researching, and classifying nine Varanopseidae mandibles, while also looking at the nature of the sediments in which they were found.