Presenter: Amelia Lawson – Environmental Science
Faculty Mentor(s): Amanda Peng, Samantha Hopkins
Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation
Lagomorphs are small plant eating mammals that are split into two extant families: the Ochotonidae which is comprised of pikas, and Leporidae which is made of rabbits and hares. The earliest lagomorph occurrence is 55 million years ago in Asia, which is widely recognized as the origin of lagomorphs. Through the Cenozoic, lagomorphs diversified and migrated to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. During the Cenozoic, Asia transitioned from a humid and warm environment to an arid and cool climate. These changes as well as geographic alterations in Asia dramatically effected lagomorphs at the time which can be viewed by analyzing the fossil record. Along with changes in climate, inferences can be made about lagomorph niche and habitat by comparing extinct and extant species data. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of geography, particularly the Mongolian Plateau, on lagomorphs in Asia. In this study, I analyzed fossils from 8 localities in East Asia from the Eocene to the Miocene using the Paleobiology Database and past publications to access the environmental effects on lagomorph diversity and size in East Asia through time. This study provided further incite into the formation of the Mongolian Plateau, which is relatively sparce in information on the time of its uprise. As a result, this study suggests that the rise of the Mongolian Plateau and Hangay Mountains had dramatic impacts on Lagomorphs throughout the Cenozoic.