BIOL3703 Vertebrate Palaeontology

Dr Aaron Camens

2021

4.5

1 x 1-hour lecture weekly
1 x 2-hour workshop per semester
4 x 4-hour practicals per semester
1 x 5-hour field trip-1 once-only
9 x 8-hour field trips per semester
1 x 49-hour project work per semester

1 BIOL2706 - Vertebrate Anatomy and Evolution
2 18 Units in ARCH, BIOL, CHEM, EASC or ENVS topics
Must Satisfy: ((1) or (2))

BIOL8703 has been successfully completed

4 x Practical report

4 x Workshop

Field notebook

Research project (1500 words UG, 2000 words PG)

Students will learn about the half-billion-year history of vertebrates as deduced from the fossil record. The topic reviews the major patterns of vertebrate evolution and processes that have shaped them, particularly in Australia. It also includes a one-week field trip (in the mid-semester break) where students will get on site experience in fossil excavation, sieving, logging a geological section, dating methods and field trip logistics.

This topic aims to develop an understanding of the concepts and methods used by palaeontologists to reconstruct the history of life on earth and in the process provide students with an overview of the evolution and radiation of the Australian vertebrate fauna.

On completion of this topic you will be expected to be able to:

Locate, excavate, consolidate and retrieve vertebrate fossils

Apply taphonomic, stratigraphic and palaeoecological principles to interpretation of a fossil deposit

Construct and analyse patterns within a phylogenetic tree based on morphological characters

Have some understanding of key evolutionary transitions in vertebrates, including the transition to life on land and mammal diversification

Critically analyse the literature in a specific area of palaeontology

Key dates and timetable

Timetable details for 2021 are no longer published.

This information is from current details held on the Student Information System. Please report any errors or omissions to the relevant College Office.