Aug. 29 Introduction: Why Study Fossils?
Reading: B&H Chap. 1
Aug. 30 LAB: Analytical: Fossilization and Taphonomy (M&R Chap. 1)
Aug. 31 Taphonomy I: Properties and Habitats of Good Fossil Makers
Reading: B&W Chap. 3
Suppl. Online Reading: Knoll 2003
Sept. 3 LABOR DAY - No Class
Sept. 5 Taphonomy II: Fossils as Sedimentary Particles & Taphonomic Filters
Reading: B&H Chap. 3
Sept. 6 LAB: Descriptive: Micropaleontology: M&R Chap. 13
Sept. 7 Taphonomy III: Modes of Fossilization & Lagerstätten
Reading: Prothero Chap. 1
Sept. 10 Biostratigraphy I
Reading: B&H Chap. 2
Sept. 12 Biostratigraphy II and Trace Fossils I
Reading: B&H Chaps. 2, 19
Sept. 13 LAB: Analytical: Biostratigraphy and the PaleoDB
Sept. 14 Trace Fossils II
Reading: B&H Chap. 19
Sept. 17 Variation and Fossil Individuals
Sept. 19 Fossil Species and Species Criteria
Sept. 20 LAB: Descriptive: Sponges and Cnidaria (M&R Chaps. 3-4)
Sept. 21 Alpha Taxonomy & Identifying Fossils
Sept. 24 Macroevolution and the Fossil Record
Reading: B&H Chap. 5
Sept. 26 Extinctions & Mass Extinction
Reading: B&H Chap. 7
Sept. 27 LAB: Descriptive: Bryozoans and Brachiopods (M&R Chaps. 5-6)
Sept. 28 Cladistics I: Phylogenetic Systematics
Reading: B&H Chap. 7
Online Reading: Cladistics for Palaeontologists, particluarly
Introduction, Characters,
Tree-Building,
Optimization
Report I due
Oct. 1 Cladistics II: Phylogenetic Inferences
Reading: Prothero Chap. 4
Online Reading: Cladistics for Palaeontologists, particularly
Consensus & Support, Missing Information and Stratigraphy;
Donoghue and Benton 2007
Oct. 3 Evo-Devo, Deep Homology, and the Origins of Evolutionary Novelty
Oct. 4 LAB: Analytic: Taxonomy and Phylogenetics
Oct. 5 Exam I
Oct. 8 Paleoecology, the Fundamental Niche, and Extinction
Reading: Prothero Chaps. 6, 8
Suppl. Online Reading: Jackson and Overpeck 2000
Oct. 10 Paleoenvironmental Analysis & Biochemical Paleontology
Reading: B&H Chap. 4
Oct. 11 Lab practical I (Covers Aug. 30 through Oct. 4)
Oct. 12 Faunal Analyses: Paleontology of Communities
Reading: B&H Chap. 4
Suppl. Online Reading: Bambach et al. 2007,
Dunne et al. 2008
Oct. 15 Lineage-Based Analyses: Trends in Taxa
Oct. 17 Functional Morphology
Reading: B&H Chap. 6
Oct. 18 LAB: Analytical: Paleecology & Paleoenvironmental Analysis [Do from handout]
Oct. 19 No lecture: Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Oct. 22 The Oldest Fossils & Prokaryote Fossil History
Reading: B&H Chap. 8
Suppl. Online Reading: Brasier et al. 2006,
Schopf 2006
Oct. 24Fossil Protists
Reading: B&H Chap. 9
Online Reading: Knoll et al. 2006
Oct. 25 LAB: Descriptive: Mollusca (M&R Chap. 9)
Oct. 26 Precambrian Macrofossils: the Garden of Ediacara and the Long Fuse of the Cambrian Explosion
Reading: B&H Chap. 10
Suppl. Online Reading: Marshall 2006,
Narbonne 2005
Oct. 29 Sandy-based cancellation
Oct. 31 Poriferans and Cnidarians
Report II due
Research Topics Due
Nov. 1 LAB: Descriptive: Arthropoda (M&R Chap. 8)
Nov. 2 The Origin of Bilateralia
Reading: B&H Chap. 12
Suppl. Online Reading: Halanych 2004
Nov. 5 Spiralia I - Animals with lophophores
Reading: B&H Chap. 12
Suppl. Online Reading: Halanych 2004
Nov. 7 Mollusks I: Basal Forms through Gastropods
Reading: Prothero Chap. 15
Nov. 8 LAB: Descriptive: Echinodermata & Graptolithina (M&R Chaps. 7, 10)
Nov. 9 Mollusks II: Cephalopods & Bivalves
Reading: Prothero Chap. 15
Nov. 12 Ecdysozoa I: Panarthropoda
Reading: B&H Chap. 14
Nov. 14 Ecdysozoa II: Mandubulata
Reading: B&H Chap. 14
Paper Initial Bibliography Due
Nov. 15 LAB: Descriptive: Vertebrate Paleontology (M&R Chap. 11)
Nov. 16 Exam II
Nov. 16 Introduction to Deuterostomia: Basal Deuterostomes, Hemichordates, Basal Echinoderms
Reading: B&H Chap. 15
Nov. 21 Crown-Group Echinoderms: Crinoids & Eleutherozoans
Reading: B&H Chap. 15
Nov. 22-23 Thanksgiving Recess: enjoy your roasted dinosaur
Nov. 26 Origins and Diversification of Chordata
Reading: B&H Chap. 16
Nov. 28 Vertebrate Paleontology I: Paleoichthyology
Reading: B&H Chap. 16
Nov. 29 LAB 11: Descriptive: Paleobotany (M&R Chap. 12)
Nov. 30 Vertebrate Paleontology II: Fossil Tetrapods
Reading: B&H Chap. 17
Dec. 3 Vertebrate Paleontology III: Tetrapods Continued
Reading: B&H Chap. 17
Dec. 5 Paleobotany I: Embryophyta - land plants
Reading: B&H Chap. 18
Suppl. Online Reading: Crane et al. 2004
Dec. 6 LAB Practical II (covers Oct. 18 through Nov. 29)
Dec. 7 Anthophyta - flowering plants
Reading: B&H Chap. 18
Suppl. Online Reading: Soltis et al. 2008
Dec. 10 Student Presentations
PAPERS DUE!
Dec. 14 (Friday!) FINAL EXAM, PLS 1158, 1:30-3:30 pm
For a formatted printable copy of the complete syllabus, click here.
Class Location & Time, Policies, Textbooks, etc.