BIOL8703 Vertebrate Palaeontology GE

Dr Aaron Camens

2015

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 1 of BIOL2706, BIOL8706
2 18 Units in ARCH, BIOL, CHEM, EASC or ENVS topics
Must Satisfy: ((1) or (2))

BIOL3703 has been successfully completed

This topic involves a two-week field course (12 days) held at Naracoorte Caves during mid-February. It includes lectures and practicals on comparative anatomy, taxonomy, systematics and biostratigraphy of Australian fossil vertebrates with particular emphasis on marsupials. It includes practical experience through the study of local geology, sedimentology and the excavation and preparation of the fossilised remains of extinct vertebrates.

Through lectures and practicals to develop an understanding of the concepts and methods used by vertebrate 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 mammal fauna.

At the completion of this topic, students are expected to be able to:

Have some understanding of the methods used to document, excavate and transport fossils to a laboratory for further preparation and study
Be able to make preliminary identifications of fossils from teeth and skeletal elements
Be able to apply general principles to the identification and classification of Australasian reptiles, birds and mammals
Have a good understanding of the application of taphonomic principles in (a) determining the likely cause of death; (b) identifying possible sources of post-mortem bone modification and (c) in the reconstruction of a fossil community
Be able to interpret a local fossil-bearing stratigraphic section and describe the site formation history of a fossil site
Be able to collect palaeontological data from a fossil sample to interpret the faunal composition, geological context, palaeoecology and taphonomic history
Have gained some insight into research in at least one aspect of contemporary vertebrate palaeontology
Have gained experience in summarising prior research carried out in a field of vertebrate palaeontology in the form of a literature review

Key dates and timetable

Timetable details for 2015 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.