Unit VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
- Course
- Earth science and environment
- Study-unit Code
- A006330
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Marco Cherin
- Teachers
-
- Marco Cherin
- Hours
- 47 ore - Marco Cherin
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2026
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Sector
- GEOS-02/A
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- Introduction. Methods of vertebrate paleontology. Evolutionary history of vertebrates and systematic study of the main vertebrate groups in the
paleontological record. - Reference texts
- reference book:
Benton M.J., 2024. Vertebrate Palaeontology. Fifth Edition. Wiley
Blackwell.
other books:
Bertolini B. (a cura di), 2012. Anatomia comparata dei vertebrati. Una
visione funzionale ed evolutiva. Edises.
Giavini E., Menegola E., Broccia M.L., Scari G., 2002. Atlante di anatomia
macroscopica dei vertebrati. Springer. - Educational objectives
- The course aims to provide, as its main objective, theoretical and
practical knowledge of the main concepts of vertebrate paleontology.
The main knowledge and skills acquired by the students will be:
- Knowing and reconstructing the main stages of the vertebrate
evolution, from the Paleozoic Era to the Present;
- Connecting these evolutionary stages to the main paleogeographic and
paleoenvironmental changes characterizing the Earth’s geological
history;
- Recognizing the main parts of the vertebrate skeleton and discussing
competently useful characters for taxonomic classification of fossils;
- Extrapolating paleoecological, biochronological and taphonomic
information from the study of fossil remains of vertebrates;
- Understanding the impact of fossil vertebrates in terms of dissemination
and science communication. - Prerequisites
- In order to understand the issues related to the vertebrate paleontology
and to be able to apply the acquired knowledge students must have:
- Essential basic knowledge of the fundamentals of geology;
- Essential basic knowledge of the main issues related to the fossilization
processes;
- Basic knowledge of the principles of zoological taxonomy;
- Basic knowledge of the main theories and models of biological
evolution;
- Basic knowledge of the principles of biostratigraphy;
- Basic knowledge of skeletal anatomy.
These preconditions are valid for both attending and not attending
students. - Teaching methods
- The course includes both lectures and practical experiences with
osteological and paleontological material. The course is organized in:
- Lectures on all the topics of the program;
- Seminars and workshops (optional);
- Excursions at the end of the course (optional). - Other information
- Attendance: Optional but strongly advised.
Location: Palazzo delle Scienze, Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Piazza
Università - Learning verification modality
- The exam includes an oral discussion. This consists in a discussion lasting
about 30 minutes aimed at ascertaining the level of knowledge and the
understanding reached by the student about the theoretical contents of
the course. Moreover, thanks to the description of fossils, students can
demonstrate their ability in applying their knowledge to real cases. The
exam will also test the communication skills of the student with proper
language. - Extended program
- Introduction.
- Elements of vertebrate taphonomy;
- Elements of research, excavation, restoration, preparation and
cataloguing of fossil vertebrate finds;
- Phylogeny and evolution.
Evolutionary history of vertebrates.
- Origin of the fishes in the Paleozoic;
- Early tetrapods and amphibians;
- Evolution of the first amniotes;
- Triassic tetrapods;
- Evolution of the fishes after the Devonian;
- The Mesozoic Era: dinosaurs and other vertebrates;
- Birds;
- Mammals.
Methods of vertebrate paleontology.
- Traditional methods: morphology and morphometry;
- Elements of geometric morphometric and morphologic and biometric
analysis of digital 3D models.
Vertebrate paleontology: dissemination and museological applications. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- Since the course focuses on the evolutionary history of vertebrates
during the Phanerozoic, it provides a lot of "contextual" information on
the topic of climate change and the transformations of marine and
terrestrial ecosystems in Deep Time.