Vertebrate life on planet earth
Not offered in 1995
Dr Patricia Vickers-Rich
4 points * 4.5 hours per week * Clayton
This subject deals with the major evolutionary patterns of vertebrate animals, emphasising Australia, for the past 500 million years. The subject is strongly recommended for students intending to major in earth sciences; those students interested in vertebrate evolution and palaeobiogeography, comparative anatomy of the vertebrates, diet and habitat preferences of extinct animals, major extinction events and changing environments through time. Topics of special emphasis in the subject include the origin of major groups (eg birds, marsupials and man), major extinction events and their causes (eg extinction of the dinosaurs, extinction of the Australian megafauna), use of fossil vertebrates as geological time pieces (biostratigraphy) and vertebrate evidence for climatic change, especially for the development of aridity on the Australian continent. Emphasis will be placed on the philosophy behind such interpretative methods as well as the biases and the limitations of the data available in Australia relative to the rest of the world.
Assessment
Written (2000 words): 20% * Examinations (1 hour): 40% * Laboratory work/Fieldwork: 40%
Prescribed texts
Vickers-Rich P and others (eds) Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia Pioneer Design Studio, 1991