GEO 5420 - Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution

Survey of the diversity of fossil vertebrates, with emphasis on skeletal morphology and systematics. Additional topics include taphonomy, functional morphology, origins of major groups (clades), tempo and mode of evolutionary change, and mass extinctions, as well as stratigraphic and biogeographic distributions viewed in the context of plate tectonics. One field trip. Meets with GEO 6420.