GEO 1040 - The World of Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are the most celebrated fossil organisms. These remarkably diverse and successful animals inhabited every major continent, persisted more than 150 million years, and evolved numerous bizarre forms of varying body sizes. This course presents an overview of the major dinosaur groups and places them into temporal, biogeographic, and ecological context. Topics include modes of preservation, feeding adaptations, social behavior, evolution, extinction, and the origin of birds. Dinosaurs are also used as a vehicle to introduce the scientific method.