GEO3250

Students will describe the fossilization process, including the geologic conditions that favor fossil preservation, and assess the scientific practices involved in the collection, preparation, and curation of dinosaur fossils.

Students will interpret the geological and temporal context of dinosaurs by applying principles of relative and absolute dating, and by reconstructing the paleogeography, climates, and continental positions of the Mesozoic Era.

Students will construct and evaluate phylogenetic trees using cladistic methods, and differentiate between homologous and analogous traits in the evolutionary history of dinosaurs.

Students will identify and describe key anatomical features of dinosaurs, including skeletal traits that define major clades such as Saurischia and Ornithischia, and explain how those traits relate to function and behavior.

Students will explain the origin, diversification, and evolutionary adaptations of major dinosaur groups (particularly theropods, sauropodomorphs, and ornithischians) with emphasis on locomotion, feeding, and social behavior.

Students will assess the evolutionary link between birds and non-avian theropod dinosaurs by analyzing shared anatomical features, feather morphology, and theories on the origin of flight.

Students will evaluate physiological and metabolic characteristics of dinosaurs, including respiratory systems, thermoregulation, growth rates, and bone histology, to determine whether some groups may have been endothermic.

Students will interpret the paleoecological roles and biogeographic distribution of dinosaurs using fossil evidence, and analyze their co-evolution with plants and other Mesozoic organisms.

Students will critique the historical development of dinosaur paleontology, from early discoveries and the “Bone Wars” to modern scientific revolutions in phylogenetics, imaging, and biomolecular techniques.

Students will synthesize the evidence for the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction, evaluate competing hypotheses, and explain why some groups survived while dinosaurs (except birds) became extinct.