GEO5440

1 Students will be able to describe and analyze the evolutionary origin of chordates and vertebrates using embryological, anatomical, and fossil evidence.
2 Students will evaluate and interpret the fossilization process, taphonomic pathways, and the geological contexts that favor vertebrate fossil preservation.
3 Students will use cladistics and phylogenetic systematics to construct and interpret evolutionary relationships among vertebrate taxa.
4 Students will identify major groups of extinct and extant jawless and jawed vertebrates, and explain the anatomical innovations that characterize each group through time.
5 Students will analyze the evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial vertebrates, including key adaptations in morphology, physiology, and behavior.
6 Students will compare the skeletal and dental features of major vertebrate lineages, with emphasis on amniotes, synapsids, and diapsids, and assess their evolutionary significance.
7 Students will evaluate the diversity and evolutionary trends in Mesozoic vertebrates, including dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles, and interpret their adaptations and extinction patterns.
8 Students will trace the evolutionary origin of flight in vertebrates, focusing on birds and their Mesozoic precursors, and explain the anatomical changes involved.
9 Students will examine the evolutionary history of mammals, including key transitional fossils, and differentiate between major clades such as monotremes, marsupials, and placentals.
10 Students will assess the fossil evidence for primate and human evolution, and synthesize how anatomical and behavioral changes reflect broader evolutionary trends through the Cenozoic.