Category: Teaching

The pdf of the class 6 lecture notes can be found here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect6 The vertebrate palaeontologist Darren Naish has written a series of general interest articles on the origins of tetrapods, including a piece on temnospondyls that can be read here. Professor Jenny Clack of Cambridge University is one of the world’s leading experts on early tetrapods. Her website, which...

The pdf of the lecture notes for week 5 can be found here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect5 Classifying species An interesting overview of fossils and the species concept can be read here. The International Code on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) explains why Carl von Linne/Carolus Linnaeus is the type specimen of Homo sapiens here. The Natural History Museum, meanwhile, explains the taxonomy of Neanderthals...

A pdf of the slides from class 4 can be downloaded here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect4 The article that suggested a link between meteorite impacts and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event can be read here. A post on the Ordovician Fezouata fauna of Morocco, which contains amazing ‘Cambrian’ fossils, can be read here. What is a species? We will examine this further in...

The lecture notes for the 3rd class – the Cambrian Explosion – can be downloaded here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect3 A University of Maryland website discussing ‘The Long Fuse of the Cambrian Explosion’ can be found here. High-quality artist’s impressions of the weirdos of the Cambrian can be found on National Geographic here. The fantastic Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) website about the Burgess...

The lecture notes for class 2 can be found here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect2 An interview with Ediacaran palaeontologist Dr Alex Liu can be found on the Palaeocast website here. Some of my photos of Ediacaran fossils from Newfoundland can be found on Flickr here.

A colour pdf of the first week’s lecture slides can be found here: 2013_LifeThruTime_Lect1 If you’re looking for a good palaeontology textbook, try Mike Benton & Dave Harper’s “Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record” (2009). Useful web resources on evolution and fossils: 1. History of life through time (University of California Museum of Paleontology) 2. Understanding Evolution (University of...