GEO270 DINOSAURS!

Fall 2019

TR, 12:30-1:45; SIMS 201

 

Instructor: Dr. Diana Boyer

e-mail: boyerd@winthrop.edu   

Office: 212B Sims                                

Office Hours: Tues 9:00-11:00 and by appointment

 

Course Objective: The goal of this course it to introduce you to fundamentals of dinosaur paleontology including evolution, classification and extinction of this amazing group of reptiles. This will include discussions of the life and times of dinosaurs. What I am most excited about is our discussions of how we acquire information about extinct animals. For example, behavior, diet, color and use of enigmatic features- e.g. plates on Stegosaurus, what are they used for? You will also leave this class with the tools to track down primary sources for scientific information and the ability to tackle this type of literature. You will also have an appreciation for science in the popular media and how to go beyond the headlines.

 

Text: Fastovsky, D. and Weishampel, D.B, 2016, Dinosaurs: a concise natural history, Cambridge University Press, third edition, 477p. REQUIRED

 

Grading:

Participation and assignments                              20%

2 exams                                                                     40%

Quizzes                                                                     20%

Final Exam                                                                20%

 

 

 

 

 

Tentative schedule of topics*

Readings*

   Assignments due*

Aug 20

Paleontology, intro to geology

Ch 1

 

Aug 22

Science and Geologic time

Ch 2

 

Aug 27

Climate

Ch 2

  Climate evidence

Aug 29

Evolution and Cladistics

Ch 3

Climate paper

Sep 3

Dino Anatomy

Ch 3

 

Sep 5

Road to the dinosaurs

Ch 4,5

 

Sep 10

Early Dinosaurs, Intro to Saurischia

Ch 5, p106-107

 

Sep 12

Theropods-meaty and scary

Ch 6

 

Sep 17

More theropods and T rex

Ch 6, 7

Beady eyes

Sep 19

Theropods and feathers

Chap 6, 7

 

Sep 24

Exam 1

Ch 1-7

 

Sep 26

Dinos are birds

Ch 8

 

Oct 1

Can you out run a T rex?

 

trackway data

Oct 3

Sauropodomorpha

Ch 9

 

Oct 8

More long necks

Ch 9

 

Oct 10

Intro to Ornithischia, Thyreophorans

p. 228-236 Ch 10

 

Oct 15

No Class Fall Break

 

 

Oct 17

Stegosaur & Ankylosaur

Ch 10

Stego plates

Oct 22

Marginocephalia-Pachycephalia

Ch 11

 

Oct 24

Marginocephalia-Triceratops & friends

Ch 11

 

Oct 29

Ornithopods and nests

Ch 12

 

Oct 31

Exam 2

Ch 8-12

 

Nov 5

Endothermy vs ectothermy

Ch 13

Endo-ecto evidence

Nov 7

dino diversity

Ch 14

 

Nov 12

K-Pg Extinction

Ch 16

 

Nov 14

History of Dino Paleontology

Ch 15

 

Nov 19

Dinos and pop culture

 

 

Nov 21

Review

 

 

Nov 24

No Class Thanksgiving

 

 

Nov 26

No Class Thanksgiving

 

 

Dec 3

Study day

 

 

Dec 5

Final exam Thurs 11:30

Ch 1-16

 

* Schedule is subject to change