Course Details
Fall semester, 2023
EAS E-411 Section 30434, 3 credit hours
EAS E-690 Section 30654, 3 credit hours
Welcome to the home page for E411, Invertebrate Paleontology. This course explores the structure, classification, habitats, geological history, and significance of the invertebrate phyla. Laboratory study of fossils.
Prerequisites: One course from the General Education Natural and Mathematical Sciences course list.
In this course you will learn about the application of biological principles and the use of invertebrate fossils in the study of Earth’s history, the origin of life and the early fossil record, approaches of taxonomy, chemistry of fossils, ecology of ancient life, and the use of fossils to measure geologic time.
Course Objectives
Objectives of the course are twofold: To increase your basic knowledge of the diversity of life forms that evolved during billions of years of Earth’s history To gain an appreciation of the theoretical framework for these evolutionary and extinction events.
Through lectures, discussions, assigned readings, exercises, and an abundance of analyses with invertebrate fossils, you will be exposed to numerous aspects of paleontology. You will complete the course knowing the issues and debates important to the field.