Paléontologie des vertébrés [ LGEOL2401 ]

Designed for sciences as well as archeology students, this course will offer the fundamentals required to understand the evolution of the various vertebrate groups and the emergence of their main anatomical structures in a broad comparative context. The major chapters of vertebrate evolution will be studied in the context of earth history with reference to continental drift and climatic change. Reference will therefore be made to the stratigraphic and paleo environmental contexts where the main stages of vertebrate evolution took place. After a review of the available fossil material, we will analyze fossil data illustrating the origin of the first vertebrates and the origin of the subsequent groups to underline their specificity, their characteristics as zoological groups and their phylogenetic relationships, mainly with reference to comparative anatomy but also to genomics. The special case of the human lineage, the climate context of the Quaternary, the fundamentals of archeozoology and the excavation techniques will be covered. The course is a lecture and, depending on the students' main interests, some topic will be covered more in depth. For instance, topics such as the origin of the first tetrapods, the origin of birds, the relationships between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans and the emergence of domestication will be proposed to the students.

oral exam with preparation

a syllabus illustrating the anatomical structures will be available for the students. Selected references will be provided for each covered topic