Designed for biology as well as archeology students, this course will offer the fundamentals of vertebrate evolution in a broad comparative context. The major chapters of this evolution will be studied in the context of earth history with reference to continental drift and climatic change, as illustrated by the stratigraphic and paleo environmental records. 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 specific adaptations and their phylogenetic relationships, mainly with reference to comparative anatomy but also to genomics. The vertebrate history shows numerous examples of evolutionary convergences that will be illustrated here. In this framework, the special case of the human lineage, the climate context of the Quaternary, the fundamentals of archeozoology 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 and the evolution of sensory adaptations in vertebrates, birds origin, the relationships between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans and the emergence of domestication will be proposed to the students. This course can be taken as a follow up of the first part of LBIO1231C « Biologie animale - biologie comparée des vertébrés » which is not a compulsory prerequisite. Students whitout the LBIO1231C background will receive all the necessary information during the LGEOL 2401 lessons.
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
