kflessa@email.arizona.edu
nschmidt@email.arizona.edu
Tel: 621-7336 
Office hours: Tu 10-11, Th 10-11

Preceptor: Carrie Hollenbeck

*Benton, M.J. and Harper, D.A.T., 1997.  Basic Palaeontology. Longman.

 Boardman, R.S., Cheetham, A.H., and Rowell, A.J., eds., 1987. Fossil Invertebrates.  Blackwell.  Excruciating detail.

 Clarkson, E.N.K., 1986.  Invertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 2nd ed.  Allen & Unwin.  Another classic textbook from the U.K.

*Cowen, R., 2005.  History of Life, 3rd ed.  Blackwell.  Breezy, informal, and terrible limericks.

 Levin, H. J., 1999.  Ancient Invertebrates and Their Living Relatives.  Prentice Hall. Low level.

*McKerrow, W.S., ed., 1978. The Ecology of Fossils. It may be old but it's unique - and has great community reconstructions.

*Milsom, C. and Rigby, S., 2004.  Fossils at a Glance.  Blackwell.  Short and to the point; mostly morphology of the major groups.

*Prothero, D.R., 2004.  Bringing Fossils to Life.  An Introduction to Paleontology.  WCB McGraw-Hill.   There’s an earlier (1998) edition too.

*Sheldon, P., Palmer, D. and Spicer, R.A. 2001. Fossils and the History of Life. Basic overview.

*Skelton, P.W., Spicer, R.A. & Rees, P.M., 1997. Evolving Life and the Earth. Open University Press. A "holistic approach"  that emphasizes   feedbacks between Life and Earth through time. Not wanting to sing my own praises... but it's not too shabby.

LECTURE SCHEDULE, LAB SCHEDULE, AND RELATED READINGS
Lectures are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11AM, in ILC 137. Labs are on Wednesdays (3PM) and Thursdays (4PM), in Gould-Simpson 203; you must print your lab handout in advance of the lab - remember to bring it with you.

1.     Ausich, W.I. and Lanes, N.G., 1999.  Chapter 2.  The Organization of Life, pp. 19-32, in Life of the Past, 4th         edition.  Prentice-Hall.

2a.   Gould, S.J., 1991. Bully for Brontosaurus, pp. 79-93, in Bully for Brontosaurus.  W.W. Norton. 

2b.   What did Tyrannosaurus rex taste like? An introduction to how life is related.    
        http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/Trex/navigation.html

3.     Brett, C.E., 1990. Destructive taphonomic processes and skeletal durability,  pp. 223-226, in Briggs, D.E. and         Crowther, P.R., eds.,  Palaeobiology: A Synthesis.  Blackwell.

4.     Web Geological Time Machine. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html. Read the general info about         each era and period, and remember to click the "Ancient Life" buttons for each.
        Paleomap Project. http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm. View the paleomaps for each period.

5.     Milsom, C. and Rigby, S., 2004.  Chapter 15.  Precambrian Life, pp. 131-136, in Fossils at a Glance.  Blackwell.

6.     The Cambrian Explosion.  http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Cambrian/Index.html

7.     Benton, M.J. and Harper, D.A.T., 1997.  The diversification of life: Onward and upward, pp. 292-295, in Basic         Palaeontology.  Longman.

8.     Spicer, R.A., 1997. Greening of the Land, pp. 72-90, in Evolving Life and the Earth. Open University Press.

9.     Erickson, G.M., Van Kirk, S.D., Su, J., Levenston, M.E., Caler, W.E. and Carter, D.R., 1996.  Bite-force         estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones.  Nature  382: 706-708.

10.   Benton, M.J. and Harper, D.A.T., 1997.  Vertebrates, pp. 195-221, in Basic Palaeontology.  Longman.

11.   Prothero, D.R., 2004. Biostratigraphic sampling,  pp.175-179, and Quantitative biostratigraphy, pp. 181-182, in         Bringing Fossils to Life, 2nd ed., McGraw Hill.

12.   Schreiber, J.F., Jr. and Scott, R.W., 1987.  Lower Cretaceous coral-algal-rudist patch reefs in southeastern         Arizona, pp. 280-292 in Davis, G.H. and Vandendolder, E.M., eds., 1987.  Geologic Diversity of Arizona and its         Margins: Excursions to Choice Areas.  Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology, Geological Survey         Branch, Special Paper 5.

13.   Skelton, P., 1997. Radiations and Extinctions, pp. 59-71, in Evolving Life and the Earth. Open University Press.

14.   Cowen, R., 2005.  Chapter 16.  The end of the dinosaurs, pp. 228-237, in The History of Life, 4th ed.  Blackwell. 

15.   Cowen, R., 2005.  Chapter 17.  Cenozoic mammals: origins, guilds, and trends, pp. 238-254, in The History of         Life, 4th ed.  Blackwell.

16.   Cowen, R., 2005.  Chapter 20.  Evolving toward Humans, pp. 286-293, in The History of Life, 4th ed.  Blackwell. 

The course grade is based on three 1 hour exams (each worth 100 points), one term paper (worth 130 points) and the lab grade (170 points).  Total points = 600.

The lab points break down as follows:  there are 10 regular labs at 10 points each. The lab exam is worth 35 points and the Cretaceous reef field trip report is worth 35 points; all for a total of 170 points.

A sample exam (pay attention to the style of the questions – the course gets re-arranged every year, so the content of the questions may change) is linked HERE.

Please note: I reserve the right to modify the syllabus and/or award extra credit opportunities during the semester.

Your term paper will focus on one of four "major themes" and must include a review and analysis of one "primary" article (see further details plus a list of themes and primary articles, go to the password protected site and look for the link under " Term Paper" ). My goals are (1) to encourage you to dig deeper on a particular topic instead of simply summarizing an article, (2) to develop your term paper by finding other articles online, and (3) to discuss and review your progress with me during office hours throughout the semester.

Your term paper is worth 130 points of your total 600 point course grade (so it's important you do a good job).

Term paper deadlines and points:

(Note - everything must be typed and you should check spelling and grammar before submission)

Sept 17 - provide your choice of theme and primary article (5 points)

Oct 6 - provide outline plus preliminary ~ 1 page summary of primary article (10 points)

Oct 22 - provide extended preliminary ~ 2 to 3 page version that includes additional articles and findings (15 points)

Dec. 18 or Nov 19 - provide oral presentation of term paper to your lab section (30 points). This is limited to 5 powerpoint slides and seven minutes. Tips for presentations HERE

Dec 1 - provide final version of term paper, using feedback comments from oral presentation if necessary - your term paper must not exceed ten double-spaced pages in length, it must be typed and include complete references both in the text and in a formatted list at the end (70 points)

I expect you to be aware of and adhere to the University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity.  If you do not have a copy of this code, you may pick one up in the Dean's Office or consult it HERE.  Among other things, this means that you may not represent someone else's work as your own.  Cheating, copying and/or paraphrasing from the work of others are violations of the Code. 

You are responsible for all material covered in class.  This includes any announcements of changes in the class schedule or class requirements.  I usually make such announcements at the beginning of lecture, so arriving 5 minutes late may be too late.

Late assignments are assessed a penalty of -10% per day or any part of a day. Make-ups of missed exams are not available unless you inform me ahead of time (in person, e-mail or phone) and have a mighty good, well-documented reason. 

If you require accommodation in testing or note-taking, you must notify me and the Disability Resource Center must have also notified me directly.

The Geologic Time Scale

The most recent update of the geologic time scale is available in elaborate detail at http://stratigraphy.org/chus.pdf. Be thankful that you don’t need to memorize it.  But you are required to memorize all of the following version: