This course is the first of two devoted to exploring the vertebrates, animals with a cartilaginous or bony backbone. Vertebrates are a highly successful group that have evolved into a wide variety of forms that can be found on every continent. From the depths of the oceans to the peaks of the tallest mountains, and from the cold of the poles to the heat of the deserts, vertebrates have colonized almost every conceivable habitat on this planet. Because of the great diversity and adaptability of the group, two courses are devoted to exploring them. This course, Introduction to Ichthyology and Herpetology, looks at the groups known as fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Although a wide-ranging assortment of creatures themselves, they can be grouped together under a single umbrella as ectothermic vertebrates, which separates them from the endothermic birds and mammals that are covered in the second course Vertebrate Life 2; An introduction to Ornithology and Mammalogy.
This first course is loosely divided into two main sections, each looking at a major step in vertebrate evolution. The first section Gills and Fins, looks at the evolution of the first vertebrates and the approximately 32,000 species that retain gills, fins, and an aquatic existence; a group we loosely refer to as the fishes. The second section Conquest of the Land looks at the development and diversification of the tetrapods. This includes the first amphibians through the raise and diversification of the amniotes, including most of the major tetrapod lines through to the end of the dinosaurs and including all the living representatives of those groups we generally refer to as amphibians and reptiles. As you will see later in the course, this approach is somewhat problematic since crocodiles are more closely related to the birds than the lizards and snakes, however for convenience and because crocodiles are traditionally covered in herpetology courses rather than ornithology, we shall be discussing them here.
Prerequisites: Students attempting this course should already have a good background in general zoology such as Bio205 Diversity of Life 1 or an equivalent. Students should also be aware that this course is a mix of material from Bio332 Vertebrate Zoology and Bio367 Ichthyology (the older precursors to this course) and may therefore NOT receive credit for this course if they have done both courses listed above.
This first course is loosely divided into two main sections, each looking at a major step in vertebrate evolution. The first section Gills and Fins, looks at the evolution of the first vertebrates and the approximately 32,000 species that retain gills, fins, and an aquatic existence; a group we loosely refer to as the fishes. The second section Conquest of the Land looks at the development and diversification of the tetrapods. This includes the first amphibians through the raise and diversification of the amniotes, including most of the major tetrapod lines through to the end of the dinosaurs and including all the living representatives of those groups we generally refer to as amphibians and reptiles. As you will see later in the course, this approach is somewhat problematic since crocodiles are more closely related to the birds than the lizards and snakes, however for convenience and because crocodiles are traditionally covered in herpetology courses rather than ornithology, we shall be discussing them here.
Prerequisites: Students attempting this course should already have a good background in general zoology such as Bio205 Diversity of Life 1 or an equivalent. Students should also be aware that this course is a mix of material from Bio332 Vertebrate Zoology and Bio367 Ichthyology (the older precursors to this course) and may therefore NOT receive credit for this course if they have done both courses listed above.
- Teacher: Michael Richardson