Course unit details:
Dinosaur Palaeobiology

Course unit fact file
Unit code EART34001
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 6
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

Dinosaurs and their descendants, the birds, are some of the most successful vertebrates to have evolved, diversify and successfully occupy environments from Pole to Pole. The 230 million year fossil record chronicles their combined evolutionary success, a history that is underpinned by their archosauromorph origins. Students will examine the geological and palaeontological record, reviwing the tools that are now used to excavate, prepare, reconstruct and study the fossils that help provide an understanding of dinosaur palaeobiology. The Earth processes that were intimtaley associated with the evolution, diversification and distribution of archosaurs will be reviewed within a palaeobiogeographic framework. The death, buriel and preservation of vertebrate remains will also be studied to help reconstruct the taphonomic controls and overprints that might impact the fossil record and its interpretation. The ebb and flow of evolution and extinction will also be explored, as will the Mass Extinction events that hailed the beginning and also the end of the Mesozoic Age of the Dinosaurs. The origin and evolution of dinosaur avian descendants will also be explored in the broader context of the recovery of biomes after mass-extinction events.

This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 20/21 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact.  Please see Blackboard / course unit related emails for any further updates.

Pre/co-requisites

Pre-requisite units

None

 

Aims

The course will provide an understanding of the terminology, palaeobiology and evolution of archosaurs, with a focus upon the dinosauria. It will also explore how dinosaur form and function was influenced by biological, physiological, mechanical, and environmental factors. Major changes of the Earth and its processes during the Mesozoic will also be discussed in detail in relation to their impacts upon the evolution of archosaurs.

 

Learning outcomes

On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Developed

Assessed

ILO 1

Demonstrate a broad understanding of dinosaur evolution and palaeobiology.

x

x

ILO 2

Describe and understand the processes that impact upon the preservation of fossils (taphonomy)

x

x

ILO 3

Will acquire the practical skills to describe, interpret and understand vertebrate fossils

x

x

ILO 4

Use their knowledge to apply a suite of analytical techniques available to interrogate fossil remains both in the lab and the field.

x

x

ILO 5

Use their knowledge to evaluate hypotheses relating to major vertebrate evolutionary events and evolutionary processes

 

x

x

 

Syllabus

These are each typically 2h lecture sessions, but with discussion time built-in every week. 
 
Week 1 Introduction to Vertebrate Anatomy & Recap Tetrapod Evolution
Week 2 Burial Laws & Palaeobiogeography
Week 3 Reconstructing Past Communities & Archosaur Origins
Week 4 The Permo/Trias Mass-Extinction Event & Defining Dinosaurs
Week 5 The first dinosaurs & Basal Theropods
Week 6 Theropod Palaeobiology & Radiation of the Theropods 
Week 7 Ornithopods & Thyreophorans
Week 8 Sauropod Dinosaurs & The Dynamics of Extinct Giants
Week 9 Avian Theropods and the Origins of Birds
Week 10 The KPg Mass Extinction Event & Course Review
Week 11 Student assignment review seminars.
Week 12 Student assignment review seminars.
 

Teaching and learning methods

The format for each week will be two 1 hour sessions (deliverd as blended learning to include reading, lectures and discussion groups (via blackboard or zoom). Students will given an assignment in week 3 that will be a hypothesis driven research topic to be handed-in on week 10. Each student will then deliver a ~10 minute live presentation on their reserach assignment to the whole class via zoom/blackboard.

 

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Written exam 80%
Oral assessment/presentation 20%

Feedback methods

Assessment type

% Weighting within unit

Hand out and hand in dates

Length

 

How, when and what feedback is provided

ILO tested
Hypothesis driven research assignment 30%
Hand out
week 3
 
Hand in week 10
 
 2,500-3,000 word assignment Written feedback 1-5

Short seminar on research assignment

20%

Week 11 and 12

~10 minutes

Written and scored feedback given 2 days of presentation

1-5

Open Book assessment

50%

End of term

2

Standard feedback after open-book assessment

1-5

 

Recommended reading

Each week reading will be provided for the relevant literature, mostly in the form original scientific papers and articles.

 

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 20
Independent study hours
Independent study 80

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Phillip Manning Unit coordinator

Additional notes

20 x 1 hour sessions deliverd as blended learning (combination of pre-class reading/video, along with lectures and seminars).

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year. In England and Wales, tuition fees for home undergraduate students are subject to the Government fee cap, which the Government has announced will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year.

Government policy is to increase the fee cap on an annual basis to reflect inflation (i.e. increasing costs), and the tuition fee home students pay in subsequent academic years will reflect any increases in the Government fee cap (which we will communicate to you as soon as we can in advance of the relevant academic year).

Tuition fees for international students will be £38,000 for the 2027/28 academic year. For subsequent academic years, the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fee by up to 7% each year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our education and wider student experience.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees page for full details.

Additional expenses

Additional expenses could include UK or foreign field trips. These are subsidised by the University but you still need to contribute to the cost of the field course if you choose to go. Costs vary depending on the destination. Free, UK-based field trip options are available. For more information, visit the course unit page.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Students participating in placements outside the UK may be able to apply for funding from the UK's Turing scheme depending on eligibility. Priority will be given to students from low income households.

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