1. One Day - (Total Anatomy)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Course-level learning objectives: Included are objectives from a variety of 'learning levels', from remembering → understanding → applying → analyzing → evaluating → creating ● Identify different types of dinosaurs and be able to describe major morphological features. ● Describe the relationships of major dinosaur groups relative to each other. ● Explain the scientific methods and techniques used to study dinosaur palaeobiology, including excavation and preparation, taxonomy, phylogeny, functional morphology, and palaeoecology. ● Analyze and evaluate popular representations of dinosaurs in the media for scientific accuracy. ● Create testable hypotheses about dinosaur evolution, ecology, and behaviour. Introduction and Course Format ● who are your instructors? ● how does the MOOC work? ● what are our expectations for progressing through the course? ● What is palaeontology, and what are palaeontologists? 1. One Day - (total anatomy) 1.1. Appearances Students will learn about the diversity in dinosaur appearances, both bony and soft tissue structures, and will be able to identify major features of the major groups of dinosaurs. ● Students will be able to identify and describe the locations of major bones and bone types (i.e. femur, humerus, vertebrae, skull, jaw) in both dinosaur and human skeletons ● Students will identify the two major types of pelves in dinosaurs, both by name and general characteristics (i.e. pubis points forwards or backwards), identify the three major bones in the pelvis, and state which groups have which type ● Students will be able to identify sauropods, theropods and ornithischians from silhouettes/outlines ● Students will be able to describe/identify the major bony features of general dinosaur groups (i.e. stegosaurs:plates/spikes; ceratopsians:horns/frills; pachycephalosaurs:domes) ● Students will be able to describe major integumentary types (feathers, skin, scales, hair, bristles, osteoderms/scutes) and will be able to identify in which major groups of dinosaurs each of these types appears ● Students will be able to describe the posture/stance of major dinosaur groups, and be able to classify different groups as bipeds or quadrupeds, and if they are capable of flight ● Students will be able to describe how musculature is determined (bone scars), and describe the process of comparative morphology with extant animal musculature (“extant phylogenetic bracket”) ● Students will be able to describe general methods of determining the size (length, mass) of a dinosaur (i.e. 3D reconstructions/submerging them in water, regression equations based on humeral/femoral circumference, footprint depth). ● Students will be able to identify the overall range of size in dinosaurs, and give comparisons to modern organisms (i.e. chicken to whale sized) ● Students will be able to identify major anatomical features ● Students will be able to classify dinosaurs into major taxonomic groups 1.2. Eating Students will understand the variety of food types, feeding habits, and feeding adaptations amongst the major groups of dinosaurs ● Students will be able to describe the differences between carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, and piscivore ● Students will be able to observe different tooth morphologies and be able to accurately classify them based on diet ● Students will be able to describe the functional significance of serrations ● Students will describe tooth replacement in dinosaurs as compared to mammals (humans) ● Students will be able to define a “tooth battery”, and describe the major groups of dinosaurs (hadrosaurs and ceratopsians) that possess them, as well as their functional significance (ability to efficiently mechanically process fibrous plant material) ● Students will be able to describe what a coprolite is, and how they are generally studied (through histological sections) ● Students will be able to state the main carnivorous group of dinosaurs (theropods), and will be able to identify some taxa within that group that do not show the typical carnivorous pattern (i.e. ornithomimids, oviraptors) ● Students will be able to describe different methods of post-oral food processing, including gastroliths and bacterial fermentation 1.3. Moving Around/Locomotion Students will learn about general modes and styles of locomotion in the major dinosaur groups, and be able to describe general methods of evaluating hypotheses on locomotion ● Students will be able to describe the stance of dinosaurs as compared to modern lizards/ crocodilians and birds (i.e. upright vs sprawling) and describe the benefits of an upright stance ● Students will be able to compare and contrast different locomotion styles (i.e. graviportal, cursorial) and be able to determine which types of limbs may be indicative of certain types of movement style ● Students will be able to describe what an ichnofossil is, and some of the possible ways an animal may create a trace fossil ● Students will recognize (but not name) different types of dinosaur footprints and be able to identify potential track makers ● Students will be able to describe what types of trackways represent different locomotion types (running, swimming, turning, walking) might create (widely spaced vs close vs resting trace). 2. One Lifetime (Ecological) 2.1 Reproduction and Birth Students will understand a generalized model of reproduction in dinosaurs, including egg/clutch type, sexes and parental care habits ● Students will be able to define sexual dimorphism and give examples of sexually dimorphic extant animals. ● Students will be able to give examples of possible sexual display structures in dinosaurs. ● Students will be able to define medullary bone and describe how it is used to identify the sex of a dinosaur. ● Students will be able to describe examples of evidence for egg-laying in dinosaurs. ● Students will be able to define terms related to reproductive strategies in extant tetrapods, including vivipary, oviparity, ovoviviparity, altricial, precocial, etc. ● Students will be able to evaluate the evidence for or against parental care in different groups of dinosaurs. 2.2 Growth Students will learn about size range and growth dynamics across a range of sizes in dinosaurs, and the techniques used to determine growth rates ● Students will be able to describe histological sampling techniques. ● Students will be able to define terms related to the gross anatomy and histology of bones, such as lines of arrested growth (LAGs), external fundamental system, Haversian bone, lamellar bone, compact bone, cancellous bone, epiphysis, osteon, primary bone, woven bone, fibro-lamellar bone, etc. ● Students will be able to define developmental biology terms such as paedomorphosis and peramorphosis. ● Students will be able to suggest ways to determine if a dinosaur skeleton represents an adult or juvenile, using such evidence as relative size, body proportions, fusion of skeletal elements, and histology. 2.3 Physiology Students will learn about the crocodilian/bird type physiology of dinosaurs, including possible implications of soft tissues based on extant groups. ● Students will be able to define physiological terms such as endothermy, ectothermy, gigantothermy, homeothermy, poikilothermy, etc. ● Students will be able to give examples of evidence for or against different organs in dinosaurs, such as air sacs (pneumatopores in saurischians and theropods), blood vessels (T. rex and Brachylophosaurus), brains, ‘heart’ (Thescelosaurus), intestines (Scipionyx), muscle fibres (tyrannosaurids, Scipionyx), trachea (Scipionyx), and tendons (ossified tendons in ornithischians). ● Using their knowledge of dinosaur anatomy, students will be able to evaluate competing hypotheses for ‘warm’ or ‘cold’-bloodedness in dinosaurs. 2.4 Attack and Defense Students will learn about behaviours and structures that may have served for attack or defense through the lifetime of a dinosaur. ● Students will be able to provide examples of injury and disease in the fossil record. ● Students will be able to provide examples of defensive/antipredator strategies in extant animals: camouflage, mimicry, warning colouration, dazzle colouration, herding, weapons (horns, claws, teeth, tusks, venom, odours), speed and flight, armour, distraction displays, autotomy, and large size. ● Students will be able to describe examples of how extant predators detect and acquire prey, such as: sight, sounds, smells, intelligence, camouflage, social predation (pack hunting), speed, ambush, etc. ● Students will be able to provide examples of other aggressive and defensive behaviours in extant animals, such as competition for mates or territories. ● Students will be able to suggest methods for investigating predation and antipredation strategies, and other aggressive behaviours, in dinosaurs. ● Students will be able to evaluate hypotheses for predation and antipredation strategies, and other aggressive behaviours, in dinosaurs. 2.5 Habitats, Ecosystems Students will understand that dinosaurs are found across terrestrial habitats, and were able to readily colonise diverse environments. ● Students will be able to define the three main categories of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. ● Students will be able to describe why dinosaurs are found in certain areas on planet earth and not others, in a geological context (ie. sedimentary rocks of the right age are not preserved everywhere; in some places, only igneous or metamorphic rocks are visible at the surface). ● Students will be able to provide examples of different dinosaur habitats, including