Università Roma Tre

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION, BIOCHRONOLOGY AND PALAEOECOLOGY. METHODS OF EXCAVATION AND RECOVERY OF FOSSIL VERTEBRATES. CHORDATES. CRANIATES. ORIGIN OF VERTEBRATES. AGNATHANS. MYXINOIDS AND CONODONTS. THE RADIATION OF AGNATHANS. EARLY GNATHOSTOMES: PLACODERMS AND ACANTHODIANS. THE CHONDRICHTHYANS AND THEIR EVOLUTION. ORIGIN AND SUCCESSIVE ADAPTIVE RADIATIONS OF OSTEICHTHYANS. THE SARCOPTERYGIANS AND THE ORIGIN OF THE AMPHIBIANS. EVOLUTION OF AMPHIBIANS FROM LATE DEVONIAN TO TRIASSIC. EXTANT GROUPS OF AMPHIBIANS AND THEIR EVOLUTION. ORIGIN OF THE REPTILES. EVOLUTION OF THE ANAPSIDS. THE BIG ADAPTIVE RADIATION OF THE DIAPSIDS. THE “EURIAPSIDS”. PRIMITIVE DIAPSIDS. LEPIDOSAURS. PRIMITIVE ARCHOSAURS. PTEROSAURS AND THE BIOLOGY OF FLYING REPTILES. DINOSAURS AND THEIR BIOLOGY. K/T EXTINCTION. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF BIRDS. FIRST SYNAPSID RADIATION: THE PELYCOSAURS. SUCCESSIVE SYNAPSID RADIATIONS: THE THERAPSIDS. ADVANCED THERAPSIDS AND THE ORIGIN OF MAMMALS.
MESOZOIC MAMMALS. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF MONOTREMS. ORIGIN OF THERIANS. PRIMITIVE THERIANS. EVOLUTION OF MARSUPIALS. PLACENTAL ORIGIN. XENARTHRANS. AFROTHERIANS. BOREOEUTHERIANS AND BASAL LAURASIATHERIANS. THE RADIATION OF LAURASIATHERIANS (CARNIVORA, CHIROPTERA, PERISSODACTYLA, ARTIODACTYLA, CETACEA). EUARCHONTOGLIRES. PRIMATES AND HUMAN EVOLUTION.
FOSSIL AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN ITALY. MAMMALIAN FAUNAS OF ITALY. PALEOGENE FAUNAS. MIOCENE FAUNAS AND THE ITALIAN LATE MIOCENE PALAEOBIOPROVINCES. PLIO-PLEISTOCENE FAUNAS: BIOCHRONOLOGY AND PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHY. INSULAR PLIO-QUATERNARY FAUNAS (SICILY, SARDINIA, AND SMALL ISLANDS). ORIGIN OF THE EXTANT MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF ITALY.

BENTON M. (2005) – VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY, 3RD ED., BLACKWELL. POWER POINTS FOR EACH ARGUMENT DISCUSSED.
READING: AGUSTÍ J. & ANTÓN M. (2002) – MAMMOTHS, SABERTOOTHS AND HOMINIDS. 65 MILLION YEARS OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION IN EUROPE. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS; BONFIGLIO L. (ED.) (2005) - PALEONTOLOGIA DEI VERTEBRATI IN ITALIA. MUSEO CIVICO DI STORIA NATURALE DI VERONA; CARROLL R.L. (1988) - VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND EVOLUTION. W.H. FREEMAN AND COMPANY; CARROLL R.L. (1997) – PATTERNS AND PROCESSES OF VERTEBRATE EVOLUTION. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS; DAL SASSO C. (2001) – DINOSAURI ITALIANI. MARSILIO; MCKENNA M.C. & BELL S.K. (1997) – CLASSIFICATION OF MAMMALS ABOVE THE SPECIES LEVEL. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS; POUGH F.H., HEISER, J.B. & MC FARLAND W.N. (1993) – BIOLOGIA EVOLUTIVA E COMPARATA DEI VERTEBRATI. CASA EDITRICE AMBROSIANA; TURNER A. & ANTÓN M. (2004) – EVOLVING EDEN. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS; WEISHAMPEL D.B., DODSON P. & OSMOLSKA H. (2007) – THE DINOSAURIA. 2ND ED., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS.