Know the following taxonomic groups:
- Synapsida
- Sauropsida
- Lepidosauria
- Rhynchocephalia
- Helodermatidae
- Archosauria
- Batrachomorph
- Temnospondyls
- Lepospondyls
- Reptilomorphs
- “Reptiles” vs Reptilia
- Ichthyosauria
- Plesiosauria
- Placodontia
- Mosasaurs
- Testudines
- Cryptodira
- Pleurodira
- Thecodonts
- Pterosaurs
- Dinosaurs
- Ornithischians
- Saurischians
- Theropods
- Sauropods
- Thyreophora
- Stegosauria
- Ankylosauria
- Ornithopoda
- Hadrosaurs
- Pachycephalosauria
- Ceratopsia
- Carnosaurs
- Coelurosauria
- Dromeosaurids
Amniotes:
- Radiation of Amniota:
- What are the derived characteristics of amniotes
- Know the structure and importance of the amniotic egg
- What are temporal fenestrae, and what is their evolutionary significance
- Understand the transition in ecosystems that drove emergence of amniotes
- Why do we assume that the amniote egg evolved just once?
Lepidosaurs:
- Ecdysis and aspects of growth and development
- Characteristics of the lepidosaurs, and each of the individual lepidosaur groups
- What is cranial kinesis? Which organisms exhibit it? Understand the various types and benefits.
- Know the difference between the three groups of snakes (Opisthoglyphouse snakes, Proteroglyphous snakes, Solenoglyphous snakes).
- What are the feeding and reproductive strategies of snakes?
Turtles:
- Know the structure and function of the carapace and plastron
- Why is skull condition important? What are the various hypotheses for the taxonomic placement of turtles?
- Know the respiratory and reproductive strategies of this group.
- What is temperature dependent sex determination? What are the various patterns?
Crocodilians
- What type of dentition does this group exhibit?
- How is their respiratory system well adapted for an aquatic lifestyle?
Dinosaurs (and other Mesozoic Animals)
- What adaptations for flight do pterosaurs exhibit?
- What are the two main groups of dinosaurs, and what is the primary skeletal difference between them?
- What are the major characteristics of each group?
- What adaptations allowed sauropods to reach such large size?
Vertebrate Sampling
- What are the two overall approaches to sampling vertebrates?
- How do we determine how large an area/amount of effort to sample?
- How does the species area curve help us determine this?
- What are the various types of sampling typically used to study vertebrates?
You are also responsible for the material covered by Derek Girman (focus on the African wild dogs), a general understanding of the material presented at the Beaver Summit, and in the Walking With Dinosaurs, and My Inner Fish/Reptile videos.