Module manager: Prof. Cris Little
Email: c.t.s.little@earth.leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is approved as a discovery module
- Fascinated by dinosaurs? - Intrigued by human origins? - Worried by whaling? - Want to know about how birds came to fly? If so, then this module is for you. We will cover the major features of vertebrate evolution from the origin of the group around 430 million years ago in the Cambrian period to their present day diversity, taking in many of the well-known (e.g., dinosaurs and pterosaurs) and less well known extinct forms. We will also examine how geological processes have influenced this amazing story of the vertebrate animals. This module does not require previous science background.
On completion of this module, students should have broad knowledge and understanding of the broad sweep of vertebrate evolution from the first origin of the group in the Cambrian to their present day diversity.
This will include topics such as:
- The origin of the vertebrates and what features are used to define them.
- How and when fish evolved from the early vertebrates.
- The evolution of the vertebrate jaw.
- How and when the amphibians evolved from fish and moved from water to land in the process of terrestrialization.
- The evolution and significance of the amniote egg.
- How and when early reptiles evolved from amphibians and gave rise later to the Mesozoic marine reptiles, pterosaurs, dinosaurs, birds and mammals.
- Arguments surrounding the physiology of the dinosaurs.
- The evolution of birds and feathered flight.
- How and when mammals evolved, how they are defined, and the pattern of their subsequent radiation in the Cenozoic period.
- The process of, and evidence for, human evolution.
- How mass extinction events have altered the course of vertebrate evolution.
- How the evolution of the vertebrates was linked to changes of the positions of the continents on the globe and associated climate modification during the Phanerozoic time period.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
SSLO1: Understand the broad pattern of evolution of the vertebrate animals during the Phanerozoic period.
SSLO2: Understand how plate tectonic configurations have controlled palaeoclimates and thus the pattern of vertebrate evolution.
SSLO3: Knowledge of convergent evolution in the vertebrate animals.
SSLO4: Understand how taphonomy limits knowledge of extinct animals.
SSL05: Understand how vertebrate diets are reflected in tooth morphology.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
SKLO1: Critical thinking
SKLO2: Academic language
SKLO3: Academic writing
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 16 | 1 | 16 |
| Private study hours | 84 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 16 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 100 | ||
Multiple choice quiz(s) provided via Minerva halfway through semester that give students feedback (right and wrong answers) and also an idea of the structure of the MCQ part of the exam.
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 1.0 Hrs 30 Mins | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team