PALEONTOLOGIA CON LABORATORIO

GEO/01 - 9 CFU - 1° Semester

Teaching Staff

MARIA ANTONIETTA ROSSO


Learning Objectives

Capability of observation, description and identification of the different fossil types. Knowledge of the main fossilisation processes. General knowledge of paleontological systematics and capability of identification of the main groups of organisms suitable to become fossils. Knowledge of the evolution process. Acquisition of the concept of index fossils and the possibility of using fossils for dating rocks; ability in the identification of some stratigraphically important species. Knowledge of the effectiveness of using fossils for further geological purposes.


Detailed Course Content

Definition of Paleontology: history, articulation and employ. Concept of fossil. Paleontological systematic: concept of biological and palaeontological species, morphospecies, cronospecies, intraspecific variability. Nomenclature: the species of Linneous and the binomial nomenclature. The International Code. The classification of organisms. Parataxonomy. Structure, organisation and classification, and first information on autoecology, functional morfology and stratigraphic distribution of selected taxa selezionati from marin environments. Introduction to Cyanoficeae, Diatomeae, Radiolaria, Foraminifera, Coccolithophorida, Coralline algae, Archaeociatida and Porifera. Conularida, Tabulata, Heliolithiida, Rugosa, Scleractinia, Idrocorallia, Octocorallia, Serpuloidea, Monoplacophoora, Poliplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Cephalopoda, Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Crinoida, Echinoida, Trilobita, Ostracoda, Cirripedia. Taphonomy: mineralised and unmineralised parts of organisms; death. Biostratinomic processes: necrolisis, bioerosion, dissolution, transport. Burial, incorporation in resins, incrustation. Fossilisation: organic matter; mineralised parts. Types of fossil-bearing and exceptional fossil deposits, fossil’s oriented distributions and concentrations: interpretation and use. Lithogenetic relevance of some fossils. Fossils in the field and in the lab: main methods for observation, sampling and analysis. Fossil and evolution: information about evolution, microevolution, macroevolution. Information on the history of life on Earth. Fossils and stratigraphy: fossils as a tool for dating rocks and make correlations. Information on fossil traces: formation, conservation, classification and palaeontological interest. Information on palaeoecology; the distribution of organisms as a key for palaeoenvironmental, palaeobiogeographic and palaegeographic reconstructions. Global change: fossils as climatic indicators with examples from the Mediterranean history.


Textbook Information

RAFFI S. e SERPAGLI E. 1993. Introduzione alla Paleontologia. Utet ed.
DOYLE P. 1996. Understanding fossils. An introduction to invertebrate paleontology. Wiley & sons.
BRIGGS D.E.G. e CROWTER P.R. 1990. Palaeobiology: a synthesis. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
ZIEGLER B. 1983. Introduction to Palaeobiology. General Palaeontology. Donovan ed.
ALLASINAZ A. 1985. Paleontologia generale. Ecig ed.
ALLASINAZ A. 1999. Invertebrati fossili. Utet.
Fortey R. 2002. Fossils: the key to the past. The Living Past Series. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.



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