Syllabus
Click on pic below to access companion website for 6th ed.

 

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Reading/discussion assignments
Links and recommended readings
 
 
 
 
 

Reading/discussion assignments

Be prepared to discuss in class on the listed date.  Recognize, however, that we may get behind in schedule and have to put off discussions until the following week.  Also remember, you get a grade for discussion, including topics covered in your textbook.

28 August
Chen, J-Y., and D-Y Huang, and C-W. Li. 1999. An early Cambrian craniate-like chordate. Nature 402:518-522. (skim)
Gabbott, S. E., R. J. Aldridge, and J. N. Theron. 1995. A giant conodont with preserved muscle tissue from the upper Ordovician of South Africa. Nature 374:800-803.
Mallatt, J. and J-Y. Chen. 2003. Fossil sister group of craniates: predicted and found. Journal of Morphology 258:-31. (read abstract and conclusions)
Pridmore, P. A., R. E. Barwick, and R. S. Nicoll. 1997. Soft anatomy and the affinities of conodonts. Lethaia 29:317-328.
Purnell, M. A. 1995. Microwear on conodont elements and macrophagy in the first vertebrates. Nature 374:798-800.
Shimeld, S. M., and P. W. H. Holland. 2000. Vertebrate innovations. Procedings of the National Academy of Science: 97:4449-4452.
4 September
Cohn, M. J. 2002. Lamprey Hox genes and the origin of jaws. Nature 416:386-387.
Forey, P., and P. Janvier. 1994. Evolution of the early vertebrates. American Scientist 82:554-565.
Janvier, P. 1999. Catching the first fish. Nature 402:21-22.
Shu et. al. 1999. Lower Cambrian vertebrates from south China. Nature 402:42-46. (skim)
11 September
Erdman, M. V., R. L. Caldwell, and M. K. Moosa. 1998. Indonesian 'king of the sea' discovered. Nature 395:335.
Forey, P. 1998.  A home from home for coelacanths. Nature 395:319-320.
18 September
Pietsch, T. W., and D. B. Grobecker. 1990. Frogfishes. Scientific American 262 (June):96-103.
Pietsch, T. W., and D. B. Grobecker. 1978. The compleat angler: Agressive mimicry in an antenariid anglerfish. Science 201:369-370.
25 September
Thiele, K., and D. Yates. 2002. Tension arises from duality at the heart of taxonomy. Nature 419:337.
2 October
Ahlberg, P. E., and Z. Johanson. 1998. Osteolepiforms and the ancestry of tetrapods. Nature 395:792-794.
Carroll, R. 2002. Early land vertebrates. Nature 418:35-36.
Daeschler, E. G., and N. Shubin. 1998. Fish with fingers? Nature 391:133.
Lebedev, O. A., 1997. Fins made for walking. Nature 390:21-22.
http://www.palantir.fsnet.co.uk/acanthostega.htm Jennifer Clack's webpage on Acanthostega
9 October
Hayes, T., K. Haston, M. Tsui, A. Hoang, C. Haeffele, and A. Vonk. 2002. Feminization of male frogs in the wild. Nature 419:895-896.
16 October
Packard, M. J. and R. S. Seymour. 1997. Evolution of the amniote egg, pp. 265-290. In S. S. Sumida and K. L. M. Martin, Amniote origins: Completing the
   transition to land.
Thompson, M. B., and K. J. Russell. 1998. Metabolic cost of development in one the world's smallest eggs: implications for physiological advantages of the
   amniote egg. Copeia 1998:1016-1020.
23 October
Salvador, A., J. Martin, P. Lopez and J. P. Veiga. 1996. Long-term effect of tail loss on home-range size and access to females in male lizards
   (Psammodroumus algirus). Copeia 1996:208-209.
Shine, R., B. Phillips, H. Waye, M. LeMaster, R. T. Mason. 2001. Benefits of female mimicry in snakes. Nature 414:267.
30 October
Erickson, G. M. 1999. Breathing life into Tyrannosaurus rex. Sci. Am. 281(Sept):42-49.
Motani, R. 2000. Rulers of the Jurassic Seas. Sci. Am. 283(Dec):52-59.
Ruben, J. A., W. H. Hillenius, N. R. Geist, A. Leitch, T. D. Jones, P. J. Currie, J R. Horner, G. Espe III. 1996. The metabolic status of some late Cretaceous
  dinosaurs. Science 273:1204-1207.
Ruben, J. A., T. D. Jones, N. R. Geist, and W. J. Hillenius. 1997. Lung structure and ventilation in theropod dinosaurs and early birds. Science 278:1267-1270.
6 November
Calder, W. A., and J. Booser. 1973. Hypothermia of broad-tailed hummingbirds during incubation in nature with ecological considerations. Science 180:751-753.
13 November
Ackerman, J. 1998. Dinosaurs take wing. National Geographic. 194(1):74-99.
Dial, K. P. 2003. Wing-assisted incline running and the evolution of flight. Science 299:402-404. (skim)
Norell, M. A., P. Makovicky, and J. M. Clark. 1997. A Velociraptor wishbone. Nature 389:447.
Padian, K. and L. M. Chiappe. 1998. The origin of birds and their flight. Scientific American 278(Feb.):38-47.  (Nice summary of recent findings).
Qiang, J., M. A. Norell, K.-Q. Gao, S.-A. Ji, and D. Ren. 2001. The distribution of integumentary structures in a feathered dinosaur. Nature 410:1084-1088.  Summary of this at http://www.amnh.org/science/specials/dinobird.html
Unwin, D. M. 1998. Feathers, filaments, and theropod dinosaurs. Nature 391:119-220.
20 November
Whitfield, J. 2002. Nosy neigbors. Nature 419:242-243.
Sutherland, W. J. 2002. Science, sex, and the kakapo. Nature 419:265-266.
27 November
Wong, K. 2002. The mammals that conquered the seas. Scientific American (May):70-79.
4 December
No articles at this time
 

Links and recommended reading  All books and journal articles are in MSU library unless otherwise noted.

Reading and Writing Scientific Papers
Reading and writing about immunology This description, from an immunology course in Arizona, is appropriate for all science papers.
General Vertebrate References
Ahlberg, P. E. 2001. Major events in early vertebrate evolution.  Evolution of vertebrates up to split of major jawed fish groups incorporating molecular, fossil, and embryological data.  Many important contributions, but some conclusions are controversial.
Benton, Michael J. 2000. Vertebrate palaeontology, 2nd ed.  Nice book, focusing mainly on extinct vertebrates.
Carroll, R.L. 1987. Vertebrate palaeontology and evolution.  A bit more dated than the Benton text, but more detailed, particularly in the early tetrapods.
Cracraft, J. and M. J. Donoghue (eds). 2004. Assembling the the tree of life. Summarizes the current work on the Tree of Life project, and reviews phylogenetic relationships of many groups, including vertebrates.
Kardong, K.V. 2006. Vertebrates: Comparative anatomy, function, evolution, 4th ed.  Good comparative anatomy text
Liem, K.R., W. E. Bemis, W. F. Walker, and L. Grande. 2001. Functional anatomy of the vertebrates, 3rd ed.  Another good comparative anatomy text with lots of evolutionary angles.
Phylogenetics
PAUP  Phylogenetic analysis software
Vertebrate Origins
Craniata Tree of Life Webpage with evolutionary content
James Davison Conodont Collection Beautiful photos
Palaeos Conodontia Page Nice summary and note the alternate interpretation to the "big eyes" of conodonts.
Dominguez, P., A.G. Jacobson, and R. P. S. Jeffries. 2002. Paired gill slits in a fossil with a calcite skeleton. Nature 417: 841-844.
Gee, H. 1996. Before the backbone: views on the origin of the vertebrates.
Janvier, P. 1996. Early vertebrates.
Stokes, M. D., and N. D. Holland. 1998. The lancelet. Amercan Scientist 86:552-560.
Zimmer, C. 2000. In search of vertebrate origins: Beyond brain and bone. Science 287:1576-1579.
Jawless Fishes
Hagfish University of California, Berkely Museum of Paleontology Website
Hyperotreti Tree of Life Webpage with excellent information
Hagfish Slime check out the still image of slime along with the movie!
Hagfish Knots View the pictures of slime and a hagfish in a knot, but ignore the text.  Many errors.
Hyperoartia Lamprey page on Tree of Life.  Anatomy and evolution.
Coates, M. L., and M. J. Cohn. 1999. Vertebrate axial and appendicular patterning: the early development of paired appendages. American Zoologist 39:676-685.
Hardisty, M. W. 1979. Bology of the cyclostomes.
Jensen, D. 1966. The hagfish. Scientific American 214(2):82-90.
Jorgensen, J. M. 1998. The biology of hagfishes.
Long, J. A. 1995. The rise of fishes.
Maisey, J. G. 1996. Discovering fossil fishes.
Martini, F. H. 1998. Secrets of the slime hag. Scientific American 279(Oct):70-75.
Chondrichthyes
Sharks  Florida Museum of Natural History Site for sharks. This may be the best site I have seen with large numbers of shark photos in addition to loads of information about great white sharks, "megatooth" sharks, and many others.
Who's who of sharks  PBS site with descriptions of orders of sharks
Introduction to the Chondrichthyes  UCMP site with some nice material on California Great White Sharks
Castro, J. I. 1983. The sharks of North American waters.
Compagno, L. J. V. 1984. Sharks of the World. (not in Library)
Hamlett, W. C. 1999. Sharks, skates, and rays: The biology of elasmobranch fishes.
Springer, V. G., and J. P. Gold. 1989. Sharks in question
Teleosts and Other "Bony Fishes"
A Catalog of the Species of Fishes, by Eschmeyer et al. - searchable database of 53,000+ fish species names
Fishbase - another searchable database that relies heavily on Eschmeyer, but is perhaps easier to use
Dinofish A wonderful site dedicated to the coelacanth.  Lots of nice photos.
Jaw expansion  Animation of jaw expansion of teleosts with sound.  Slow loading.
Fish Jaw Mechanics Another animation comparing jaw movements of teleosts and more primitive actinopterygians by Keith Jackson.
Greenwood, P. H. 1987. The natural history of lungfishes. Journal of Morphology Supplement 1:163-179.
Helfman, G. S., B. B. Collette, and D. E. Facey. 1997. The diversity of fishes.  This is my favorite ichthyology textbook, but there other very good textbooks by Bond (1996) and Moyle and Cech (2004).
Paxton, J. R., and W. N. Eschmeyer. 1998. Encyclopedia of fishes.
Weinberg, S. 2000. A fish caught in time: The search for the coelacanth.
Nomenclature
International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature
ICZN. 2000. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th ed.  Not for fun reading, but can be a valuable reference for systematics studies.
Amphibian Evolution and Diversity
Terrestrial Vertebrates From Tree of Life webpage
Devonian Times  Creative descriptions of the diversity and evolution of the early tetrapods.
Caecilians Web Site  Nice photos and movies of caecilians.  Mostly oriented to maintaining in aquaria.
The Center for North American Herpetology  Lots o' links, pdf files of recent papers.
Clack, J. A. 2002. Gaining ground: the origin and evolution of tetrapods.
Zimmer, C. 1998. At the water's edge.  This should be required reading for every vertebrate biologist.
Amphibian Natural History
FrogWeb: Amphibian declines and deformities National Biological Information Infrastructure
Evolution of tetrapod locomotion  Animation of model salamander switching from swimming to walking.
Cogger, H. G., and R. G. Zweifel. 1998. Encyclopedia of reptiles, 2nd ed.  The first edition is also very good and has different photos and information.
Osmoregulation
Amniote Origins
Temporal fenestration and the classification of amniotes From University of Arizona Tree of Life pages
Sumida, S. S. and K L. M. Martin (eds.). 1997. Amniote origins: completing the transition to land.  Articles on relationships and adaptive morphology and physiology of early amniotes.
Turtle, Crocodilian, and Squamate Diversity and Ecology
EMBL Reptile Database.  Wonderful site with lots of photos and information on all reptiles!
Crocodilians: Natural History and Conservation.  Crocodilian photos, distribution maps, and ecology.
Greene, H. W. 1997. Snakes: The evolution of mystery in nature. Berkely, University of California Press.  Hundreds of color photographs highlight a discussion on the ecology, evolution, and diversity of snakes.
Pianka, E. R., and L. J. Vitt. 2003. Lizards: Windows to the evolution of diversity. Berkeley, University of California Press.  Hundreds of color photographs highlight a discussion of behavior and evolution of lizards.
Dinosaurs and other Megadiapsids
UCMP's Tyrannosaurus rex site  Cool T. rex stuff.
Tyrannosauridae  Tree of Life website
Dinobuzz    UCMP page on dinosaur questions.
Sue at the Field Museum The largest, most complete T. rex.
Dinosauricon  Lots of images and dinosaur taxonomy!  Wow!
Ichthyosaur Page  Very interesting ichthyosaur site by Ryosuke Motani, ichthyosaur expert.
Bakker, R. T. 1986. The dinosaur heresies. After this book, dinosaurs became cool again.
Larson, P., and K. Donnan. 2002. Rex appeal.  The only thing more terrifying than a Tyrannosaurus rex is the federal government.
Paul, G. S. 2000. The Scientific American book of dinosaurs.  Essays emphasizing functional morphology, behavior, evolution, and extinction of dinosaurs.
Endothermy
Carey, F. G. 1973. Fishes with warm bodies. Scientific American 228 (Feb): 36-44.  Classic paper on regional endothermy.
Birds
Avian Respiratory Dynamics Animation  Bird lung animation,, from San Diego State University College of Sciences
Kakapo Official webpage of the giant, flightless parrot of New Zealand
Chattaerjee, S. 1997. The rise of birds: 225 million years of evolution.
Chiappe, L. M., and G. J. Dyke. 2002. The Mesozoic radiation of birds. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 33:91-124.  Nice synthesis of bird origins.
Feduccia, A. 1999. Origin and evolution of birds, 2nd ed.
Paul, G. S. 2002. Dinosaurs of the air. A bit dry, but full of info.
Mammals
Mammal Species of the World  Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Allin, E. F. 1975. Evolution of the mammalian middle ear. J. Morph. 147:403-437. A classic.
Bramble, D. M., and D. R. Carrrier. 1983. Running and breathing in mammals. Science 262:235-240.
Crompton, A. W., and P. Parker. 1978. Evolution of the mammalian masticatory apparatus. Amer. Sci. 66:192-210.
Rowe, T. 1996. Coevolution of the mammalian middle ear and neocortex. Science 273:651-654.
Zimmer, C. 1998. At the water's edge: Fish with fingers, whales with legs and how life came ashore but then went back to sea.  The second half of the book is devoted to whale evolution.