Our Human species has been coming across fossilized remains of ancient life for far longer than we have recorded it, leading to fascinating mythologies and tales of dragons, sea serpents, and all sorts of strange and magnificent creatures! Legends and early accounts such as these slowly gave rise to our modern understanding of the natural world that came before us, and the far more refined field of study that is Paleontology. Dinosaurs and many other prehistoric animals lived far before the appearance of any hominid/ human species, sometimes even 100's of millions of years to be more like it. There is a diverse history that leads up to the modern ecosystems we can find all over the planet, one in which we are learning more about with every passing day as the study of paleontology is quite recent with new fossils and information being learned and uncovered each and every year.
Paleontology, is the study of any life prior to the Holocene (around 11,700 years ago or so). That includes the beginning of Animalia (around 800 million years ago) with sponges and invertebrates through the diversification of animals to complex vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and amphibians) up to the end of the last ice age! A lot has happened through this immense amount of time including the rise of sharks and other fish to amphibians, even early amniotes which later become our first mammals, reptiles, and birds. The rise and fall of the Non-Avian dinosaurs and various other groups has happened too!  
Although this class will touch on each of the sub disciplines of Paleontology, our topics of primary discussion will be invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology. Paleontology is an incredibly diverse discipline with an interesting history and a promising future. Fossils have the ability to tell us so much about the planet we live on, especially about its past, evolution, but as well how we can best preserve it going forward and how us humans can live along side each other, the planet, and all other species together in balance.

This is a lecture style, interactive class with plenty of time to ask questions. Each week within this course, we will have a lesson and slides prepared about animals of Earth's Prehistoric Past. The natural history of the animals will be shared as well as other information about its biology, ecology, and most up to date knowledge we have regarding these species. Certain classes we may have video clips to watch, activities like games/coloring pages/etcetera, and discussion about these creatures.


*Check dates below or message me as we are in sections*

*Monday one class behind/ Wednesday two classes behind*
*No class - November 6, 27: December 25, January 1, 5*

Topics (*some of the most notable species however we will explore the groups*):

November 24- Week 1: Synapsids (Pelycosaurs, Cynodonts, Mammaliforms)
December 1- Week 2: Early Sauropsids, Parareptilia, and Pareiasaurs
December 8- Week 3: Lepidosaurs- Rhynchocephalia, Squamata- Lizards, and Snakes (Megalania and Titanoboa)
December 15- Week 4: Mosasaurs, Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs
December 22- Week 5: Pseudosuchia- Crocodilians (Sarcosuchus)
December 29- Week 6: Pterosaurs (Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx)
January 5- Week 7: Turtles (Archelon, Cryptodirans, Pleurodirans, and other members)
January 12- Week 8: Stegosauria (Kentrosaurus, Stegosaurus)
January 19- Week 9: Ankylosauria (Anodontosaurus)
February 2- Week 10: Heterodontosauridae (Fruitadens and relatives)
February 9- Week 11: Ornithopoda (Hadrosaurs, Iguanodon, Camptosaurs, Edmontosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Lambeosaurs, and more)
February 16- Week 12: Pachycephalosauria (Stegoceras, Pachycephalosaurus)
February 23- Week 13: Ceratopsia (Triceratops, Centrosaurines - Styracosaurus, Protoceratops, and other relatives)
March 2- Week 14: Basal Sauropodomorpha: Plateosauria (Plateosauridae and Massopoda)
March 9- Week 15: Diplodocoidea (Amargasaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and other Relatives)
March 16- Week 16: Macronaria, Titanosauria (Camarasauria, Laurasiformes, and Titanosaurs)
March 23- Week 17: Herrerasauria (Herrarasaurus, Staurikosaurus)
March 30- Week 18: Ceratosauria (Ceratosauridae, Abelisauridae- Carnotaurus, Noasauridae)
April 6- Week 19: Allosauroidea (Metriacanthosauridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, Neovenatoridae)
April 13- Week 20: Megalosauroidea (Spinosaurus, Suchomimus, Baryonyx, Torvosaurus and other relatives)
April 20- Week 21: Coelurosauria (Tyrannosaurs like Tyrannosaurus, Yutyrannus, Ornithomimosauria)
April 27- Week 22: Maniraptora- Therizinosaurus, Oviraptor, Paraves (Dromaeosaurs a.k.a Raptors!)

2024:
October 20- Week 23: Avialae ->Bird ancestors (Archaeopteryx) and Aves
October 27- Week 24: Early Sharks and other aquatic life! (Megalodon, Amphibians, Fish)
November 3 - Week 25: Invertebrates of the Past! (Giant Centipedes, Dragonflies, Scorpions, and more!)
November 10 -Week 26: Prehistoric Plants - Ferns, Cycads, and More!
November 17- Week 27: After the Cretaceous- to the Holocene (The making of the World as we know it!)

No prior knowledge is needed in order to take this course. Feel free to jump in to whichever week as each is a new lesson! Be prepared to dive in to the past and have a whole bunch of fun