In the course of herpetology, students will be introduced to the study of the diversity and biology of amphibians and reptiles. The lessons will address general and diversified topics covering topics of phylogeny, origin and evolution of amphibians and reptiles, global diversity, biogeography, biology, ecology and conservation. The lessons will take place in the classrooms of the Museum of Natural History in Pavia and there will be ample use of specimens preserved in alcohol in the museum’s collections. Students will learn to recognize the main taxa of amphibians and reptiles, their morphological and anatomical characteristics, and some of the field techniques commonly used to study them.
Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of methods in Systematic Zoology (Phylogeny and cladistic trees)
Teaching Methods
Lectures with the use of specimens preserved in alcohol in the collections of the Museum of Natural History of Pavia. During the semester there will be an excursion in the surroundings of Pavia where students will be able to familiarize themselves with the most common amphibian and reptile species, field research methods and standard procedures for the collection of morphological data. For students participating to the DIDATTICA INCLUSIVA programme, video-lectures and vide-recordings of lectures are available on the KIRO platform.
Assessment Methods
15-minute power point presentation on a theme chosen from three scientific papers (Scopus/Wos). Before proceeding to the preparation of the presentation, the student must send to the teacher the three articles for a check of consistency to the topics of the course
