The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.

From whales to bats, living mammals are among the most visible and well-studied animals in Earth’s biosphere. Although many people perceive mammal biodiversity from species living today, the story of mammals goes back in time at least to the Jurassic Period. In this course, you will participate in discussions and readings of some of the “greatest hits” of mammalian adaptations to the changing Earth over the past 200 million years and explore what modern paleontology and anatomy research have to offer in understanding “extreme mammals”! This course is intended for anyone interested in learning about the amazing adaptations of mammals of the past and present. Students who are considering the Integrative Biology major or opportunities in the Museum of Paleontology are particularly encouraged to come learn more about the types of research questions and approaches used in the study of fossil and living mammals, their anatomy, and unusual adaptations. Jack is a vertebrate paleontologist interested in all bitey things. As an one-time Cal undergrad, he got his start working with bones in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Museum of Paleontology on campus. After getting his graduate degree at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and stints in New York City and Buffalo, he joined the faculty of Integrative Biology at Cal in 2020. He specializes in hyena evolution, but is known to be a dog and cat person at home. Faculty web site: https://sites.google.com/site/zjtseng/

Requisites

• Students with 1-2 Terms in Attendance

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills