Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology Courses

Pleistocene Mammals of North America - Treasures from the La Brea Tar Pits

Explore Pleistocene mammals through La Brea Tar Pits fossils. Discover unique preservation, diverse species, and insights into prehistoric North American ecosystems.

• YouTube
• 43 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Mammals Inherit the Earth

Explore how the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction reshaped mammalian diversity, body size, and ecological expansion after the dinosaurs disappeared.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Community Structure in the Burgess Shale: Insights from a New Locality

Explore how a new Burgess Shale locality reveals Cambrian community structure through exceptional preservation, taphonomy, diversity, abundance, and ecological comparisons.

• YouTube
• 50 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

585-Million-Year-Old Tracks Reveal Evidence of the First Animals on Earth

A 585-million-year-old trace-fossil record reveals how early bilaterian animals burrowed and provides evidence for the first animals on Earth.

• YouTube
• 41 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Resurrecting Physiological Traits from Long-Extinct Species

Using ancient DNA and engineered hemoglobin, this lecture shows how researchers reconstruct physiological traits of woolly mammoths and other extinct mammals.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 13 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

How Did Life First Find a Way? A Review of the Scientific Evidence

A review of how extremophile microbes and early Earth environments illuminate the possible origins and evolution of life.

• YouTube
• 49 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Fossil Monkeys and Apes from the East African Rift Valley

Explore early primate evolution in East Africa through fossil discoveries, focusing on monkeys and apes predating Lucy. Learn about ancient landscapes and their impact on primate diversity.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Alberta: Land of Dinosaurs and Other Palaeontological Wonders

Explore why Alberta preserves exceptional dinosaur diversity and abundance through its climate, badlands, fossil discoveries, and public contributions to paleontology.

• YouTube
• 58 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

A Big Step for a Fish – The Evolution of Four-Legged Land Animals

Explore how fossil evidence reshaped the story of vertebrates’ transition from aquatic fish to four-legged land animals.

• YouTube
• 51 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Marble Canyon Burgess Shale Locality and the Early Evolution of Fishes

A fossil-rich look at the Marble Canyon Burgess Shale locality and what early chordates reveal about the origins of vertebrates.

• YouTube
• 35 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Over the Heads of Dinosaurs - Pterosaurs

Explore how pterosaurs evolved powered flight, adapted to different lifestyles, and reached extraordinary sizes during the age of dinosaurs.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Ediacaran Period: Glimpses of the Earth's Earliest Animals

Explore strange Ediacaran fossils revealing how Earth's earliest animals lived, fed, reproduced, and vanished before the Cambrian.

• YouTube
• 41 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Cretaceous-Palaeogene Mass Extinction: What Do We Really Know?

Examines competing explanations for the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction and presents the press-pulse scenario combining long-term environmental stress with meteorite impact.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Whoops! Fossil Faux Pas

Explore amusing paleontological blunders and frauds throughout history, from misidentified fossils to elaborate hoaxes, with insights on their impact and lessons learned.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 6 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Amber Trap: Unlocking Stories of Ancient Polar Climates from Fossilized Tree Resin

Explore ancient polar climates through fossilized tree resin, uncovering evidence of past environments and ecosystems in Antarctica and the Arctic.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video