Vertebrates are without doubts the most popular and longest studied group of organisms. However, our understanding of vertebrate biology and systematics has changed dramatically in recent decades with the advent of new research techniques and new fossil discoveries. The goal of the course is to describe the major transitions in vertebrate evolution and to introduce the fascinating diversity of vertebrates in space and time. Lectures will focus on the present-day groups of vertebrates, their distribution on Earth, up-to-date systematic relationships, and
biological details ranging from genomes through anatomy, ecology, and behaviour to community level. Students will be also briefly guided through the 500-million-year history of the vertebrate history and familiarised with the major vertebrate groups that have ruled the world in the past.