biology

Futabasaurus

Futabasaurus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Futabasaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Futabasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. It was described and named in 2006, and was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae.

Key takeaways

Futabasaurus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Futabasaurus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Futabasaurus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Futabasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. It was described and named in 2006, and was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae. The genus contains one species, F. suzukii.

Description Futabasaurus has been estimated over 6 metres (20 ft) in length, possibly within the range of 6.4–9.2 metres (21–30 ft). It can be distinguished from other elasmosaurids by the following characteristics: there is a long distance between the eye sockets and nostrils; the interclavicles and clavicles are fused, and the anterior edge is bent; the humerus is relatively long; and the femora are slim and show prominent muscle scars.

Discovery and naming

Futabasaurus is the first elasmosaurid found in Japan. It was originally known as either "Wellesisaurus suzukii" or "Futaba Suzuki ryu" before publication. The type specimen of Futabasaurus was found in the Irimazawa Member of the Tamayama Formation, in the Futaba Group of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The rocks in which it were found date to the Inoceramus amakusensis zone of the early Santonian. The fossils were found by Tadashi Suzuki, then a high school student. Many of the bones of the type specimen show signs of apparent scavenging or predation by sharks, specifically Cretalamna. The genus Futabasaurus was named after the Futaba Group, in which it was discovered; the specific name is derived from the family name of its discoverer, Suzuki. The name "Futabasaurus" has also been used for an unrelated theropod dinosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Ashizawa Formation of Japan. However, this dinosaur was not officially named, and remains a nomen nudum.

Classification

The following cladogram shows the placement of Futabasaurus within Elasmosauridae following an analysis by Rodrigo A. Otero, 2016:

In Popular Culture In the anime movie, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur, Nobita finds a fossilized futabasaurus egg. Using Doraemon's tools, he makes the egg viable, hatches the egg, and raises it to adulthood before returning it to its time period.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Futabasaurus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Futabasaurus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Futabasaurus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Futabasaurus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Futabasaurus

In research: Futabasaurus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Futabasaurus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Futabasaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Elasmosauridae, Extinct animals of Japan, Fossil taxa described in 2006, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Futabasaurus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Futabasaurus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Futabasaurus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Futabasaurus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Futabasaurus in simple terms?

Futabasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. It was described and named in 2006, and was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae.

Why does Futabasaurus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Futabasaurus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Futabasaurus.