biology

Gobititan

Gobititan 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 Gobititan rather than just read about it. In short: Gobititan is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous. The name of this genus is derived from the Gobi Desert region and the Titans of Greek mythology, which is a reference to its large body size.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Gobititan is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous. The name of this genus is derived from the Gobi Desert region and the Titans of Greek mythology, which is a reference to its large body size. The specific name shenzhouensis, is derived from "Shenzhou", an ancient name for China.

Description Gobititan can be distinguished from other titanosauriforms based on features of the caudal vertebrae. Compared with advanced titanosaurs, where the number of caudal vertebrae had been reduced to less than 35, Gobititan had a relatively high number of caudal vertebrae, which was interpreted as a basal trait. Gregory S. Paul estimated that Gobititan was 20 m (66 ft) long and weighed 20 metric tons (22 short tons).

Discovery and naming The genus is based on one partial skeleton, holotype IVPP 12579, which consists of a series of 41 caudal vertebrae and an incomplete left hindlimb. Its remains were recovered in the summer of 1999 at the "Middle Gray unit" (also known as the Xiagou Formation) of the Xinminbao Group in the Gongpoquan Basin in Gansu, China. The type species, Gobititan shenzhouensis was named and described by You, Tang and Luo in 2003 and was classified as a basal titanosaur. This specimen is housed in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, in Beijing, China.

Classification In its original description, Gobititan was considered to be a basal titanosaur closely related to Tangvayosaurus, suggesting that titanosaurs might have originated in Asia no later than the Early Cretaceous. However, based on the fact that the fifth digit is still present on the foot (a trait unknown in all other titanosaurs), more recent research has generally considered it to be a titanosauriform, more specifically a member of the Somphospondyli. Nevertheless, some analyses still recover Gobititan as a titanosaur.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gobititan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gobititan 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 Gobititan 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 Gobititan 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 Gobititan

In research: Gobititan 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 Gobititan 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: Gobititan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aptian dinosaurs, Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gobititan 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 Gobititan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gobititan 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 Gobititan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gobititan in simple terms?

Why does Gobititan 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 Gobititan?

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 Gobititan.