biology

Icarosaurus

Icarosaurus 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 Icarosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Icarosaurus (meaning "Icarus lizard") is an extinct genus of kuehneosaurid reptile from the Late Triassic (Norian age) Lower Lockatong Formation of New Jersey. It is known from a partial skeleton missing part of the tail, some ribs, a hand, and parts of the legs, it was a small animal, about 10 centimeters (4 in) long from the skull to the hips.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Icarosaurus (meaning "Icarus lizard") is an extinct genus of kuehneosaurid reptile from the Late Triassic (Norian age) Lower Lockatong Formation of New Jersey. It is known from a partial skeleton missing part of the tail, some ribs, a hand, and parts of the legs, it was a small animal, about 10 centimeters (4 in) long from the skull to the hips. Like its relative Kuehneosaurus, it was able to glide short distances using 'wings' consisting of highly elongated ribs covered with skin. These gliding membranes would have had a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface, thus creating a simple airfoil structure well-suited to gliding. This method of gliding is also seen in the Late Permian reptile Coelurosauravus and the modern Draco lizard, neither of which are closely related to Icarosaurus.

Discovery and history

The only known fossil skeleton which definitely belongs to Icarosaurus was found in 1960 in North Bergen, New Jersey by Alfred Siefker, a teenager at the time, who stumbled upon the specimen while exploring a quarry. Siefker brought the specimen to scientists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for identification and preparation. It was described by paleontologist Edwin Harris Colbert in 1966, who named it Icarosaurus siefkeri in honor of Siefker.

The fossil remained in the collections of the AMNH until the late 1980s. In 1989, Siefker reclaimed the specimen, which he kept in a private collection during the following decade. In 2000, Siefker sold the fossil at auction in San Francisco through the auction house Butterfield & Butterfield, despite concerns from paleontologists that the sale could render the specimen unavailable for scientific study. The fossil sold for US$167,000, only half of its appraised value, to Dick Spight of California. That same year, Spight donated the Icarosaurus holotype back to the AMNH, where it was put on display 7 October 2000.

Description

Icarosaurus is estimated to have been around 33.1 centimetres (13.0 in) long (of which 9.5 centimetres (3.7 in) was forward of the sacrum/hip), with a wingspan of approximately 27.2 centimetres (10.7 in)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Icarosaurus

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

In research: Icarosaurus 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 Icarosaurus 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: Icarosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Kuehneosauridae, Late Triassic reptiles of North America, Prehistoric reptile genera, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Icarosaurus 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 Icarosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Icarosaurus in simple terms?

Why does Icarosaurus 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 Icarosaurus?

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 Icarosaurus.