biology

Kimuriella

Kimuriella 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 Kimuriella rather than just read about it. In short: Kimuriella (IPA: [ki.mɯ.ɾi.ɛl.la]) (named after Tatsuaki Kimura Japanese: 木村達明) is a monotypic whole-plant genus of williamsoniacean bennettitalean from the Tochikubo Formation of Fukushima, northeast Japan. The type species is Kimuriella densifolia, known from various specimens comprising leaf-bearing branches and disarticulated leaves of the Zamites nipponicus-type, articulated and disarticulated mature and matur…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Kimuriella (IPA: [ki.mɯ.ɾi.ɛl.la]) (named after Tatsuaki Kimura Japanese: 木村達明) is a monotypic whole-plant genus of williamsoniacean bennettitalean from the Tochikubo Formation of Fukushima, northeast Japan. The type species is Kimuriella densifolia, known from various specimens comprising leaf-bearing branches and disarticulated leaves of the Zamites nipponicus-type, articulated and disarticulated mature and maturing seed cone of the Williamsonia-type, and articulated and disarticulated male reproductive organs of the Weltrichia-type.

Etymology The generic name (Kimuriella IPA: [ki.mɯ.ɾi.ɛl.la]) is after Tatsuaki Kimura (IPA: [ta.tsɯ.a.ki ki.mɯ.ɾa]) (Japanese: 木村達明 IPA: [ki.mɯ.ɾa ta.tsɯ.a.ki]) using the diminutive Latin suffix -ella (a commonly used suffix in binomial nomenclature named after a person) "in honour of his excellent contributions to Japanese palaeobotany". The specific name (densifolia IPA: [dɛn.si.fɔː.li.a]) is from the Latin word densus (Latin: dēnsus IPA: [ˈdẽː.sʊs]) (specifically the plural form, densi (Latin: dēnsī IPA: [ˈdẽː.siː])), (which translates to dense) and the Latin folium (IPA: [ˈfɔ.li.ũː]) (specifically the plural form, folia (IPA: [ˈfɔ.li.a])) (which translates to leaf) in reference to the dense and stiff foliage of the plant.

Description

Pott and Takimoto (2022) investigated 42 slabs collected from the Tochikubo Formation, six of which contained articulated plant remains. Of the specimens within these slabs, they designated MM-000923a as the holotype (its counterpart being MM-000927a) with five other specimens being designated as epitypes (disarticulated male organs MM-000923b, MM-000927b; articulated foliage around a developing female organ MM-000927b; disarticulated male organ MM-000904). The holotype preserves a branch with female organ and seed cone terminating growth intervals.

The authors also note that previously described material from the Isokusa Formation shares a striking resemblance to Kimuriella in both male organs and foliage, the foliage — initially described as cfr. Zamites feneonis — was concluded to be conspecific with Zamites nipponicus by Kimura and Ohana (1988a). Though, no examination of this specimen was made and the authors leave this assignment as tentative.

Palaeobiology Kimuriella preserves similar growth structures to other bennettitaleans, including divaricately branched growth with the reproductive organs growing on the terminal end of the main axis, later inducing lateral branching during the next growth period (the period probably being seasonally or annually). They described the overall architecture of the plant as "a low-growing shrub-like plant probably up to 2–3 m tall... [with] divaricately branched axes". One thing to note is that the fossils (such as the holotype) show that only one female reproductive organ is receptive per active branch with the expected other lateral branch being missing.

Palaeoecology The Tochikubo Formation, from which Kimuriella is known, has been interpreted as a mostly non-marine fluvial to near-shore and low-energy lake deposit, with the facies of the formation changing in ascending order from fluvial to lake association, flood plain, alluvial fan into a delta-front coastal environment in its uppermost part. The authors that described the plant state that it "probably formed tangled shrub thickets in brackish to tidal mudflat areas or delta settings colonising ephemeral isles or sand bars that were regularly flooded such as in mangroves".

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kimuriella

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

In research: Kimuriella 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 Kimuriella 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: Kimuriella is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bennettitales, Fossil taxa described in 2022, Jurassic plants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kimuriella 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 Kimuriella in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Kimuriella in simple terms?

Why does Kimuriella 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 Kimuriella?

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 Kimuriella.