biology

Lessemsaurus

Lessemsaurus 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 Lessemsaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Lessemsaurus is an extinct genus of sauropodiform dinosaur that lived in the Norian-aged (Upper Triassic) Los Colorados Formation of what is now Argentina. Naming and description The type species, L. sauropoides, was formally described by José Fernando Bonaparte in 1999 in honor of Don Lessem, a writer of popular science books.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Lessemsaurus is an extinct genus of sauropodiform dinosaur that lived in the Norian-aged (Upper Triassic) Los Colorados Formation of what is now Argentina.

Naming and description The type species, L. sauropoides, was formally described by José Fernando Bonaparte in 1999 in honor of Don Lessem, a writer of popular science books. It was found in the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in La Rioja Province, Argentina. It is part of the La Esquina faunal assemblage, dating to the mid-Norian stage, around 213 million years ago. It is estimated to have reached 10–12 metres (33–39 ft) long and weighed over 7 metric tons (7.7 short tons), possibly up to 8–10 metric tons (8.8–11.0 short tons), in maximum body mass.

Classification

A cladogram after Pol, Garrido & Cerda, 2011, illustrates a possible placing of Lessemsaurus and Antetonitrus in Sauropodomorpha:

In 2018, Apaldetti et al. recovered it as part of a clade they named Lessemsauridae, after Lessemsaurus. Their cladogram is reproduced below:

The following cladogram shows the position of Lessemsaurus outside of Sauropoda, according to Oliver W. M. Rauhut and colleagues, 2020:

References

External links Media related to Lessemsaurus at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lessemsaurus

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

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Lessemsaurus in simple terms?

Lessemsaurus is an extinct genus of sauropodiform dinosaur that lived in the Norian-aged (Upper Triassic) Los Colorados Formation of what is now Argentina. Naming and description The type species, L. sauropoides, was formally described by José Fernando Bonaparte in 1999 in honor of Don Lessem, a wr…

Why does Lessemsaurus 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 Lessemsaurus?

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 Lessemsaurus.