biology

Meridiosaurus

Meridiosaurus 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 Meridiosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Meridiosaurus is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylian that is a member of the family Pholidosauridae. Remains have been found in the Late Jurassic Tacuarembó Formation in Tacuarembó, Uruguay.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Meridiosaurus is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylian that is a member of the family Pholidosauridae. Remains have been found in the Late Jurassic Tacuarembó Formation in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. The genus was described in 1980 on the basis of a partial rostrum that included the premaxillae and most of the maxillae. The assignment to Pholidosauridae is considered doubtful by some authors, but a 2011 redescription and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the pholidosaurid classification of Meridiosaurus.

References

Further reading A. Mones. 1980. Nuevos elementos de la paleoherpetofauna del Uruguay (Crocodilia y Dinosauria) [New elements of the paleoherpetofauna of Uruguay (Crocodilia and Dinosauria)]. Actas II Congreso Argentino de Paleontologia y Bioestratigrafia y I Congreso Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires 1:265-277

External links Meridiosaurus in the Paleobiology Database

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Meridiosaurus

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

In research: Meridiosaurus 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 Meridiosaurus 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: Meridiosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossil taxa described in 1980, Fossils of Uruguay, Kimmeridgian life, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Meridiosaurus 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 Meridiosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Meridiosaurus in simple terms?

Meridiosaurus is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylian that is a member of the family Pholidosauridae. Remains have been found in the Late Jurassic Tacuarembó Formation in Tacuarembó, Uruguay.

Why does Meridiosaurus 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 Meridiosaurus?

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 Meridiosaurus.