science

Microolithus

Microolithus is a science 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 Microolithus rather than just read about it. In short: Microolithus is an oogenus of fossil bird egg from Wyoming, with preserved embryonic remains inside some of its specimens. History Fossil bird eggs from the Paleogene are rare in North America, and have only occasionally been examined microstructurally and compared to modern birds.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Microolithus is an oogenus of fossil bird egg from Wyoming, with preserved embryonic remains inside some of its specimens.

History Fossil bird eggs from the Paleogene are rare in North America, and have only occasionally been examined microstructurally and compared to modern birds. The specimens that would later be named Microolithus were collected in 1940 by the paleontologist R. W. Wilson. In 2013, paleontologists from Montana State University Frankie D. Jackson and David J. Varricchio teamed up with Joseph A. Corsini from Eastern Oregon University to analyze these specimens, which they assigned to a new oogenus and oospecies, Microolithus wilsoni. This would be only the second oogenus of Paleogene bird egg to be named in North America (the first being Incognitoolithus).

Distribution The known specimens of Microolithus were found in the Eocene Willwood Formation in Park County, Wyoming.

Description Microolithus is, as its name suggests, a small egg; the smallest specimen is 37 mm (1.5 in) by 30 mm (1.2 in). Like all medioolithids, it is roughly spherical. The eggshell is 600 μm thick, and its outer surface is smooth and glossy, but this may be due to erosion. Its eggshell is composed of three structural layers. The outermost layer (the external layer) contacts the middle layer (the continuous layer), abruptly. The continuous layer has squamatic texture obscuring the prism-shaped eggshell units. The innermost layer (the mammillary layer) makes up one-fourth of the eggshell's thickness, and has an abrupt but wavy boundary with the continuous layer. The eggshell has circular pores with a density of 1.08 per square millimeter. Some Mircoolithus specimens have embryonic remains of long bones and possibly vertebra, but no useful characteristics for determining which bones or to what bird group they belong are preserved. The periosteum of these bones is somewhat porous. Microolithus is very similar to modern bird eggs, even more so than Metoolithus and the other known Paleogene bird eggs. It closely resembles modern neognaths, especially the sandhill crane.

Parataxonomy Because of the numerous similarities of Microolithus wilsoni to the German Medioolithus, they are classified together (along with Incognitoolithus) in the oofamily Medioolithidae.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microolithus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microolithus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Microolithus 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 Microolithus 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 Microolithus

In research: Microolithus appears in science 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 Microolithus 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: Microolithus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Egg fossils, Fossil parataxa described in 2013, Neognathae, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microolithus 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 Microolithus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Microolithus in simple terms?

Microolithus is an oogenus of fossil bird egg from Wyoming, with preserved embryonic remains inside some of its specimens. History Fossil bird eggs from the Paleogene are rare in North America, and have only occasionally been examined microstructurally and compared to modern birds.

Why does Microolithus matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Microolithus?

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 Microolithus.