biology

Nemegtbaatar

Nemegtbaatar 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 Nemegtbaatar rather than just read about it. In short: Nemegtbaatar is an extinct genus of mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now Central Asia. It belonged to the order Multituberculata.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Nemegtbaatar is an extinct genus of mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now Central Asia. It belonged to the order Multituberculata. Nemegtbaatar is within the suborder Cimolodonta and is a member of the superfamily Djadochtatherioidea. The genus Nemegtbaatar (Kielan-Jaworowska, 1974) was named after the Nemegt Valley and Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia. The type species is Nemegtbaatar gobiensis. It was discovered in Campanian aged strata of the Barun Goyot Formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Fossils of this species have been found in rocks dated from 76 to 71 million years ago, correlating to the Campanian and early Maastrichtian ages. With several intact skulls having been found, it can be determined that N.gobiensis has a dental formula of 2.0.4.21.0.2.2 with a "roughly triangular" snout. Nemegtbaatar is possibly derived from a Bulganbaatar ancestor, based on a comparison of their dentition. Nemegtbaatar was a relatively large member of Djadochtatherioidea, with a skull length of up to 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) and estimated adult body mass of 210 grams (7.4 oz), which is roughly the size of a modern rat. According to detailed reconstructions by Kielan-Jaworowska and Gambaryan, Nemegtbaatar was likely nocturnal due its large eyes, and had live births but relatively undeveloped young due to its pelvic structure. It likely was behaviorially similar to that of the modern gerbil.

Fossil specimens were collected during several Polish-Mongolian expeditions that took place during the 1960s and 1970s, during which this species was discovered. At least one specimen is in the Institute of Paleobiology collection of the Polish Academy of Sciences at Warsaw, (ZPAL MgM-1/76). Fossil remains of Nemegtbaatar are unusually complete, allowing for significant reconstructive analyses to be performed on them.

Notes

References Chen, Meng; Wilson, Gregory P. (2015). "A multivariate approach to infer locomotor modes in Mesozoic mammals". Paleobiology. 41 (2): 280–312. doi:10.1017/pab.2014.14. Dykes, Trevor. "Mesozoic Mammals; Djadochtatherioidea, an internet directory". Archived from the original on 21 April 2003. Hurum, J.H. (1998). "The braincase of two Late Cretaceous Asian multituberculates studied by serial sections". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 43 (1): 21–52. Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia (1974). "Multituberculate succession in the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia)". Palaeontologica Polonica. 30: 23–44. Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Hurum, J.H. (2001). "Phylogeny and Systematics of Multituberculate Mammals". Palaeontology. 44 (3): 389–429. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00185. Turnbull, W.D. (1995). "Book Review, Postcranial anatomy and habits of Asian multituberculate mammals: : Z. Kielan-Jaworowska and P.P. Gambaryan, 1994. Scandinavian University Press, Oslo, Norway. Paperback, 92 pp. ISBN 82-00-37650-8". Earth-Science Reviews. 39 (3–4): 267–268. doi:10.1016/0012-8252(95)90020-9. Wilson, Gregory P.; Evans, Alistair R.; Corfe, Ian J.; Smits, Peter D.; Fortelius, Mikael; Jernvall, Jukka (2012). "Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs". Nature. 483: 457–460. doi:10.1038/nature10880.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nemegtbaatar

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

In research: Nemegtbaatar 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 Nemegtbaatar 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: Nemegtbaatar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Campanian life, Cimolodonta, Fossil taxa described in 1974, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nemegtbaatar 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 Nemegtbaatar in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Nemegtbaatar in simple terms?

Nemegtbaatar is an extinct genus of mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now Central Asia. It belonged to the order Multituberculata.

Why does Nemegtbaatar 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 Nemegtbaatar?

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 Nemegtbaatar.