biology

Neustosaurus

Neustosaurus 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 Neustosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Neustosaurus is a dubious genus of marine crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous. Neustosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Neustosaurus is a dubious genus of marine crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous. Neustosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. No Neustosaurus eggs or nest have been discovered, so little is known of the reptile's lifecycle, unlike other large marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, such as plesiosaurs or ichthyosaurs which are known to have given birth to live young out at sea. Where Neustosaurus mated, whether on land or at sea, is currently unknown. The name Neustosaurus means "Swimming lizard", and is derived from the Greek Neustos- ("swimming") and σαῦρος -sauros ("lizard").

History of discovery There is only a single described species within Neustosaurus, the type species N. gigondarum. The holotype material consists of only the posterior of trunk and the tail, discovered in France, in Gigondas. However, identifying metriorhynchid genera from post-cranials is not easy, as such until diagnostic material is discovered Neustosaurus is considered nomen dubium. Neustosaurus has been considered a junior synonym of either Dakosaurus and Geosaurus over the past 100 years. In 2009, Young and Andrade published a re-description of Geosaurus, examining its relationships and the validity of species lumped into the genus. They concluded that Neustosaurus is a nomen dubium, but if new material was discovered it would be the senior synonym of Cricosaurus.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Neustosaurus

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

In research: Neustosaurus 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 Neustosaurus 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: Neustosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Early Cretaceous crocodylomorphs, Prehistoric life of Europe, Prehistoric marine crocodylomorphs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Neustosaurus 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 Neustosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Neustosaurus in simple terms?

Neustosaurus is a dubious genus of marine crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous. Neustosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea.

Why does Neustosaurus 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 Neustosaurus?

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 Neustosaurus.