biology

Nqwebasaurus

Nqwebasaurus 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 Nqwebasaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Nqwebasaurus is a probable ornithomimosaurian theropod from the Early Cretaceous of South Africa. The genus contains a single species, Nqwebasaurus thwazi, representing the oldest known coelurosaur in Africa and the evidence for basal coelurosaurian dinosaurs inhabiting Gondwana since the earliest Cretaceous period.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Nqwebasaurus is a probable ornithomimosaurian theropod from the Early Cretaceous of South Africa. The genus contains a single species, Nqwebasaurus thwazi, representing the oldest known coelurosaur in Africa and the evidence for basal coelurosaurian dinosaurs inhabiting Gondwana since the earliest Cretaceous period.

History of discovery The type specimen of Nqwebasaurus was discovered from the Kirkwood Formation of the Uitenhage Group by William J. de Klerk of the Albany Museum and Callum Ross of the Stony Brook University in July 1996 during a joint expedition. The fossil is remarkably complete and is considered an extremely rare find as no coelurosaur fossils had previously been found in Africa at this time. It has an unofficial nickname "Kirky", since it was found in the Kirkwood Formation. The name Nqwebasaurus is derived from the Xhosa word Nqweba which is the local name for the Kirkwood district, and thwazi is ancient Xhosa for "fast runner".

Description

Nqwebasaurus is considered to have been a small to medium-sized coelurosaur. The type specimen is approximately 30 cm (1 ft) high and is estimated to have been 90 cm (3 ft) long, although its complete length is not known due to the caudal vertebrae of the type specimen being incomplete. Gregory S. Paul estimated its adult size at 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and 1 kg (2.2 lb) in body mass. In addition the type specimen is thought to be a late juvenile, although with the type specimen being the only fossil representing its species it is currently not possible to compare the fossil with another member of its species. Nqwebasaurus has a long, three-fingered hand which includes a partially opposable thumb with a recurved claw. The claws on its hands differ in shape where the claws of the first and second digits are recurved and the third claw is not. This trait is unusual in theropod dinosaurs, however, it has been observed in some ornithomimosaurs such as Struthiomimus. Nqwebasaurus also lacks serrations on its maxillary teeth, has a reduced dentition, and contains gastroliths in its abdominal cavity, which is unusual for carnivorous theropod dinosaurs, as gastroliths are more commonly found in herbivorous vertebrates and modern ostriches.

Classification The most recent phylogenetic analyses that include Nqwebasaurus recovered it in the position as the basalmost member of Ornithomimosauria. However, many older studies have recovered different positions for the taxon amongst Coelurosauria, ranging from a basal member of the group, a compsognathid, or an alvarezsaurid. In combination with the rather divergent anatomy of Nqwebasaurus in comparison to other ornithomimosaurs, it is potentially uncertain what the taxon's phylogenetic affinities may be. The cladogram below follows an analysis by Yuong-Nam Lee, Rinchen Barsbold, Philip J. Currie, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Hang-Jae Lee, Pascal Godefroit, François Escuillié & Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig. The analysis was published in 2014, and displays the current phylogenetic position of Nqwebasaurus.

See also Timeline of ornithomimosaur research

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nqwebasaurus

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

In research: Nqwebasaurus 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 Nqwebasaurus 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: Nqwebasaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of South Africa, Fossil taxa described in 2000, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nqwebasaurus 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 Nqwebasaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Nqwebasaurus in simple terms?

Why does Nqwebasaurus 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 Nqwebasaurus?

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 Nqwebasaurus.