biology

Pareiasaurus

Pareiasaurus 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 Pareiasaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Pareiasaurus (from Greek: pareia, "cheek" and Greek: sauros, "lizard") is an extinct genus of pareiasauromorph reptile from the Permian period. It was a typical member of its family, the pareiasaurids, which take their name from this genus.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Pareiasaurus (from Greek: pareia, "cheek" and Greek: sauros, "lizard") is an extinct genus of pareiasauromorph reptile from the Permian period. It was a typical member of its family, the pareiasaurids, which take their name from this genus. Fossils have been found in the Beaufort Group.

Description Pareiasaurus is a large quadruped, about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long, with elephantine legs, walking in a typically reptilian posture. The skull is broad and the snout short. Its skull had several spine- and wart-like protrusions. Pareiasaurus's leaf-shaped teeth, ideal for biting through tough plant fibers, indicate it was a herbivore. Even the palate had teeth.

Species

P. nasicornis (Haughton and Boonstra, 1929) is from the Tropidostoma Zone, Karoo basin, South Africa. This early form is one of the first representatives of the genus. It was originally included under the genus Pareiasuchus. The snout is heavily armoured, and bears a horn-like boss. The teeth are equipped with 11 (or possibly 13 or 15) cusps. This is a large animal; the skull is about 50 cm in length. This species might be ancestral to Pareiasaurus peringueyi. P. peringueyi (Haughton and Boonstra, 1929) is from the Cistecephalus Zone, Karoo basin, South Africa. It is represented by a nearly complete skeleton from the Zak River, South Africa. It is a medium-sized animal, the skull being 36 cm long. It is distinguished especially by the large quadrato-jugal region inclined far outwards and forwards so that its lower border makes an angle of about 120° with the maxillary border; this cheek bears large bony bosses. There are at least 13 pairs of teeth in the upper jaw, each with 13 or possibly 15 cusps.

P. serridens (Owen, 1876) is from the Dicynodon Zone, Karoo basin, South Africa. This species was the type species for Pareiasuchus. This late species is the type species for Pareiasaurus, and represents the culmination of this lineage. The armour is well developed. There are 14 pairs of teeth, each with 9 to 11 cusps. The short deep skull is about 40 cm in length. Note the extended quadrato-jugal region (cheek bones).

References

External links Pareiasaurinae at Palaeos

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pareiasaurus

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

In research: Pareiasaurus 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 Pareiasaurus 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: Pareiasaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Changhsingian genus extinctions, Changhsingian life, Fossil taxa described in 1876, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pareiasaurus 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 Pareiasaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Pareiasaurus in simple terms?

Why does Pareiasaurus 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 Pareiasaurus?

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 Pareiasaurus.