science

Patricosaurus

Patricosaurus 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 Patricosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: "Patricosaurus" (meaning "paternal lizard") is the name given to a dubious and chimeric genus of reptile from the Early Cretaceous. It is based on a femur and sacrum from two animals: the femur from a large lepidosaur, and the sacrum from an archosaur (Barrett and Evans, 2002), both specimens are known from the Cambridge Greensand.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

"Patricosaurus" (meaning "paternal lizard") is the name given to a dubious and chimeric genus of reptile from the Early Cretaceous. It is based on a femur and sacrum from two animals: the femur from a large lepidosaur, and the sacrum from an archosaur (Barrett and Evans, 2002), both specimens are known from the Cambridge Greensand. The type species, Patricosaurus merocratus, was described by Harry Seeley in 1887, and was originally thought to have been a lizard. The femur was estimated to be 8-10 cm long when complete, belonging to an animal with a vent-snout length of 0.8-0.9 metres and a maximum body length of two metres.

References Barrett, P.M., and Evans, S.E. 2002. A reassessment of the Early Cretaceous reptile Patricosaurus merocratus Seeley from the Cambridge Greensand, Cambridgeshire, UK. Cretaceous Research 23: 231–240. Seeley, H.G. 1887. On Patricosaurus merocratus, Seeley, a lizard from the Cambridge Greensand, preserved in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 43:216-220.

External links [1] and [2] Dinosaur Mailing List entries on Patricosaurus

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Patricosaurus

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

In research: Patricosaurus 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 Patricosaurus 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: Patricosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Early Cretaceous reptiles of Europe, Fossil taxa described in 1887, Fossils of Great Britain, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Patricosaurus 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Patricosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Patricosaurus in simple terms?

Why does Patricosaurus 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 Patricosaurus?

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 Patricosaurus.