science

Presbyornithidae

Presbyornithidae 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 Presbyornithidae rather than just read about it. In short: Presbyornithidae is an extinct group of birds found in North America, South America, East Asia, Australia and possibly North Africa. They had evolved by the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous and became extinct during the Aquitanian age of the Early Miocene.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Presbyornithidae is an extinct group of birds found in North America, South America, East Asia, Australia and possibly North Africa. They had evolved by the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous and became extinct during the Aquitanian age of the Early Miocene. The family contains the oldest known neognath, Teviornis from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Initially, presbyornithids were believed to present a mix of characters shown by waterbirds, shorebirds and flamingos and were used to argue for an evolutionary relationship between these groups, but they are now generally accepted to be waterfowl closely related to modern ducks, geese, and screamers. They were generally long-legged, long-necked birds, standing around one meter high, with the body of a duck, feet similar to a wader but webbed, and a flat duck-like bill adapted for filter feeding. At least some species were social birds that lived in large flocks and nested in colonies, while others like Wilaru were terrestrial and territorial. Specimens of presbyornithids have also been discovered from the Lance Formation of Wyoming. Other possible Eocene presbyornithids include Presbyornis mongoliensis from Mongolia, Proherodius oweni and Headonornis hantoniensis from England with the partial right scapula BMNH PAL 4989, but P. oweni is now considered as Aves incertae sedis, and the two other taxa are now referred to as stem group representatives of the Phoenicopteriformes.

References

External links Reconstruction of Presbyornis at pixel-shack.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Presbyornithidae

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

In research: Presbyornithidae 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 Presbyornithidae 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: Presbyornithidae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Late Cretaceous first appearances, Prehistoric bird families, Prehistoric birds, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Presbyornithidae 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 Presbyornithidae in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Presbyornithidae in simple terms?

Why does Presbyornithidae 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 Presbyornithidae?

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 Presbyornithidae.