biology

Proardea

Proardea 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 Proardea rather than just read about it. In short: Proardea is an extinct genus of heron, containing two species, Proardea amissa ("lost proto-heron") and Proardea? deschutteri from the Borgloon Formation of Belgium. It stood about 70 cm (2 ft 4 in) tall and was very similar to a modern heron in shape.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Proardea is an extinct genus of heron, containing two species, Proardea amissa ("lost proto-heron") and Proardea? deschutteri from the Borgloon Formation of Belgium. It stood about 70 cm (2 ft 4 in) tall and was very similar to a modern heron in shape. The species is known from rather fragmentary fossils in the area of Quercy, France; dated remains are from Pech Desse, a Late Oligocene locality, but the original fossil, a single right tarsometatarsus (MNHN QU-15720), isn't precisely dated and may have come from deposits as early as Late Eocene in age.

Proardea was apparently closely related to the true herons and egrets (Ardeinae). As these genera are only known from the Miocene onwards, Proardea possibly was a direct ancestor of today's herons and/or egrets. However, the Miocene genus Proardeola is closely related, or perhaps even synonymous, with Proardea; the former's single species Proardeola walkeri may thus be Proardea walkeri or even identical with P. amissa. The bird described as Ardea aurelianensis may also be identical with P. amissa, which would in that case become known as Proardea aurelianensis. Supposed other species of Proardea, P. perplexa and P. similis, are synonyms of the ibis Geronticus perplexus and the phasianid Miogallus altus, respectively.

References

Further reading Lambrecht, Kálmán (1933): [Genus Proardea] In: Handbuch der Palaeornithologie: 311. Gebrüder Bornträger, Berlin. Milne-Edwards, Alphonse (1892): Sur les oiseaux fossiles des dépots éocènes de phosphate de chaux du Sud de la France. In: Sclater, P.L. (ed.), Comptes Rendus du Second Congrès Ornithologique International: 60–80. Budapest. Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002). Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe (PDF). Praha: Ninox Press. pp. 68, 94, 157. OCLC 156629447. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2006-07-26. The ISBN printed in the document (80-901105-3-8) is invalid, causing a checksum error.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Proardea

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

In research: Proardea 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 Proardea 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: Proardea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ardeidae, Bird genera, Fossils of Belgium, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Proardea 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 Proardea in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Proardea in simple terms?

Why does Proardea 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 Proardea?

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 Proardea.