biology

Redlichia

Redlichia 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 Redlichia rather than just read about it. In short: Redlichia is a genus of redlichiid trilobite in the family Redlichiidae, with large to very large species (up to 35 centimetres or 14 inches long). They are characterised by a flat body plan, prominent genial spines and for some species, a distinguished axial spine.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Redlichia is a genus of redlichiid trilobite in the family Redlichiidae, with large to very large species (up to 35 centimetres or 14 inches long). They are characterised by a flat body plan, prominent genial spines and for some species, a distinguished axial spine. Fossils of various species are found in Lower Cambrian (Toyonian)-aged marine strata from China, Korea, Pakistan, the Himalayas, Iran, Spain, southern Siberia, and Antarctica, and from Middle Cambrian (Ordian)-aged marine strata of Australia.

Description Redlichia has a rather flat and thinly calcified dorsal exoskeleton of inverted egg-shaped outline, about 1½× longer than wide, measured across the base of the genal spines and disregarding the spine on the 11th segment of the articulated middle part of the body (or thorax). The headshield (or cephalon) is semicircular, about ⅓× as long as the body, with clear genal spines that are a smooth continuation of the border, that extend backward and outward and curving to be near parallel near their tips, which typically extend to the backhalf of the articulated middle part of the body (or thorax). The thorax consists of 11-17 segments, with the 11th from the front bearing a backward directed spine on the midline.

Taxonomy Redlich originally named the genus Hoeferia in 1899. It turned out however, that this name was already given to an arcid bivalve by Bittner in 1894, rendering it an unavailable junior homonym. This is why in 1902, Cossmann renamed Hoeferia Redlich, 1899 as Redlichia, in honor of Redlich. Mesodema Whitehouse, 1939, Dongshania Lin in Qiu et al., 1983, and Spinoredlichia Liu, 1975, are all considered to be synonyms of Redlichia.

Notable species

The type species, R. noetlingi, is found in Lower Cambrian-aged marine strata of Western Pakistan (and later also found in both Palaeolenus and Megapalaeolenus zones of the Guanshan Biota). A similar species, R. chinensis, is found in Lower Cambrian-aged marine strata of China. R. nobilis, is found in Lower Cambrian-aged marine strata of South Korea. It was originally thought that the Kangaroo Island species, R. takooensis, had a small form and a large form: more thorough studies have concluded that the "large morph" is a distinct, carnivorous, possibly cannibalistic species now named R. rex.

Reassigned species Some of the species that were originally assigned to Redlichia were later moved to other genera.

R. blanckenhorni = Redlichops blanckenhorni R. finalis = Redlichaspis finalis R. nakamurai = Neoredlichia nakamurai R. walcotti Lu, 1941= Archaeops lui R. walcotti Mansuy, 1912= Saukandiops walcotti R. cf. walcotti Saito, 1934= Latiredlichia saitoi

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Redlichia

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

In research: Redlichia 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 Redlichia 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: Redlichia is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cambrian genus extinctions, Cambrian trilobites, Cambrian trilobites of Asia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Redlichia 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 Redlichia in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Redlichia in simple terms?

Why does Redlichia 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 Redlichia?

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 Redlichia.