biology

Silveirinha Formation

Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The Silveirinha Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian, or MP7 or Neustrian in the ELMA classification) geologic formation of the Mondego Basin in the Região Centro of central-western Portugal. The sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates were deposited in an alluvial environment.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Silveirinha Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian, or MP7 or Neustrian in the ELMA classification) geologic formation of the Mondego Basin in the Região Centro of central-western Portugal. The sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates were deposited in an alluvial environment. The formation has provided fossils of many mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, as well as mollusks and ostracods, and is considered one of the richest Early Eocene faunal assemblages of Europe. The taeniodont, typically known as a North American order; Eurodon silveirinhensis and the ostracod Cypris silveirinhaensis have been named after the formation.

Description The Silveirinha Formation, named after the Silveirinha clay pit, crops out in the western part of the Mondego Basin in the Região Centro of central-western Portugal. The formation comprises fossiliferous lenticular calcitic conglomerates as well as laminated and cross bedded sands and brownish-red silts. The conglomerates are interpreted as crevasse-splay deposit in a alluvial plain environment, which eventually flooded and where bogs and possibly oxbows developed, crossed by channels depending on a river system that drained higher areas more north or eastwards.

Climate

The climate in the Early Eocene was substantially warmer than today.

Paleontological significance The Silveirinha clay pit after which the formation is named was first discovered in 1977 by Rui Pena dos Reis of Coimbra University. The unit is one of few earliest Eocene fossiliferous formations that provided a rich amphibian and reptile fauna. Most fossils were deposited in the channels after short transportation. Vegetation should have been rich in nearby areas, supporting a rich fauna. Ostracods, gastropods, amphibians and pelomedusid chelonians indicate fresh waters, although rare bivalves show that salt or at least brackish waters were not very far away. It is hypothesized that the species D. antunesi in the genus Diacodexis was more primitive than the earliest Wasatchian D. ilicis of North America, strongly supporting a Europe to America dispersal of this genus.

Fossil content The formation has provided the following fossils:

Mammals Primates Arcius zbyszewskii Donrussellia lusitanica Acreodi Mondegodon eutrigonus Artiodactyls Diacodexis antunesi Carnivora cf. Miacis sp. Miacidae indet. Cimolesta Ilerdoryctes cf. sigei "Condylartha" Microhyus reisi Ferae Dormaalocyon latouri cf. Viverravus sp. Glires Euromys cardosoi Corbarimys paisi Microparamys cf. nanus Hyaenodonta Didelphodus sp. Insectivora Russellmys denisae Apatemys sp. Heterohyus sp. Perissodactyls

Taeniodonta Eurodon silveirinhensis Theriiformes

Birds Charadriiformes Recurvirostridae Fluviatilavis antunesi Ornithurae Neornithes indet.

Reptiles Crocodiles Diplocynodon sp. Lizards

Snakes Dunnophis matronensis Boidae indet. Turtles Neochelys sp.

Amphibians Pelobatidae indet. Salamandridae indet.

Invertebrates Mollusks

Ostracods Cypris silveirinhaensis Ilyocypris lusitanicus ?Cyclocypris sp.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Silveirinha Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation

In research: Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation 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: Silveirinha Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alluvial deposits, Centro Region, Portugal, Conglomerate formations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Silveirinha Formation in simple terms?

Why does Silveirinha Formation 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 Silveirinha Formation?

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 Silveirinha Formation.