biology

Sinocoelurus

Sinocoelurus 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 Sinocoelurus rather than just read about it. In short: Sinocoelurus (meaning "Chinese hollow tail", in reference to location and to relate the new genus to the North American Coelurus) is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Oxfordian-?Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Kyangyan Series of Sichuan, China. It is an obscure tooth taxon.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sinocoelurus (meaning "Chinese hollow tail", in reference to location and to relate the new genus to the North American Coelurus) is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Oxfordian-?Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Kyangyan Series of Sichuan, China. It is an obscure tooth taxon.

History In 1942, the Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian (in older references his name is given as C. C. Young) named this genus from IVP AS V232-234, a group of four isolated partial teeth found near Weiyuan, Guangyuan, Sichuan Basin. He described them as "long, slender, moderately curved and compressed; ridged anterior and posterior sides with no trace of serrations; enamel very thin". He considered the genus to be "coelurosaurian", which at that time meant a small theropod. The most distinctive characteristic of these teeth was their lack of serrations. Because of the small amount of material, Sinocoelurus has attracted little attention since its description, outside of reviews. It is usually considered a nomen dubium of either coelurosaurian\coelurid affinities (if the source predates the acceptance of Coelurosauria as a wastebasket taxon as traditionally used), or uncertain theropod affinities (if published after this). The most recent review classifies it as Tetanurae incertae sedis and dubious, while Wu et al. (2009) presume it belongs to a plesiosaur; either way, Sinocoelurus was a reptile.

Paleobiology As a small theropod, Sinocoelurus would have been an agile, bipedal carnivore.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sinocoelurus

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

In research: Sinocoelurus 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 Sinocoelurus 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: Sinocoelurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, Fossil taxa described in 1942, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sinocoelurus 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 Sinocoelurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Sinocoelurus in simple terms?

Why does Sinocoelurus 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 Sinocoelurus?

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 Sinocoelurus.