biology

Sinusonasus

Sinusonasus 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 Sinusonasus rather than just read about it. In short: Sinusonasus is a genus of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period, recovered from the Yixian Formation. It lived in what is now the Liaoning Province of China.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sinusonasus is a genus of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period, recovered from the Yixian Formation. It lived in what is now the Liaoning Province of China. Sinusonasus was a theropod, specifically a troodontid dinosaur. The type species, Sinusonasus magnodens, was named and described by Xu Xing and Wang Xiaolin in 2004. The generic name, derived from Latin sinus, "wave", and nasus, "nose", refers to the sinusoid form, in lateral view, of the nasals. The specific name means "big-toothed" from Latin magnus, "large" and dens, "tooth". In a later publication the species is referred to as "Sinucerasaurus" but this is a junior objective synonym. The holotype, IVPP V 11527, was found in the Lujiatun Member of the Yixian Formation, dating from the Hauterivian. It consists of a partial skeleton including skull and lower jaw fragments and partial tail, pelvis and hindlimbs. The fossil is compressed and partially articulated. Sinusonasus is a small troodontid. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at one metre, its weight at 2.5 kilogrammes. The femur is 141 millimetres long. In 2004, several distinguishing traits were established. An interantorbital channel, connecting the antorbital fenestrae at each skull side, is lacking. The nasal bone has an undulating profile. The middle maxillary teeth are rather large. The chevrons on the rear caudal vertebrae are so long, measured from the front to the back, that they connect, forming a continuous plate at the underside of the tail. The neck of the thighbone is elongated. More generally, the head is relatively short, equalling 77% of the length of the thighbone. There are at least nineteen maxillary teeth per side. The front teeth are not serrated: those more to the rear only have denticles at the trailing edge. Five sacral vertebrae are present; the tail probably consisted of about thirty vertebrae. The pubic bone probably pointed obliquely to the front. The ischium is elongated. Sinusonasus has a long lower leg, indicating a good running capacity. The foot is "arctometatarsal", with a 'pinched' upper third metatarsal. The second metatarsal is distinctly shorter than the fourth. The second toe bears a retractable 'sickle claw'. Sinusonasus was in 2004 placed in the Troodontidae. It was presumed to have had a rather derived position, despite living in the Early Cretaceous. This was by the describing authors not interpreted as an indication for a long ghost lineage, troodontids developing earlier during the Jurassic than had been thought, but explained by rapid evolutionary change after a Cretaceous origin of the group.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sinusonasus

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

In research: Sinusonasus 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 Sinusonasus 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: Sinusonasus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Barremian dinosaurs, Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sinusonasus 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Sinusonasus” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Sinusonasus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Sinusonasus in simple terms?

Sinusonasus is a genus of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period, recovered from the Yixian Formation. It lived in what is now the Liaoning Province of China.

Why does Sinusonasus 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 Sinusonasus?

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 Sinusonasus.