biology

Stahleckeria

Stahleckeria 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 Stahleckeria rather than just read about it. In short: Stahleckeria is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Ladinian) dicynodonts. It lived about 237 million years ago in what is now Brazil and Namibia.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Stahleckeria is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Ladinian) dicynodonts. It lived about 237 million years ago in what is now Brazil and Namibia. As a member of the group Kannemeyeriiformes, it was similar to the genus Kannemeyeria. The genus is known from the type species Stahleckeria potens, which was first collected from the Ladinian-age Santa Maria Formation in the Paleorrota fossil site of Brazil. Stahleckeria was named in honor of Rudolf Stahlecker, who discovered the first specimens during a 1935 expedition led by paleontologist Friedrich von Huene to the Chiniquá fossil site.

Description

Skull of Stahleckeria measured 60 centimetres (2 ft) in length. It was a contemporary of the more common Dinodontosaurus. The differences between Stahleckeria and Dinodontosaurus may reflect adaptations to feeding on different plant species. In 2012, fossils of Stahleckeria potens were described from the Omingonde Formation in Namibia, which like the Santa Maria Formation is Ladinian in age. The Omingonde Formation is part of the Karoo Supergroup, which preserves many Triassic tetrapod fossils in southern Africa but notably lacks fossils in a hiatus called the "Ladinian gap". In addition to the remains of Stahleckeria potens, fossils of the cynodont Chiniquodon and an unidentified rauisuchian have also been found in the Omingonde deposits. The presence of these animals in South America and in Africa at the same time is strong evidence that the two continents were once one uninterrupted landmass with a uniform climate and habitat that land animals such as Stahleckeria could travel freely between. The fossils of Stahleckeria potens discovered in Brazil are currently in Germany in the museum of the University of Tübingen.

References

Bibliography Huene, F. von. 1936. "Die Fossilien Reptilien des südamerikanischen Gondwanalandes an der Zeitenwende (Denwa-Molteno-Unterkeuper = Ober-Karnisch)". Ergebnisse der Sauriergrabungen in Südbrasilien 1928/29. Lieferung 2:93-159. Huene, F. von. 1942. Die Fossilen Reptilien des Südamerikanischen gondwanalandes. C.H. Beck Verlag, Munich.

External links Brazilian Society of Paleontology

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stahleckeria

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

In research: Stahleckeria 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 Stahleckeria 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: Stahleckeria is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossil taxa described in 1935, Fossils of Brazil, Fossils of Namibia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stahleckeria 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 “Stahleckeria” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Stahleckeria in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Stahleckeria in simple terms?

Stahleckeria is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Ladinian) dicynodonts. It lived about 237 million years ago in what is now Brazil and Namibia.

Why does Stahleckeria 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 Stahleckeria?

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 Stahleckeria.