biology

Sthenarosaurus

Sthenarosaurus 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 Sthenarosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Sthenarosaurus (meaning "strong lizard") is an extinct genus of rhomaleosaurid pliosauroid discovered in the Toarcian-aged 'Main Alum Shale' (Commune subzone of Bifrons zone) in Whitby, England. The type species, Sthenarosaurus dawkinsi, was named and described in 1909 by D.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sthenarosaurus (meaning "strong lizard") is an extinct genus of rhomaleosaurid pliosauroid discovered in the Toarcian-aged 'Main Alum Shale' (Commune subzone of Bifrons zone) in Whitby, England. The type species, Sthenarosaurus dawkinsi, was named and described in 1909 by D. M. S. Watson. The type specimen is MMUM LL 8023, a set of postcrania discovered in Whitby. Other indeterminate specimens are known, including a pectoral girdle (pictured in taxobox) described in 1911. Plesiosaurian fossils were acquired for the Manchester Museum by William Boyd Dawkins who is honoured by the specific name.

Description The holotype is known from an incomplete skeleton with no skull. A precise reconstruction is not possible, but it is assumed that Sthenarosaurus was a small plesiosaur, reaching up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long when fully grown. The coracoids were short and thick, while the pelvis was broad and strong. The dorsal vertebrae possessed short, but very broad and high vertebral centers, with thick neural spines. Eighteen cervical vertebrae are preserved, and vary greatly in size: the largest is almost double the smallest; this suggests that if the entire neck had been made up of even a few more vertebrae than those preserved, the animal would have had a strange appearance, due to noticeable thinning of the neck in the head area.

Classification Sthenarosaurus has been placed in the Pliosauroidea within Plesiosauria since it was described in 1909. It was the sister taxon to Archaeonectrus (known at the time as "Plesiosaurus" rostratus), based on similarities in the shape of the shoulder blades, coracoids and cervical vertebrae. Compared to Archaeonectrus however, the cervicals of Sthenarosaurus were longer. It is possible that Sthenarosaurus represents a currently unknown clade of plesiosaurs.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sthenarosaurus

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

In research: Sthenarosaurus 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 Sthenarosaurus 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: Sthenarosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Early Jurassic plesiosaurs of Europe, Fossils of Great Britain, Sauropterygian genera, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sthenarosaurus 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.

Affiliate

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

How to study Sthenarosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Sthenarosaurus in simple terms?

Why does Sthenarosaurus 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 Sthenarosaurus?

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 Sthenarosaurus.