science

Struthioniformes

Struthioniformes is a science 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 Struthioniformes rather than just read about it. In short: Struthioniformes is an order of birds with a single extant family, Struthionidae, containing the ostriches. Several other extinct families are known, spanning across the Northern Hemisphere, from the Early Eocene to the early Pliocene, including a variety of flightless forms like the Palaeotididae, Geranoididae, Eogruidae and Ergilornithidae, the latter two thought to be closely related to Struthionidae.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Struthioniformes is an order of birds with a single extant family, Struthionidae, containing the ostriches. Several other extinct families are known, spanning across the Northern Hemisphere, from the Early Eocene to the early Pliocene, including a variety of flightless forms like the Palaeotididae, Geranoididae, Eogruidae and Ergilornithidae, the latter two thought to be closely related to Struthionidae.

Evolutionary history According to Mayr and Zelenkov (2021), all Struthioniformes are united by the following characters: "a very long and narrow tarsometatarsus with short trochleae for the second and fourth toes, a tubercle next to the pons supratendineus on the distal end of the tibiotarsus, as well as a shortening of all non-ungual phalanges of the fourth toe except for the proximal one" All known members of the group are thought to have been flightless. Struthioniformes were widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere during the Eocene, including Paleotididae from Europe, and Geranoididae from North America, and Eogruidae and Ergilornithidae in Asia. The discovery of Lumbreornis, belonging to either Paleotididae or Geranoididae, suggests that Struthiorniformes probably also inhabited South America during the Eocene. Ergilornthidae would persist in Asia into the Early Pliocene, while its sister group Struthionidae likely originated from Asia. Ostriches first appeared in Africa during the early Miocene, around 21 million years ago, before dispersing into Eurasia during the late Miocene, beginning around 12 million years ago.

Taxonomy After Mayr, and Zelenkov (2021)

Palaeotididae (Early mid-Eocene, Europe) Palaeotis Galligeranoides Geranoididae (Early-mid Eocene, North America) Unnamed clade Eogruidae (monotypic) Eogrus (mid-Late Eocene, Asia) Sonogrus (late Eocene, Asia) Unnamed clade Proergilornis (late Eocene, Mongolia) Unnamed clade Ergilornithidae (Late Eocene-Early Pliocene, Asia) Struthionidae (Early Miocene-Recent, Afro-Eurasia)

Gallery

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Struthioniformes

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Struthioniformes claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Struthioniformes 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 Struthioniformes 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 Struthioniformes

In research: Struthioniformes appears in science 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 Struthioniformes 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: Struthioniformes is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird orders, Ratites, Struthioniformes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Struthioniformes 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 Struthioniformes in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Struthioniformes in simple terms?

Why does Struthioniformes matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Struthioniformes?

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 Struthioniformes.