science

Tachymarptis

Tachymarptis 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 Tachymarptis rather than just read about it. In short: Tachymarptis is a genus of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It contains the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) of Eurasia and Africa and the mottled swift (Tachymarptis aequatorialis) of Africa.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Tachymarptis is a genus of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It contains the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) of Eurasia and Africa and the mottled swift (Tachymarptis aequatorialis) of Africa. They are large swifts with relatively broad wings, a large head, a medium-length forked tail and white in the underparts.

Taxonomy The genus Tachymarptis was introduced in 1922 by the South African zoologist Austin Roberts with Hirundo melba Linnaeus, 1758, the alpine swift, as the type species. The name Tachymarptis comes from Greek takhus ("fast") and marptis ("seizer"). The genus contains two species:

Alpine swift, Tachymarptis melba Mottled swift, Tachymarptis aequatorialis They are often included in the genus Apus but they are larger than other members of that genus, their nestlings have a different foot structure and they host different species of feather lice. The species placed in Tachymarptis are not deeply nested inside Apus but represent a monophyletic sister lineage to this genus, in order that they can either be regarded as a distinct genus or lumped into a genus Apus with a broader definition. This latter view is the one retained by the Clements Checklist (2022).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tachymarptis

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

In research: Tachymarptis 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 Tachymarptis 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: Tachymarptis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Apodidae, Apodiformes stubs, Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tachymarptis 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 Tachymarptis in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Tachymarptis in simple terms?

Tachymarptis is a genus of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It contains the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) of Eurasia and Africa and the mottled swift (Tachymarptis aequatorialis) of Africa.

Why does Tachymarptis 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 Tachymarptis?

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 Tachymarptis.