science

Theropithecus oswaldi

Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi rather than just read about it. In short: Theropithecus oswaldi is an extinct species of Theropithecus from the Early to Middle Pleistocene of Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and India. The species went extinct in South Africa around 1 million years ago.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Theropithecus oswaldi is an extinct species of Theropithecus from the Early to Middle Pleistocene of Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and India. The species went extinct in South Africa around 1 million years ago. Having existed alongside hominins like Homo erectus, conflict with early humans likely played a role in their extinction, as a site has been found with many juveniles butchered.

Description It is remarkable for its large size compared to other Old World monkeys. One source projects a specimen of Theropithecus oswaldi to have weighed 72 kg (159 lb). Postcranial fossils found of this species are much greater in size than extant papionins, including the mandrill.

Palaeoecology According to δ13C values from fossils of the species from Swartkrans, T. oswaldi was a specialised grazer. A dental microwear study of T. oswaldi specimens from Swartkrans found that their dietary patterns were similar to geladas, yellow baboons, and mantled guerezas and would have included leaves and grasses in addition to fruits. A different dental microwear study based on fossils from the Omo Valley suggests that the diet of T. oswaldi, like that of the modern day gelada, consisted primarily of the aerial parts of herbaceous monocots and dicots. Yet another dental microwear study of T. oswaldi from Ahl al Oughlam in Morocco also evidenced that it primarily ate grasses. T. oswaldi fossils are also known from Elandsfontein, where they subsided on diets mainly composed of C3 plants as both browsers and grazers.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Theropithecus oswaldi

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi

In research: Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi 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: Theropithecus oswaldi is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossil taxa described in 1916, Fossils of India, Papionini, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Theropithecus oswaldi in simple terms?

Why does Theropithecus oswaldi 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 Theropithecus oswaldi?

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 Theropithecus oswaldi.