biology

Tienshanosaurus

Tienshanosaurus 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 Tienshanosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Tienshanosaurus (meaning "Tienshan lizard") is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of what is now China. Only one species is known, Tienshanosaurus chitaiensis, which was named and described in 1937.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Tienshanosaurus (meaning "Tienshan lizard") is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of what is now China. Only one species is known, Tienshanosaurus chitaiensis, which was named and described in 1937.

Discovery and classification On 11 September 1928 Chinese geology professor Yuan Fuli ("P.L. Yüan") discovered in Xinjiang the remains of about thirty adult and three juvenile sauropods, which he uncovered during the following weeks. The finds, including a fossilized egg, were sent to Beijing where they ultimately became part of the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. In 1937 paleontologist Yang Zhongjian ("C.C. Young") named the type species Tienshanosaurus chitaiensis. The generic name, suggested by Yuan, refers to the Tian Shan, the "heavenly mountains". The specific name refers to the location Chitai or Qitai. The holotype, IVPP AS 40002-3, was found near Paikushan, Luanshantze, in sandstone of the Shishugou Formation dating from the Oxfordian. It consists of elements of the postcrania. A considerable part of the skeleton is known but not the skull or the lower jaws. The body length has been estimated at twelve metres. In 1991 Ralph Molnar renamed Euhelopus zdanskyi to Tienshanosaurus zdanskyi, despite the species having priority over T. chitaiensis, made possible by the fact that Euhelopus is a renaming of the earlier Helopus. Meanwhile, Valérie Martin-Rolland renamed T. chitaiensis into Euhelopus chitaiensis. Due to the fragmentary nature of the material and a limited description, it has not been easy to establish the affinities of Tienshanosaurus. Originally classified in the Helopodinae, it has been assigned to many groups, among them the Astrodontidae, Euhelopodidae, Brachiosauridae, and Camarasauridae, but recent consensus (2011) has been to assign Tienshanosaurus to Mamenchisauridae.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tienshanosaurus

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

In research: Tienshanosaurus 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 Tienshanosaurus 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: Tienshanosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, Fossil taxa described in 1937, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tienshanosaurus 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 Tienshanosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Tienshanosaurus in simple terms?

Why does Tienshanosaurus 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 Tienshanosaurus?

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 Tienshanosaurus.