biology

Tomlinsonus

Tomlinsonus 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 Tomlinsonus rather than just read about it. In short: Tomlinsonus is an extinct genus of marrellomorph arthropod known from the Late Ordovician (Katian) Kirkfield Formation of Ontario, Canada. It is a member of Marrellida, and closely related to Mimetaster.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Tomlinsonus is an extinct genus of marrellomorph arthropod known from the Late Ordovician (Katian) Kirkfield Formation of Ontario, Canada. It is a member of Marrellida, and closely related to Mimetaster.

Description Only a single partial specimen (ROMIP 66233) was recovered during fieldwork in September 2020, by amateur paleontologist Marc Haensel. This specimen preserves a mostly complete head and some appendages. Like other marrellids, the head is composed of a cephalic shield with pairs of spine-like projections, with two large pairs present in Tomlinsonus. These projections curve posteriorly. Like most other marrellids, these projections are covered in second-order spines. There is also a pair of smaller projections without spines extending posteriorly from the back of the head. Attached to the head is a pair of extremely elongate appendages, around 7 centimetres (2.8 in) in length, with 9 podomeres/segments, with a spine present on the end of the 8th podomere, which is the longest leg segment. There is also another, shorter moderately sized cephalic appendage with at least four podomeres, with fourth and distalmost podomere being triangular in shape. There were pairs of filamentous appendages running along the trunk.

Ecology The depositional environment of the Kirkfield Formation was an open marine carbonate platform. Tomlinsonus was likely a slowly moving animal that lived on the seafloor. It likely used the large first appendage pair to lift itself up off the substrate, and may have rested plantigrade on the 9th podomere to spread its bodyweight, while using its trunk biramous appendages to propel itself forwards.

Taxonomy In a phylogenetic analysis Tomlinsonus was found a member of Mimetasteridae, as the closest known relative of Mimetaster hexagonalis, with which it shares an enlarged uniramous first appendage, with the supposed Argentinian Mimetaster species "M." florestaensis found to be more closely related to Furca. After Moysiuk et al., 2022:

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tomlinsonus

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

In research: Tomlinsonus 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 Tomlinsonus 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: Tomlinsonus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossil taxa described in 2022, Fossils of Canada, Marrellomorpha, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tomlinsonus 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Tomlinsonus” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Tomlinsonus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Tomlinsonus in simple terms?

Why does Tomlinsonus 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 Tomlinsonus?

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 Tomlinsonus.