science

Vulpes skinneri

Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri rather than just read about it. In short: Vulpes skinneri is a species of extinct fox in the genus Vulpes from the early Pleistocene, identified based on fossil remains dated to about 2 million years ago. The species is known from a single partial skeleton discovered in the Malapa Fossil Site at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa and is associated with the fossil hominin remains of Australopithecus sediba.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Vulpes skinneri is a species of extinct fox in the genus Vulpes from the early Pleistocene, identified based on fossil remains dated to about 2 million years ago. The species is known from a single partial skeleton discovered in the Malapa Fossil Site at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa and is associated with the fossil hominin remains of Australopithecus sediba. The fossils have been dated to between 1.977 and 1.980 million years ago. Hartstone-Rose and colleagues described the remains as a newly discovered species of fox, which they named skinneri after the African mammalogist John Skinner.

Discovery The type specimen of V. skinneri was discovered during preparation of fossil bearing blocks from Malapa. The find was announced to the public on January 16, 2013. Also found at the Malapa archeological site were a variety of animal fossils, including saber-toothed cats, mongooses, and antelopes. Berger and geologist Paul Dirks speculated that the animals might have fallen into a deep, 100–150-foot (30–46 m) "death-trap", perhaps lured by the scent of water. The bodies may have then been swept into a pool of water rich with lime, and with sand at the bottom, making it possible for the remains to become fossilized.

Age estimates The fossil was dated using a combination of palaeomagnetism and uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating which showed that the fossils are not older than ~2.0 Ma. The occurrence of species of animal that became extinct at ~1.5 Ma indicate the deposit is not younger than 1.5 Ma. The sediments have a 'normal' magnetic polarity and the only major period between 2.0 and 1.5 Ma when this occurred is the Olduvai sub-Chron between 1.95 and 1.78 Ma. As such, the fossils were originally dated to ~1.95 Ma. Recent dating of a capping flowstone illustrated this was not possible and the normal magnetic polarity sediments have since been correlated to the 3000-year-long Pre-Olduvai event at ~1.977 Ma.

Morphology and interpretations

Three associated small canid specimens (an M2, a rib and a posterior mandibular fragment including the P4, M1, coronoid, condylar and angular processes) that were originally attributed to Vulpes cf. V. chama are reassigned to V. skinneri. In the paper describing the new specimens, the authors argue that “we compare these specimens to a broad sample of modern and fossil foxes and conclude that these specimens are distinct enough to be referred to a new species” of the early Pleistocene, identified based on fossil remains dated to about 2 million years ago.

References

External links

Hartstone-Rose, Adam; Kuhn, Brian F.; Nalla, Shahed; Werdelin, Lars; Berger, Lee R. (2013). "A new species of fox from the Australopithecus sedibatype locality, Malapa, South Africa". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 68: 1–9. Bibcode:2013TRSSA..68....1H. doi:10.1080/0035919X.2012.748698. S2CID 84695745. "Carnivore fossils from Malapa" (PDF). Lee Berger. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2023-06-24. "Images and Pictures of Australopithecus sediba and Malapa". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Free images and resources about "Australopithecus sediba" for educators and students]

Illustrations

Vulpes skinneri: The partial skeleton of the type specimen of Vulpes skinneri — The partial skeleton of the type specimen of Vulpes skinneri

Vulpes skinneri: A scaled picture of the mandible of Vulpes skinneri — A scaled picture of the mandible of Vulpes skinneri

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vulpes skinneri

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri

In research: Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri 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: Vulpes skinneri is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossil taxa described in 2013, Fossils of South Africa, Pleistocene carnivorans, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Vulpes skinneri in simple terms?

Why does Vulpes skinneri 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 Vulpes skinneri?

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 Vulpes skinneri.