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Wangisuchus

Wangisuchus 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 Wangisuchus rather than just read about it. In short: Wangisuchus is a dubious extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of China that is known from fragmentary fossil jaw bones. These bones were found at the Hsishihwa locality in the upper Ermaying Formation, which dates to the late Anisian stage about 242 million years ago.

Wangisuchus — main illustration
Wangisuchus — illustration

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wangisuchus is a dubious extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of China that is known from fragmentary fossil jaw bones. These bones were found at the Hsishihwa locality in the upper Ermaying Formation, which dates to the late Anisian stage about 242 million years ago. Wangisuchus was named in 1964 by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian, who described a single species, Wangisuchus tzeyii, on the basis of these bones.

Classification Yang classified Wangisuchus in the family Euparkeriidae, which also includes the much better known Euparkeria from the Early Triassic of South Africa. He diagnosed Wangisuchus by the following characters: long and low shape of the maxilla; pointed posterior process of the maxilla; rounded anterior margin of the maxilla; thecodont tooth implantation; crurotarsal (crocodile-like) structure of the ankle. Later authors noted that a calcaneum, or ankle bone, referred to Wangisuchus by Yang more closely resembles that of a suchian archosaur, although they didn't discuss whether IVPP V.2701 might be a suchian or euparkeriid. In their review of putative euparkeriids from China, Richard Butler and colleagues concluded that Wangisuchus is a nomen dubium at Archosauriformes indeterminate because its holotype lacked diagnostic characters, even though the thecodont tooth implantation pointed to a closer relationship to Archosauria than to Proterosuchus.

References

Illustrations

Wangisuchus illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wangisuchus

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

In research
Wangisuchus 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 Wangisuchus 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
Wangisuchus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anisian genera, Archosauriformes, Fossil taxa described in 1964, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Wangisuchus 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 Wangisuchus in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Wangisuchus means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Wangisuchus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wangisuchus in simple terms?

Wangisuchus is a dubious extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of China that is known from fragmentary fossil jaw bones. These bones were found at the Hsishihwa locality in the upper Ermaying Formation, which dates to the late Anisian stage about 242 million years ago.

Why does Wangisuchus 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 Wangisuchus?

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 Wangisuchus.

Tags

  • Anisian genera
  • Archosauriformes
  • Fossil taxa described in 1964
  • Fossils of China
  • Middle Triassic reptiles of Asia
  • Prehistoric reptile genera
  • Taxa named by Yang Zhongjian
  • Triassic China

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