biology

Watinoceras

Watinoceras 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 Watinoceras rather than just read about it. In short: Watinoceras is a genus of acanthoceratid ammonite that lived during the early Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Description Early whorls are compressed, finely ribbed with inner and outer ventrolateral and siphonal tubercles as in Neocardioceras, but siphonal row is soon lost.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Watinoceras is a genus of acanthoceratid ammonite that lived during the early Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.

Description Early whorls are compressed, finely ribbed with inner and outer ventrolateral and siphonal tubercles as in Neocardioceras, but siphonal row is soon lost. Later the venter may be concave between rows of ventrolateral clavi or rounded with ribs passing over in chevrons. Ornament usually becomes coarser with age. Derivation is from Neocardioceras, Watinoceras and Mammites gave rise to the other genera in the subfamily Acanthoceratinae. Older classifications included Watinoceras in the subfamily Mammitinae instead. Species include W. coloradoense, W. reesidei, and W. thompsonense.

Biostratigraphic significance The first occurrence of the species Watinoceras devonense marks the beginning of the Turonian.

Distribution Fossils of the genus have been found in:

Ponta das Salinas, Angola Cotinguiba Formation, Brazil Mungo River Formation, Cameroon Blackstone Formation, Alberta, Canada Second White Speckled Shale and Kaskapu Formations, British Columbia McKenzie River Valley, Pacific Northwest Mesitas del Colegio and Yaguará, Colombia Brießnitz Formation, Germany Agua Nueva and Indidura Formations, Mexico Eze-Aku Formation, Nigeria Draa el Miaad, Tunisia Mancos Shale, Arizona and New Mexico Greenhorn Formation, Colorado and Minnesota Colorado Group, Colorado and New Mexico La Luna Formation, Venezuela

References

Further reading W.J. Arkell et al., 1957. Mesozoic Ammonoidea, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology Pat L Mollusca 4. Geological Society of America and University of Kansas Press. J. Kennedy et al., 1999. Lower Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Watinoceras devonense Zone ammonite fauna in Colorado, USA. USGS Publications Warehouse - Citations View

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Watinoceras

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

In research: Watinoceras 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 Watinoceras 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: Watinoceras is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Acanthoceratidae, Ammonites of Africa, Ammonites of Europe, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Watinoceras 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 Watinoceras in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Watinoceras in simple terms?

Watinoceras is a genus of acanthoceratid ammonite that lived during the early Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Description Early whorls are compressed, finely ribbed with inner and outer ventrolateral and siphonal tubercles as in Neocardioceras, but siphonal row is soon lost.

Why does Watinoceras 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 Watinoceras?

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 Watinoceras.