biology

Wulatelong

Wulatelong 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 Wulatelong rather than just read about it. In short: Wulatelong is an extinct genus of basal oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation (Campanian stage) of Bayan Mandahu, Linhe District of Inner Mongolia, northern China. It contains a single species, Wulatelong gobiensis.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wulatelong is an extinct genus of basal oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation (Campanian stage) of Bayan Mandahu, Linhe District of Inner Mongolia, northern China. It contains a single species, Wulatelong gobiensis.

History

The fossils of Wulatelong, representing a single nearly-complete skeleton, now cataloged IVPP V 18409, were discovered in 2009 in the Bayan Mandahu area of Wulatehouqi, Inner Mongolia, a fossil-rich area which has yielded many recent dinosaur discoveries. The authors of the paper describing Wulatelong had previously described the dromaeosaurid Linheraptor (2010), the alvarezsaurid Linhenykus (2011), and the troodontid Linhevenator (2011). Wulatelong was described by Xu et al. in 2013. The generic name derives from Wulate, where the fossils were discovered, and long, the Chinese word for "dragon". The specific name, gobiensis, refers to the Gobi Desert.

Classification Wulatelong is an oviraptorid dinosaur, the sister taxon of Banji. Oviraptorids were bird-like, herbivorous and omnivorous theropods characterized by toothless, parrot-like beaks, and often elaborate crests. They are known only from the Late Cretaceous of Asia.

Paleoecology Wulatelong shared their habitat in the Bayan Mandahu with a number of other dinosaurian fauna. These included the ceratopsians Protoceratops and Magnirostris, the ankylosaurian Pinacosaurus, and a number of other theropods: the dromaeosaurids Velociraptor, Papiliovenator and Linheraptor, the oviraptorosaurian Machairasaurus, the alvarezsauroid Linhenykus, and the troodontid Linhevenator. The authors of the paper describing Wulatelong concluded that the Bayan Mandahu fauna "differs fundamentally in composition from the classical Djadokhta fauna, perhaps because of a difference in age" or due to environmental factors.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wulatelong

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

In research: Wulatelong 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 Wulatelong 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: Wulatelong is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Campanian dinosaurs, Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wulatelong 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 “Wulatelong” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Wulatelong in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Wulatelong in simple terms?

Why does Wulatelong 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 Wulatelong?

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 Wulatelong.