biology

Xiaosaurus

Xiaosaurus 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 Xiaosaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Xiaosaurus ("dawn lizard", ), is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the middle Jurassic (approximately 170.3 to 163.5 million years ago) of what is now the Sichuan Basin of China. Discovery and naming In 1979 and 1980, two specimens were discovered of a small herbivorous dinosaur during excavations near Dashanpu in Sichuan.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Discovery and naming In 1979 and 1980, two specimens were discovered of a small herbivorous dinosaur during excavations near Dashanpu in Sichuan. In 1983 Dong Zhiming and Tang Zilu named the fossils under the type species Xiaosaurus dashanpensis. The generic name is derived from Chinese xiáo, 曉, "dawn", a reference to the age of the fossil. The specific name refers to Danshanpu. The holotype, IVPP V6730A, was found in the lower Xiashaximiao Formation of which the age is uncertain: both the Bajocian and the Bathonian–Callovian have been proposed. It consists of a partial skeleton including a jaw fragment with a single tooth, two cervical vertebrae, four caudal vertebrae, a humerus, a partial left femur and a complete right hindlimb. The paratype IVPP V6730B is a second partial skeleton including a right femur, a dorsal vertebra, two sacral vertebrae, a phalanx, a rib and two teeth. In 1992 Peng Guangzhao renamed Agilisaurus multidens He & Cai 1983 (now Hexinlusaurus) into a second species of Xiaosaurus: Xiaosaurus multidens, but this has not been accepted.

Description Xiaosaurus was a small bipedal animal with an estimated length of 1 metre (3.3 ft). The femur is 11 centimetres (4.3 in) long.

Classification The remains are too fragmentary to easily classify the genus. The describers assigned it both to the Fabrosauridae and the Hypsilophodontidae, considering it an evolutionary link between Lesothosaurus and Hypsilophodon. Xiaosaurus has sometimes been considered a nomen dubium and an ornithischian of uncertain affinities, possibly a basal cerapod or marginocephalian. However, Paul Barrett et al. in 2005 concluded it to be provisionally valid, as it possessed a single unique derived trait or autapomorphy: a mediolaterally (seen from the front) straight humerus.

Notes

References DinoDictionary.com's entry for Xiaosaurus Archived 2007-10-02 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Xiaosaurus

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

In research: Xiaosaurus 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 Xiaosaurus 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: Xiaosaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bathonian dinosaurs, Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Xiaosaurus 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 Xiaosaurus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Xiaosaurus in simple terms?

Xiaosaurus ("dawn lizard", ), is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the middle Jurassic (approximately 170.3 to 163.5 million years ago) of what is now the Sichuan Basin of China. Discovery and naming In 1979 and 1980, two specimens were discovered of a small herbivorous dinos…

Why does Xiaosaurus 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 Xiaosaurus?

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 Xiaosaurus.