100px|Artist's rendering of Deinosuchus rugosus
Deinosuchus is an extinct relative of the alligator that lived 80 to
73 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. The name is
derived from the Greek δεινός/deinos ("terrible") and σουχος/soukhos
("crocodile"). Although Deinosuchus was far larger than any modern
crocodile or alligator—measuring up to 12 m (40 ft) and weighing up to
8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons)—its overall appearance was fairly
similar to its smaller relatives. It had large, robust teeth that were
built for crushing, and its back was covered with thick semispherical
osteoderms. One study indicates that Deinosuchus may have lived for up
to 50 years, growing at a similar rate to that of modern crocodilians,
but maintaining this growth over a much longer period of time.
Deinosuchus fossils have been found in ten U.S. states, as well as
northern Mexico. It lived on both sides of the Western Interior Seaway,
and was an opportunistic apex predator in the coastal regions of
eastern North America. Deinosuchus reached its largest size in its
western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant.
Deinosuchus was probably capable of killing and eating large dinosaurs.
It may have also fed upon sea turtles, fish, and other aquatic and
terrestrial prey. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinosuchus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
The Dakota Territory, an organized incorporated territory of the United
States, was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and
South Dakota.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota>
1936:
The BBC Television Service launched as the world's first regular,
public all-electronic high-definition television service.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_One>
1949:
The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference ended with the Netherlands
agreeing to transfer sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to the United
States of Indonesia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch%E2%80%93Indonesian_Round_Table_Conference>
1960:
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales acquitted publisher
Penguin Books of obscenity in the publishing of Lady Chatterly's Lover
by D. H. Lawrence .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Chatterly%27s_Lover>
1963:
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam was assassinated, marking the
culmination of a coup d'état led by Duong Van Minh.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_and_assassination_of_Ngo_Dinh_Diem>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
unsub (n):
Abbreviation of unknown subject of an investigation
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unsub>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing
within our realm, I do hereby dissolve and abolish the Democratic and
Republican parties, and also do hereby decree the disfranchisement and
imprisonment, for not more than 10, nor less than five, years, to all
persons leading to any violation of this our imperial decree.
--Joshua A. Norton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joshua_A._Norton>
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