Thalassodromeus was a pterosaur (a flying reptile) that lived in what is
now northeastern Brazil about 100 million years ago, during the Early
Cretaceous. The original skull was discovered in 1983 in the Romualdo
Formation of the Araripe Basin. This genus had one of the largest known
skulls among pterosaurs, around 1.42 metres (4 ft 8 in) long, with one
of the largest cranial crests of any vertebrate in proportion to its
skull. Running from the tip of the upper jaw to beyond the occiput at
the back of the skull, the lightly built crest may have been used for
thermoregulation or in display behaviour. The crest may not have fully
developed until after sexual maturity. Though only the skull is known,
the animal is estimated to have had a wingspan of 4.2 to 4.5 m (14 to
15 ft). The jaws were toothless, with sharp upper and lower edges and
strong musculature. Thalassodromeus may have been able to kill and eat
prey on the ground.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassodromeus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1911:
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition began with the departure
of SY Aurora from London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_Antarctic_Expedition>
1939:
During the excavation of a 7th-century ship burial at Sutton
Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a helmet that is
widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A6dwald_of_East_Anglia>
1940:
At the Salzburg Conference, German dictator Adolf Hitler
demanded the replacement of much of Slovakia's cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg_Conference>
1995:
Two followers of the Indian mystic Rajneesh were convicted of
conspiring to assassinate Charles Turner, the U.S. attorney for the
District of Oregon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rajneeshee_assassination_plot>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
lazaretto:
1. (historical)
2. A place reserved for people with infectious diseases (especially
leprosy or plague) to live on a long-term basis.
3. (also figuratively) A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a
ship, used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of
infectious diseases; a quarantine.
4. (by extension, nautical) A place at the front of the tweendecks of a
merchant ship where provisions are stored.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lazaretto>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The deep desire to inspire people, to take an active part in the
life of the country … attracts our best people to political life …
We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see and not just
complain about them. We owe that to our country.
--Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis>