Irritator was a spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil
about 110 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. It is known
from a nearly complete skull found in the Romualdo Formation of the
Araripe Basin. The genus name reflects the irritation of paleontologists
who found that the skull had been heavily damaged and altered by
collectors. Estimated at between 6 and 8 meters (20 and 26 ft) in
length, Irritator weighed around 1 tonne (1.1 short tons), making it one
of the smallest spinosaurids known. Its long, shallow and slender snout
was lined with straight and unserrated conical teeth. Lengthwise atop
the head ran a thin sagittal crest, to which powerful neck muscles were
likely anchored. A generalist diet—like that of today's
crocodilians—has been suggested. Irritator inhabited the tropical
environment of a coastal lagoon surrounded by dry regions. It coexisted
with other carnivorous theropods as well as turtles, crocodyliforms, and
a large number of pterosaur and fish species.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritator>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1809:
War of the Fifth Coalition: The French won a hard-fought
victory over Austria in Lower Bavaria when their opponents withdrew from
the field of battle that evening.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Teugen-Hausen>
1956:
Actress Grace Kelly became Princess consort of Monaco upon
marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly>
1971:
The first space station, Salyut 1, was launched from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam, Kazakh SSR, USSR.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_1>
2015:
In Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Freddie Gray died of injuries
sustained a week earlier while in the custody of the Baltimore Police
Department.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Freddie_Gray>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Bronx cheer:
(US, idiomatic) Synonym of raspberry (“a sound intended to resemble
flatulence made by blowing air out of the mouth while the tongue is
protruding from and pressed against the lips, used humorously or to
express disdain or scorn”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bronx_cheer>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles
with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this
passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any
more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he
took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among
yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the
vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave
thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which
is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup
after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which
is shed for you.
--Gospel of Luke
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Luke>