Carnotaurus, a large theropod dinosaur, lived during the Late Cretaceous
period. Known from a single well-preserved skeleton found in Argentina,
it is a member of the Abelisauridae family, and one of the best-
understood theropods from the Southern Hemisphere. Carnotaurus (derived
from Latin for "meat-eating bull") had thick horns above the eyes, and a
very deep skull on a muscular neck. It was a lightly built, bipedal
predator, 8 to 9 m (26.2 to 29.5 ft) long, weighing at least 1.35
metric tons (1.49 short tons). It had small, vestigial forelimbs and
long and slender hindlimbs. Preserved skin impressions show a mosaic of
small scales interrupted by large bumps that lined the sides of the
animal. The horns and neck may have been used in fighting others of its
kind. Its feeding habits remain unclear: some studies suggest the animal
was able to hunt down very large prey, while other studies find it
preyed mainly on small animals. Carnotaurus may have been one of the
fastest large theropods.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnotaurus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1500:
Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral and his crew landed
in present day Brazil and claimed the land for Portugal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral>
1622:
An Anglo-Persian force combined to capture the Portuguese
garrison at Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Ormuz_(1622)>
1864:
The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act, authorizing the
minting of a two-cent coin, the first U.S. coin to bear the phrase "In
God We Trust".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Trust>
1969:
The British yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston won the Sunday Times
Golden Globe Race to complete the first solo non-stop circumnavigation
of the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Times_Golden_Globe_Race>
1983:
The West German news magazine Stern published excerpts from
what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, which were
subsequently revealed to be forgeries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Diaries>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
geoid:
(geography (geodesy)) The shape that the surface of the oceans of the
Earth would take under the influence of the Earth's gravity and rotation
alone, disregarding other factors such as winds and tides; that is, a
surface of constant gravitational potential at zero elevation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/geoid>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the
more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them:
the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.
--Immanuel Kant
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant>