Ceratosaurus was a theropod dinosaur in the Late Jurassic, around 150 million years ago. This genus was first described in 1884 by American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh based on a nearly complete skeleton discovered in Garden Park, Colorado, in rocks belonging to the Morrison Formation. In 2000 and 2006, a partial specimen from the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal was described, providing evidence for the presence of the genus outside of North America. Ceratosaurus was a predator with deep jaws supporting long, blade-like teeth. It had a prominent, ridge- like horn on the midline of the snout and a pair of horns over the eyes. The forelimbs were very short but remained fully functional, with four- fingered hands. The tail was thick from top to bottom. It shared its habitat with other large theropods including Torvosaurus and Allosaurus. It may have hunted plant-eating dinosaurs or aquatic prey such as fish. The nasal horn was probably used solely for display.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratosaurus
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1735:
The opera Ariodante by George Frideric Handel was first performed in the Covent Garden Theatre, London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariodante
1904:
Blackstone Library, the first branch of the Chicago Public Library system, was dedicated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Library
1977:
Three bombs attributed to Armenian nationalists exploded across Moscow, killing 7 people and injuring 37. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Moscow_bombings
2004:
RMS Queen Mary 2, at the time the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, was christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_2
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
mind-boggling: That causes the mind to boggle; that is beyond one's ability to understand or figure out. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mind-boggling
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
An ancient Chinese curse runs, "May you live in interesting times." Since the fall of the Roman Empire, there has rarely been more interesting times than these. Whenever history becomes unstable and destinies hang in the balance, then magicians and messiahs appear everywhere. Our own civilization has moved into an epoch of permanent crisis and upheaval, and we are beset with a plague of wizards. They serve an historic purpose, for whenever a society undergoes radical change, alternative spiritualities proliferate, and from among these a culture will select a new world view. --Peter J. Carroll https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_J._Carroll