Siamosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur from what is now Thailand in the Early Cretaceous period. The first reported spinosaurid from Asia, it is confidently known only from tooth fossils (example pictured). The type species, Siamosaurus suteethorni (named for Thai palaeontologist Varavudh Suteethorn), was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur were provisionally identified as possibly those of Siamosaurus. Siamosaurus's body length is uncertain, but has been estimated at 5.1 to 9.1 metres (17 to 30 feet). The teeth, typically 62.5 millimetres (2.46 inches) long, were conical and had longitudinal grooves and wrinkled enamel. It would have had a long, low snout and robust forelimbs, and possibly a sail down its back. Its teeth are similar to those of other spinosaurids, and it may not be a dinosaur at all. Its teeth were suitable for impaling rather than tearing, and it may have eaten fish, pterosaurs and small dinosaurs. It lived in a semi-arid habitat of floodplains and rivers.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamosaurus
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
Common Sense, a pamphlet by Thomas Paine denouncing British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, was published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense
1901:
The first great gusher of the Texas oil boom was discovered in the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop
1946:
The first session of the United Nations General Assembly convened at the Methodist Central Hall in London with representatives from 51 member states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly
1966:
India and Pakistan signed the Tashkent Declaration to end the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashkent_Declaration
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
blooper: 1. (informal) A blunder, an error. 2. (baseball, slang) A fly ball that is weakly hit just over the infielders. 3. (film, informal) A filmed or videotaped outtake that has recorded an amusing accident and/or mistake. 4. (nautical) A gaff-rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft of the aftmost mast of a square-rigged ship; a spanker. 5. (US, dated) A radio which interferes with other radios, causing them to bloop (squeal loudly). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blooper
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice. Our Constitution and our Republic will overcome this stain and We the People will come together again in our never-ending effort to form a more perfect Union, while Mr. Trump will deservedly be left a man without a country. --Jim Mattis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_Mattis