Istiodactylus was a pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous.
The first fossil of the genus was discovered on the Isle of Wight in
England. More specimens were later found, including a species from
China, I. sinensis, which possibly belongs to a different genus.
Istiodactylus (from Greek for "sail finger") was a large pterosaur;
estimates of its wingspan range from 4.3 to 5 metres (14 to 16 ft)
long. Its skull was about 45 centimetres (18 in) long, and was
relatively short and broad for a pterosaur. The front of the snout was
low and blunt, and bore a semicircle of 48 interlocked teeth. It had
very large forelimbs, with a wing-membrane distended by a long wing-
finger, but the hindlimbs were very short. It was a scavenger that may
have used its distinctive teeth to sever morsels from large carcasses.
The wings may have been adapted for soaring, which would have helped it
find carcasses. Istiodactylus is known from the Wessex Formation and the
younger Vectis Formation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istiodactylus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1833:
Noongar warrior Yagan (statue pictured), wanted for leading
attacks on white colonists in Western Australia, was killed, becoming a
symbol of the unjust and sometimes brutal treatment of the indigenous
peoples of Australia by colonial settlers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagan>
1921:
Former President of the United States William Howard Taft was
sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, making him the only
person to ever hold both positions.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft>
1943:
The bloodiest day of a massive ethnic cleansing operation took
place, where units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army attacked and burned
various Polish villages in the Volhynia region of present-day Ukraine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia_and_Eastern_Galicia>
1991:
Shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International
Airport, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 caught fire and
crashed, killing all 261 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_Airways_Flight_2120>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
athanor:
(historical) A furnace or stove designed and used to maintain uniform
heat, primarily used by alchemists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/athanor>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it
were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the
morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a
desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the
day.
--E. B. White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>