Thalassodromeus was a pterosaur (a flying reptile) that lived in what is now northeastern Brazil about 100 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. The original skull was discovered in 1983 in the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin. This genus had one of the largest known skulls among pterosaurs, around 1.42 metres (4 ft 8 in) long, with one of the largest cranial crests of any vertebrate in proportion to its skull. Running from the tip of the upper jaw to beyond the occiput at the back of the skull, the lightly built crest may have been used for thermoregulation or in display behaviour. The crest may not have fully developed until after sexual maturity. Though only the skull is known, the animal is estimated to have had a wingspan of 4.2 to 4.5 m (14 to 15 ft). The jaws were toothless, with sharp upper and lower edges and strong musculature. Thalassodromeus may have been able to kill and eat prey on the ground.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassodromeus
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1911:
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition began with the departure of SY Aurora from London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_Antarctic_Expedition
1939:
During the excavation of a 7th-century ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a helmet that is widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A6dwald_of_East_Anglia
1940:
At the Salzburg Conference, German dictator Adolf Hitler demanded the replacement of much of Slovakia's cabinet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg_Conference
1995:
Two followers of the Indian mystic Rajneesh were convicted of conspiring to assassinate Charles Turner, the U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rajneeshee_assassination_plot
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
lazaretto: 1. (historical) 2. A place reserved for people with infectious diseases (especially leprosy or plague) to live on a long-term basis. 3. (also figuratively) A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a ship, used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious diseases; a quarantine. 4. (by extension, nautical) A place at the front of the tweendecks of a merchant ship where provisions are stored. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lazaretto
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The deep desire to inspire people, to take an active part in the life of the country … attracts our best people to political life … We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see and not just complain about them. We owe that to our country. --Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis
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