Xixiasaurus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous. The only known specimen (a partial skull, jaw with teeth, and forelimb) was discovered in Xixia County, Henan Province, in central China, and was given a species description in 2010. Xixiasaurus is estimated to have been 1.5 metres (5 ft) long and to have weighed 8 kilograms (18 lb). As a troodontid with some similarities to Byronosaurus, the genus would have been bird-like and lightly built, with grasping hands and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. Its skull was long, with a long, low snout that formed a tapering U-shape when seen from below. The frontal bone of the forehead was dome- like in side view, indicating an enlarged braincase. Troodontids had keen senses and were probably agile. The lack of serrated teeth indicates that Xixiasaurus and some other troodontids were herbivorous, as they had lost the ability to slice meat.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xixiasaurus

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1638:

The Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Anne Hutchinson from its ranks for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson

1913:

Phan Xích Long, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, was arrested for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina, which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_X%C3%ADch_Long

1942:

Second World War: The Royal Navy confronted Italy's Regia Marina at the Second Battle of Sirte in the Mediterranean Sea near the Gulf of Sirte. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Sirte

2014:

A massive landslide in Oso, Washington, killed 43 people after engulfing a rural neighborhood, the largest death toll for a standalone landslide in U.S. history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Oso_mudslide

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

dihydrogen monoxide: (inorganic chemistry, humorous) H₂O, water. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dihydrogen_monoxide

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

History is not made only by kings and parliaments, presidents, wars, and generals. It is the story of people, of their love, honor, faith, hope and suffering; of birth and death, of hunger, thirst and cold, of loneliness and sorrow.   --Louis L'Amour https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_L%27Amour