Edmontosaurus, a genus with the species E. regalis and E. annectens, was one of the largest duck-billed dinosaurs, up to 12 metres (39 ft) long and weighing around 4.0 metric tons (4.4 short tons). Widely distributed across western North America, especially in the coasts and coastal plains, it was a herbivore with small solid or fleshy crests that could move on two legs or four, and is thought to have lived in groups. It was named after Edmonton, Alberta; the first fossils were discovered in Alberta's Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Abundant fossils have allowed researchers to study its brain, feeding habits, pathologies, and even injuries, including in one case from a tyrannosaur attack. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks that date from 73 million years ago, while those of E. annectens (reconstruction pictured) are around 66 million years old, both in the Cretaceous Period. Edmontosaurus was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs, living alongside Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1841:

Giselle, a ballet by French composer Adolphe Adam, was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giselle

1880:

Police captured Australian bank robber and cultural icon Ned Kelly after a gun battle in Glenrowan, Victoria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly

1922:

The Irish Civil War began with an assault by the Irish Free State's National Army on the Four Courts building, which had been occupied by the Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Civil_War

1989:

President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević gave a speech in which he described the possibility of "armed battles" in the future of Serbia's national development. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan_speech

2005:

War in Afghanistan: Three U.S. Navy SEALs and 16 American Special Operations Forces soldiers were killed during a failed counter- insurgent mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Wings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

röck döts: (informal, humorous) Heavy metal umlauts; umlauts over letters in the name of a heavy metal band (as in "Motörhead", "Queensrÿche" and "Mötley Crüe"), added gratuitously for mere stylistic effect. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/r%C3%B6ck_d%C3%B6ts

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A country cannot subsist well without liberty, nor liberty without virtue.   --Jean-Jacques Rousseau https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau