Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous
Period. Like other abelisaurids, Majungasaurus was a bipedal predator
with a short snout. Although the forelimbs are not completely known,
they were very short, while the hindlimbs were longer and very stocky.
It can be distinguished from other abelisaurids by its wider skull, the
very rough texture and thickened bone on the top of its snout, and the
single rounded horn on the roof of its skull, which was originally
mistaken for the dome of a pachycephalosaur. It also had more teeth in
both upper and lower jaws than most abelisaurids. Known from several
well-preserved skulls and abundant skeletal material, Majungasaurus has
recently become one of the best-studied theropod dinosaurs from the
Southern Hemisphere. It appears to be most closely related to
abelisaurids from India rather than South America or continental Africa,
a fact which has important biogeographical implications. Majungasaurus
was the apex predator in its ecosystem, mainly preying on sauropods like
Rapetosaurus, and is also one of the few dinosaurs for which there is
direct evidence of cannibalism.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majungasaurus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1126:
Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty of China abdicated in
favour of his son Qinzong.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Huizong_of_Song>
1535:
Conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Ciudad de los Reyes,
present-day Lima, Peru, as the capital of the lands he conquered for the
Spanish Crown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lima>
1915:
Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu issued the Twenty-One
Demands to China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-One_Demands>
1958:
African Canadian Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his
first game in the National Hockey League, breaking the colour barrier in
professional ice hockey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_O%27Ree>
1990:
In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Mayor of Washington,
D.C., Marion Barry was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Barry>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
scuttle:
(transitive) To deliberately sink a ship or boat by order of the
vessel's commander or owner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scuttle>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everyone has a belief system, B.S., the trick is to learn not
to take anyone's B.S. too seriously, especially your own.
--Robert Anton Wilson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson>
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