Monday, August 21, 2017

Greetings Infomaniacs,

I remember being blown away when the movie 'Jurassic Park' first came out in the nineties. Of course, the movies steadily went downhill after that, but I still remember thinking that this was one of those movies that will be remembered as a classic.

Fun fact: The movie features 17 real fossil species, and today we are going to learn about some of the actual ancient animals featured in the film.

Enjoy!

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "If we measured success by longevity, then dinosaurs must rank as the number one success story in the history of land life."

HINT: (1945- ), American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs.

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RANDOM TIDBITS
The terrifying Mosasaurus was not a dinosaur but a colossal marine lizard. It is thought to have had poor depth perception and a weak sense of smell. Scientists think that one of its main hunting techniques was lying in wait for prey near the water's surface and attacking when animals came up for air. In 2013, one mosasaur fossil found in Angola held the remains of three other mosasaurs in its stomach, providing evidence that the aquatic beasts might also have been cannibals.

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Among several dinosaurs that share traits with ostriches, Gallimimus may have employed an interesting feeding strategy. Because it was unable to physically chew the plants it consumed, Gallimimus also ingested pebbles, which would mash up the food internally during the digestion process.

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With its arched back and curved tail, the Ankylosaurus resembles the dinosaur version of a super-sized and much spikier armadillo. Thanks to the sharp, bony plates that line its back, along with a tail shaped like a club, Ankylosaurus has been given the nickname "living tank." Its main Achilles' heel was its soft, exposed underbelly, but predators would have had to flip the armored dinosaur over to get to this weak spot.

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The Edmontosaurus was a medium-size duck-billed dinosaur that dined on fruits and veggies. Nicknamed the "cow of the Cretaceous," these dinosaurs moved in herds of thousands that may have traversed thousands of miles during a single migration.

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The horns of the Triceratops have long fueled debate among scientists about their purpose. The latest research suggests that they likely served as identification and ornamentation. However, previous findings also uncovered Tyrannosaurs rex bite marks on Triceratops horns, indicating that the features could have been used for defense in certain cases.

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While it had a large body and several spiky plates that served as protection, the Stegosaurus had an exceptionally small brain for its body size-its brain has been compared to a walnut or lime. For some time, scientists believed the dinosaur had an ancillary group of nerves in a cavity above its rear end that helped to supplement its tiny noggin, but this hypothesis was later disproved.




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*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
What has 13 hearts, but no other organs?

Submit your answer by clicking: TheDailyTease

Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck! If your name appears in Friday's newsletter, EMAIL MICHELE your complete name and address to be shipped your prize.

Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "If we measured success by longevity, then dinosaurs must rank as the number one success story in the history of land life."

ANSWER: Robert T. Bakker.