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Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America, about 75 million years ago. A member of the Hadrosaurid or duck-billed dinosaurs, it was a plant-eater that walked on two legs or all four. Three species are recognized: P. walkeri, P. tubicen, and the short-crested P. cyrtocristatus. Remains are known from Alberta, New Mexico, and Utah. It is known for its large, elaborate cranial crest, which forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull. The crest's purpose has been debated by scientists; possible functions include thermoregulation, visual recognition of both species and sex, and trumpeting. The genus was first described in 1922 by William Parks from a skull and partial skeleton in Alberta. Only a handful of good specimens are known. (more...)

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Tonelagee Mountain in the Glendasan valley in the Wicklow Mountains

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    On this day...

    August 1: First day of Ramadan (Islam, 2011); Imbolc in the Southern Hemisphere; Emancipation Day in Trinidad and Tobago

    Cars on the I-35W Mississippi River bridge after its collapse

  • 1291 – Three Swiss cantons signed the Federal Charter to create the Old Swiss Confederacy.
  • 1801First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captured the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
  • 1944World War II: The Polish Home Army began the Warsaw Uprising in Warsaw against the Nazi occupation of Poland, a rebellion that lasted 63 days until it was quelled by the Germans.
  • 1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discovered the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, North West England.
  • 2007Bridge 9340, carrying Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, suffered a catastrophic failure and collapsed (damage pictured), killing 13 people and injuring 145.
  • More anniversaries: July 31August 1August 2

    It is now August 1, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page
    Bronze medal encircled in a laurel wreath and inscribed "PDSA For Gallantry We Also Serve", held from a ring suspender by a ribbon of three equal vertical stripes of dark green, brown and pale blue.

    The Dickin Medal was established in 1943 in the UK by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in war. It is a bronze medallion bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown and pale blue. It is awarded to animals that have displayed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". The award is commonly referred to as "the animals' Victoria Cross". The first recipients were three pigeons in December 1943, serving with the Royal Air Force, all of which contributed to the recovery of air crew from downed aircraft during the Second World War. The most recent animal to be honoured is Treo, a black Labrador, for his "heroic actions as an arms and explosives search dog in Afghanistan". As of August 2011, the Dickin Medal has been awarded 63 times. (more...)

    Spitzkoppe, Namib Desert

    A 360° panorama of a portion of the Namib Desert with the Spitzkoppe (centre), a group of bald granite peaks or bornhardts, and the Pontok Mountains (centre-right) in the distance. The highest peak in the Spitzkoppe rises about 700 m (2,300 ft) above the desert floor, to a total of 1,784 m (5,853 ft) above mean sea level. Until modern times, climbing the peak presented a formidable challenge, owing to its isolation, the heat of the desert and the total lack of water.

    Photo: Ikiwaner

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