Nigersaurus - Facts and Figures

Nigersaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Nigersaurus (Greek for Niger lizard); pronounced NYE-jer-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of northern Africa Historical Period: Early Cretaceous (110 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 30 feet long and five tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Relatively short neck; hundreds of teeth in wide jaws About Nigersaurus Yet another Cretaceous feather in the cap of the globetrotting paleontologist Paul Sereno, Nigersaurus was a rather unusual sauropod, possessing a relatively short neck compared to the length of its tail; a flat, vacuum-shaped mouth packed with hundreds of teeth, arranged in about 50 columns; and almost comically wide jaws. Putting together these odd anatomical details, Nigersaurus seems to have been well adapted to low browsing; most likely it swept its neck back and forth parallel to the ground, hoovering up any vegetation within easy reach. (Other sauropods, which had much longer necks, may well have nibbled on the high branches of trees, though even this remains a matter of some dispute.) What many people dont know is that Paul Sereno didnt actually discover this dinosaur; the scattered remains of Nigersaurus (in northern Africas Elrhaz formation, in Niger ) were described by a French paleontologist in the late 1960s, and introduced to the world in a paper published in 1976. Sereno did, however, have the honor of naming this dinosaur (after studying additional fossil specimens) and publicizing it to the world at large. In typically colorful fashion, Sereno described Nigersaurus as a cross between Darth Vader and a vacuum cleaner, and also called it a Mesozoic cow (not an inaccurate description, if you ignore the fact that a full-grown Nigersaurus measured 30 feet from head to tail and weighed up to five tons!) Sereno and his team concluded in 1999 that Nigersaurus was a rebbachisaurid theropod, meaning it belonged to the same general family as the contemporary Rebbachisaurus of South America. Its closest relatives, however, were two intriguingly named fellow sauropods of the middle Cretaceous period: Demandasaurus, named after the Sierra la Demanda formation in Spain, and Tataouinea, named after the same bleak Tunisian province that may (or may not) have inspired George Lucas to invent the Star Wars planet Tatooine. (Yet a third sauropod, the South American Antarctosaurus, may or may not have been a kissing cousin as well.)

broken spears essays

broken spears essays Around 1519, a Spaniard by the name of Hernan Cortes sailed to what we now know as modern day Mexico. Diego Velazques, governor of Cuba, instructed Cortes to make contact with the New World. What was supposed to be an innocent journey of exploration and trading, became a horrific genocide of the Aztecs of the New World. Cortes was a violent, manipulative, and a greedy man. To give you an idea of the violence Cortes and his men were capable of committing, I would like to relate a passage of a Nahautl account, from the book by Miguel Leon-Portilla, Broken Spears: They ran in among the dancers, forcing their way to where the drums played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off his arms. Then they cut off his head, and it rolled across the floor. They attacked all the celebrants, stabbing them, spearing them, striking them with their swords. They attacked some of the from behind, and these fell instantly to the ground with their entrails hanging out. Others they beheaded: they cut off their heads, or split their heads to pieces. They struck others in the shoulders, and their arms were torn from their bodies. They wounded some in the thigh and some in the calf. They slashed others in the abdomen, and their entrails all spilled to the ground. Some attempted to run away but their intestines dragged as they ran; they seemed to tangle their feet in their own entrails. (xxvi) The previous passage took place during the Fiesta of Toxcatl. Although Cortes was not present at this time, I believe the actions of his men were a direct reflection of Cortes thirst for violence. I also came across different parts in the book where it described how Cortes and the Spaniards would hang, torture, and feed people to their dogs. Cortes was also involved in the killing of unarmed people in Cholula. Cortes would use any means necessary to conquer the Aztecs and rob them of their gold. Cortes most likely was a viol ...

Television and Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Television and Children - Essay Example This was agreed on by a number of agencies including the US Surgeon General, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, the American Psychology Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and many other scientific and public health agencies and organizations. Kunkel reports on three major conclusions of a National Television Violence Study which was carried out. The first was that the incidence of violence is indeed very high. According to the study 60% of approximately 10,000 programs sampled in the study contained violent material. The researchers identified an average of 6,000 violent interactions in a single week on 23 channels. The study also pointed out that the way in which violence is presented on television increases the harmful risk to children. The reasons suggested for this were that the harm caused by the violence on television is not portrayed realistically. The way violence is presented understates how much harm these acts in reality cause the victim. It also shows violence performed by role model who show no remorse and suffer no repercussions for their aggressive behavior. The third conclusion of the study was also worrisome. The portrayal of violence has remained consistent over the past years. This stability indicates that efforts are not effective to change the portrayal of violence on television. The potential for violence on television to lead to aggressive behavior in children is not the only negative effect of television viewing in young children. Children can develop a fear of the world around them when they are exposed to violent and scary happenings on television. These images can be seen by children on regular television shows or even on the news. When children cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy they can become affected