title: Triceratops

text: The front of the head was equipped with a large beak in front of the teeth. The core of the top beak was formed by a special rostral bone. Behind it, the premaxillae bones were located, embayed from behind by very large circular nostrils. In chasmosaurines, the premaxillae met on their midline in a complex bone plate, the rear edge of which was reinforced by the "narial strut". From the base of this strut, a triangular process jutted out into the nostril. "Triceratops" differs from most relatives in that this process was hollowed out on the outer side. Behind the toothless premaxilla, the maxilla bore thirty-six to forty tooth positions, in which three to five teeth per position were vertically stacked. The teeth were closely appressed, forming a "dental battery" curving to the inside. The skull bore a single horn on the snout, above the nostrils. In "Triceratops", the nose horn is sometimes recognisable as a separate ossification, the epinasal.


title: Triceratops

text: The skull also featured a pair of "brow" or supraorbital horns approximately long, with one above each eye. The jugal bones pointed to below at the rear sides of the skull and were capped by separate epijugals. With "Triceratops" these were not particularly large and sometimes touched the quadratojugals. The bones of the skull roof were fused. By a folding of the frontal bones, a "double" skull roof was created. In "Triceratops", some specimens show a fontanelle, an opening in the upper roof layer. The cavity between the layers invaded the bone cores of the brow horns.


title: Triceratops

text: At the rear of the skull, the outer squamosal bones and the inner parietal bones grew into a relatively short, bony frill, adorned with epoccipitals in young specimens. These were low triangular processes on the frill edge, representing separate skin ossifications or osteoderms. Typically, with "Triceratops" specimens there are two epoccipitals present on each parietal bone, with an additional central process on their border. Each squamosal bone had five processes. Most other ceratopsids had large parietal fenestrae, openings, in their frills, but those of "Triceratops" were noticeably solid, unless the genus "Torosaurus" represents mature "Triceratops" individuals. Under the frill, at the rear of the skull, a huge occipital condyle, up to in diameter, connected the head to the neck.


title: Triceratops

text: The lower jaws were elongated and met at their tips in a shared epidentary bone, the core of the toothless lower beak. In the dentary bone, the tooth battery curved to the outside to meet the battery of the upper jaw. At the rear of the lower jaw, the articular bone was exceptionally wide, matching the general width of the jaw joint. "T. horridus" can be distinguished from "T. prorsus" by having a shallower snout.


title: Triceratops

text: Chasmosaurines showed little variation in their postcranial skeleton. The skeleton of "Triceratops" is markedly robust. Both "Triceratops" species possessed a sturdy build, with strong limbs, short hands with three hooves each, and short feet with four hooves each. The vertebral column consisted of ten neck, twelve back, ten sacral and about forty-five tail vertebrae. The front neck vertebrae were fused into a syncervical. Traditionally, this was assumed to have incorporated the first three vertebrae which would imply that the frontmost atlas was very large and sported a neural spine. Later interpretations revived an old hypothesis by John Bell Hatcher that at the very front a vestige of the real atlas can be observed, the syncervical then consisting of four vertebrae. The vertebral count mentioned, is adjusted to this view. In "Triceratops" the neural spines of the neck are constant in height, instead of gradually sloping upwards. Another peculiarity is that the neck ribs only begin to lengthen with the ninth cervical vertebra.


title: Triceratops

text: The rather short and high vertebrae of the back were in its middle region reinforced by ossified tendons running along the tops of the neural arches. The straight sacrum was long and adult individuals show a fusion of all sacral vertebrae. In "Triceratops" the first four and last two sacrals had transverse processes, connecting the vertebral column to the pelvis, that were fused at their distal ends. Sacrals seven and eight had longer processes, causing the sacrum to have an oval profile in top view. On top of the sacrum a neural plate was present formed by a fusion of the neural spines of the second through fifth vertebrae. "Triceratops" had a large pelvis with a long ilium. The ischium was curved downwards. The foot was short with four functional toes. The phalangeal formula of the foot is 2-3-4-5-0.


title: Triceratops

text: Although certainly quadrupedal, the posture of horned dinosaurs has long been the subject of some debate. Originally, it was believed that the front legs of the animal had to be sprawling at a considerable angle from the thorax in order to better bear the weight of the head. This stance can be seen in paintings by Charles Knight and Rudolph Zallinger. Ichnological evidence in the form of trackways from horned dinosaurs and recent reconstructions of skeletons (both physical and digital) seem to show that "Triceratops" and other ceratopsids maintained an upright stance during normal locomotion, with the elbows flexed to behind and slightly bowed out, in an intermediate state between fully upright and fully sprawling, comparable to the modern rhinoceros.


title: Triceratops

text: The hands and forearms of "Triceratops" retained a fairly primitive structure compared to other quadrupedal dinosaurs such as thyreophorans and many sauropods. In those two groups, the forelimbs of quadrupedal species were usually rotated so that the hands faced forward with palms backward ("pronated") as the animals walked. "Triceratops", like other ceratopsians and the related quadrupedal ornithopods, together forming the Cerapoda, walked with most of their fingers pointing out and away from the body, the original condition for dinosaurs, also retained by bipedal forms like the theropods. In "Triceratops", the weight of the body was carried by only the first three fingers of the hand, while digits 4 and 5 were vestigial and lacked claws or hooves. The phalangeal formula of the hand is 2-3-4-3-1, meaning that the first or innermost finger of the forelimb has two bones, the next has three, etc.


title: Triceratops

text: Preserved skin from the body of "Triceratops" is known. These consist of large scales, some of which exceed across, which have conical projections rising from their center. A preserved piece of skin from the frill of a specimen is also known, which consists of small polygonal basement scales.


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" is the best-known genus of the Ceratopsidae, a family of large, mostly North American horned dinosaurs. The exact relationship of "Triceratops" among the ceratopsids has been debated over the years. Confusion stemmed mainly from the combination of a short, solid frill (similar to that of Centrosaurinae), with long brow horns (more akin to Chasmosaurinae). In the first overview of horned dinosaurs, R. S. Lull hypothesized the existence of two lineages, one of "Monoclonius" and "Centrosaurus" leading to "Triceratops", the other with "Ceratops" and "Torosaurus", making "Triceratops" a centrosaurine as the group is understood today. Later revisions supported this view, Lawrence Lambe in 1915 formally describing the first, short-frilled group as the Centrosaurinae (including "Triceratops"), and the second, long-frilled group as the Chasmosaurinae.


title: Triceratops

text: In 1949, Charles M. Sternberg was the first to question this position, proposing instead that "Triceratops" was more closely related to "Arrhinoceratops" and "Chasmosaurus" based on skull and horn features, making "Triceratops" a chasmosaurine ("ceratopsine" in his usage) genus. He was largely ignored, with John Ostrom and later David Norman placing "Triceratops" within the Centrosaurinae.


title: Triceratops

text: Subsequent discoveries and analyses, however, proved the correctness of Sternberg's view on the position of "Triceratops", with Thomas Lehman defining both subfamilies in 1990 and diagnosing "Triceratops" as "ceratopsine" on the basis of several morphological features. Apart from the one feature of a shortened frill, "Triceratops" shares no derived traits with centrosaurines. Further research by Peter Dodson, including a 1990 cladistic analysis and a 1993 study using RFTRA (resistant-fit theta-rho analysis), a morphometric technique which systematically measures similarities in skull shape, reinforces "Triceratops" placement in the chasmosaurines.


title: Triceratops

text: The cladogram below follows Longrich (2014), who named a new species of "Pentaceratops", and included nearly all species of chasmosaurine.


title: Triceratops

text: For many years after its discovery, the deeper evolutionary origins of "Triceratops" and its close relatives remained largely obscure. In 1922, the newly discovered "Protoceratops" was seen as its ancestor by Henry Fairfield Osborn, but many decades passed before additional findings came to light. Recent years have been fruitful for the discovery of several antecedents of "Triceratops". "Zuniceratops", the earliest-known ceratopsian with brow horns, was described in the late 1990s, and "Yinlong", the first known Jurassic ceratopsian, in 2005.


title: Triceratops

text: These new finds have been vital in illustrating the origins of horned dinosaurs in general, suggesting an Asian origin in the Jurassic, and the appearance of truly horned ceratopsians by the beginning of the Late Cretaceous in North America.


title: Triceratops

text: In phylogenetic taxonomy, the genus "Triceratops" has been used as a reference point in the definition of Dinosauria; dinosaurs have been designated as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of "Triceratops" and modern birds. Furthermore, the bird-hipped dinosaurs have been defined as those dinosaurs more closely related to "Triceratops" than to modern birds.


title: Triceratops

text: Although "Triceratops" are commonly portrayed as herding animals, there is currently little evidence that they lived in herds. While several other genera of horned dinosaurs are known from bone beds preserving bones from two to hundreds or thousands of individuals, to date there is only one documented bonebed dominated by "Triceratops" bones: a site in southeastern Montana with the remains of three juveniles. It may be significant that only juveniles were present. In 2012, a group of three "Triceratops" in relatively complete condition, each of varying sizes from a full-grown adult to a small juvenile, were found near Newcastle, Wyoming. The remains are currently under excavation by paleontologist Peter Larson and a team from the Black Hills Institute. It is believed that the animals were traveling as a family unit, but it remains unknown if the group consists of a mated pair and their offspring, or two females and a juvenile they were caring for. The remains also show signs of predation or scavenging from "Tyrannosaurus", particularly on the largest specimen, with the bones of the front limbs showing breakage and puncture wounds from "Tyrannosaurus" teeth. In 2020 Illies and Fowler described the co-ossified distal caudal vertebrae of "Triceratops". According to them, this pathology could have arisen after one "Triceratops" accidentally stepped on the tail of another member of the herd.


title: Triceratops

text: For many years, "Triceratops" finds were known only from solitary individuals. These remains are very common; for example, Bruce Erickson, a paleontologist of the Science Museum of Minnesota, has reported having seen 200 specimens of "T. prorsus" in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. Similarly, Barnum Brown claimed to have seen over 500 skulls in the field. Because "Triceratops" teeth, horn fragments, frill fragments, and other skull fragments are such abundant fossils in the Lancian faunal stage of the late Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous, 66 mya) Period of western North America, it is regarded as among the dominant herbivores of the time, if not the most dominant herbivore. In 1986, Robert Bakker estimated it as making up five sixths of the large dinosaur fauna at the end of the Cretaceous. Unlike most animals, skull fossils are far more common than postcranial bones for "Triceratops", suggesting that the skull had an unusually high preservation potential.


title: Triceratops

text: Analysis of the endocranial anatomy of "Triceratops" suggest its sense of smell was poor compared to that of other dinosaurs. Its ears were attuned to low frequency sounds given the short cochlear lengths recorded in an analysis by Sakagami "et al,". This same study also suggests that "Triceratops" held its head about 45 degrees to the ground; an angle which would showcase the horns and frill most effectively while simultaneously allowing the animal to take advantage of food through grazing.


title: Triceratops

text: A 2022 study by Wiemann and colleagues of various dinosaur genera including "Triceratops" suggests that it had an ectothermic (cold blooded) or gigantothermic metabolism, on par with that of modern reptiles. This was uncovered using the spectroscopy of lipoxidation signals, which are byproducts of oxidative phosphorylation and correlate with metabolic rates. They suggested that such metabolisms may have been common for ornithischian dinosaurs in general, with the group evolving towards ectothermy from an ancestor with an endothermic (warm blooded) metabolism.


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" were herbivorous, and because of their low slung head, their primary food was probably low growing vegetation, although they may have been able to knock down taller plants with their horns, beak, and bulk. The jaws were tipped with a deep, narrow beak, believed to have been better at grasping and plucking than biting.


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" teeth were arranged in groups called batteries, of 36 to 40 tooth columns in each side of each jaw, with 3 to 5 stacked teeth per column, depending on the size of the animal. This gives a range of 432 to 800 teeth, of which only a fraction were in use at any given time (Tooth replacement was continuous throughout the life of the animal). They functioned by shearing in a vertical to near-vertical orientation. The great size and numerous teeth of "Triceratops" suggests that they ate large volumes of fibrous plant material, with some researchers suggesting palms and cycads, and others suggesting ferns, which then grew in prairies.


title: Triceratops

text: There has been much speculation over the functions of "Triceratops" head adornments. The two main theories have revolved around use in combat and in courtship display, with the latter now thought to be the most likely primary function.


title: Triceratops

text: Early on, Lull postulated that the frills may have served as anchor points for the jaw muscles to aid chewing by allowing increased size and thus power for the muscles. This has been put forward by other authors over the years, but later studies do not find evidence of large muscle attachments on the frill bones.


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" were long thought to have used their horns and frills in combat with predators such as "Tyrannosaurus", the idea being discussed first by Charles H. Sternberg in 1917 and 70 years later by Robert Bakker. There is evidence that "Tyrannosaurus" did have aggressive head-on encounters with "Triceratops", based on partially healed tyrannosaur tooth marks on a "Triceratops" brow horn and squamosal; the bitten horn is also broken, with new bone growth after the break. Which animal was the aggressor is not known. Since the "Triceratops" wounds healed, it is most likely that the "Triceratops" survived the encounter. Paleontologist Peter Dodson estimates that in a battle against a bull Triceratops, the Triceratops had the upper hand and would successfully defend itself by inflicting fatal wounds to the Tyrannosaurus using its sharp horns. "Tyrannosaurus" is also known to have fed on "Triceratops", as shown by a heavily tooth-scored "Triceratops" ilium and sacrum.


title: Triceratops

text: In addition to combat with predators using horns, "Triceratops" are popularly shown engaging each other in combat with horns locked. While studies show that such activity would be feasible, if unlike that of present-day horned animals, there is disagreement about whether they did so. Although pitting, holes, lesions, and other damage on "Triceratops" skulls (and the skulls of other ceratopsids) are often attributed to horn damage in combat, a 2006 study finds no evidence for horn thrust injuries causing these forms of damage (for example, there is no evidence of infection or healing). Instead, non-pathological bone resorption, or unknown bone diseases, are suggested as causes. A newer study compared incidence rates of skull lesions and periosteal reaction in "Triceratops" and "Centrosaurus" and showed that these were consistent with "Triceratops" using its horns in combat and the frill being adapted as a protective structure, while lower pathology rates in "Centrosaurus" may indicate visual rather than physical use of cranial ornamentation, or a form of combat focused on the body rather than the head. The frequency of injury was found to be 14% in "Triceratops". The researchers also concluded that the damage found on the specimens in the study was often too localized to be caused by bone disease. Histological examination reveals that the frill of "Triceratops" is composed of fibrolamellar bone which contains fibroblasts that play a critical role in wound healing, and are capable of rapidly depositing bone during remodeling.


title: Triceratops

text: One skull was found with a hole in the jugal bone, apparently a puncture wound sustained while the animal was alive, as indicated by signs of healing. The hole has a diameter close to that of the distal end of a "Triceratops" horn. This, and other apparent healed wounds in the skulls of ceratopsians, has been cited as evidence of non-fatal intraspecific competition in these dinosaurs. Another specimen, referred to as "Big John" has a similar fenestra to the squamosal caused by what appears to be another "Triceratops" horn, and the squamosal bone shows signs of significant healing, further vindicating the hypothesis that this ceratopsian used its horns for intra-specific combat.


title: Triceratops

text: The large frill also may have helped to increase body area to regulate body temperature. A similar theory has been proposed regarding the plates of "Stegosaurus", although this use alone would not account for the bizarre and extravagant variation seen in different members of the Ceratopsidae, which would rather support the sexual display theory.


title: Triceratops

text: The theory that frills functioned as a sexual display was first proposed by Davitashvili in 1961 and has gained increasing acceptance since. Evidence that visual display was important, either in courtship or other social behavior, can be seen in the horned dinosaurs differing markedly in their adornments, making each species highly distinctive. Also, modern living creatures with such displays of horns and adornments use them similarly. A 2006 study of the smallest "Triceratops" skull, ascertained to be a juvenile, shows the frill and horns developed at a very early age, predating sexual development and thus probably important for visual communication and species recognition in general. The use of the exaggerated structures to enable dinosaurs to recognize their own species has been questioned, as no such function exists for such structures in modern species.


title: Triceratops

text: In 2006, the first extensive ontogenetic study of "Triceratops" was published in the journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society". The study, by John R. Horner and Mark Goodwin, found that individuals of "Triceratops" could be divided into four general ontogenetic groups: babies, juveniles, subadults, and adults. With a total number of 28 skulls studied, the youngest was only long. Ten of the 28 skulls could be placed in order in a growth series with one representing each age. Each of the four growth stages were found to have identifying features. Multiple ontogenetic trends were discovered, including the size reduction of the epoccipitals, development and reorientation of postorbital horns, and hollowing out of the horns.


title: Triceratops

text: "Torosaurus" is a ceratopsid genus first identified from a pair of skulls in 1891, two years after the identification of "Triceratops" by Charles Marsh. The genus "Torosaurus" resembles "Triceratops" in geological age, distribution, anatomy and size and it has been recognised as a close relative. Its distinguishing features are an elongated skull and the presence of two fenestrae, or holes, in the frill. Paleontologists investigating dinosaur ontogeny (growth and development of individuals over the life span) in Montana's Hell Creek Formation have recently presented evidence that the two represent a single genus.


title: Triceratops

text: John Scannella, in a paper presented in Bristol at the conference of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (September 25, 2009), reclassified "Torosaurus" as especially mature "Triceratops" individuals, perhaps representing a single sex. Horner, Scannella's mentor at Bozeman Campus, Montana State University, noted that ceratopsian skulls consist of metaplastic bone. A characteristic of metaplastic bone is that it lengthens and shortens over time, extending and resorbing to form new shapes. Significant variety is seen even in those skulls already identified as "Triceratops", Horner said, "where the horn orientation is backwards in juveniles and forward in adults". Approximately 50% of all subadult "Triceratops" skulls have two thin areas in the frill that correspond with the placement of "holes" in "Torosaurus" skulls, suggesting that holes developed to offset the weight that would otherwise have been added as maturing "Triceratops" individuals grew longer frills. A paper describing these findings in detail was published in July 2010 by Scannella and Horner. It formally argues that "Torosaurus" and the similar contemporary "Nedoceratops" are synonymous with "Triceratops".


title: Triceratops

text: The assertion ignited debate. Andrew Farke had in 2006 stressed that, apart from the frill, no systematic differences could be found between "Torosaurus" and "Triceratops". He nevertheless disputed Scannella's conclusion by arguing in 2011 that the proposed morphological changes required to "age" a "Triceratops" into a "Torosaurus" would be without precedent among ceratopsids. Such changes would include the growth of additional epoccipitals, reversion of bone texture from an adult to immature type and back to adult again, and growth of frill holes at a later stage than usual. A study by Nicholas Longrich and Daniel Field analyzed 35 specimens of both "Triceratops" and "Torosaurus". The authors concluded that "Triceratops" individuals too old to be considered immature forms are represented in the fossil record, as are "Torosaurus" individuals too young to be considered fully mature adults. The synonymy of "Triceratops" and "Torosaurus" cannot be supported, they said, without more convincing intermediate forms than Scannella and Horner initially produced. Scannella's "Triceratops" specimen with a hole on its frill, they argued, could represent a diseased or malformed individual rather than a transitional stage between an immature "Triceratops" and mature "Torosaurus" form.


title: Triceratops

text: Opinion has varied on the validity of a separate genus for "Nedoceratops". Scannella and Horner regarded it as an intermediate growth stage between "Triceratops" and "Torosaurus". Farke, in his 2011 redescription of the only known skull, concluded that it was an aged individual of its own valid taxon, "Nedoceratops hatcheri". Longrich and Fields also did not consider it a transition between "Torosaurus" and "Triceratops", suggesting that the frill holes were pathological.


title: Triceratops

text: As described above, Scannella had argued in 2010 that "Nedoceratops" should be considered a synonym of "Triceratops". Farke (2011) maintained that it represents a valid distinct genus. Longrich agreed with Scannella about "Nedoceratops" and made a further suggestion: that the recently described "Ojoceratops" was likewise a synonym. The fossils, he argued, are indistinguishable from the "Triceratops horridus" specimens that were previously attributed to the defunct species "Triceratops serratus".


title: Triceratops

text: Longrich observed that another newly described genus, "Tatankaceratops", displayed a strange mix of characteristics already found in adult and juvenile "Triceratops". Rather than representing a distinct genus, "Tatankaceratops" could as easily represent a dwarf "Triceratops" or a "Triceratops" individual with a developmental disorder that caused it to stop growing prematurely.


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" lived during the Late Cretaceous of North America, its fossils coming from the Evanston Formation, Scollard Formation, Laramie Formation, Lance Formation, Denver Formation, and Hell Creek Formation. These fossil formations date back to the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which has been dated to 66 ± 0.07 million years ago. Many animals and plants have been found in these formations, but mostly from the Lance Formation and Hell Creek Formation. "Triceratops" was one of the last ceratopsian genera to appear before the end of the Mesozoic. The related "Torosaurus", and the more distantly related diminutive "Leptoceratops", were also present, though their remains have been rarely encountered.


title: Triceratops

text: Theropods from these formations include genera of dromaeosaurids, tyrannosaurids, ornithomimids, troodontids, avialans, and caenagnathids,


title: Triceratops

text: Dromaeosaurids from the Hell Creek Formation are "Acheroraptor" and "Dakotaraptor". Indeterminate dromaeosaurs are known from other fossil formations. Common teeth previously referred to "Dromaeosaurus" and "Saurornitholestes" later were considered to be "Acheroraptor".


title: Triceratops

text: The tyrannosaurids from the formation are "Nanotyrannus" and "Tyrannosaurus", although the former might be a junior synonym of the latter.


title: Triceratops

text: Among ornithomimids are the genera "Struthiomimus" as well as "Ornithomimus"; an undescribed animal named "Orcomimus" could be from the formation.


title: Triceratops

text: Troodontids are only represented by "Pectinodon" and "Paronychodon" in the Hell Creek Formation; with a possible species of "Troodon" from the Lance Formation.


title: Triceratops

text: One species of coelurosaur is known from Hell Creek and similar formations by a single species, "Richardoestesia".


title: Triceratops

text: Only three oviraptorosaurs are from the Hell Creek Formation: "Anzu", "Leptorhynchos" and a giant species of caenagnathid, very similar to "Gigantoraptor", from South Dakota. However, only fossilized foot prints were discovered.


title: Triceratops

text: The avialans known from the formation are "Avisaurus", multiple species of "Brodavis", and several other species of hesperornithoforms, as well as several species of true birds, including "Cimolopteryx".


title: Triceratops

text: Ornithischians are abundant in the Scollard, Laramie, Lance, Denver, and Hell Creek Formation. The main groups of ornithischians are ankylosaurians, ornithopods, ceratopsians, and pachycephalosaurians.


title: Triceratops

text: Three ankylosaurians are known: "Ankylosaurus", "Denversaurus", and possibly a species of "Edmontonia" or an undescribed genus.


title: Triceratops

text: Multiple genera of ceratopsians are known from the formation other than "Triceratops", the leptoceratopsid "Leptoceratops", and the chasmosaurine ceratopsids "Torosaurus", "Nedoceratops" and "Tatankaceratops".


title: Triceratops

text: Ornithopods are common in the Hell Creek Formation, and are known from several species of the ornithopod "Thescelosaurus" and the hadrosaurid "Edmontosaurus".


title: Triceratops

text: Several pachycephalosaurians have been found in the Hell Creek Formation and in similar formations. Among them are the derived pachycephalosaurids "Stygimoloch", "Dracorex", "Pachycephalosaurus", "Sphaerotholus", and an undescribed specimen from North Dakota. The first two might be junior synonyms of "Pachycephalosaurus".


title: Triceratops

text: Mammals are plentiful in the Hell Creek Formation. Groups represented include multituberculates, metatherians, and eutherians:


title: Triceratops

text: The multituberculates represented include "Paracimexomys"; the cimolomyids "Paressonodon", "Meniscoessus", "Essonodon", "Cimolomys", "Cimolodon", and "Cimexomys"; and the neoplagiaulacids "Mesodma", and "Neoplagiaulax".


title: Triceratops

text: The metatherians are represented by the alphadontids "Alphadon", "Protalphodon", and "Turgidodon"; the pediomyids "Pediomys", "Protolambda", and "Leptalestes"; the stagodontid "Didelphodon"; the deltatheridiid "Nanocuris"; the herpetotheriid "Nortedelphys"; and the glasbiid "Glasbius".


title: Triceratops

text: A few eutherians are known, being represented by "Alostera"; "Protungulatum"; the cimolestids "Cimolestes" and "Batodon"; the gypsonictopsid "Gypsonictops"; and the possible nyctitheriid "Paranyctoides".


title: Triceratops

text: "Triceratops" is the opisyal state fossil of South Dakota (US), and the official state dinosaur of Wyoming (US).


title: Triceratops

text: In 1942, Charles R. Knight painted a mural incorporating a confrontation between a "Tyrannosaurus" and a "Triceratops" in the Field Museum of Natural History for the National Geographic Society, establishing them as enemies in the popular imagination. Paleontologist Bob Bakker said of the imagined rivalry between "Tyrannosaurus" and "Triceratops", "No matchup between predator and prey has ever been more dramatic. It's somehow fitting that those two massive antagonists lived out their co-evolutionary belligerence through the last days of the last epoch of the Age of Dinosaurs."


title: Valter Skarsgård

text: Skarsgård is the youngest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and My Skarsgård, a physician. He has seven siblings, five of whom are from his father's first marriage: Alexander, Gustaf, Sam, Bill, and Eija. He has two half-brothers, Ossian and Kolbjörn, from his father's second marriage. Valter Skarsgård studied at S:t Eriks gymnasium.


title: Kings of Leon

text: Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and garage rock with blues influences, but it has evolved throughout the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band's albums at the time peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, "Because of the Times", reached No. 1.


title: Kings of Leon

text: After the release of "Only by the Night" in September 2008, the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles "Sex on Fire", "Use Somebody", and "Notion" all peaked at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was their first platinum-selling album in the United States, and the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia, being certified platinum nine times. The band's fifth album, "Come Around Sundown", was released on October 18, 2010. Their sixth album, "Mechanical Bull", was released on September 24, 2013. The seventh studio album, "Walls", was released on October 14, 2016. Their eighth studio album, "When You See Yourself", was released on March 5, 2021. The group has 12 Grammy Award nominations, including 4 wins.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The three Followill brothers (Matthew is their cousin) grew up in Oklahoma and Tennessee with their father, Ivan Leon Followill, a United Pentecostal Church preacher, and their mother, Betty-Ann. Nathan was born in Oklahoma, and Jared and Caleb were born in and around Memphis, Tennessee. Jared attended Mount Juliet High School, while Matthew was born and raised in Mississippi. According to "Rolling Stone" magazine, "While Ivan preached at churches and tent revivals throughout Oklahoma and the Deep South, his boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to "bang on some drums". They were either home-schooled by their mother, or enrolled in small parochial schools at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills' childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile, camping for a week or two wherever Ivan was scheduled to preach.


title: Kings of Leon

text: When the boys' father resigned from preaching and their parents divorced in 1997, Nathan and Caleb relocated to outside Nashville and originally embraced country music. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of Thin Lizzy, the Rolling Stones and the Clash in particular. Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and the Velvet Underground. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed. They named the band after their grandfather Leon, who died in January 2014.


title: Kings of Leon

text: By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a number of music labels and eventually signed with RCA Records, which initially insisted on putting a band together for the two of them. In an interview with "Billboard", however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, "We don't want to be Evan and Jaron. We're going to buy our little brother a bass, he's a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar, Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I'll play the drums. They said, 'All right, we'll come down in one month and see you guys.'" Later in the interview Caleb admitted to the brothers "kidnapping" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was only going to be staying for a week but never allowed him to return home. "We locked ourselves in the basement with an ounce of marijuana and literally spent a month down there. My mom would bring us food down," added Nathan. "And at the end of that month the label people came and we had 'Molly's Chambers,' 'California Waiting,' 'Wicker Chair,' and 'Holy Roller Novocaine.'"


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band's first record, an EP entitled "Holy Roller Novocaine", was released on February 18, 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not yet learned to play the bass. The release of "Holy Roller Novocaine" gave the Kings of Leon a significant amount of exposure, receiving a 4/5 star rating from "Rolling Stone" magazine. All of the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia, who also produced the record, and four of the five songs would later be released on "Youth and Young Manhood". The versions of "Wasted Time" and "California Waiting" on the EP differ from their album versions, however, with the first having a more tense riff and different vocal style than the same track off "Youth and Young Manhood", the second being recorded in a rush to finish the EP. The EP also contains the song "Wicker Chair", while a track called "Andrea" was discarded before its release. In addition, three songs from "Holy Roller Novocaine" were used in the Farrelly brothers film "Stuck on You" with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear: "California Waiting," "Molly's Chambers" and "Holy Roller Novocaine."


title: Kings of Leon

text: The Followills' debut album, "Youth and Young Manhood", was released in the UK in July 2003 and in the United States that August. The album was recorded between Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California. It was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. According to "Rolling Stone" magazine, the band's retro-chic look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Strokes. The album became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where "NME" declared it "one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years" and "The Guardian" described the band as "the kind of authentic, hairy rebels the Rolling Stones longed to be". The album still failed to make any significant impact in the US, where reviews were generally lukewarm and the modern rock audience was generally uninterested. In the United States, "Youth and Young Manhood" sold only 100,000 copies, compared with the 750,000 copies it moved abroad.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band's second album, "Aha Shake Heartbreak", was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the Southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. The album was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. "The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl" was also used in the 2007 film "Disturbia" and the film "Cloverfield" in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello, and also toured with U2, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam during 2005 and 2006.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band's third album was titled "Because of the Times" and was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the United States. The album release was preceded by the single "On Call", which became a hit in both the UK and Ireland. The album debuted at number one in both UK and Ireland album charts and entered the European charts at number 25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. Although it was lauded by some critics, others found the album inferior to their previous efforts.


title: Kings of Leon

text: In 2008, Kings of Leon released its fourth studio album, "Only by the Night", produced by Jacquire King and Angelo Petraglia on September 19, which subsequently entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and remained there for one more week. "Only by the Night" also had two single-week stints as the UK number one album in 2009, one directly after the BRIT Awards. In the United States, the album reached number four on the "Billboard" 200. Reception to the album was the most polarized yet, with the British press granting the album glowing reviews, while in the United States, reactions to the album were more mixed. The album was officially named as the UK's third-biggest-selling album of 2008 and the biggest-selling album of 2008 in Australia. "Sex on Fire" was the first single released for download in the UK on September 8. The song became the band's most successful as it peaked at number one in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards in 2009, where they also performed "Use Somebody" live. Kings of Leon also performed on March 14, 2009, at Sound Relief, a benefit concert, for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry", which peaked at number 19 in New Zealand, and "Notion", which peaked at number 24 in Belgium. "Only by the Night" was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies in less than a year after its release. In 2008, Kings of Leon headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in 2009, the band headlined a number of music festivals, including Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter, Oxegen, T in the Park, Gurtenfestival and Open'er Festival in Poland, Europe, along with Sasquatch, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits in the United States.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band released its first DVD, "Live at the O2 London, England", on November 10, 2009. It was released on Blu-ray Disc on November 24, 2009. The footage was filmed in London's O2 Arena on June 30, 2009, when the band performed a 22-song set in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 people. In an interview with Billboard.com, drummer Nathan stated, "England is really the first place we broke (...) We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest." The show featured songs from the four first of the band's albums, and Nathan continued by saying, "We just put the cameras in the back of our minds and acted like they weren't even there."


title: Kings of Leon

text: In 2009 Kings of Leon founded Serpents and Snakes Records, a record label including such bands as the Features, Snowden, Turbo Fruits, and the Weeks.


title: Kings of Leon

text: On January 31, 2010, Kings of Leon took home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for "Use Somebody" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band's fifth album, called "Come Around Sundown", was released on October 18, 2010 in the UK, and October 19, 2010 in the US. It was recorded in Nashville and New York between February and June 2010 with Jacquire King and Angelo Petraglia once more at the helm. Following the release of "Come Around Sundown" in Australia, the band released all the tracks from the new album on their website.


title: Kings of Leon

text: In June 2010, the band embarked on a tour visiting more than 50 cities in North America and Europe. The tour dates ran from June 5 to September 23. In June they headlined the Slane Castle festival in Ireland, while they were informed of the death of their uncle Cleo. On July 27, 2011, during a concert in Dallas, Texas, singer Caleb Followill appeared to be heavily intoxicated and slurred incomprehensibly between songs, often rambling about nothing. He left the stage, claiming he was going to vomit, drink a beer and return to play three more songs. He never returned, causing the rest of the band to apologize to the crowd and end the concert abruptly. On August 1, 2011, the band announced through their website that the remainder of their US tour would be canceled with no reschedules due to dates they already had scheduled.


title: Kings of Leon

text: On October 31, 2011, the band announced that after the conclusion of their Australian tour in November that they would be going on hiatus. Nathan stated that the band's hiatus should not take any longer than six months.


title: Kings of Leon

text: On August 22, 2012, Jared and Nick Brown from Mona released their song "No Tell" under the name Smoke & Jackal. On August 23, 2012, when asked if it was the end of Kings of Leon with Smoke & Jackal announced, Jared said "Not even close. Working on album six very soon". Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill confirmed that the band had finished recording their sixth LP, which was reported by "NME" to be released in September. The album title "Mechanical Bull" was revealed on June 7, and the album was released on September 24. The album's first single, entitled "Supersoaker", was released on July 17, 2013. The second single "Wait for Me" was released in the United Kingdom in August 2013 and debuted at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. "Last Mile Home", a song originally from the deluxe version of "Mechanical Bull", had a stripped-down version written for the soundtrack of the film "".


title: Kings of Leon

text: Following their New Year's Eve show in Nashville, Nathan Followill said that the band was aiming to release its seventh album in 2016: "We've already started pre-production in our studio for the next record, but the main thing on the calendar for 2016 is getting the record finished. And then the whole press machine kicks up and doing press for the record." Caleb added: "We enjoy this part of the process. Obviously there's a lot of work that goes into it and it can get stressful at times, but we're all in a good place and we're having fun with it and we're all excited to do something new." The album was stated to be likely to be recorded in Los Angeles, with Caleb saying the band were looking for inspiration: "We might just try to get a little change of scenery. Our first two albums we recorded in L.A., so we're going to try to go back and see if it inspires us," he said. "If it doesn't, we always have a studio at home, so we can always come back."


title: Kings of Leon

text: In August, the band announced that the album title would be "Walls" (acronym for "We Are Like Love Songs"), and that it would be released October 14, 2016. The first single from the album, "Waste a Moment", was released on September 9, 2016. The album went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. "Walls" moved 77,000 album units by the end of the week ending October 20.


title: Kings of Leon

text: To celebrate the tenth anniversary of "Only by the Night", the band released a never-before-seen video containing behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album, serving as a video for "Frontier City", which was originally a B-side to the album. Later that year, marking the 15th anniversary of "Aha Shake Heartbreak", the song "Where Nobody Knows", another B-Side, was made available digitally for the first time.


title: Kings of Leon

text: On March 31, 2020, the band released a live acoustic recording of its first new song in more than three years, "Going Nowhere"—later renamed "Supermarket" and be included on their eighth studio album "When You See Yourself"—through YouTube and various social media platforms. On January 1, 2021, the band teased the song "The Bandit" on Instagram, and subsequently posted five more teasers of new songs. The name of the album was announced on January 7, 2021, and the album was released on March 5, 2021. On the same day, the band released the album's two lead singles; "The Bandit" and "100,000 People". Like its predecessor the album was produced by Markus Dravs.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band became the first to sell a newly-released album in the form of a non-fungible token, a type of cryptocurrency that contains unique assets such as music and art. The release came in the form of three different types of tokens for three separate packages in a series called "NFT Yourself". They contained a special album package, a live show package, and an audiovisual package. The tokens were developed and hosted by YellowHeart, a ticketing platform employing blockchain technology. The album was the first NFT to be displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band's NFT also became the first to be launched to outer space on Inspiration4, the all-civilian space exploration, which was auctioned as a charity campaign.


title: Kings of Leon

text: Delivered since 2010, the GAFFA Awards (Swedish: GAFFA Priset) are a Swedish award that rewards popular music awarded by the magazine of the same name.


title: Kings of Leon

text: In early April 2011, an 87-minute film directed by Stephen C. Mitchell documenting the band members' lives was shown at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, called "Talihina Sky", the name of an early Kings of Leon track. The Tribeca premiere was followed by scheduling a hometown premiere at the deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 8, 2011.


title: Kings of Leon

text: The European premiere was hosted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 25 and was followed by an interview session with the band. UK distributor Revolver Entertainment streamed the movie and interview session to 150 UK cinemas for a "One Night Only" live screening event. RCA Records later announced that the film would be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 1, 2011.


title: Kings of Leon

text: Kings of Leon are mentioned in the Bedroom Philosopher's song "Northcote (So Hungover)" as inspirational icons: "Riding around on the 86, so hungover / Gonna go down to Pony, pretend I'm in Kings of Leon", and depicted in the music video.


title: Kings of Leon

text: Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill made a guest appearance in the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode "The High School Reunion" (season 7, episode 12). The episode mocks the Fox musical-comedy "Glee", which itself is set in a high school. The members of Kings of Leon dislike "Glee" and refused to let them use their music, and as fans of "Sunny", asked to make a guest appearance.


title: Kings of Leon

text: In 2016 the Northern Ireland national football team made a historic run into the finals of the UEFA European Championships - branded as EURO 16 and held in France. The country’s first-ever goal and victory at the tournament came against Ukraine on 16 June in a 0-2 victory held at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon. The group of players that competed at the tournament have since been referred to in Northern Irish media as ‘The Kings of Lyon’.


title: Kings of Leon

text: Lana Del Rey mentions the band in the song "White Dress" from her 2021 album "Chemtrails over the Country Club".


title: Kings of Leon

text: The cover of the "Mechanical Bull" album appears in the 2021 video game "" and the characters listen to the song "Don't Matter".


title: Kings of Leon

text: The band was also selected to play as part of the festivities of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an Indian automobile manufacturer, based in New Delhi. It was founded in 1981 and owned by the Government of India until 2003, when it was sold to the Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation. As of September 2022 Maruti Suzuki has a market share of 42 percent in the Indian passenger car market.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Udyog Limited was founded by the Government of India on 24 Jan 1981 with Suzuki Motor Corporation as a minor partner, only to become the formal JV partner and license holder of Suzuki in August 2021. The first manufacturing factory of Maruti was established in Gurugram, Haryana, in the same year.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In 1982, a license and joint venture agreement (JVA) was signed between Maruti Udyog Ltd., and Suzuki of Japan. At first, Maruti Suzuki was mainly an importer of cars. In India's closed market, Maruti received the right to import 2 fully built-up Suzuki in the first two years, and even after that, the early goal was to use only 33% indigenous parts. This upset the local manufacturers considerably. There were some concerns that the Indian market was too small to absorb the comparatively large production planned by Maruti Suzuki, with the government even considering adjusting the petrol tax and lowering the excise duty in order to boost sales. Local production commenced in December 1983 with the introduction of the SS30/SS40 Suzuki Fronte/Alto-based Maruti 800. In 1984, the Maruti Van with the same three-cylinder engine as the 800 was released and the installed capacity of the plant in Gurgaon reached 40,000 units.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In 1989, the Maruti 1000 was introduced and the 970 cc, three-box was India's first contemporary sedan. By 1991, 65 percent of the components, for all vehicles produced, were indigenized. After the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991, Suzuki increased its stake in Maruti to 50 percent, making the company a 50-50 joint venture with the government of India as the other stakeholder.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Relationship between the Government of India, under the United Front (India) coalition and Suzuki Motor Corporation over the joint venture was a point of heated debate in the Indian media until Suzuki Motor Corporation gained the controlling stake. This highly profitable joint venture that had a near monopolistic trade in the Indian automobile market and the nature of the partnership built up till then was the underlying reason for most issues. The success of the joint venture led Suzuki to increase its equity from 26% to 40% in 1987, and to 50% in 1992, and further to 56.21% as of 2013. In 1982, both the venture partners entered into an agreement to nominate their candidate for the post of Managing Director and every Managing Director would have a tenure of five years.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Suzuki has two manufacturing facilities in Haryana (Gurugram and Manesar), and one manufacturing complex in Gujarat wholly-owned by parent company Suzuki which supplies its entire production to Maruti Suzuki. All manufacturing facilities have a combined production capacity of 2,250,000 vehicles annually (1.5 million from Maruti Suzuki's two plants and 750,000 from Suzuki Motor Gujarat).


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The Gurugram manufacturing facility has three fully integrated manufacturing plants and is spread over . The Gurgaon facilities also manufacture 240,000 "K-Series" engines annually. The Gurugram facility manufactures the Alto 800, WagonR, Ertiga, XL6, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza, Ignis and Eeco. The Gurugram facility also assembles the Jimny starting from January 2021 solely for export markets. It was reported the Indian-assembled Jimny will be exported to African markets and countries in the Middle East.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The Manesar manufacturing plant was inaugurated in February 2007 and is spread over . Initially it had a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles annually but this was increased to 300,000 vehicles annually in October 2008. The production capacity was further increased by 250,000 vehicles taking the total production capacity to 800,000 vehicles annually. The Manesar plant produces the Alto, Swift, Ciaz, Baleno and Celerio. On 25 June 2012, Haryana State Industries and Infrastructure Development Corporation demanded Maruti Suzuki to pay an additional ₹235 crore for enhanced land acquisition for its Haryana plant expansion. The agency reminded Maruti that failure to pay the amount would lead to further proceedings and vacating the enhanced land acquisition.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In 2012, the company decided to merge Suzuki Powertrain India Limited (SPIL) with itself. SPIL was started as a JV by Suzuki Motor Corp. along with Maruti Suzuki. It has the facilities available for manufacturing diesel engines and transmissions. The demand for transmissions for all Maruti Suzuki cars is met by the production from SPIL.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In 2017, the new Suzuki Motor Gujarat facility was opened. This third facility is not owned by Maruti Suzuki, but instead wholly owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation. Despite that, the plant supplied vehicles to Maruti without any additional cost. Located in Hansalpur, Ahmedabad, the plant has a total annual capacity of 750,000 units.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In November 2021 Maruti Suzuki announce to set up of a big plant in IMT Kharkhoda in Sonipat district across 900 acres with an investment of ₹18,000 crores.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation gives 900 acres of land to Maruti Suzuki for setting up a new plant in Industrial Model Township at Kharkhoda, Haryana.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Since its founding in 1983, Maruti Udyog Limited has experienced problems with its labour force. The Indian labour it hired readily accepted Japanese work culture and the modern manufacturing process. In 1997, there was a change in ownership, and Maruti became predominantly government controlled. Shortly thereafter, conflict between the United Front Government and Suzuki started. In 2000, a major industrial relations issue began and employees of Maruti went on an indefinite strike, demanding among other things, major revisions to their wages, incentives and pensions.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Employees used slowdown in October 2000, to press a revision to their incentive-linked pay. In parallel, after elections and a new central government led by NDA alliance, India pursued a disinvestment policy. Along with many other government owned companies, the new administration proposed to sell part of its stake in Maruti Suzuki in a public offering. The worker's union opposed this sell-off plan on the grounds that the company will lose a major business advantage of being subsidised by the Government, and the union has better protection while the company remains in control of the government.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The standoff between the union and the management continued through 2001. The management refused union demands citing increased competition and lower margins. The central government privatized Maruti in 2002 and Suzuki became the majority owner of Maruti Udyog Limited.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: On 18 July 2012, Maruti's Manesar plant was hit by violence. According to Maruti management, the production workers attacked supervisors and started a fire that killed company's General Manager of Human Resources Avineesh Dev and injured 100 other managers, including two Japanese expatriates. The workers also allegedly injured nine policemen. However Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU) President Sam Meher alleged that management ordered 300 hired security guards to attack the workforce during the violence. The incident is the worst-ever for Suzuki since the company began operations in India in 1983.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Since April 2012, the Manesar union had demanded a three-fold increase in basic salary, a monthly conveyance allowance of 10,000, a laundry allowance of 3,000, a gift with every new car launch, and a house for every worker who wants one, or cheaper home loans for those who want to build their own houses. According to the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union a supervisor had abused and made discriminatory comments to a low-caste worker, Jiya Lal. These claims were denied by the company and the police. Maruti said the unrest began, not over wage discussions, but after the workers' union demanded the reinstatement of Jiya Lal who had been suspended for allegedly beating a supervisor. The workers claim harsh working conditions and extensive hiring of low-paid contract workers which are paid about $126 a month, about half the minimum wage of permanent employees. On 27 June 2013, an international delegation from the International Commission for Labor Rights (ICLR) released a report alleging serious violations of the industrial right of workers by the Maruti Suzuki management. Company executives denied harsh conditions and claim they hired entry-level workers on contracts and made them permanent as they gained experience. Maruti employees currently earn allowances in addition to their base wage.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The police, in its First Information Report (FIR), claimed on 21 July that Manesar violence is the result of a planned violence by a section of workers and union leaders and arrested 91 people. Maruti Suzuki in its statement on the unrest, announced that all work at the Manesar plant has been suspended indefinitely. The shut down of Manesar plant is leading to a loss of about ₹75 crore per day. On 21 July 2012, citing safety concerns, the company announced a lockout under The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 pending results of an inquiry the company has requested of the Haryana government into the causes of the disorder. Under the provisions of The Industrial Disputes Act for wages, the report claimed, employees are expected to be paid for the duration of the lockout. On 26 July 2012, Maruti announced employees would not be paid for the period of lock-out in accordance with Indian labour laws. The company further announced that it will stop using contract workers by March 2013. The report claimed the salary difference between contract workers and permanent workers has been much smaller than initial media reports – the contract worker at Maruti received about 11,500 per month, while a permanent worker received about 12,500 a month at start, which increased in three years to 21,000-₹22,000 per month. In a separate report, a contractor who was providing contract employees to Maruti claimed the company gave its contract employees the best wage, allowances and benefits package in the region.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and chief executive of Maruti Suzuki India, said this type of violence has never happened in Suzuki Motor Corp's global operations in Hungary, Indonesia, Spain, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, China and the Philippines. Nakanishi apologised to affected workers on behalf of the company, and in press interview requested the central and Haryana state governments to help stop further violence by legislating decisive rules to restore corporate confidence amid emergence of this new 'militant workforce' in Indian factories. He announced, "we are going to de-recognise Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union and dismiss all workers named in connection with the incident. We will not compromise at all in such instances of barbaric, unprovoked violence." He also announced Maruti plans to continue manufacturing in Manesar, that Gujarat was an expansion opportunity and not an alternative to Manesar.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The company dismissed 500 workers accused of causing the violence and re-opened the plant on 21 August, saying it would produce 150 vehicles on the first day, less than 10% of its capacity. Analysts said that the shutdown was costing the company 1 billion rupees ($18 million) a day and costing the company market share. In July 2013, the workers went on hunger strike to protest the continuing jailing of their colleagues and launched an online campaign to support their demands.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: A total of 148 workers were charged with the murder of Human Resources Manager Avineesh Dev. The court dismissed charges against 117 of the workers. On 17 March 2017, 31 workers were found guilty of variety of offences. 18 were convicted on charges of rioting, trespassing, causing hurt and other related offences under Indian Penal Code sections. The remaining 13 workers were sentenced to life in imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of General Manager of Human Resources Avineesh Dev. Twelve of the thirteen sentenced were office-bearers of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union at the time of the alleged offences. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for the thirteen.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Both prosecution and defence have announced they will appeal against the sentences. Defence counsel Vrinda Grover stated, "We will file appeals against all convictions in the HC. The evidence, as it stands, cannot withstand legal scrutiny. There is no evidence to link these workers to the murder. The 13 who have been convicted, it’s important to remember that they were the leaders of the union. Therefore, it is clear that this is targeted framing of these persons. We hope for justice in the superior court".


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The Maruti Suzuki Workers Union is continuing to organise industrial action and protests calling for the workers to be released and criticising the judgement and sentences an unjust. An international appeal for the release of the workers has been made by the International Committee for the Fourth International (ICFI) and other organisations such as the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Suzuki's has been criticized for compromising safety in their products by automotive enthusiasts, journalists, and the Global NCAP, as they are made lighter in terms of kerb weight to achieving higher fuel economy. Starting 2014, several of their made for India cars were crash tested at Global NCAP, most of which have given disappointing results. Cars like Alto, Swift, Celerio, S-Presso (with driver's airbag), and Eeco which had no safety features like airbags were awarded 0 stars, while Wagon-R and Swift (2018 model year) which had dual front airbags were awarded 2 stars out of 5. Only the Vitara Brezza (4 stars) and Ertiga (3 stars) have been awarded decent safety ratings. Though Maruti Suzuki claimed that they were following the safety standards mandated by the Government of India, it however only implied with the safety features included in their cars and not the strong body shell or build quality which suffers the impact of the crash. Maruti Suzuki has also come under fire for discrimination with customers in India, by making cars safe meant for exports to European and African markets.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The chairman, RC Bhargava stated that "If carmakers incorporate such features in even entry-level cars, obviously the price would go up, which would lead consumers to opt for two-wheelers, which would be more unsafe", which attracted criticism. The company, in February 2020, decided not to send their cars to Global NCAP for testing, as they only believe in the Safety Standards set by the Government of India. Following the crash test results of S-Presso, Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP said, “It is very disappointing that Maruti Suzuki, the manufacturer with the largest share of the Indian market, offers such low safety performance for Indian consumers. Domestic manufacturers like Mahindra and Tata have demonstrated high levels of safety and protection for their customers, both achieving five star performance. Surely it’s time for Maruti Suzuki to demonstrate this commitment to safety for its customers?” Alongside, David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation said, "We have seen important progress on car safety in India, with new legislation introduced by the government and manufacturers like Mahindra and Tata accepting the Global NCAP five star challenge and producing models which go well beyond minimum regulatory requirements. There is no place for zero rated cars in the Indian market. It remains a great disappointment that an important manufacturer like Maruti Suzuki does not recognize this."


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In Aug 2021, Maruti Suzuki was fined ₹200 Crore (US$28.57 million) by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for implementing its Discount Control Policy that restrains dealers from offering customer discounts beyond those prescribed by the carmaker.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Suzuki has 2,413 Arena sales outlets across 1,992 cities and 380 Nexa sales outlets across 228 cities in India. The company aims to increase its sales network to 4,000 outlets by 2020. It has 4044 service stations across 1,861 cities throughout India. Maruti's dealership network is larger than that of enough known companies combined. Service is a major revenue generator of the company. Most of the service stations are managed on franchise basis, where Maruti Suzuki trains the local staff. Also, The Express Service stations exist, sending across their repairman to the vehicle if it is away from a normal service center.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: In 2015, Maruti Suzuki launched Nexa, a new dealership network for its premium cars which stands for New Exclusive Automotive Experience.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti Suzuki currently sells the Baleno, Grand Vitara, XL6, Ciaz and Ignis through Nexa outlets. S-Cross was the first car to be sold through Nexa outlets. Several new models will be added to both channels as part of the company's medium term goal of 2 million annual sales by 2020. The company recently achieved a milestone of selling 1.5 million cars from over 350 dealerships across the country and is the third largest automobile retail channel of India.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Launched in 2002 Maruti Suzuki provides vehicle insurance to its customers with the help of the National Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and Royal Sundaram. The service was set up the company with the inception of two subsidiaries Maruti Insurance Distributors Services Pvt. Ltd and Maruti Insurance Brokers Pvt. Limited


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: This service started as a benefit or value addition to customers and was able to ramp up easily. By December 2005 they were able to sell more than two million insurance policies since its inception.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: To promote its bottom line growth, Maruti Suzuki launched Maruti Finance in January 2002. Prior to the start of this service Maruti Suzuki had started two joint ventures Citicorp Maruti and Maruti Countrywide with Citi Group and GE Countrywide respectively to assist its client in securing loan. Maruti Suzuki tied up with ABN Amro Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Limited, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sundaram to start this venture including its strategic partners in car finance. Again the company entered into a strategic partnership with SBI in March 2003 Since March 2003, Maruti has sold over 12,000 vehicles through SBI-Maruti Finance. SBI-Maruti Finance is currently available in 166 cities across India.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Citicorp Maruti Finance Limited is a joint venture between Citicorp Finance India and Maruti Udyog Limited its primary business stated by the company is "hire-purchase financing of Maruti Suzuki vehicles". Citi Finance India Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation, Delaware, which in turn is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank N.A. Citi Finance India Limited holds 74% of the stake and Maruti Suzuki holds the remaining 26%. GE Capital, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki came together in 1995 to form Maruti Countrywide. Maruti claims that its finance program offers most competitive interest rates to its customers, which are lower by 0.25% to 0.5% from the market rates.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Maruti True service offered by Maruti Suzuki to its customers. It is a marketplace for used Maruti Suzuki Vehicles. One can buy, sell or exchange used Maruti or non-Maruti vehicles with the help of this service in India. As of 10 August 2017 there are 1,190 outlets across 936 cities.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: N2N is the short form of "End to End Fleet Management" and provides lease and fleet management to corporates. Clients who have signed up of this service include Gas Authority of India Ltd, DuPont, Reckitt Benckiser, Doordarshan, Singer India, National Stock Exchange of India and Transworld. This fleet management service include Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience services and Remarketing.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: Many of the auto component companies, other than Maruti Suzuki, started to offer compatible components and accessories. This caused a serious threat and loss of revenue to Maruti Suzuki. Maruti Suzuki started a new initiative under the brand name "Maruti Genuine Accessories" to offer accessories like alloy wheels, body cover, carpets, door visors, fog lamps, stereo systems, seat covers and other car care products. These products are sold through dealer outlets and authorized service stations throughout India.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: As part of its corporate social responsibility Maruti Suzuki launched the Maruti Driving School in Delhi. Later the services were extended to other cities of India as well. These schools are modelled on international standards, where learners go through classroom and practical sessions. Many international practices like road behaviour and attitudes are also taught in these schools. Before driving actual vehicles participants are trained on simulators.


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: At the launch ceremony for the school Jagdish Khattar stated "We are very concerned about mounting deaths on Indian roads. These can be brought down if government, industry and the voluntary sector work together in an integrated manner. But we felt that Maruti should first do something in this regard and hence this initiative of Maruti Driving Schools."


title: Maruti Suzuki

text: The Brand Trust Report published by Trust Research Advisory, a brand analytics company, has ranked Maruti Suzuki in the thirty seventh position in 2013 and ninth position in 2019 among the most trusted brands of India.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic, with former acts including 50 Cent, The Game, Busta Rhymes and many others.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Upon his departure from Death Row Records on March 22, 1996, Dr. Dre quickly launched Aftermath Entertainment through Interscope Records. It was founded as a "boutique label" that prides itself on "quality over quantity", focusing on small numbers of high-profile releases.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: "" was released towards the year's end featuring artists who were amongst the label's first signees. In the autumn of 1997, Aftermath released the only collaborative project by hip hop supergroup The Firm (composed of Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature). Despite the highly anticipated album featuring production and cameo appearances by Dr. Dre himself, debuting atop the "Billboard" 200 and being certified platinum, it sold below commercial expectation. The group subsequently disbanded.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Upon recommendation from Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre signed Eminem on March 9, 1998. The following year (1999), Eminem's major-label debut album, "The Slim Shady LP" was released. The album debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, went on to be certified quadruple platinum, and arguably became the label's first successful album release. Also in 1999, Aftermath released "2001", Dr. Dre's follow-up to his 1992 album, "The Chronic". The album went on to be certified six-times-platinum.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Several more artists were signed to, and later dropped from Aftermath, including Hittman and Rakim due to production conflicts. Legal troubles forced singer Truth Hurts to subsequently get dropped from the label after her album's release.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: In 2002, New York City rapper 50 Cent signed to Aftermath by Dr. Dre after signing to Interscope through Eminem's Shady Records. 50 Cent's major-label debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" was released on February 6, 2003 through Interscope, Shady, and Aftermath. "Get Rich Or Die Tryin' " featured production from Dr. Dre, who also executive produced the album. Highly anticipated and anchored by the success of the singles "21 Questions" and "If I Can't", the album debuted at number one the Billboard Top 200. Selling 872,000 copies in its first week, the album went on to be certified 9× Platinum in America in 2020.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: The Game, who signed with the label in 2003, also released his debut album "The Documentary" through a joint venture with G-Unit Records in 2005. Shortly after the release of "The Documentary", tension between The Game and 50 Cent ignited, resulting in The Game leaving Aftermath in 2006.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: Busta Rhymes was also signed and released one album before later being dropped from the label due to conflict with Interscope head, Iovine. His album, then titled "Blessed", since retitled "Back on My B.S.", was to be released on Aftermath. It was later reported that when he signed a deal with Universal Motown, the album would be released on his label, Flipmode Entertainment, through his Universal Motown deal. Stat Quo was also released from the label in 2008, citing differences in direction.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: In January 2010, it was revealed that Bishop Lamont had left the label due to the repeated delay of his debut, "The Reformation", while long time Aftermath R&B singer, Marsha Ambrosius, had also left the label.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: On October 15, 2013, Jon Connor announced his signing to Aftermath during the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: On February 20, 2014, 50 Cent announced his departure from his Interscope record deal which included his deal with Aftermath and Shady.


title: Aftermath Entertainment

text: In August 2022, the Dr. Dre produced the remix of Kanye West’s song Use This Gospel, a collaboration between DJ Khaled, Eminem and West, went on to feature on Khaled's thirtheeth studio album, God Did. The song was co-produced by Dre’s team, The ICU, whom he named so after his brain aneurysm diagnosis. The team is composed of Dawaun Parker, Dem Jointz, Erik "Blu2th" Griggs, Focus..., Fredwreck and Mark Batson among others. The remix reached the top position on both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts, earning Khaled and Eminem their first #1 on the charts and West his fifth.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (born November 17, 1958) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in the 1980 revival of "West Side Story", and went on to appear in the 1983 film "Scarface" as Al Pacino's character's sister, Gina Montana. For her role as Carmen in the 1986 film "The Color of Money", she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other film roles include "The Abyss" (1989), "" (1991), and "The Perfect Storm" (2000). In 2003, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the Broadway revival of "Man of La Mancha".


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Mastrantonio was born in the Chicago suburb of Lombard, Illinois, to Frank A. Mastrantonio and Mary Dominica (née Pagone), both of Italian descent. Her father operated a bronze foundry. She was raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and studied drama at the University of Illinois. She worked summers at the Opryland USA theme park to earn money for college.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Mastrantonio first appeared on screen in Brian De Palma's "Scarface" (1983) as Gina, sister of Al Pacino's Tony Montana. She achieved prominence for her Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated role in "The Color of Money" (1986) opposite Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Her other featured roles include "Slam Dance" (1987), with Tom Hulce, and "The January Man" (1989) with Kevin Kline. She also starred in writer/director James Cameron's science fiction "The Abyss" (1989) with Ed Harris. She played Maid Marian in the film "" (1991) with Kevin Costner. She played the attorney daughter of Gene Hackman's character in "Class Action", co-starred in the 1992 thriller "Consenting Adults", and played a fishing boat captain in "The Perfect Storm" (2000).


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Mastrantonio has appeared on Broadway in various musicals, including "West Side Story", "Copperfield", "The Human Comedy", and the 2002 revival of "Man of La Mancha", where she played Aldonza/Dulcinea opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell. She has appeared in New York Shakespeare Festival productions of "Henry V", "Measure for Measure", and "Twelfth Night". Her New York City stage performances brought her a Tony Award nomination and two Drama Desk Award nominations.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: She also starred in "Grand Hotel" at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End. In 1984, she was featured in a benefit performance of "A Christmas Carol" with Helen Hayes, Raul Julia, Harold Scott, F. MacIntyre Dixon, and Len Cariou at the Symphony Space in New York. In 2008, she starred in "A View from the Bridge" as Beatrice, with Ken Stott and Allan Corduner at the Duke of York's Theatre, London. On stage, she most recently starred in Ghosts as Helena Alving at the Seattle Repertory Theater.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: In 1991, Mastrantonio appeared as Yelena in a production of "Uncle Vanya" in the British anthology series "Performance".


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Starting with the final episode of Season 1 (2012), she had a recurring role on "Grimm", playing Kelly Burkhardt, mother of the show's protagonist.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: In 2013, she guest-starred on "Blue Bloods" in the episode "Inside Jobs". She had a recurring role on the 2013–14 program "Hostages", playing First Lady Mary Kincaid.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: In 2015 she was cast in a leading role in "Limitless" on CBS, playing FBI Special Agent in Charge Nasreen "Naz" Pouran, which debuted on September 22, 2015.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: In 2017 she guest-starred as Marion James, deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in three episodes of Marvel's "The Punisher" on Netflix.


title: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

text: Since 1990, Mastrantonio has been married to director Pat O'Connor, who directed "The January Man"; they have two sons.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar [農曆; 农历; "Nónglì"; 'farming calendar'], Former Calendar [舊曆; 旧历; "Jiùlì"], Traditional Calendar [老曆; 老历; "Lǎolì"]), is a lunisolar calendar which identifies years, months, and days according to astronomical phenomena. In China, it is defined by the Chinese national standard GB/T 33661–2017, "Calculation and Promulgation of the Chinese Calendar", issued by the Standardization Administration of China on May 12, 2017.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Although modern-day China uses the Gregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar governs holidays, such as the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, in both China and overseas Chinese communities. It also provides the traditional Chinese nomenclature of dates within a year which people use to select auspicious days for weddings, funerals, moving or starting a business. The evening state-run news program "Xinwen Lianbo" in the P.R.C. continues to announce the months and dates in both the Gregorian and the traditional lunisolar calendar.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Like Chinese characters, variants of Chinese calendar were used in different parts of the Sinosphere throughout history. Korea, Vietnam, and the Ryukyu Islands adopted the Chinese calendar, and evolved it into Korean, Vietnamese, and Ryukyuan calendars, with the main difference from the Chinese calendar being the use of different meridians due to geography, which leads to some astronomical events — and calendar events based on them — falling on different dates. The traditional Japanese calendar was also derived from the Chinese calendar (based on a Japanese meridian), but its official use in Japan was abolished in 1873 due to reforms after the Meiji Restoration. Calendars in Mongolia and Tibet have absorbed elements of the traditional Chinese calendar but are not direct descendants of it.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Days begin and end at midnight, and months begin on the day of the new moon. Years start on the second (or third) new moon after the winter solstice. Solar terms govern the beginning, middle, and end of each month. A sexagenary cycle, comprising stems (干, "gān") and branches (支, "zhī"), is used as identification alongside each year and month; including intercalary months or leap months. The length of a month is also annotated as either long (大, literally "big" for months with 30 days) or short (小, literally "small" for months with 29 days).


title: Chinese calendar

text: The traditional Chinese calendar was developed between 771 and 476 BCE, during the Spring and Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Solar calendars were used before the Zhou dynasty period.


title: Chinese calendar

text: One version of the solar calendar is the five-elements calendar (), which derives from the Wu Xing. A 365-day year was divided into five phases of 73 days, with each phase corresponding to a Day 1 Wu Xing element. A phase began with a governing-element day (), followed by six 12-day weeks. Each phase consisted of two three-week months, making each year ten months long. Years began on a "jiǎzǐ" () day (and a 72-day wood phase), followed by a "bǐngzǐ" day () and a 72-day fire phase; a "wùzǐ" () day and a 72-day earth phase; a "gēngzǐ" () day and a 72-day metal phase, and a "rénzǐ" day () followed by a water phase. Other days were tracked using the Yellow River Map ("He Tu").


title: Chinese calendar

text: Another version is a four-quarters calendar (, or ). The weeks were ten days long, with one month consisting of three weeks. A year had 12 months, with a ten-day week intercalated in summer as needed to keep up with the tropical year. The 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches were used to mark days.


title: Chinese calendar

text: A third version is the balanced calendar (). A year was 365.25 days, and a month was 29.5 days. After every 16th month, a half-month was intercalated. According to oracle bone records, the Shang dynasty calendar ( BCE) was a balanced calendar with 12 to 14 months in a year; the month after the winter solstice was "Zhēngyuè".


title: Chinese calendar

text: The first lunisolar calendar was the Zhou calendar (), introduced under the Zhou dynasty. This calendar sets the beginning of the year at the day of the new moon before the winter solstice.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Several competing lunisolar calendars were also introduced, especially by states fighting Zhou control during the Warring States period. The state of Lu issued its own Lu calendar(). Jin issued the Xia calendar () in AD 102, with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest the March equinox. Qin issued the Zhuanxu calendar (), with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest the winter solstice. Song's Yin calendar () began its year on the day of the new moon after the winter solstice.


title: Chinese calendar

text: These calendars are known as the six ancient calendars (), or quarter-remainder calendars, (), since all calculate a year as days long. Months begin on the day of the new moon, and a year has 12 or 13 months. Intercalary months (a 13th month) are added to the end of the year. The Qiang and Dai calendars are modern versions of the Zhuanxu calendar, used by mountain peoples.


title: Chinese calendar

text: After Qin Shi Huang unified China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the Qin calendar () was introduced. It followed most of the rules governing the Zhuanxu calendar, but the month order was that of the Xia calendar; the year began with month 10 and ended with month 9, analogous to a Gregorian calendar beginning in October and ending in September. The intercalary month, known as the second "Jiǔyuè" (), was placed at the end of the year. The Qin calendar was used going into the Han dynasty.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Emperor Wu of Han introduced reforms halfway through his reign. His Taichu Calendar () defined a solar year as days, and the lunar month had days.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Since formula_1 the 19 years cycle used for the 7 additional months was taken as an exact one, and not as an approximation.


title: Chinese calendar

text: This calendar introduced the 24 solar terms, dividing the year into 24 equal parts. Solar terms were paired, with the 12 combined periods known as climate terms.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The Taichu calendar established a framework for traditional calendars, with later calendars adding to the basic formula. The Dàmíng Calendar (), created in the Liang dynasty by Zu Chongzhi, introduced the equinoxes. The use of a syzygy to determine the lunar month was first described in the Tang dynasty Wùyín Yuán Calendar (). The Yuan dynasty Shòushí calendar () used spherical trigonometry to find the length of the tropical year. The calendar had a 365.2425-day year, identical to the Gregorian calendar.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Although the Chinese calendar lost its place as the country's official calendar at the beginning of the 20th century, its use has continued. Some calendars followed the last calendar of the Qing dynasty, published in 1908. This caused confusion regarding the date of the 1978 Mid-Autumn Festival, and those areas then switched to the UTC+8-based calendar.


title: Chinese calendar

text: During the late Ming dynasty, Xu Guangqi and his colleagues worked out a new calendar based on Western astronomical arithmetic; however, the new calendar was not released before the end of the dynasty. In the early Qing dynasty, Johann Adam Schall von Bell submitted the calendar to the Shunzhi Emperor. The Qing government issued it as the Shíxiàn (seasonal) calendar.


title: Chinese calendar

text: In this calendar, the solar terms are 15° each along the ecliptic and it can be used as a solar calendar. However, the length of the climate term near the perihelion is less than 30 days and there may be two mid-climate terms. The Shíxiàn calendar changed the mid-climate-term rule to "decide the month in sequence, except the intercalary month." The present traditional calendar follows the Shíxiàn calendar, except:


title: Chinese calendar

text: To optimize the Chinese calendar, astronomers have proposed a number of changes. Gao Pingzi (; 1888–1970), a Chinese astronomer who co-founded the Purple Mountain Observatory, proposed that month numbers be calculated before the new moon and solar terms to be rounded to the day. Since the intercalary month is determined by the first month without a mid-climate and the mid-climate time varies by time zone, countries that adopted the calendar but calculate with their own time could vary from the time in China.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Calendars of ethnic groups in the mountains and plateaus of southwestern China and the grasslands of northern China are based on their phenology and algorithms of traditional calendars of different periods, particularly the Tang and pre-Qin dynasties.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The movement of the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (known as the seven luminaries) are the references for calendar calculations.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The stars are divided into Three Enclosures and 28 Mansions according to their location in the sky relative to Ursa Minor, at the center. Each mansion is named with a character describing the shape of its principal asterism. The Three Enclosures are Purple Forbidden, (), Supreme Palace (), and Heavenly Market. () The eastern mansions are , , , , , , . Southern mansions are , , , , , , . Western mansions are , , , , , , . Northern mansions are , , , , , , .


title: Chinese calendar

text: The moon moves through about one lunar mansion per day, so the 28 mansions were also used to count days. In the Tang dynasty, Yuan Tiangang () matched the 28 mansions, seven luminaries and yearly animal signs to yield combinations such as "horn-wood-flood dragon" ().


title: Chinese calendar

text: Several coding systems are used to avoid ambiguity. The Heavenly Stems is a decimal system. The Earthly Branches, a duodecimal system, mark dual hours ("shí", or "shíchen" ()) and climatic terms. The 12 characters progress from the first day with the same branch as the month (first "Yín" day () of "Zhēngyuè"; first "Mǎo" day () of "Èryuè"), and count the days of the month.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The stem-branches is a sexagesimal system. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches make up 60 stem-branches. The stem branches mark days and years. The five elements of the Wu Xing are assigned to each of the stems, branches, and stem branches.


title: Chinese calendar

text: China has used the Western hour-minute-second system to divide the day since the Qing dynasty. Several era-dependent systems had been in use; systems using multiples of twelve and ten were popular, since they could be easily counted and aligned with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.


title: Chinese calendar

text: As early as the Bronze-Age Xia dynasty, days were grouped into nine- or ten-day weeks known as "xún" (). Months consisted of three "xún". The first 10 days were the "early xún" (), the middle 10 the "mid xún" (), and the last nine (or 10) days were the "late xún" (). Japan adopted this pattern, with 10-day-weeks known as . In Korea, they were known as "sun" (,).


title: Chinese calendar

text: The structure of "xún" led to public holidays every five or ten days. During the Han dynasty, officials were legally required to rest every five days (twice a "xún", or 5–6 times a month). The name of these breaks became "huan" (, "wash").


title: Chinese calendar

text: Grouping days into sets of ten is still used today in referring to specific natural events. "Three Fu" (), a 29–30-day period which is the hottest of the year, reflects its three-"xún" length. After the winter solstice, nine sets of nine days were counted to calculate the end of winter.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The seven-day week was adopted from the Hellenistic system by the 4th century CE, although its source is unclear. It was again transmitted to China in the 8th century by Manichaeans via Kangju (a Central Asian kingdom near Samarkand), and is the most-used system in modern China.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Months are defined by the time between new moons, which averages approximately days. There is no specified length of any particular Chinese month, so the first month could have 29 days (short month, ) in some years and 30 days (long month, ) in other years.


title: Chinese calendar

text: A 12-month-year using this system has 354 days, which would drift significantly from the tropical year. To fix this, traditional Chinese years have a 13-month year approximately once every three years. The 13-month version has the same alternation of long and short months, but adds a 30-day leap month () at the end of the year. Years with 12 months are called common years, and 13-month years are known as long years.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Although most of the above rules were used until the Tang dynasty, different eras used different systems to keep lunar and solar years aligned. The synodic month of the Taichu calendar was days long. The 7th-century, Tang-dynasty Wùyín Yuán Calendar was the first to determine month length by synodic month instead of the cycling method. Since then, month lengths have primarily been determined by observation and prediction.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The days of the month are always written with two characters and numbered beginning with 1. Days one to 10 are written with the day's numeral, preceded by the character "Chū" (); "Chūyī" () is the first day of the month, and "Chūshí" () the 10th. Days 11 to 20 are written as regular Chinese numerals; "Shíwǔ" () is the 15th day of the month, and "Èrshí" () the 20th. Days 21 to 29 are written with the character "Niàn" () before the characters one through nine; "Niànsān" (), for example, is the 23rd day of the month. Day 30 (when applicable) is written as the numeral "Sānshí" ().


title: Chinese calendar

text: Because astronomical observation determines month length, dates on the calendar correspond to moon phases. The first day of each month is the new moon. On the seventh or eighth day of each month, the first-quarter moon is visible in the afternoon and early evening. On the 15th or 16th day of each month, the full moon is visible all night. On the 22nd or 23rd day of each month, the last-quarter moon is visible late at night and in the morning.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Since the beginning of the month is determined by when the new moon occurs, other countries using this calendar use their own time standards to calculate it; this results in deviations. The first new moon in 1968 was at 16:29 UTC on 29 January. Since North Vietnam used to calculate their Vietnamese calendar and South Vietnam used (Beijing time) to calculate theirs, North Vietnam began the Tết holiday at 29 January at 23:29 while South Vietnam began it on 30 January at 00:15. The time difference allowed asynchronous attacks in the Tet Offensive.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Lunar months were originally named according to natural phenomena. Current naming conventions use numbers as the month names. Every month is also associated with one of the twelve Earthly Branches.


title: Chinese calendar

text: Though the numbered month names are often used for the corresponding month number in the Gregorian calendar, it is important to realize that the numbered month names are not interchangeable with the Gregorian months when talking about lunar dates.


title: Chinese calendar

text: One may identify the heavenly stem and earthly branch corresponding to a particular day in the month, and those corresponding to its month, and those to its year, to determine the Four Pillars of Destiny associated with it, for which the Tung Shing, also referred to as the Chinese Almanac of the year, or the Huangli, and containing the essential information concerning Chinese astrology, is the most convenient publication to consult. Days rotate through a sexagenary cycle marked by coordination between heavenly stems and earthly branches, hence the referral to the Four Pillars of Destiny as, "Bazi", or "Birth Time Eight Characters", with each pillar consisting of a character for its corresponding heavenly stem, and another for its earthly branch. Since Huangli days are sexagenaric, their order is quite independent of their numeric order in each month, and of their numeric order within a week (referred to as True Animals in relation to the Chinese zodiac). Therefore, it does require painstaking calculation for one to arrive at the Four Pillars of Destiny of a particular given date, which rarely outpaces the convenience of simply consulting the Huangli by looking up its Gregorian date.


title: Chinese calendar

text: The solar year (), the time between winter solstices, is divided into 24 solar terms known as jié qì (節氣). Each term is a 15° portion of the ecliptic. These solar terms mark both Western and Chinese seasons, as well as equinoxes, solstices, and other Chinese events. The even solar terms (marked with "Z", for ) are considered the major terms, while the odd solar terms (marked with "J", for ) are deemed minor. The solar terms qīng míng (清明) on 5 April and dōng zhì (冬至) on 22 December are both celebrated events in China.