title: Subwoofer

text: Horn-loaded subwoofers have a subwoofer speaker that has a pathway following the loudspeaker. To save space, the pathway is often folded, so that the folded pathway will fit into a box-style cabinet. Cerwin-Vega states that its folded horn subwoofer cabinets, "...on average, produce 6dB more output at 1 watt than a dual 18[-inch] vented box" giving "four times the output with half the number of drivers". The Cerwin-Vega JE-36C has a five feet long folded horn chamber length in the wooden cabinet.


title: Subwoofer

text: Manifold subwoofers have two or more subwoofer speakers that feed the throat of a single horn. This increases SPL for the subwoofer, at the cost of increased distortion. EV has a manifold speaker cabinet in which four drivers are mounted as close together as practical. This is a different design than the "multiple drivers in one throat" approach. An unusual example of manifold subwoofer design is the Thomas Mundorf (TM) approach of having four subwoofers facing each other and sitting close together, which is used for theatre in the round shows, where the audience surrounds the performers in a big circle (e.g., Metallica has used this in some concerts). The TM approach produces an omnidirectional bass sound. Cerwin-Vega defines a manifold enclosure as one in which "...the driver faces into a tuned ported cavity. You hear sound directly from the back of the driver in addition to the sound that emanates out of the port. This type of enclosure design extends the frequency capability of the driver lower than it would reproduce by itself."


title: Subwoofer

text: Bandpass subwoofers have a sealed cabinet within another cabinet, with the "outer" cabinet typically having a vent or port.


title: Subwoofer

text: In rare cases, sound reinforcement subwoofer enclosures are also used for bass instrument amplification by electric bass players and synth bass players. For most bands and most small- to mid-size venues (e.g., nightclubs and bars), standard bass guitar speaker enclosures or keyboard amplifiers will provide sufficient sound pressure levels for onstage monitoring. Since a regular electric bass has a low "E" (41 Hz) as its lowest note, most standard bass guitar cabinets are only designed with a range that goes down to about 40 Hz. However, in some cases, performers wish to have extended sub-bass response that is not available from standard instrument speaker enclosures, so they use subwoofer cabinets. Just as some electric guitarists add huge stacks of guitar cabinets mainly for show, some bassists will add immense subwoofer cabinets with 18-inch woofers mainly for show, and the extension subwoofer cabinets will be operated at a lower volume than the main bass cabinets.


title: Subwoofer

text: Bass guitar players who may use subwoofer cabinets include performers who play with extended range basses that include a low "B" string (about 31 Hz), bassists who play in styles where a very powerful sub-bass response is an important part of the sound (e.g., funk, Latin, gospel, R & B, etc.), and/or bass players who perform in stadium-size venues or large outdoor venues. Keyboard players who use subwoofers for on-stage monitoring include electric organ players who use bass pedal keyboards (which go down to a low "C" which is about 33 Hz) and synth bass players who play rumbling sub-bass parts that go as low as 18 Hz. Of all of the keyboard instruments that are amplified onstage, synthesizers can produce some of the lowest pitches, because unlike a traditional electric piano or electric organ, which have as their lowest notes a low "A" and a low "C", respectively, a synth does not have a fixed lowest octave. A synth player can add lower octaves to a patch by pressing an "octave down" button, which can produce pitches that are at the limits of human hearing.


title: Subwoofer

text: Several concert sound subwoofer manufacturers suggest that their subs can be used for bass instrument amplification. Meyer Sound suggests that its 650-R2 Concert Series Subwoofer, a enclosure with two 18-inch drivers (45 cm), can be used for bass instrument amplification. While performers who use concert sound subwoofers for onstage monitoring may like the powerful sub-bass sound that they get onstage, sound engineers may find the use of large subwoofers (e.g., two 18-inch drivers (45 cm)) for onstage instrument monitoring to be problematic, because it may interfere with the "Front of House" sub-bass sound.


title: Subwoofer

text: Since infrasonic bass is felt, sub-bass can be augmented using tactile transducers. Unlike a typical subwoofer driver, which produces audible vibrations, tactile transducers produce low-frequency vibrations that are designed to be felt by individuals who are touching the transducer or indirectly through a piece of furniture or a wooden floor. Tactile transducers have recently emerged as a device class, called variously "bass shakers", "butt shakers" and "throne shakers". They are attached to a seat, for instance a drummer's stool ("throne") or gamer's chair, car seat or home theater seating, and the vibrations of the driver are transmitted to the body then to the ear in a manner similar to bone conduction. They connect to an amplifier like a normal subwoofer. They can be attached to a large flat surface (for instance a floor or platform) to create a large low- frequency conduction area, although the transmission of low frequencies through the feet is not as efficient as through the seat.


title: Subwoofer

text: The advantage of tactile transducers used for low frequencies is that they allow a listening environment that is not filled with loud low-frequency sound waves in the air. This helps the drummer in a rock music band to monitor their kick drum performance without filling the stage with powerful, loud low-frequency sound from a 15-inch (40 cm) subwoofer monitor and an amplifier, which can "leak" into other drum mics and lower the quality of the sound mix. By not having a large, powerful subwoofer monitor, a bass shaker also enables a drummer to lower the sound pressure levels that they are exposed to during a performance, reducing the risk of hearing damage. For home cinema or video game use, bass shakers help the user avoid disturbing others in nearby apartments or rooms, because even powerful sound effects such as explosion sounds in a war video game or the simulated rumbling of an earthquake in an adventure film will not be heard by others. However, some critics argue that the felt vibrations are disconnected from the auditory experience, and they claim that that music is less satisfying with the "butt shaker" than sound effects. As well, critics have claimed that the bass shaker itself can rattle during loud sound effects, which can distract the listener.


title: Subwoofer

text: With varying measures upon which to base claims, several subwoofers have been said to be the world's largest, loudest or lowest.


title: Subwoofer

text: The Matterhorn is a subwoofer model completed in March 2007 by Danley Sound Labs in Gainesville, Georgia after a U.S. military request for a loudspeaker that could project infrasonic waves over a distance. The Matterhorn was designed to reproduce a continuous sine wave from 15 to 20 Hz, and generate 94 dB at a distance of , and more than 140 dB for music playback measured at the horn mouth. It can generate a constant 15 Hz sine wave tone at 140 dB for 24 hours a day, seven days a week with extremely low harmonic distortion. The subwoofer has a flat frequency response from 15 to 80 Hz, and is down 3 dB at 12 Hz. It was built within an intermodal container long and square. The container doors swing open to reveal a tapped horn driven by 40 long-throw 15-inch (40 cm) MTX speaker drivers each powered by its own 1000-watt amplifier. The manufacturer claims that 53 13-ply 18 mm sheets of plywood were used in its construction, though one of the fabricators wrote that double-thickness 26-ply sheets were used for convenience.


title: Subwoofer

text: A diesel generator is housed within the enclosure to supply electricity when external power is unavailable. Of the constant tone output capability, designer Tom Danley wrote that the "target 94 dB at 250 meters is not the essentially fictional 'burst' or 'peak SPL' nonsense in pro sound, or like the 'death burp' signal used in car sound contests." At the annual National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) convention in March 2007, the Matterhorn was barred from making any loud demonstrations of its power because of concerns about damaging the building of the Orange County Convention Center. Instead, using only a single 20 amp electrical circuit for safety, visitors were allowed to step inside the horn of the subwoofer for an "acoustic massage" as the fractionally powered Matterhorn reproduced low level 10–15 Hz waves.


title: Subwoofer

text: Another subwoofer claimed to be the world's biggest is a custom installation in Italy made by Royal Device primarily of bricks, concrete and sound-deadening material consisting of two subwoofers embedded in the foundation of a listening room. The horn-loaded subwoofers each have a floor mouth that is , and a horn length that is , in a cavity under the floor of the listening room. Each subwoofer is driven by eight 18-inch subwoofer drivers with voice coils. The designers assert that the floor mouths of the horns are additionally loaded acoustically by a vertical wooden horn expansion and the room's ceiling to create a 10 Hz "full power" wave at the listening position.


title: Subwoofer

text: A single diameter subwoofer driver was designed by Richard Clark and David Navone with the help of Dr. Eugene Patronis of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The driver was intended to break sound pressure level records when mounted in a road vehicle, calculated to be able to achieve more than 180 dBSPL. It was built in 1997, driven by DC motors connected to a rotary crankshaft somewhat like in a piston engine. The cone diameter was and was held in place with a surround. With a peak-to-peak stroke, it created a one-way air displacement of . It was capable of generating 5–20 Hz sine waves at various DC motor speeds—not as a response to audio signal—it could not play music. The driver was mounted in a stepvan owned by Tim Maynor but was too powerful for the amount of applied reinforcement and damaged the vehicle. MTX's Loyd Ivey helped underwrite the project and the driver was then called the MTX "Thunder 1000000" (one million).


title: Subwoofer

text: Still unfinished, the vehicle was entered in an SPL competition in 1997 at which a complaint was lodged against the computer control of the DC motor. Instead of using the controller, two leads were touched together in the hope that the motor speed was set correctly. The drive shaft broke after one positive stroke which created an interior pressure wave of 162 dB. The Concept Design 60-inch was not shown in public after 1998.


title: Subwoofer

text: The heaviest production subwoofer intended for use in automobiles is the MTX Jackhammer by MTX Audio, which features a diameter cone. The Jackhammer has been known to take upwards of 6000 watts sent to a dual voice coil moving within a strontium ferrite magnet. The Jackhammer weighs in at and has an aluminum heat sink. The Jackhammer has been featured on the reality TV show "Pimp My Ride".


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin that is distilled by the Bombay Spirits Company, a subsidiary company of Bacardi, at Laverstoke Mill in the village of Laverstoke in the English county of Hampshire.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: The brand was first launched in 1986 by English wine-merchant IDV. In 1997 Diageo sold the brand to Bacardi. Its name originates from the gin and tonic popularised by the Royal Indian Armed Forces during the British Raj, "Sapphire" refers to the violet-blue Star of Bombay which was mined from British Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in a flat-sided, sapphire-coloured bottle that bears a picture of Queen Victoria on the label.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: The flavouring of the drink comes from a recipe of ten ingredients: almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise. Alcohol brought in from another supplier is evaporated three times using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals, in order to gain flavour and aroma. This is felt to give the gin a lighter, more floral taste compared to those gins that are created using a copper pot still. Water from Lake Vyrnwy is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, the Nordics, several continental European markets, Canada and Australia).


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Until 2013, production and bottling of Bombay Sapphire was contracted out by Bacardi to G&J Greenall in Warrington, Cheshire. However in 2011, plans were announced to move the manufacturing process to a new facility at Laverstoke Mill in Laverstoke, Hampshire. These plans included the restoration of the former Portal's paper mill at the proposed site, and the construction of a visitor centre.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Planning permission was granted in February 2012, and the centre opened to the public in the autumn of 2014. The visitor centre included a new construction by Thomas Heatherwick of two glasshouses for plants used as botanicals in the production of Bombay Sapphire gin. As part of the transfer of production, two of Greenall's stills were moved from Warrington to Laverstoke.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: After production was shifted to Laverstoke, bottling of the drink remained contracted out G&J Greenall, with the undiluted gin being tankered to Warrington for dilution and bottling. Bottling has subsequently been shifted to Glasgow.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Bacardi also markets Bombay Original London Dry Gin (or Bombay Original Dry). Eight botanical ingredients are used in the production of the Original Dry variety, as opposed to the ten in Bombay Sapphire. "Wine Enthusiast" preferred it to Bombay Sapphire.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas. This variety has another two botanicals, lemongrass and black peppercorns, in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of most tonic water.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: A special edition of Bombay gin called Star of Bombay was produced in 2015 for the UK market. It is bottled at 47.5% and is distilled from grain. It features bergamot and ambrette seeds in harmony with Bombay's signature botanicals. This version has later been extended to several other markets.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: In summer 2019, Bacardi launched a limited edition gin called Bombay Sapphire English Estate, which features three additional English sourced botanicals: Pennyroyal Mint, rosehip and hazelnut. It is bottled at 41%.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: The brand started a series of design collaborations. Their first step into the design world was a series of advertisements featuring work from currently popular designers. Their works, varying from martini glasses to tiles and cloth patterns, are labelled as “Inspired by Bombay Sapphire”. The campaign featured designers such as Marcel Wanders, Yves Behar, Karim Rashid, Ulla Darni, and Dror Benshetrit and performance artist Jurgen Hahn.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: From the success of this campaign, the company began a series of events and sponsored locations. The best known is the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition, held each year, where design students from all over the world can participate by designing their own “inspired” martini cocktail glass. The finalists (one from each participating country) are then invited to the yearly Salone del Mobile, an international design fair in Milano, where the winner is chosen.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Bombay Sapphire also endorses glass artists and designers with the Bombay Sapphire Prize, which is awarded every year to an outstanding design which features glass. Bombay Sapphire also showcases the designers' work in the Bombay Sapphire endorsed blue room, which is a design exhibition touring the world each year.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: From 2008 the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition final will be held at 100% Design in London, UK and the Bombay Sapphire Prize will take place in Milan at the Salone Del Mobile.


title: Bombay Sapphire

text: Bombay Sapphire has been reviewed by several outside spirit ratings organizations to various degrees of success. Recently, it was awarded a score of 92 (on a 100-point scale) from the Beverage Testing Institute. Ratings aggregator Proof66.com categorizes the Sapphire as a Tier 2 spirit, indicating highly favourable "expert" reviews.


title: Baryonyx

text: Baryonyx () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in sediments of the Weald Clay Formation, and became the holotype specimen of Baryonyx walkeri, named by palaeontologists Alan J. Charig and Angela C. Milner in 1986. The generic name, "Baryonyx", means "heavy claw" and alludes to the animal's very large claw on the first finger; the specific name, "walkeri", refers to its discoverer, amateur fossil collector William J. Walker. The holotype specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK (and remains the most complete Spinosaurid), and its discovery attracted media attention. Specimens later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia have also been assigned to the genus, though many have since been moved to new genera.


title: Baryonyx

text: The holotype specimen, which may not have been fully grown, was estimated to have been between long and to have weighed between . "Baryonyx" had a long, low, and narrow snout, which has been compared to that of a gharial. The tip of the snout expanded to the sides in the shape of a rosette. Behind this, the upper jaw had a notch which fitted into the lower jaw (which curved upwards in the same area). It had a triangular crest on the top of its nasal bones. "Baryonyx" had a large number of finely serrated, conical teeth, with the largest teeth in front. The neck formed an S-shape, and the neural spines of its dorsal vertebrae increased in height from front to back. One elongated neural spine indicates it may have had a hump or ridge along the centre of its back. It had robust forelimbs, with the eponymous first-finger claw measuring about long.


title: Baryonyx

text: Now recognised as a member of the family Spinosauridae, "Baryonyx" affinities were obscure when it was discovered. Some researchers have suggested that "Suchosaurus cultridens" is a senior synonym (being an older name), and that "Suchomimus tenerensis" belongs in the same genus; subsequent authors have kept them separate. "Baryonyx" was the first theropod dinosaur demonstrated to have been piscivorous (fish-eating), as evidenced by fish scales in the stomach region of the holotype specimen. It may also have been an active predator of larger prey and a scavenger, since it also contained bones of a juvenile iguanodontid. The creature would have caught and processed its prey primarily with its forelimbs and large claws. "Baryonyx" may have had semiaquatic habits, and coexisted with other theropod, ornithopod, and sauropod dinosaurs, as well as pterosaurs, crocodiles, turtles and fishes, in a fluvial environment.


title: Baryonyx

text: In January 1983, the British plumber and amateur fossil collector William J. Walker explored the Smokejacks Pit, a clay pit in the Weald Clay Formation near Ockley in Surrey, England. He found a rock wherein he discovered a large claw, but after piecing it together at home, he realised the tip of the claw was missing. Walker returned to the same spot in the pit some weeks later, and found the missing part after searching for an hour. He also found a and part of a . Walker's son-in-law later brought the claw to the Natural History Museum of London, where it was examined by the British palaeontologists Alan J. Charig and Angela C. Milner, who identified it as belonging to a theropod dinosaur. The palaeontologists found more bone fragments at the site in February, but the entire skeleton could not be collected until May and June due to weather conditions at the pit. A team of eight museum staff members and several volunteers excavated of rock matrix in 54 blocks over a three-week period. Walker donated the claw to the museum, and the Ockley Brick Company (owners of the pit) donated the rest of the skeleton and provided equipment. The area had been explored for 200 years, but no similar remains had been found before.


title: Baryonyx

text: Most of the bones collected were encased in siltstone nodules surrounded by fine sand and silt, with the rest lying in clay. The bones were and scattered over a area, but most were not far from their natural positions. The position of some bones was disturbed by a bulldozer, and some were broken by mechanical equipment before they were collected. Preparing the specimen was difficult, due to the hardness of the siltstone matrix and the presence of siderite; acid preparation was attempted, but most of the matrix was removed mechanically. It took six years of almost constant preparation to get all the bones out of the rock, and by the end, dental tools and air mallets had to be used under a microscope. The specimen represents about 65 percent of the skeleton, and consists of partial skull bones, including premaxillae (first bones of the upper jaw); the left maxillae (second bone of the upper jaw); both nasal bones; the left lacrimal; the left prefrontal; the left postorbital; the braincase including the occiput; both dentaries (the front bones of the lower jaw); various bones from the back of the lower jaw; teeth; cervical (neck), dorsal (back), and caudal (tail) ; ribs; a ; both (shoulder blades); both ; both (upper arm bones); the left and (lower arm bones); finger bones and (claw bones); hip bones; the upper end of the left (thigh bone) and lower end of the right; right (of the lower leg); and foot bones including an ungual. The original specimen number was BMNH R9951, but it was later re-catalogued as NHMUK VP R9951.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 1986, Charig and Milner named a new genus and species with the skeleton as holotype specimen: "Baryonyx walkeri". The generic name derives from ancient Greek; βαρύς ("barys") means "heavy" or "strong", and ὄνυξ ("onyx") means "claw" or "talon". The specific name honours Walker, for discovering the specimen. At that time, the authors did not know if the large claw belonged to the hand or the foot (as in dromaeosaurs, which it was then assumed to be). The dinosaur had been presented earlier the same year during a lecture at a conference about dinosaur systematics in Drumheller, Canada. Due to ongoing work on the bones (70 percent had been prepared at the time), they called their article preliminary and promised a more detailed description at a later date. "Baryonyx" was the first large Early Cretaceous theropod found anywhere in the world by that time. Before the discovery of "Baryonyx" the last significant theropod find in the United Kingdom was "Eustreptospondylus" in 1871, and in a 1986 interview Charig called "Baryonyx" "the best find of the century" in Europe. "Baryonyx" was widely featured in international media, and was nicknamed "Claws" by journalists punning on the title of the film "Jaws". Its discovery was the subject of a 1987 BBC documentary, and a cast of the skeleton is mounted at the Natural History Museum in London. In 1997, Charig and Milner published a monograph describing the holotype skeleton in detail. The holotype specimen remains the most completely known spinosaurid skeleton.


title: Baryonyx

text: Fossils from other parts of the UK and Iberia, mostly isolated teeth, have subsequently been attributed to "Baryonyx" or similar animals. Isolated teeth and bones from the Isle of Wight, including hand bones reported in 1998 and a vertebra reported by the British palaeontologists Steve Hutt and Penny Newbery in 2004, have been attributed to this genus. A maxilla fragment from La Rioja, Spain, was attributed to "Baryonyx" by the Spanish palaeontologists Luis I. Viera and José Angel Torres in 1995 (although the American palaeontologist Thomas R. Holtz and colleagues raised the possibility that it could have belonged to "Suchomimus" in 2004). In 1999, a postorbital, , tooth, vertebral remains, (hand bones), and a phalanx from the Salas de los Infantes deposit in Burgos Province, Spain, were attributed to an immature "Baryonyx" (though some of these elements are unknown in the holotype) by the Spanish palaeontologist Carolina Fuentes Vidarte and colleagues. Dinosaur tracks near Burgos have also been suggested to belong to "Baryonyx" or a similar theropod.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 2011, a specimen (Catalogued as ML1190 in Museu da Lourinhã) from the Papo Seco Formation in Boca do Chapim, Portugal, with a fragmentary dentary, teeth, vertebrae, ribs, hip bones, a scapula, and a phalanx bone, was attributed to "Baryonyx" by the Portuguese palaeontologist Octávio Mateus and colleagues, the most complete Iberian remains of the animal. The skeletal elements of this specimen are also represented in the more complete holotype (which was of similar size), except for the mid-neck vertebrae. In 2018, the British palaeontologist Thomas M. S. Arden and colleagues found that the Portuguese skeleton did not belong to "Baryonyx", since the front of its dentary bone was not strongly upturned. This specimen was made the basis of the new genus "Iberospinus" by Mateus and Darío Estraviz-López in 2022. Some additional spinosaurid remains from Iberia may belong to taxa other than "Baryonyx", including "Vallibonavenatrix" from Morella.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 2021, the British palaeontologist Chris T. Barker and colleagues described two new spinosaurid genera from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, "Ceratosuchops" and "Riparovenator" (the latter named "R. milnerae" honouring Milner for her contributions to spinosaurid research), and stated that spinosaurid material from there that had previously been attributed to the contemporary "Baryonyx" could have belonged to other taxa instead. These specimens had previously been assigned to "Baryonyx" in a 2017 conference abstract. Barker and colleagues stated that the recognition of the Wessex Formation specimens as new genera renders the presence of "Baryonyx" there ambiguous, and most of the previously assigned isolated material from the Wealden Supergroup is therefore indeterminate. These authors also found the Portuguese specimen ML 1190 to group with "Baryonyx", supporting its original assignment to the genus.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 2003, Milner noted that some teeth at the Natural History Museum previously identified as belonging to the genera "Suchosaurus" and "Megalosaurus" probably belonged to "Baryonyx". The type species of "Suchosaurus", "S. cultridens", was named by the British biologist Richard Owen in 1841, based on teeth discovered by the British geologist Gideon A. Mantell in Tilgate Forest, Sussex. Owen originally thought the teeth to have belonged to a crocodile; he was yet to name the group Dinosauria, which happened the following year. A second species, "S. girardi", was named by the French palaeontologist Henri Émile Sauvage in 1897, based on jaw fragments and a tooth from Boca do Chapim, Portugal. In 2007, the French palaeontologist Éric Buffetaut considered the teeth of "S. girardi" very similar to those of "Baryonyx" (and "S. cultridens") except for the stronger development of the flutes (or "ribs"; lengthwise ridges), suggesting that the remains belonged to the same genus. Buffetaut agreed with Milner that the teeth of "S. cultridens" were almost identical to those of "B. walkeri", but with a ribbier surface. The former taxon might be a senior synonym of the latter (since it was published first), depending on whether the differences were within a taxon or between different ones. According to Buffetaut, since the holotype specimen of "S. cultridens" is a single tooth and that of "B. walkeri" is a skeleton, it would be more practical to retain the newer name. In 2011, Mateus and colleagues agreed that "Suchosaurus" was closely related to "Baryonyx", but considered both species in the former genus "nomina dubia" (dubious names) since their holotype specimens were not considered diagnostic (lacking distinguishing features) and could not be definitely equated with other taxa. In any case, the identification of "Suchosaurus" as a spinosaurid makes it the first named member of the family.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 1997, Charig and Milner noted that two fragmentary spinosaurid snouts from the Elrhaz Formation of Niger (reported by the French palaeontologist Philippe Taquet in 1984) were similar enough to "Baryonyx" that they considered them to belong to an indeterminate species of the genus (despite their much younger Aptian geological age). In 1998, these fossils became the basis of the genus and species "Cristatusaurus lapparenti", named by Taquet and the American palaeontologist Dale Russell. The American palaeontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues named the new genus and species "Suchomimus tenerensis" later in 1998, based on more complete fossils from the Elrhaz Formation. In 2002, the German palaeontologist Hans-Dieter Sues and colleagues proposed that "Suchomimus tenerensis" was similar enough to "Baryonyx walkeri" to be considered a species within the same genus (as "B. tenerensis"), and that "Suchomimus" was identical to "Cristatusaurus". Milner concurred that the material from Niger was indistinguishable from "Baryonyx" in 2003. In a 2004 conference abstract, Hutt and Newberry supported the synonymy based on a large theropod vertebra from the Isle of Wight which they attributed to an animal closely related to "Baryonyx" and "Suchomimus". Later studies have kept "Baryonyx" and "Suchomimus" separate, whereas "Cristatusaurus" has been proposed to be either a "nomen dubium" or possibly distinct from both. A 2017 review paper by the Brazilian palaeontologist Carlos Roberto A. Candeiro and colleagues stated that this debate was more in the realm of semantics than science, as it is generally agreed that "B. walkeri" and "S. tenerensis" are distinct, related species. Barker and colleagues found "Suchomimus" to be closer related to the British genera "Riparovenator" and "Ceratosuchops" than to "Baryonyx" in 2021.


title: Baryonyx

text: "Baryonyx" is estimated to have been between long, in hip height, and to have weighed between . The fact that elements of the skull and vertebral column of the "B. walkeri" holotype specimen (NHM R9951) do not appear to have co-ossified (fused) suggests that the individual was not fully grown, and the mature animal may have been much larger (as is the case for some other spinosaurids). On the other hand, the specimen's fused sternum indicates that it may have been mature.


title: Baryonyx

text: The skull of "Baryonyx" is incompletely known, and much of the middle and hind portions are not preserved. The full length of the skull is estimated to have been long, based on comparison with that of the related genus "Suchomimus" (which was 20% larger). It was elongated, and the front of the premaxillae formed a long, narrow, and low snout (rostrum) with a smoothly rounded upper surface. The (bony nostrils) were long, low, and placed far back from the snout tip. The front of the snout expanded into a spatulate (spoon-like), "terminal rosette", a shape similar to the rostrum of the modern gharial. The front of the lower margin of the premaxillae was downturned (or hooked), whereas that of the front portion of the maxillae was upturned. This morphology resulted in a sigmoid or S shaped margin of the lower upper tooth row, in which the teeth from the front of the maxilla were projecting forward. The snout was particularly narrow directly behind the rosette; this area received the large teeth of the mandible. The maxilla and premaxilla of "Baryonyx" fit together in a complex articulation, and the resulting gap between the upper and lower jaw is known as the . A downturned premaxilla and a sigmoid lower margin of the upper tooth row was also present in distantly related theropods such as "Dilophosaurus". The snout had extensive (openings), which would have been exits for blood vessels and nerves, and the maxilla appears to have housed sinuses.


title: Baryonyx

text: "Baryonyx" had a rudimentary , similar to crocodiles but unlike most theropod dinosaurs. A rugose (roughly wrinkled) surface suggests the presence of a horny pad in the roof of the mouth. The nasal bones were fused, which distinguished "Baryonyx" from other spinosaurids, and a sagittal crest was present above the eyes, on the upper mid-line of the nasals. This crest was triangular, narrow, and sharp in its front part, and was distinct from those of other spinosaurids in ending hind wards in a cross-shaped process. The lacrimal bone in front of the eye appears to have formed a horn core similar to those seen, for example, in "Allosaurus", and was distinct from other spinosaurids in being solid and almost triangular. The occiput was narrow, with the paroccipital processes pointing outwards horizontally, and the were lengthened, descending far below the (the lowermost bone of the occiput). Sereno and colleagues suggested that some of "Baryonyx" cranial bones had been misidentified by Charig and Milner, resulting in the occiput being reconstructed as too deep, and that the skull was instead probably as low, long and narrow as that of "Suchomimus". The front of the dentary in the mandible sloped upwards towards the curve of the snout. The dentary was very long and shallow, with a prominent Meckelian groove on the inner side. The , where the two halves of the lower jaw connected at the front, was particularly short. The rest of the lower jaw was fragile; the hind third was much thinner than the front, with a blade-like appearance. The front part of the dentary curved outwards to accommodate the large front teeth, and this area formed the mandibular part of the rosette. The dentary–like the snout—had many foramina.


title: Baryonyx

text: Most of the teeth found with the holotype specimen were not in articulation with the skull; a few remained in the upper jaw, and only small replacement teeth were still borne by the lower jaw. The teeth had the shape of recurved cones, where slightly flattened from sideways, and their curvature was almost uniform. The roots were very long, and tapered towards their extremity. The carinae (sharp front and back edges) of the teeth were finely serrated with denticles on the front and back, and extended all along the crown. There were around six to eight denticles per mm (0.039 in), a much larger number than in large-bodied theropods like "Torvosaurus" and "Tyrannosaurus". Some of the teeth were fluted, with six to eight ridges along the length of their inner sides and fine-grained (outermost layer of teeth), while others bore no flutes; their presence is probably related to position or ontogeny (development during growth). The inner side of each tooth row had a bony wall. The number of teeth was large compared to most other theropods, with six to seven teeth in each premaxilla and thirty-two in each dentary. Based on the closer packing and smaller size of the dentary teeth compared to those in the corresponding length of the premaxilla, the difference between the number of teeth in the upper and lower jaws appears to have been more pronounced than in other theropods. The terminal rosette in the upper jaw of the holotype had thirteen (tooth sockets), six on the left and seven on the right side, showing tooth count asymmetry. The first four upper teeth were large (with the second and third the largest), while the fourth and fifth progressively decreased in size. The diameter of the largest was twice that of the smallest. The first four alveoli of the dentary (corresponding to the tip of the upper jaw) were the largest, with the rest more regular in size. Small subtriangular were present between the alveoli.


title: Baryonyx

text: Initially thought to have lacked the sigmoid curve typical of theropods, the neck of "Baryonyx" does appear to have formed an S shape, though straighter than in other theropods. The cervical vertebrae of the neck tapered towards the head and became progressively longer front to back. Their (the processes that connected the vertebrae) were flat, and their (processes to which neck muscles attached) were well developed. The (the second neck vertebra) was small relative to the size of the skull and had a well-developed . The of the cervical vertebrae were not always sutured to the (the bodies of the vertebrae), and the there were low and thin. The were short, similar to those of crocodiles, and possibly overlapped each other somewhat. The centra of the dorsal vertebrae of the back were similar in size. Like in other theropods, the skeleton of "Baryonyx" showed skeletal pneumaticity, reducing its weight through (openings) in the neural arches and (hollow depressions) in the centra (primarily near the ). From front to back, the neural spines of the dorsal vertebrae changed from short and stout to tall and broad. One isolated dorsal neural spine was moderately elongated and slender, indicating that "Baryonyx" may have had a hump or ridge along the centre of its back (though incipiently developed compared to those of other spinosaurids). "Baryonyx" was unique among spinosaurids in having a marked constriction from side to side in a vertebra that either belonged to the or front of the tail.


title: Baryonyx

text: The coracoid tapered hind-wards when viewed in profile, and, uniquely among spinosaurids, connected with the scapula in a peg-and-notch articulation. The scapulae were robust and the bones of the forelimb were short in relation to the animal's size, but broad and sturdy. The humerus was short and stout, with its ends broadly expanded and flattened—the upper side for the and muscle attachment and the lower for articulation with the radius and ulna. The radius was short, stout and straight, and less than half the length of the humerus, while the ulna was a little longer. The ulna had a powerful and an expanded lower end. The hands had three fingers; the first finger bore a large claw measuring about along its curve in the holotype specimen. The claw would have been lengthened by a keratin (horny) sheath in life. Apart from its size, the claw's proportions were fairly typical of a theropod, i.e. it was bilaterally symmetric, slightly compressed, smoothly rounded, and sharply pointed. A groove for the sheath ran along the length of the claw. The other claws of the hand were much smaller. The (main hip bone) of the pelvis had a prominent , an anterior process that was slender and vertically expanded, and a posterior process that was long and straight. The ilium also had a prominent and a deep grove that faced downwards. The (the socket for the femur) was long from front to back. The (lower and rearmost hip bone) had a well developed at the upper part. The margin of the blade at the lower end was turned outward, and the pubic foot was not expanded. The femur lacked a groove on the fibular condyle, and, uniquely among spinosaurids, the fibula had a very shallow fibular (depression).


title: Baryonyx

text: In their original description, Charig and Milner found "Baryonyx" unique enough to warrant a new family of theropod dinosaurs: Baryonychidae. They found "Baryonyx" to be unlike any other theropod group, and considered the possibility that it was a thecodont (a grouping of early archosaurs now considered unnatural), due to having apparently primitive features, but noted that the articulation of the maxilla and premaxilla was similar to that in "Dilophosaurus". They also noted that the two snouts from Niger (which later became the basis of "Cristatusaurus"), assigned to the family Spinosauridae by Taquet in 1984, appeared almost identical to that of "Baryonyx" and they referred them to Baryonychidae instead. In 1988, the American palaeontologist Gregory S. Paul agreed with Taquet that "Spinosaurus", described in 1915 based on fragmentary remains from Egypt that were destroyed in World War II, and "Baryonyx" were similar and (due to their kinked snouts) possibly late-surviving dilophosaurs. Buffetaut also supported this relationship in 1989. In 1990, Charig and Milner dismissed the spinosaurid affinities of "Baryonyx", since they did not find their remains similar enough. In 1997, they agreed that Baryonychidae and Spinosauridae were related, but disagreed that the former name should become a synonym of the latter, because the completeness of "Baryonyx" compared to "Spinosaurus" made it a better type genus for a family, and because they did not find the similarities between the two significant enough. Holtz and colleagues listed Baryonychidae as a synonym of Spinosauridae in 2004.


title: Baryonyx

text: Discoveries in the 1990s shed more light on the relationships of "Baryonyx" and its relatives. In 1996, a snout from Morocco was referred to "Spinosaurus", and "Irritator" and "Angaturama" from Brazil (the two are possible synonyms) were named. "Cristatusaurus" and "Suchomimus" were named based on fossils from Niger in 1998. In their description of "Suchomimus", Sereno and colleagues placed it and "Baryonyx" in the new subfamily Baryonychinae within Spinosauridae; "Spinosaurus" and "Irritator" were placed in the subfamily Spinosaurinae. Baryonychinae was distinguished by the small size and larger number of teeth in the dentary behind the terminal rosette, the deeply keeled front dorsal vertebrae, and by having serrated teeth. Spinosaurinae was distinguished by their straight tooth crowns without serrations, small first tooth in the premaxilla, increased spacing of teeth in the jaws, and possibly by having their nostrils placed further back and the presence of a deep neural spine sail. They also united the spinosaurids and their closest relatives in the superfamily Spinosauroidea, but in 2010, the British palaeontologist Roger Benson considered this a junior synonym of Megalosauroidea (an older name). In a 2007 conference abstract, the American palaeontologist Denver W. Fowler suggested that since "Suchosaurus" is the first named genus in its group, the clade names Spinosauroidea, Spinosauridae, and Baryonychinae should be replaced by Suchosauroidea, Suchosauridae, and Suchosaurinae, regardless of whether or not the name "Baryonyx" is retained. A 2017 study by the Brazilian palaeontologists Marcos A. F. Sales and Cesar L. Schultz found that the clade Baryonychinae was not well supported, since serrated teeth may be an ancestral trait among spinosaurids.


title: Baryonyx

text: Barker and colleagues found support for a Baryonychinae-Spinosaurinae split in 2021, and the following cladogram shows the position of "Baryonyx" within Spinosauridae according to their study:


title: Baryonyx

text: Spinosaurids appear to have been widespread from the Barremian to the Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period, about 130 to 95 million years ago, while the oldest known spinosaurid remains date to the Middle Jurassic. They shared features such as long, narrow, crocodile-like skulls; sub-circular teeth, with fine to no serrations; the terminal rosette of the snout; and a secondary palate that made them more resistant to torsion. In contrast, the primitive and typical condition for theropods was a tall, narrow snout with blade-like (ziphodont) teeth with serrated carinae. The skull adaptations of spinosaurids converged with those of crocodilians; early members of the latter group had skulls similar to typical theropods, later developing elongated snouts, conical teeth, and secondary palates. These adaptations may have been the result of a dietary change from terrestrial prey to fish. Unlike crocodiles, the post-cranial skeletons of baryonychine spinosaurids do not appear to have aquatic adaptations. Sereno and colleagues proposed in 1998 that the large thumb-claw and robust forelimbs of spinosaurids evolved in the Middle Jurassic, before the elongation of the skull and other adaptations related to fish-eating, since the former features are shared with their megalosaurid relatives. They also suggested that the spinosaurines and baryonychines diverged before the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous.


title: Baryonyx

text: Several theories have been proposed about the biogeography of the spinosaurids. Since "Suchomimus" was more closely related to "Baryonyx" (from Europe) than to "Spinosaurus"—although that genus also lived in Africa—the distribution of spinosaurids cannot be explained as vicariance resulting from continental rifting. Sereno and colleagues proposed that spinosaurids were initially distributed across the supercontinent Pangea, but split with the opening of the Tethys Sea. Spinosaurines would then have evolved in the south (Africa and South America: in Gondwana) and baryonychines in the north (Europe: in Laurasia), with "Suchomimus" the result of a single north-to-south dispersal event. Buffetaut and the Tunisian palaeontologist Mohamed Ouaja also suggested in 2002 that baryonychines could be the ancestors of spinosaurines, which appear to have replaced the former in Africa. Milner suggested in 2003 that spinosaurids originated in Laurasia during the Jurassic, and dispersed via the Iberian land bridge into Gondwana, where they radiated. In 2007, Buffetaut pointed out that palaeogeographical studies had demonstrated that Iberia was near northern Africa during the Early Cretaceous, which he found to confirm Milner's idea that the Iberian region was a stepping stone between Europe and Africa, which is supported by the presence of baryonychines in Iberia. The direction of the dispersal between Europe and Africa is still unknown, and subsequent discoveries of spinosaurid remains in Asia and possibly Australia indicate that it may have been complex.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 2016, the Spanish palaeontologist Alejandro Serrano-Martínez and colleagues reported the oldest known spinosaurid fossil, a tooth from the Middle Jurassic of Niger, which they found to suggest that spinosaurids originated in Gondwana, since other known Jurassic spinosaurid teeth are also from Africa, but they found the subsequent dispersal routes unclear. Some later studies instead suggested this tooth belonged to a megalosaurid. Candeiro and colleagues suggested in 2017 that spinosaurids of northern Gondwana were replaced by other predators, such as abelisauroids, since no definite spinosaurid fossils are known from after the Cenomanian anywhere in the world. They attributed the disappearance of spinosaurids and other shifts in the fauna of Gondwana to changes in the environment, perhaps caused by transgressions in sea level. Malafaia and colleagues stated in 2020 that "Baryonyx" remains the oldest unquestionable spinosaurid, while acknowledging that older remains had also been tentatively assigned to the group. Barker and colleagues found support for a European origin for spinosaurids in 2021, with an expansion to Asia and Gondwana during the first half of the Early Cretaceous. In contrast to Sereno, these authors suggested there had been at least two dispersal events from Europe to Africa, leading to "Suchomimus" and the African part of Spinosaurinae.


title: Baryonyx

text: In 1986, Charig and Milner suggested that its elongated snout with many finely serrated teeth indicated that "Baryonyx" was piscivorous (fish-eating), speculating that it crouched on a riverbank and used its claw to gaff fish out of the water (similar to the modern grizzly bear). Two years earlier, Taquet pointed out that the spinosaurid snouts from Niger were similar to those of the modern gharial and suggested a behaviour similar to herons or storks. In 1987, the Scottish biologist Andrew Kitchener disputed the piscivorous behaviour of "Baryonyx" and suggested that it would have been a scavenger, using its long neck to feed on the ground, its claws to break into a carcass, and its long snout (with nostrils far back for breathing) for investigating the body cavity. Kitchener argued that "Baryonyx" jaws and teeth were too weak to kill other dinosaurs and too heavy to catch fish, with too many adaptations for piscivory. According to the Irish palaeontologist Robin E. H. Reid, a scavenged carcass would have been broken up by its predator and large animals capable of doing so—such as grizzly bears—are also capable of catching fish (at least in shallow water).


title: Baryonyx

text: In 1997, Charig and Milner demonstrated direct dietary evidence in the stomach region of the "B. walkeri" holotype. It contained the first evidence of piscivory in a theropod dinosaur, acid-etched scales and teeth of the common fish "Scheenstia mantelli" (then classified in the genus "Lepidotes"), and abraded or etched bones of a young iguanodontid. They also presented circumstantial evidence for piscivory, such as crocodile-like adaptations for catching and swallowing prey: long, narrow jaws with their "terminal rosette", similar to those of a gharial, and the downturned tip and notch of the snout. In their view, these adaptations suggested that "Baryonyx" would have caught small to medium-sized fish in the manner of a crocodilian: gripping them with the notch of the snout (giving the teeth a "stabbing function"), tilting the head backwards, and swallowing them headfirst. Larger fish would be broken up with the claws. That the teeth in the lower jaw were smaller, more crowded and numerous than those in the upper jaw may have helped the animal grip food. Charig and Milner maintained that "Baryonyx" would primarily have eaten fish (although it would also have been an active predator and opportunistic scavenger), but it was not equipped to be a macro-predator like "Allosaurus". They suggested that "Baryonyx" mainly used its forelimbs and large claws to catch, kill and tear apart larger prey. An apparent gastrolith (gizzard stone) was also found with the specimen. The German palaeontologist Oliver Wings suggested in 2007 that the low number of stones found in theropods like "Baryonyx" and "Allosaurus" could have been ingested by accident. In 2004, a pterosaur neck vertebra from Brazil with a spinosaurid tooth embedded in it reported by Buffetaut and colleagues confirmed that the latter were not exclusively piscivorous.


title: Baryonyx

text: A 2005 beam-theory study by the Canadian palaeontologist François Therrien and colleagues was unable to reconstruct force profiles of "Baryonyx", but found that the related "Suchomimus" would have used the front part of its jaws to capture prey, and suggested that the jaws of spinosaurids were adapted for hunting smaller terrestrial prey in addition to fish. They envisaged that spinosaurids could have captured smaller prey with the rosette of teeth at the front of the jaws, and finished it by shaking it. Larger prey would instead have been captured and killed with their forelimbs instead of their bite, since their skulls would not be able to resist the bending stress. They also agreed that the conical teeth of spinosaurids were well-developed for impaling and holding prey, with their shape enabling them to withstand bending loads from all directions. A 2007 finite element analysis of CT scanned snouts by the British palaeontologist Emily J. Rayfield and colleagues indicated that the biomechanics of "Baryonyx" were most similar to those of the gharial and unlike those of the American alligator and more-conventional theropods, supporting a piscivorous diet for spinosaurids. Their secondary palate helped them resist bending and torsion of their tubular snouts. A 2013 beam-theory study by the British palaeontologists Andrew R. Cuff and Rayfield compared the biomechanics of CT-scanned spinosaurid snouts with those of extant crocodilians, and found the snouts of "Baryonyx" and "Spinosaurus" similar in their resistance to bending and torsion. "Baryonyx" was found to have relatively high resistance in the snout to dorsoventral bending compared with "Spinosaurus" and the gharial. The authors concluded (in contrast to the 2007 study) that "Baryonyx" performed differently than the gharial; spinosaurids were not exclusive piscivores, and their diet was determined by their individual size.


title: Baryonyx

text: In a 2014 conference abstract, the American palaeontologist Danny Anduza and Fowler pointed out that grizzly bears do not gaff fish out of the water as was suggested for "Baryonyx", and also ruled out that the dinosaur would not have darted its head like herons, since the necks of spinosaurids were not strongly S-curved, and their eyes were not well-positioned for binocular vision. Instead, they suggested the jaws would have made sideways sweeps to catch fish, like the gharial, with the hand claws probably used to stamp down and impale large fish, whereafter they manipulated them with their jaws, in a manner similar to grizzly bears and fishing cats. They did not find the teeth of spinosaurids suitable for dismembering prey, due to their lack of serrations, and suggested they would have swallowed prey whole (while noting they could also have used their claws for dismemberment). A 2016 study by the Belgian palaeontologist Christophe Hendrickx and colleagues found that adult spinosaurs could displace their mandibular rami (halves of the lower jaw) sideways when the jaw was depressed, which allowed the pharynx (opening that connects the mouth to the oesophagus) to be widened. This jaw-articulation is similar to that seen in pterosaurs and living pelicans, and would likewise have allowed spinosaurids to swallow large prey such as fish and other animals. They also reported that the possible Portuguese "Baryonyx" fossils were found associated with isolated "Iguanodon" teeth, and listed it along with other such associations as support for opportunistic feeding behaviour in spinosaurs. Another 2016 study by the French palaeontologist Romain Vullo and colleagues found that the jaws of spinosaurids were convergent with those of pike conger eels; these fish also have jaws that are compressed side to side (whereas the jaws of crocodilians are compressed from top to bottom), an elongated snout with a "terminal rosette" that bears enlarged teeth, and a notch behind the rosette with smaller teeth. Such jaws likely evolved for grabbing prey in aquatic environments with low light, and may have helped in prey detection.


title: Baryonyx

text: In their original description, Charig and Milner did not consider "Baryonyx" to be aquatic (due to its nostrils being on the sides of its snout—far from the tip—and the form of the post-cranial skeleton), but thought it was capable of swimming, like most land vertebrates. They speculated that the elongated skull, long neck, and strong humerus of "Baryonyx" indicated that the animal was a facultative quadruped, unique among theropods. In their 1997 article they found no skeletal support for this, but maintained that the forelimbs would have been strong enough for a quadrupedal posture and it would probably have caught aquatic prey while crouching—or on all fours—near (or in) water. A 2014 re-description of "Spinosaurus" by the German-Moroccan palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim and colleagues based on new remains suggested that it was a quadruped, based on its anterior centre of body mass. The authors found quadrupedality unlikely for "Baryonyx", since the better-known legs of the closely related "Suchomimus" did not support this posture. Various theories have been proposed for the tall neural spines (or "sails") of spinosaurids, such as use in thermoregulation, fat-storage in a hump, or display, and in 2015, the German biophysicist Jan Gimsa and colleagues suggested that this feature could also have aided aquatic movement by improving manoeuvrability when submerged, and acted as fulcrum for powerful movements of the neck and tail (similar to those of sailfish or thresher sharks).


title: Baryonyx

text: In 2017, the British palaeontologist David E. Hone and Holtz hypothesized that the head crests of spinosaurids were probably used for sexual or threat display. The authors also pointed out that (like other theropods) there was no reason to believe that the forelimbs of "Baryonyx" were able to pronate (crossing the radius and ulna bones of the lower arm to turn the hand), and thereby make it able to rest or walk on its palms. Resting on or using the forelimbs for locomotion may have been possible (as indicated by tracks of a resting theropod), but if this was the norm, the forelimbs would probably have showed adaptations for this. Hone and Holtz furthermore suggested that the forelimbs of spinosaurids do not seem optimal for trapping prey, but instead appear similar to the forelimbs of digging animals. They suggested that the ability to dig would have been useful when excavating nests, digging for water, or to reach some kinds of prey. Hone and Holtz also believed that spinosaurids would have waded and dipped in water rather than submerging themselves, due to their sparsity of aquatic adaptations. A 2018 study of buoyancy (through simulation with 3D models) by the Canadian palaeontologist Donald M. Henderson found that distantly related theropods floated as well as the tested spinosaurs, and instead supported they would have stayed by the shorelines or shallow water rather than being semi-aquatic.


title: Baryonyx

text: A 2010 study by the French palaeontologist Romain Amiot and colleagues proposed that spinosaurids were semiaquatic, based on the oxygen isotope composition of spinosaurid teeth from around the world compared with that of other theropods and extant animals. Spinosaurids probably spent much of the day in water, like crocodiles and hippopotamuses, and had a diet similar to the former; both were opportunistic predators. Since most spinosaurids do not appear to have anatomical adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle, the authors proposed that submersion in water was a means of thermoregulation similar to that of crocodiles and hippopotamuses. Spinosaurids may also have turned to aquatic habitats and piscivory to avoid competition with large, more-terrestrial theropods. In 2016, Sales and colleagues statistically examined the fossil distribution of spinosaurids, abelisaurids, and carcharodontosaurids, and concluded that spinosaurids had the strongest support for association with coastal palaeoenvironments. Spinosaurids also appear to have inhabited inland environments (with their distribution there being comparable to carcharodontosaurids), which indicates they may have been more generalist than usually thought.


title: Baryonyx

text: Sales and Schultz agreed in 2017 that spinosaurids were semiaquatic and partially piscivorous, based on skull features such as conical teeth, snouts that were compressed from side to side, and retracted nostrils. They interpreted the fact that histological data indicates some spinosaurids were more terrestrial than others as reflecting ecological niche partitioning among them. As some spinosaurids have smaller nostrils than others, their olfactory abilities were presumably lesser, as in modern piscivorous animals, and they may instead have used other senses (such as vision and mechanoreception) when hunting fish. Olfaction may have been more useful for spinosaurids that also fed on terrestrial prey, such as baryonychines. A 2018 study by the French palaeontologist Auguste Hassler and colleagues of calcium isotopes in the teeth of North African theropods found that spinosaurids had a mixed diet of fish and herbivorous dinosaurs, whereas the other theropods examined (abelisaurids and carcharodontosaurids) mainly fed on herbivorous dinosaurs. This indicates ecological partitioning between these theropods, and that spinosaurids were semi-aquatic predators.


title: Baryonyx

text: A 2017 histological study of growth lines by the German palaeontologist Katja Waskow and Mateus found that the possible Portuguese "Baryonyx" specimen had died between the age of 23 and 25 years old, and was close to its maximum size and skeletal maturity. This contradicted a younger age indicated by the neurocentral sutures not being fused, and the presence of both mature and sub-adult traits may be due to paedomorphosis (where juvenile traits are retained into adulthood). Paedomorphic traits may be related to swimming locomotion, as they have been suggested in other extinct animals thought to have been aquatic (such as plesiosaurs and temnospondyls). The study also found that the animal had reached sexual maturity at the age of 13 to 15 years, due to a decrease in growth rate at this point.


title: Baryonyx

text: A 2022 study revealed that "Baryonyx" possessed dense bones that would have allowed it to dive underwater. This same adaptation was revealed in the related "Spinosaurus", and they are believed to have been subaqueous foragers that dived after aquatic prey, while "Suchomimus" was better adapted to a non-diving lifestyle by comparison according to the provided analysis. This discovery also showcases the unique and ecologically disparate lifestyles spinosaurids had, with more hollow-boned genera preferring to hunt in shallower water.


title: Baryonyx

text: The Weald Clay Formation consists of sediments of Hauterivian (Lower Weald Clay) to Barremian (Upper Weald Clay) age, about 130–125 million years old. The "B. walkeri" holotype was found in the latter, in clay representing non-marine still water, which has been interpreted as a fluvial or mudflat environment with shallow water, lagoons, and marshes. During the Early Cretaceous, the Weald area of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent was partly covered by the large, fresh-to-brackish water Wealden Lake. Two large rivers drained the northern area (where London now stands), flowing into the lake through a river delta; the Anglo-Paris Basin was in the south. Its climate was sub-tropical, similar to the present Mediterranean region. Since the Smokejacks Pit consists of different stratigraphic levels, fossil taxa found there are not necessarily contemporaneous. Dinosaurs from the locality include the ornithopods "Mantellisaurus", "Iguanodon", and small sauropods. Other vertebrates from the Weald Clay include crocodiles, pterosaurs, lizards (such as "Dorsetisaurus"), amphibians, sharks (such as "Hybodus"), and bony fishes (including "Scheenstia"). Members of ten orders of insects have been identified, including "Valditermes", "Archisphex", and "Pterinoblattina". Other invertebrates include ostracods, isopods, conchostracans, and bivalves. The plants "Weichselia" and the aquatic, herbaceous "Bevhalstia" were common. Other plants found include ferns, horsetails, club mosses, and conifers.


title: Baryonyx

text: Other dinosaurs from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight where "Baryonyx" may have occurred include the theropods "Riparovenator", "Ceratosuchops", "Neovenator", "Eotyrannus", "Aristosuchus", "Thecocoelurus", "Calamospondylus", and "Ornithodesmus"; the ornithopods "Iguanodon", "Hypsilophodon", and "Valdosaurus"; the sauropods "Ornithopsis", "Eucamerotus", and "Chondrosteosaurus"; and the ankylosaur "Polacanthus". Barker and colleagues stated in 2021 that the identification of the two additional spinosaurids from the Wealden Supergroup, "Riparovenator" and "Ceratosuchops", has implications for potential ecological separation within Spinosauridae if these and "Baryonyx" were contemporary and interacted. They cautioned that it is possible the Upper Weald Clay and Wessex Formations and the spinosaurids known from them were separated in time. It is generally thought that large predators occur with small taxonomic diversity in any area due to ecological demands, yet many Mesozoic assemblages include two or more sympatric theropods that were comparable in size and morphology, and this also appears to have been the case for spinosaurids. Barker and colleagues suggested that high diversity within Spinosauridae in a given area may have been the result of environmental circumstances benefiting their niche. While it has been generally assumed that only identifiable anatomical traits related to resource partitioning allowed for coexistence of large theropods, Barker and colleagues noted that this does not preclude that similar and closely related taxa could coexist and overlap in ecological requirements. Possible miche partitioning could be in time (seasonal or daily), in space (between habitats in the same ecosystems), or depending on conditions, and they could also have been separated by their choice of habitat within their regions (which may have ranged in climate).


title: Baryonyx

text: Charig and Milner presented a possible scenario explaining the taphonomy (changes during decay and fossilisation) of the "B. walkeri" holotype specimen. The fine-grained sediments around the skeleton, and the fact that the bones were found close together (skull and forelimb elements at one end of the excavation area and the pelvis and hind-limb elements at the other), indicates that the environment was quiet at the time of deposition, and water currents did not carry the carcass far—possibly because the water was shallow. The area where the specimen died seems to have been suitable for a piscivorous animal. It may have caught fish and scavenged on the mud plain, becoming mired before it died and was buried. Since the bones are well-preserved and had no gnaw marks, the carcass appears to have been undisturbed by scavengers (suggesting that it was quickly covered by sediment).


title: Baryonyx

text: The disarticulation of the bones may have been the result of soft-tissue decomposition. Parts of the skeleton seem to have weathered to different degrees, perhaps because water levels changed or the sediments shifted (exposing parts of the skeleton). The girdle and limb bones, the dentary, and a rib were broken before fossilisation, perhaps from trampling by large animals while buried. Most of the tail appears to have been lost before fossilisation, perhaps due to scavenging, or having rotted and floated off. The orientation of the bones indicates that the carcass lay on its back (perhaps tilted slightly to the left, with the right side upwards), which may explain why all the lower teeth had fallen out of their sockets and some upper teeth were still in place.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague on 19 November 1798 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace and later in the Trippenhuis. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1885. On 13 April 2013, after a ten-year renovation which cost € 375 million, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix. In 2013 and 2014, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands with record numbers of 2.2 million and 2.47 million visitors. It is also the largest art museum in the country.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has a small Asian collection, which is on display in the Asian pavilion.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The collection of the Rijksmuseum was built over a period of 200 years and did not originate from a royal collection incorporated into a national museum. Its origins were modest, with its collection fitting into five rooms at in Huis ten Bosch palace in The Hague. Although the seventeenth-century was beginning to be recognized as the key period in Dutch art, the museum did not then hold paintings by Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Johannes Vermeer, or Jacob van Ruisdael. The collection was built up by purchase and donation. Napoleon had carried off the stadholder's collection to Paris; the paintings were returned to The Netherlands in 1815 but housed in the Mauritshuis in The Hague rather than the Rijksmuseum. With the founding of the Rijksmuseum in 1885, holdings from other entities were brought together to establish the Rijksmuseum's major collections.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1795, the Batavian Republic was proclaimed; its Minister of Finance Isaac Gogel argued that a national museum, following the French example of The Louvre, would serve the national interest. On 19 November 1798, the government decided to found the museum.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: On 31 May 1800, the National Art Gallery (Dutch: "Nationale Kunst-Galerij"), precursor of the Rijksmuseum, opened in Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. The museum exhibited around 200 paintings and historic objects from the collections of the Dutch stadtholders.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1805, the National Art Gallery moved within The Hague to the Prince William V Gallery, on the Buitenhof.In 1806, the Kingdom of Holland was established by Napoleon Bonaparte. On the orders of king Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, the museum moved to Amsterdam in 1808. Paintings owned by that city, such as "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt, became part of the collection. In 1809, the museum opened in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1817, the museum moved to the Trippenhuis. The Trippenhuis turned out to be unsuitable as a museum. In 1820, the historical objects were moved to the Mauritshuis in The Hague and in 1838, the 19th-century paintings ""of living masters"" were moved to King Louis Bonaparte's former summer palace Paviljoen Welgelegen in Haarlem.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1863, there was a design contest for a new building for the Rijksmuseum, but none of the submissions was considered to be of sufficient quality. Pierre Cuypers also participated in the contest and his submission reached the second place.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1876, a new contest was held and this time Pierre Cuypers won. The design was a combination of gothic and renaissance elements. The construction began on 1 October 1876. On both the inside and the outside, the building was richly decorated with references to Dutch art history. Another contest was held for these decorations. The winners were B. van Hove and J.F. Vermeylen for the sculptures, G. Sturm for the tile tableaus and painting and W.F. Dixon for the stained glass. The museum was opened at its new location on 13 July 1885.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1890, a new building was added a short distance to the south-west of the Rijksmuseum. As the building was made out of fragments of demolished buildings, the building offers an overview of the history of Dutch architecture and has come to be known informally as the 'fragment building'. It is also known as the 'south wing' and is currently (in 2013) branded the "Philips Wing".


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 1906, the hall for "The Night Watch" was rebuilt. In the interior more changes were made between the 1920s and 1950s - most multi-coloured wall decorations were painted over. In the 1960s exposition rooms and several floors were built into the two courtyards. The building had some minor renovations and restorations in 1984, 1995–1996 and 2000.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: A renovation of the south wing of the museum, also known as the 'fragment building' or 'Philips Wing', was completed in 1996, the same year that the museum held its first major photography exhibition featuring its extensive collection of 19th-century photos.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In December 2003, the main building of the museum closed for a major renovation. During this renovation, about 400 objects from the collection were on display in the 'fragment building', including Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" and other 17th-century masterpieces.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The restoration and renovation of the Rijksmuseum are based on a design by Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz. Many of the old interior decorations were restored and the floors in the courtyards were removed. The renovation would have initially taken five years, but was delayed and eventually took almost ten years to complete. The renovation cost € 375 million.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The reconstruction of the building was completed on 16 July 2012. In March 2013, the museum's main pieces of art were moved back from the 'fragment building' (Philips Wing) to the main building. "The Night Watch" returned to the Night Watch Room, at the end of the Hall of Fame. On 13 April 2013, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix. On 1 November 2014, the Philips Wing reopened with the exhibition .


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The building of the Rijksmuseum was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885. It consists of two squares with an atrium in each centre. In the central axis is a tunnel with the entrances at ground level and the Gallery of Honour at the first floor. The building also contains a library. The fragment building, branded Philips wing, contains building fragments that show the history of architecture in the Netherlands. The Rijksmuseum is a "rijksmonument" (national heritage site) since 1970 and was listed in the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites in 1990. The Asian pavilion was designed by Cruz y Ortiz and opened in 2013.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: According to Muriel Huisman, Project Architect for the Rijksmuseum's renovation, "Cruz y Ortiz always like to look for synergy between old and new, and we try not to explain things with our architecture.” With the Rijks, “there’s no cut between old and new; we’ve tried to merge it. We did this by looking for materials that were true to the original building, resulting in a kind of silent architecture."


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The collection of the Rijksmuseum consists of 1 million objects and is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history from the years 1200 to 2000. Around 8,000 objects are currently on display in the museum.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The collection contains more than 2,000 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age by notable painters such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Rembrandt, and Rembrandt's pupils.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: Some of the more unusual items in the collection include the royal crest from the stern of which was captured in the Raid on the Medway, the Hartog plate and the FK35 "Bantam" biplane.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In 2012, the museum made some 125,000 high-resolution images available for download via its Rijksstudio webplatform, with plans to add another 40,000 images per year until the entire collection of one million works is available, according to Taco Dibbits, director of collections. As of January 2021, the Rijksstudio hosts 700,000 works, available under a Creative Commons 1.0 Universal license, essentially copyright-free and royalty-free.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: in 2019, to mark the 350th anniversary of the artist's death, the museum mounted an exhibition of all the works by Rembrandt in its collection. Consisting of 22 paintings, 60 drawings and over 300 prints, this was the first time they had all been exhibited together. Principal features were the marriage portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit along with the presentation of the "Night Watch" immediately before its planned restoration. The exhibition ran from February to June.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: After previous temporary exhibitions on art historical themes, the Rijksmuseum in 2021 presented an exhibition on the history of slavery in the Dutch colonial Empire, with more than a million people forced into slavery. It covered trans-Atlantic slavery from the 17th to the 19th century in Suriname, Brazil and the Caribbean, as well as Dutch colonial slavery in South Africa and Asia, where the Dutch West India Company (WIC) and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were engaged in slavery. Besides objects, such as a wooden block for locking slaves, paintings, archival documents, oral sources, poems and music, the exhibition also presented connections of the slavery system at home in the Netherlands. In the permanent collection, labels were added to 77 paintings and objects that had been seen as symbols of the country's wealth and power to indicate previously hidden links to slavery.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The exhibition was presented both physically in the museum from May to August 2021 and in an online version. It was complemented by audio tours and videos relating personal and real-life stories as well as an accompanying book titled "Slavery".


title: Rijksmuseum

text: In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rijksmuseum was annually visited by 0.9 to 1.3 million people. On 7 December 2003, the main building of the museum was closed for a renovation until 13 April 2013. In the preceding decade, the number of visitors had slightly decreased to 0.8 to 1.1 million people. The museum says after the renovation, the museum's capacity is 1.5 to 2.0 million visitors annually. Within eight months since the reopening in 2013, the museum was visited by 2 million people.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The museum had 2.2 million visitors in 2013 and reached an all-time record of 2.47 million visitors in 2014. The museum was the most visited museum in the Netherlands and the 19th most visited art museum in the world in 2013 and 2014.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: The Rijksmuseum Research Library is part of the Rijksmuseum, and is the best and the largest public art history research library in The Netherlands.


title: Rijksmuseum

text: Rijks, stylized as RIJKS®, is a restaurant with 140 seats in the Philips Wing. Joris Bijdendijk has been the chef de cuisine since the opening in 2014. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2017.


title: History of Arda

text: In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional universe. Time from that point was measured using Valian Years, though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps, the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun. A separate, overlapping chronology divides the history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar.


title: History of Arda

text: Major themes of the history are the divine creation of the world, followed by the splintering of the created light as different wills come into conflict. Scholars have noted the biblical echoes of God, Satan, and the fall of man here, rooted in Tolkien's own Christian faith. Arda is, as critics have noted, "our own green and solid Earth at some quite remote epoch in the past." As such, it has not only an immediate story but a history, and the whole thing is an "imagined prehistory" of the Earth as it is now.


title: History of Arda

text: The supreme deity of Tolkien's universe is Eru Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar created spirits named the Ainur from his thoughts, and some were considered brothers or sisters. Ilúvatar made divine music with them. Melkor, then the most powerful of the Ainur, broke the harmony of the music, until Ilúvatar began first a second theme, and then a third theme, which the Ainur could not comprehend since they were not the source of it. The essence of their song symbolized the history of the whole universe and the Children of Ilúvatar that were to dwell in it – Men and Elves.


title: History of Arda

text: Then Ilúvatar created Eä, which means "to be," the universe itself, and formed within it Arda, the Earth, "globed within the void": the world together with the three airs is set apart from "Avakúma", the "void" without. The first 15 of the Ainur that descended to Arda, and the most powerful ones, were called Valar; the lesser Ainur were called Maiar.


title: History of Arda

text: When the Valar entered Arda, it was still lifeless and had no distinct geographical features. The initial shape of Arda, chosen by the Valar, was much more symmetrical, including the central continent of Middle-earth. Middle-earth was also originally much larger, and was lit by the misty light that veiled the barren ground. The Valar concentrated this light in two large lamps, called Illuin and Ormal. The Vala Aulë forged two great pillar-like mountains, Helcar in the north and Ringil in the south. Illuin was set upon Helcar and Ormal upon Ringil. In the middle, where the light of the lamps mingled, the Valar dwelt at the island of Almaren upon the Great Lake.


title: History of Arda

text: This period, known as the Spring of Arda, was a time when the Valar had ordered the World as they wished and rested upon Almaren, and Melkor lurked beyond the Walls of Night. During this time animals first appeared, and forests started to grow.


title: History of Arda

text: The Spring of Arda was interrupted when Melkor returned to Arda, and ended completely when he assaulted and destroyed the Lamps of the Valar. Arda was again darkened, and the fall of the great Lamps spoiled the symmetry of Arda's surface. New continents were created: Aman in the West, Middle-earth proper in the middle, the uninhabited lands (later called the Land of the Sun) in the East. At the site of the northern lamp was later the inland Sea of Helcar, of which Cuiviénen was a bay. At the site of the southern lamp was later the Sea of Ringil. After the destruction of the Two Lamps the Years of the Lamps ended and the Years of the Trees began.


title: History of Arda

text: After the destruction of the Two Lamps and the kingdom of Almaren, the Valar abandoned Middle-earth, moving to the continent of Aman. There they built their Second Kingdom, Valinor. Yavanna made the Two Trees, named "Telperion" (the silver tree) and "Laurelin" (the golden tree) in the land of Valinor. The Trees illuminated Valinor, leaving Middle-earth in darkness. The Years of the Trees were contemporary with Middle-earth's Sleep of Yavanna (recalled by Treebeard as the Great Darkness).


title: History of Arda

text: The Years of the Trees were divided into two epochs. The first ten Ages, the Years of Bliss, saw peace and prosperity in Valinor. The Eagles, the Ents and the Dwarves were conceived by Manwë, Yavanna, and Aulë respectively, but placed into slumber until after the awakening of the Elves. The next ten Ages, called the Noontide of the Blessed Realm, saw Varda kindling the stars above Middle-earth. This was the first time after the Spring of Arda that Middle-earth was illuminated. The first Elves awoke in Cuiviénen in the middle of Middle-earth, marking the start of the First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar, and were soon approached by the Enemy Melkor who hoped to enslave them. Learning of this, the Valar and the Maiar came into Middle-earth and, in the War of the Powers (also called the Battle of the Powers), defeated Melkor and brought him captive to Valinor. This began the period of the Peace of Arda.


title: History of Arda

text: After the War of the Powers, Oromë of the Valar summoned the Elves to Aman. Many of the Elves went with Oromë on the Great Journey westwards towards Aman. Along the journey several groups of Elves tarried, notably the Nandor and the Sindar. The three clans that arrived at Aman were the Vanyar, Noldor and the Teleri. They made their home in Eldamar. After Melkor appeared to repent and was released after his servitude of three Ages, he stirred up rivalry between the Noldorin King Finwë's two sons Fëanor and Fingolfin. With the help of Ungoliant, he killed Finwë and stole the Silmarils, three gems crafted by Fëanor that contained light of the Two Trees, from his vault, and destroyed the Trees of the Valar. The world was again dark, save for the faint starlight.


title: History of Arda

text: Bitter at the Valar's inactivity, Fëanor and his house left to pursue Melkor, cursing him with the name "Morgoth". While his brother Finarfin chose to stay in Valinor, a larger host led by Fingolfin followed Fëanor. They reached Alqualondë, the port-city of the Teleri, who forbade them from taking their ships for the journey to Middle-earth. The first Kinslaying thus ensued, and the Noldor that partook were exiled indefinitely. Fëanor and his children in return swore an oath to retake the Silmarils, that the Valar turned to a curse over the house of Fëanor. Fëanor's host sailed on the boats, leaving Fingolfin's host behind – who crossed over to Middle-earth on the Helcaraxë or Grinding Ice in the far north, losing many. The War of the Great Jewels followed, and lasted until the end of the First Age. Meanwhile, the Valar took the last living fruit of "Laurelin" and the last living flower of "Telperion" and used them to create the Moon and Sun, which remained a part of Arda, but were separate from Ambar (the world). The first rising of the sun over Ambar heralded the end of the Years of the Trees, and the start of the Years of the Sun, which last to the present day.


title: History of Arda

text: The Years of the Sun were the last of the three great time-periods of Arda. They began with the first sunrise in conjunction with the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth, and last until the present day. The Years of the Sun began towards the end of the First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar and continued through the Second, Third, and part of the Fourth in Tolkien's stories. Tolkien estimated that modern times would correspond to the sixth or seventh age.


title: History of Arda

text: The First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar, or "Eruhíni", began during the Years of the Trees when the Elves awoke in Cuiviénen in the middle-east of Middle-earth. This marked the start of the years when the Children of Ilúvatar were active in Middle-earth.


title: History of Arda

text: The First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar, also referred to as the Elder Days in "The Lord of the Rings", began during the Years of the Trees when the Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, and hence the events mentioned above under "Years of the Trees" overlap with the beginning of the First Age.


title: History of Arda

text: Having crossed into Middle-earth, Fëanor was soon lost in an attack on Morgoth's Balrogs – but his sons survived and founded realms, as did the followers of his half-brother Fingolfin, who reached Beleriand after Fëanor's death. In the Dagor Aglareb or Glorious Battle, the armies of the Noldor led by Fingolfin and Maedhros attacked from the east and west, destroying the invading Orcs and laid siege to Morgoth's stronghold Angband. The Noldor for a time maintained the Siege of Angband, resulting in the Long Peace. This Peace lasted hundreds of years, during which time Men arrived over the Blue Mountains. Morgoth broke the siege in the "Dagor Bragollach", or the Battle of Sudden Flame.


title: History of Arda

text: The Eldar, Edain and the Dwarves were all disastrously defeated in the "Nírnaeth Arnoediad" or Battle of Unnumbered Tears, and one by one, the kingdoms fell, even the hidden ones of Doriath and Gondolin.


title: History of Arda

text: At the end of the age, all that remained of free Elves and Men in Beleriand was a settlement at the mouth of the River Sirion and another on the Isle of Balar. Eärendil possessed the Silmaril which his wife Elwing's grandparents, Beren and Lúthien, had taken from Morgoth. But Fëanor's sons still maintained that all the Silmarils belonged to them, and so there were two more Kinslayings. Eärendil and Elwing crossed the Great Sea to beg the Valar for aid against Morgoth. They responded, sending forth a great host. In the War of Wrath, Melkor was utterly defeated. He was expelled into the Void and most of his works were destroyed, bringing the First Age to an end. This came at a terrible cost, however, as most of Beleriand itself was sunk.


title: History of Arda

text: The Second Age is characterized by the establishment and flourishing of Númenor, the rise of Sauron in Middle-earth, the creation of the Rings of Power and the Ringwraiths, and the early wars of the Rings between Sauron and the Elves. It ended with Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.


title: History of Arda

text: At the start of the Second Age, the Men who had remained faithful were given the island of Númenor, in the middle of the Great Sea, and there they established a powerful kingdom. The White Tree of Númenor was planted in the King's city of Armenelos; and it was said that while that tree stood in the King's courtyard, the reign of Númenor would endure. The Elves were granted pardon for the sins of Fëanor, and were allowed to return home to the Undying Lands. The Númenóreans became great seafarers, and were learned, wise, and had a lifespan beyond other men. At first, they honored the Ban of the Valar, never sailing into the Undying Lands. They went east to Middle-earth and taught the men living there valuable skills. After a time, they became jealous of the Elves for their immortality. Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant, was still active. As Annatar, in disguise he taught the Elves of Eregion the craft of creating Rings of Power. Seven Rings were made for the Dwarves, while Nine were made for Men who later became known as the Ringwraiths. He built a stronghold called Barad-dûr and secretly forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom to control the other rings and their bearers. Celebrimbor, a grandson of Fëanor, forged three mighty rings on his own: Vilya, possessed first by the Elven king Gil-galad, then by Elrond; Nenya, wielded by Galadriel; and Narya, given by Celebrimbor to Círdan, who gave it to Gandalf.


title: History of Arda

text: As soon as Sauron put on the One Ring, the Elves realized that they had been betrayed and removed the Three (Sauron eventually obtained the Seven and the Nine. While he was unable to suborn the Dwarf ringbearers, he had more success with the Men who bore the Nine; they became the Nazgûl or Ringwraiths). Sauron then made war on the elves and nearly destroyed them utterly during the Dark Years, but when it seemed defeat was imminent, the Númenóreans joined the battle and completely crushed the forces of Sauron. Sauron never forgot the ruin brought on his armies by the Númenóreans, and made it his goal to destroy them.


title: History of Arda

text: Towards the end of the age, the Númenóreans became increasingly haughty. Now they sought to dominate other men and to establish kingdoms. Centuries after Tar-Minastir's engagement, when Sauron had largely recovered, Ar-Pharazôn, the last and most powerful of the Kings of Númenor, humbled Sauron – his armies deserting in the face of Númenor's might – and brought him to Númenor as a hostage, although this was Sauron's goal. At this time still beautiful in appearance, Sauron gained Ar-Pharazôn's trust and became high priest in the cult of Melkor. At this time, the Faithful (who still worshipped the one god, Eru Ilúvatar), were persecuted openly by those called the King's Men, and were sacrificed in the name of Melkor. Eventually, Sauron convinced Ar-Pharazôn to invade Aman, promising him that he would thus obtain immortality. Amandil, chief of the Faithful, sailed westward to warn the Valar. His son Elendil and grandsons Isildur and Anárion prepared to flee eastwards, taking with them a seedling of the White Tree of Númenor before Sauron destroyed it, and the "palantíri", gifts of the elves. When the King's forces set foot on Aman, the Valar laid down their guardianship of the world and called on Ilúvatar to intervene.


title: History of Arda

text: The world was changed into a sphere and the continent of Aman was removed, although a sailing route from Middle-earth to Aman, accessible to the Elves but not to mortals, persisted. Númenor was utterly destroyed, as was the fair body of Sauron; however, his spirit returned to Mordor, where he again took up the One Ring, and gathered his strength once more. Elendil, his sons and the remainder of the Faithful sailed to Middle-earth, where they founded the realms in exile of Gondor and Arnor.


title: History of Arda

text: Sauron arose again and challenged them. The Elves allied with Men to form the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. For seven years, the Alliance laid siege to Barad-dûr, until at last Sauron himself entered the field. He slew Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor, and Gil-galad, the last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth. However, Isildur took up the hilt of Narsil, his father's shattered sword, and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Sauron was defeated, but not utterly destroyed. Afterward, Isildur ignored the counsel of Elrond, and rather than destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, he kept it as weregild for his dead father. But the Ring betrayed him and slipped from his finger as he was escaping from an Orc ambush at the Gladden Fields. Isildur was killed by an orc arrow, and the Ring was lost in the Anduin River.


title: History of Arda

text: The Third Age lasted for 3021 years, beginning with the first downfall of Sauron, when he was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men following the downfall of Númenor and ending with the War of the Ring and final defeat of Sauron, the events narrated in "The Lord of the Rings". Virtually the entire history of the Third Age takes place in Middle-earth. The Third Age saw the rise in power of the realms of Arnor and Gondor, and their fall. Arnor was divided into three petty Kingdoms, which fell one by one in the wars with Sauron's vassal kingdom of Angmar, whilst Gondor fell victim to Kin-strife, plague, Wainriders, and Corsairs. In this time, the line of the Kings of Gondor ends, with the House of the Stewards ruling in their stead. Meanwhile, the heirs of Isildur from the fallen kingdom of Arnor wander Middle-earth, aided only by Elrond in Rivendell; but the line of rightful heirs remains unbroken throughout the age.


title: History of Arda

text: This age was characterized by the waning of the Elves. In the beginning of the Third Age, many Elves left for Valinor because they were disturbed by the recent war. However, Elven kingdoms still survived in Lindon, Lothlórien, and Mirkwood. Rivendell also became a prominent haven for the Elves and other races. Throughout the Age, they chose not to mingle much in the matters of other lands, and only came to the aid of other races in time of war. The Elves devoted themselves to artistic pleasures, and tended to the lands which they occupied. The gradual decline of Elven populations occurred throughout the Age as the rise of Sauron came to dominate Middle-earth. By the end of the Third Age, only fragments of the once-grand Elven civilization survived in Middle-earth.


title: History of Arda

text: The Wizards arrived around a thousand years after the start of this period to aid the Free Peoples, most importantly Gandalf and Saruman. The One Ring was found by Sméagol but, under the power of the Ring and ignorant of its true nature, he retreated with the Ring to a secret life under the Misty Mountains. Middle-earth's devastating Great Plague originated in its vast eastern region, Rhûn, where it caused considerable suffering. By the winter of late the Plague spread from Rhûn into Wilderland, on the east of Middle-earth's western lands; in Wilderland it killed more than half the population. In the following year the Great Plague spread into Gondor and then Eriador. In Gondor the Plague caused many deaths, including king Telemnar, his children, and the White Tree; the population of the capital city Osgiliath was decimated, and government of the kingdom was transferred to Minas Tirith. In Eriador, the nascent Hobbit-realm of the Shire suffered "great loss" in what they called the Dark Plague.


title: History of Arda

text: The so-called Watchful Peace began in , when Gandalf went to Dol Guldur and the evil dwelling there (later known to be Sauron) fled to the far east. It lasted until , when Sauron returned with new strength. During this period Gondor strengthened its borders, keeping a watchful eye on the east, as Minas Morgul was still a threat on their flank and Mordor was still occupied with Orcs. There were minor skirmishes with Umbar. In the north, Arnor was long gone, but the Hobbits of the Shire prospered, getting their first Took Thain, and colonizing Buckland. The Dwarves of Durin's folk under Thorin I abandoned Erebor, and left for the Grey Mountains, where most of their kin now gathered. Meanwhile, Sauron created a strong alliance between the tribes of Easterlings, so that when he returned he had many Men in his service.


title: History of Arda

text: The main events of "The Hobbit" occur in . By the time of "The Lord of the Rings", Sauron had recovered, and was seeking the One Ring. The events of the ensuing War of the Ring leading to the end of the Third Age is the subject of "The Lord of the Rings", and summarized in "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age". After the defeat of Sauron, Aragorn takes his place as King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor, restoring the line of Kings from the Stewards of Gondor. Aragorn marries the daughter of Elrond, Arwen, thus for the last time adding Elvish blood to the royal line. As the age ends, Gandalf, Frodo Baggins and many of the remaining Elves of Middle-earth sail from the Grey Havens to Aman.


title: History of Arda

text: With the end of the Third Age began the Dominion of Men. Elves were no longer involved in Human affairs, and most Elves left for Valinor; those that remain behind "fade" and diminish. A similar fate meets the Dwarves: although Erebor becomes an ally of the Reunited Kingdom, there are indications that Khazad-dûm is refounded together with a colony established by Gimli in the White Mountains. Together, they disappear from human history.


title: History of Arda

text: Eldarion, son of Aragorn II Elessar and Arwen Evenstar, became King of the Reunited Kingdom in F.A. 120. Aragorn gave him the tokens of his rule, and then surrendered his life willingly, as his ancestors had done thousands of years before. Arwen left him to rule alone, passing away to the now-empty land of Lórien where she died. Upon the death of Aragorn, Legolas departed Middle-earth for Valinor, taking Gimli with him and ending the Fellowship of the Ring in Middle-earth.