Thomas Henry Huxley ("Darwin's bulldog"), who was a comparative anatomist, made a study of it nearly 150 years ago. He compared the first fossil bird, "Archaeopteryx", with "Compsognathus". These two fossils were found in the same rocks: Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, Germany. The strata come from the end of the Jurassic, about 144 million years ago. Huxley showed that the two were almost identical, except for the front limbs and feathers of "Archaeopteryx". He showed the basic affinity of birds and reptiles, which he united them under the title of "Sauropsida". Huxley concluded that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs.
The remains of a lizard in the German specimen's thoracic cavity show that "Compsognathus" preyed on small vertebrates. Marsh, who examined the specimen in 1881, thought that this small skeleton inside "Compsognathus" belly was an embryo, but in 1903, Franz Nopcsa concluded that it was a lizard. Ostrom identified the remains as belonging to a lizard of the genus "Bavarisaurus", which he concluded was a fast and agile runner owing to its long tail and limb proportions. This in turn led to the conclusion that its predators, "Compsognathus", must have had sharp vision and the ability to rapidly accelerate and outrun the lizard. The "Bavarisaurus" is in a single piece, indicating that the "Compsognathus" must have swallowed its prey whole. The French specimen's gastric contents consist of unidentified lizards or sphenodontids.
"Comsognathus" was once thought to be the smallest dinosaur. However, if we assume the smaller specimen was a juvenile, then there are other slightly smaller species. The smallest dinosaur is probably "Anchiornis"; other candidates are: "Micropachycephalosaurus"; "Caenagnathasia"; "Microraptor"; and "Parvicursor".
Micropachycephalosaurus
Micropachycephalosaurus, a tiny thick headed lizard, is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous. It was a herbivore, and lived in what is now Shandong, China. It was one of the smallest dinosaur ever discovered, just over a meter long, but with the longest name. Before it was discovered "Compsognathus" was the smallest known dinosaur.
The lack of the skull roof means the fossil cannot be placed at family level. It might or might not be a pachycephalosaur. Butler and Zhao therefore classified it as an indeterminate member of the Cerapoda. In 2011, cladistic analysis showed that "Micropachycephalosaurus" is a basal member of the Ceratopsia. In this context, basal does not mean 'ancestral'; the fossil is far too late for that. It means simply 'unspecialized', or lacking derived traits.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor was a small theropod dromaeosaur of the Upper Cretaceous, about 75–71 million years ago, and also a smaller relative of the famous "Deinonychus".
It was a slender, lightly built carnivore. It was about two meters long (nearly seven feet) and 0.62 meters tall at the hip.
"Velociraptor" had one sickle-shaped claw on its foot which measured 6.5 centimeters along its length, and a smaller one on each hand. "Velociraptor" was warm blooded and had feathers.
Fossils from China suggest that the whole clade had similar traits.
Fossils of "Velociraptor" were first found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in 1922. In 1988, scientists from China found "Velociraptor" skeletons in northern China.
A famous "Velociraptor", discovered in 1971, was found attacking a "Protoceratops" in a fossil from Mongolia.
In September 2007 researchers found quill knobs on the forearm of a "Velociraptor" found in Mongolia. These bumps on bird wing bones show where feathers anchor, and their presence on "Velociraptor" indicate it too had feathers.
Turner and colleagues interpreted the presence of feathers on "Velociraptor" as evidence that the ancestors of dromaeosaurids could fly, making "Velociraptor" and "Deinonychus" secondarily flightless. This idea has since been discarded; the unmodified forearms count against it. Therefore, the feathers in the ancestors of "Velociraptor" had another function. The feathers of the flightless "Velociraptor" may have been used for display, for covering their nests while brooding.
The majority view is that dinosaur feathers were primarily adaptations for temperature regulation, and that other uses came later.
Specimens from two species have been found:
In both cases the ecology of the time was dry, with sand dunes with occasional streams.
Films such as "Jurassic Park" and some of "The Land Before Time" films helped make "Velociraptor" popular. However, the raptors in Jurassic Park were far larger than the real thing. They were the size of "Deinonychus", a larger member of the same clade. The films also exaggerated its probable intelligence.
Rhea (moon)
Rhea (; ), does known as Tomatoosaurus, a portmanteau of "tomato" + "Tyrannosaurus", is Saturn's second largest moon. It is made of ice and rock.
Rhea may have a thin ring system with three narrow bands in a disk of solid particles. These would be the first rings seen around a moon. The discovery was announced in the journal "Science" on March 6, 2008.
Mimas (moon)
Mimas (from the Greek "Μίμᾱς") is one of Saturn's largest moons. It is also called Saturn I. Mimas is best known for its large crater, Herschel. In the centre of the crater is a very high mountain. Mimas was discovered by the English astronomer William Herschel on September 17, 1789. The moon is believed to have created the Cassini Division. This is a 4,800 km gap between Saturn's A and B rings.
Mimas was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. He discovered it on September 17. Herschel discovered it along with another Saturnian moon, Enceladus
Mimas was named after one of the Titans in mythology. Mimas was the giant.
Mimas is full with craters like our Moon. But unlike the craters on the Moon, Mimas has icy craters like going through an icy object.
Mimas has craters, but the most famous is the Herschel crater. It is 130 km (80 mi) in diameter. The diameter of Herschel is about 1/3 of Mimas. If a comet or asteroid that hit Mimas were to hit Earth, the crater would be seen from space with all the Earth shown in view.
Mimas would evaporate away if it was too close to the Sun.
Mimas has been visited by 4 or 5 spacecrafts.
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a type of food or drink that gives one a higher libido. The name comes from the Greek goddess Aphrodite. A food or drink that makes a person less aroused is called an anaphrodisiac.
Some things thought by some to be aphrodisiacs are ginko, ashwaganda, oysters and chocolate.
Protoceratops
Protoceratops was a ceratopsian dinosaur from Mongolia. It was shown in a fossil being attacked by a "Velociraptor".
Vidar
Víðarr (Old Norse: "the wide ruling one") is the god of vengeance in Norse mythology. A member of the Æsir, he is the son of Odin and the giantess Gríðr. During Ragnarök, when the monstrous wolf Fenrir swallows Odin whole, Víðarr is told to avenge his father's death, as he takes Fenrir by the jaw and tears his head apart, killing Fenrir. He will ultimately survive Ragnarök, as he will then meet with his brother Váli in Iðavöllr, where Asgard once lay; there they are joined by their brothers, Höðr and Baldr, as well as Thor's sons, Magni and Móði.
Anchisaurus
Anchisaurus was a small sauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic. It was shown in the movie "When Dinosaurs Roamed America" getting attacked by a pack of "Megapnosaurus" and eaten by a "Dilophosaurus".
Segisaurus
Segisaurus was a small dinosaur from the Triassic. It was a relative of "Coelophysis".
Psittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus was a small ceratopsian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of what is now Asia, about 130 to 100 million years ago. It was more basal than other members of the Ceratopsia: it was bipedal, and had no horns or frill on its head. What made it a ceratopsian was its beak.