Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 September 18

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From today's featured article

Baryonyx was a theropod dinosaur of the early Cretaceous Period, about 130–125 million years ago. An identifying specimen of the genus was discovered in 1983 in Surrey, England; fragmentary specimens were later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia. Meaning "heavy claw", Baryonyx refers to the animal's very large claw (31 cm or 12 in) on the first finger. The 1983 specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK, and its discovery attracted media attention. Baryonyx was about 7.5 m (25 ft) long and weighed 1.2 t (1.3 short tons). It had a long, low, bulbous snout and narrow, many-toothed jaws, which have been compared to gharial jaws. It is now recognised as a member of the family Spinosauridae of large, sail-backed predators. It was the first theropod dinosaur identified as fish-eating, and may also have been an active predator of larger prey and a scavenger, since the 1983 specimen contained bones of a juvenile Iguanodon. Baryonyx caught and held its prey primarily with its strong forelimbs and large claws. The creature lived near bodies of water, in areas where other theropod, ornithopod, and sauropod dinosaurs have also been found. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Helen Freeman

... that Helen Freeman (pictured) was an Athletic All-American in each of the five years she was at the University of Illinois, and an Academic All-American in three of them?
... that the Wonder Gardens jazz and R&B nightclub in Atlantic City, New Jersey provided early exposure for Dan Fogel, Harvey Mason, George Benson, and the Commodores?
... that the Devonshire White Paper of 1923 affirmed that African interests were paramount over those of settlers in British Kenya?
... that despite losing Best Motion Picture at Canada's national film awards in 1992, Léolo was named one of the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time by critics in 2015?
... that China is the world's largest textile exporter with an export value in 2013 nearly seven times greater than the next largest exporting country?
... that Jane Elizabeth Manning James was one of the first recorded African-American women to travel to Utah as a Mormon pioneer?
... that in their second year of providing a free mobile laundry service for the homeless, the co-founders of Orange Sky Laundry were jointly awarded Young Australian of the Year?
... that Cleveland Browns rookie safety Derrick Kindred played his entire senior year of college football with a broken collarbone?

In the news

Artist's impression of OSIRIS-REx

Typhoon Meranti affects China, Taiwan and the Philippines, causing at least 30 deaths.
The Chess Olympiad concludes with the United States winning the open event and China the women's event.
The wreck of HMS Terror, last seen in 1845 while on Franklin's lost expedition, is found off the south-west coast of King William Island, in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Passenger services begin on the 54-kilometre (34 mi) Moscow Central Circle rail line.
North Korea conducts its fifth and largest nuclear test to date.
NASA launches OSIRIS-REx (artist's impression pictured), a probe sent to return samples from the asteroid 101955 Bennu.

On this day...

September 18: National Day in Chile

Royal Opera House interior

14 – Tiberius, one of Rome's greatest generals, succeeded his stepfather Augustus as Roman emperor.
1809 – The second theatre of the Royal Opera House (interior pictured) in London opened after a fire destroyed the original theatre one year earlier.
1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations in the English seaside town of Blackpool, billed as "the greatest free light show on earth", were switched on for the first time.
1911 – Premier Pyotr Stolypin, considered one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia, was fatally wounded while attending a performance at the Kiev Opera House.
1974 – Hurricane Fifi struck Honduras, destroying 182 towns and villages in the first 24 hours, and ultimately causing over 8,000 deaths.

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Today's featured picture

Bothriechis schlegelii is a venomous pit viper species found in Central and South America. Small and arboreal, these snakes are characterized by their wide array of color variations, as well as the superciliary scales over the eyes. They are the most common of the palm-pitvipers and are often present in zoological exhibits. The specific name schlegelii honors the German ornithologist, Hermann Schlegel. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Photograph: Geoff Gallice

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