Post by dinosauria101 on Feb 6, 2019 18:31:42 GMT 5
American Alligator - Alligator mississippiensis
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae. It is larger than the other extant alligator species, the Chinese alligator. The American alligator inhabits wetlands that frequently overlap with human-populated areas. The American alligator has a large, slightly rounded body, with thick limbs, a broad head, and a very powerful tail. Adult Alligators generally have dark gray or nearly black color. They may at times appear to be lighter based on detritus or algae in the water covering their skin. Juvenile alligators have a striped pattern for camouflage that they lose as they mature. Averaging about 9.5 in (24 cm) in length when newly hatched, alligators reach sexual maturity when they measure about 5–7 ft (1.5–2.1 m). Adult male alligators average 13 ft (4 m) in length, while adult females average 8.2 to 9.8 ft (2.5 to 3.0 m). Average adult males weigh about 800 lb (360 kg), with a few exceptionally large and old males exceeding 1,100 pounds (500 kg). One American Alligator reached a length of 19 feet 2 inches (5.84 m) and 2,200 lb (1,000 kg), which made it not only the largest alligator ever recorded, but also among the largest crocodilians on record (although the related Black Caiman and 5 other crocodilians are believed to equal or exceed this size and prehistoric crocodilians such as Sarcosuchus, Deinosuchus, and Purussaurus reached much greater size). The tail, which accounts for half of the alligator's total length, is primarily used for aquatic propulsion. The tail can also be used as a weapon of defense when an alligator feels threatened. Alligators travel very quickly in water and while they are generally slow-moving on land, alligators can lunge short distances very quickly. They have five claws on each front foot and four on each rear foot. American Alligators have the strongest laboratory measured bite of any living animal, measured at up to 9,452 newtons (2,125 lbf) in laboratory conditions. It should be noted that this experiment has not (at the time of the paper published) been replicated in any other crocodilians.
Austroraptor cabazai
Austroraptor ("Southern thief") was a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived about 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous period in what is now modern Argentina. The type species for the genus, Austroraptor cabazai, was described in late 2008 by Fernando Novas of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. The fossil specimen was discovered in the Late Cretaceous deposits located in the Río Negro Province of Argentina. The species was named in honor of Alberto Cabaza, who founded the Museo Municipal de Lamarque where the specimen was partially studied. Considered large for a dromaeosaur, Austroraptor cabazai measured around 6 meters (20 ft) in length from head to tail, and is thought to have weighed 350 to 500 kg (770 to 1100 lbs). It is the largest dromaeosaur to be discovered in the Southern Hemisphere. Particularly notable about the taxon were its relatively short forearms, much shorter in proportion compared to those of other members of its family. The relative length of its arms has caused Austroraptor to be compared to another, more famous short-armed dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus. The type specimen, labeled MML-195, consisted of a fragmentary skeleton including parts of the dinosaur's skull, a few neck and torso vertebrae, some ribs, a humerus, and assorted bones from both legs. The remains were found among deposits of the Allen Formation of Argentina, dating from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous period 70 million years ago. However little of the entire skeleton was found, what bones were available for analysis expressed some distinct characteristics that differentiate Austroraptor from other dromaeosaurs. A. cabazai's 80 centimeter-long skull was low and elongated, much more so than that of other dromaeosaurs. Several of its skull bones bore some resemblance to that of the smaller troodontid deinonychosaurs. The front limbs of this taxon were short for a dromaeosaur, with its humerus less than half the length of its femur. Austroraptor had conical, non-serrated teeth, which Novas et al. compared to those of spinosaurids.
Credit to Wikipedia
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae. It is larger than the other extant alligator species, the Chinese alligator. The American alligator inhabits wetlands that frequently overlap with human-populated areas. The American alligator has a large, slightly rounded body, with thick limbs, a broad head, and a very powerful tail. Adult Alligators generally have dark gray or nearly black color. They may at times appear to be lighter based on detritus or algae in the water covering their skin. Juvenile alligators have a striped pattern for camouflage that they lose as they mature. Averaging about 9.5 in (24 cm) in length when newly hatched, alligators reach sexual maturity when they measure about 5–7 ft (1.5–2.1 m). Adult male alligators average 13 ft (4 m) in length, while adult females average 8.2 to 9.8 ft (2.5 to 3.0 m). Average adult males weigh about 800 lb (360 kg), with a few exceptionally large and old males exceeding 1,100 pounds (500 kg). One American Alligator reached a length of 19 feet 2 inches (5.84 m) and 2,200 lb (1,000 kg), which made it not only the largest alligator ever recorded, but also among the largest crocodilians on record (although the related Black Caiman and 5 other crocodilians are believed to equal or exceed this size and prehistoric crocodilians such as Sarcosuchus, Deinosuchus, and Purussaurus reached much greater size). The tail, which accounts for half of the alligator's total length, is primarily used for aquatic propulsion. The tail can also be used as a weapon of defense when an alligator feels threatened. Alligators travel very quickly in water and while they are generally slow-moving on land, alligators can lunge short distances very quickly. They have five claws on each front foot and four on each rear foot. American Alligators have the strongest laboratory measured bite of any living animal, measured at up to 9,452 newtons (2,125 lbf) in laboratory conditions. It should be noted that this experiment has not (at the time of the paper published) been replicated in any other crocodilians.
Austroraptor cabazai
Austroraptor ("Southern thief") was a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived about 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous period in what is now modern Argentina. The type species for the genus, Austroraptor cabazai, was described in late 2008 by Fernando Novas of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. The fossil specimen was discovered in the Late Cretaceous deposits located in the Río Negro Province of Argentina. The species was named in honor of Alberto Cabaza, who founded the Museo Municipal de Lamarque where the specimen was partially studied. Considered large for a dromaeosaur, Austroraptor cabazai measured around 6 meters (20 ft) in length from head to tail, and is thought to have weighed 350 to 500 kg (770 to 1100 lbs). It is the largest dromaeosaur to be discovered in the Southern Hemisphere. Particularly notable about the taxon were its relatively short forearms, much shorter in proportion compared to those of other members of its family. The relative length of its arms has caused Austroraptor to be compared to another, more famous short-armed dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus. The type specimen, labeled MML-195, consisted of a fragmentary skeleton including parts of the dinosaur's skull, a few neck and torso vertebrae, some ribs, a humerus, and assorted bones from both legs. The remains were found among deposits of the Allen Formation of Argentina, dating from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous period 70 million years ago. However little of the entire skeleton was found, what bones were available for analysis expressed some distinct characteristics that differentiate Austroraptor from other dromaeosaurs. A. cabazai's 80 centimeter-long skull was low and elongated, much more so than that of other dromaeosaurs. Several of its skull bones bore some resemblance to that of the smaller troodontid deinonychosaurs. The front limbs of this taxon were short for a dromaeosaur, with its humerus less than half the length of its femur. Austroraptor had conical, non-serrated teeth, which Novas et al. compared to those of spinosaurids.
Credit to Wikipedia