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Skeletal diagram showing the preserved remains of the holotype specimen

Limusaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Late Jurassic, around 161 to 157 million years ago. The only species, Limusaurus inextricabilis, was described in 2009 from specimens (diagram shown) found in the Upper Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin. Limusaurus was a small, slender animal, about 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) in length and 15 kg (33 lb) in weight, with a long neck and legs but small forelimbs. It underwent a drastic morphological transformation as it aged: while juveniles were toothed, the teeth were completely lost and replaced by a beak. This probably corresponded to a dietary shift from omnivory to herbivory. Since many specimens were found together, it is possible Limusaurus lived in groups. As referenced in its genus name, which means "mud lizard", specimens of Limusaurus appear to have been mired in mud pits created by the footprints of giant sauropod dinosaurs. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Dorking cockerel

... that a three-metre-tall (10 ft) statue of a five-toed cockerel (pictured) in Dorking is a frequent target of yarn bombers?
... that geographer J. Russell Smith worked with the USDA to make 20 new varieties of Chinese chestnut, with the aim of creating a blight-resistant tree?
... that although The Most Important Man was poorly received by critics, composer Gian Carlo Menotti thought it was one of his finest operas?
... that a line from the 1899 poem "Sympathy" provided the title for Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
... that several candidates running on the ticket of the new political party Force for Mexico were previously members of the National Regeneration Movement?
... that Covington Hall was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Sons of Confederate Veterans?
... that the upcoming SNLE 3G-class nuclear ballistic-missile submarines could remain in service with the French Navy until 2090?
... that Plants vs. Zombies became the fastest-selling video game developed by PopCap Games in under a month?

In the news

Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

A series of explosions in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, leaves at least 105 people dead and more than 600 others injured.
In Zamfara, Nigeria, 279 girls who had been kidnapped from a secondary school by armed bandits are released.
In tennis, Naomi Osaka wins the women's singles and Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles at the Australian Open (both winners pictured).
Porfirije is enthroned as the 46th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

On this day

March 12

Franklin D. Roosevelt after one of his fireside chats

1881 – Andrew Watson captained the Scotland national football team against England, becoming the world's first black international footballer.
1913 – At a ceremony at Kurrajong Hill, Lady Denman, wife of Governor-General Lord Denman, announced that Canberra would be the name of the future capital of Australia.
1933 – U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured) delivered the first of his fireside chats, addressing the nation directly via radio.
1952 – British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary general of NATO.
1971 – The Turkish Armed Forces executed a "coup by memorandum", forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel.

Stefan Dragutin (d. 1316)
William Lyon Mackenzie (b. 1795)
Wally Schirra (b. 1923)

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From today's featured list

Swayambhunath

Stupas in Nepal date back to the Licchavi period. A stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as śarīra – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. Swayambhunath (pictured) is one of the oldest-known buildings in the country, and was likely built in the 5th century. It was built in Swayambhu, Kathmandu, where the land was declared as sacred to Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), by Ashoka the Great, the 3rd emperor of the Maurya dynasty, in the 3rd century BCE. Ashoka's daughter Charumati, who married a Nepali prince, built Charumati Stupa in the 4th century. Boudhanath is one of the holiest sites in Nepal; it was closed for 18 months after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, which completely destroyed the top part of the stupa. The World Peace Pagoda was built by Japanese Buddhists for about US$1 million; near the stupa is the gravestone of a monk who was murdered by an anti-Buddhist group while the building was being built. The Ramagrama stupa contains relics of the Buddha and it remains untouched in its original form. (Full list...)

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$Obverse and reverse of a fifteen-cent fourth-issue fractional-currency banknote$

Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the United States dollar were in use between 1862 and 1876, and issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 cents across five issuing periods.

This fifteen-cent fourth-issue banknote depicts a personification of Columbia on the obverse. The fourth issue had additional anti-counterfeiting measures in the form of watermarked paper, the embedding of large silk fibers, and blue-tinted end paper. This banknote is in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection.

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Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; scanned by Andrew Shiva

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