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P. engelhardti skull cast

Plateosaurus (probably meaning "broad lizard"), a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur, lived around 214 to 204 million years ago during the Late Triassic period in what is now Central and Northern Europe. It was an early sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod". It is now among the dinosaurs best known to science: over 100 skeletons have been found, some of them nearly complete. The abundance of its fossils in Swabia, Germany, has led to the nickname Schwäbischer Lindwurm (Swabian lindworm). Plateosaurus was a bipedal herbivore with a small skull on a long, mobile neck, sharp but plump plant-crushing teeth, powerful hind limbs, short but muscular arms and grasping hands with large claws on three fingers, possibly used for defence and feeding. Plateosaurus showed strong developmental plasticity: instead of having a fairly uniform adult size, fully grown individuals were between 4.8 and 10 metres (16 and 33 ft) long and weighed between 600 and 4,000 kilograms (1,300 and 8,800 lb). The animals lived for at least 12 to 20 years, but the maximum life span is not known. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

A giant virus factory infected with Zamilon

... that the recently discovered Zamilon virophage (pictured) casts doubt on the concept of virophages?
... that in May 2005, Rapzilla called Slow Burn one of the best albums so far that year?
... that Eleni Glouftsis is the first female field umpire to be appointed to an Australian Football League sanctioned match?
... that the Northumbrian styca was first minted in the 790s, replacing the silver sceat?
... that Simon of Athens is the earliest ancient Greek writer known to have written on horses and horsemanship?
... that Parasite Rex discusses the various parasites that use humans as their host, such as the tsetse fly's trypanosomes and filarial worms?
... that in the 1920s, Karl Čermak, deputy from the Česká Lípa 5th electoral district, was the sole member of the German Social Democracy in Czechoslovakia leadership who hailed from a major city?
... that in London's Africa Centre, Desmond Tutu and Thabo Mbeki used to meet at the bar?

In the news

Flydubai Boeing 737-800 involved in the crash

At least 23 people are killed and more than 35 injured in attacks at Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station.
In rugby union, the Six Nations Championship concludes with England winning the Grand Slam by defeating France.
A suicide bombing in Istanbul kills 5 people and injures 36 others, six days after the Ankara bombing killed 37 people.
Flydubai Flight 981 (aircraft pictured) crashes while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, killing all 62 people on board.
Salah Abdeslam is arrested in Molenbeek, Belgium, in connection with the November 2015 Paris attacks.

Ongoing events:
- Zika virus outbreak
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths:

On this day...

March 22

Phan Xich Long

1508 – Ferdinand II of Aragon appointed Amerigo Vespucci to the post of Chief Navigator of Spain.
1638 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Anne Hutchinson from its ranks for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy.
1913 – Phan Xích Long (pictured), the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, was arrested for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina, which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day.
1963 – Please Please Me, the first album recorded by The Beatles, was released.
2006 – The remaining three Christian Peacemaker Teams hostages were rescued from their Iraqi captors by a multinational force.

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Today's featured picture

Perseus, named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus, is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Some star atlases during the early 19th century, such as Urania's Mirror shown here, also depicted Perseus holding onto the head of the Medusa, an asterism named Caput Medusae. The constellation is located near several others named after ancient Greek legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north.

Illustration: Sidney Hall; restoration: Adam Cuerden

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