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Skeletal elements of the Bajadasaurus holotype

Bajadasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur of northern Patagonia, Argentina, from around 145 to 133 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous epoch. It was first described in 2019 based on a single specimen (elements pictured) found in 2010 that includes a largely complete skull and parts of the neck. The only species is Bajadasaurus pronuspinax. The genus is a member of Dicraeosauridae, a group of relatively small and short-necked sauropods. Bajadasaurus sported bifurcated (two-pronged), extremely elongated neural spines extending from the neck; the 2019 description of Bajadasaurus suggested that they could have served as passive defense against predators. The skull was slender and equipped with around 48 teeth that were pencil-shaped and restricted to the front of the jaws. Its eye openings were exposed in top view, possibly allowing the animal to look forwards while feeding. It shared its environment with other dinosaurs including the sauropod Leinkupal and different theropods. (Full article...)

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In the news

Paralympics opening ceremony

Amid evacuations from Afghanistan, a suicide bombing kills at least 182 people at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The Summer Paralympics open (ceremony pictured) in Tokyo, Japan.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as prime minister by the King of Malaysia.
Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills more than 2,200 people.

On this day

August 31: Independence Day in Malaysia (1957); Romanian Language Day in Romania

Interior view of a Kinetoscope with peephole viewer

1876 – Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire was deposed after a reign of 93 days on grounds of mental illness.
1897 – Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope (pictured), a precursor to the modern movie projector.
1907 – Russia and the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Russian Convention, defining their respective spheres of interest in Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet.
1941 – World War II: A detachment of Chetniks captured the town of Loznica in German-occupied Serbia.
1969 – On the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival, an event attended by approximately 150,000 people over three days, Bob Dylan appeared in his first gig since 1966.

Aidan of Lindisfarne (d. 651)
Alma Mahler (b. 1879)
Norman Kirk (d. 1974)

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Today's featured picture

Marino Faliero is a tragic opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Giovanni Emanuele Bidera, who was inspired by a drama by Lord Byron, based on the life of Marino Faliero, a 14th-century doge of Venice. This lithograph shows the set design for the second act of the opera's premiere, which took place in Paris on 12 March 1835.

Illustration credit: Luigi Verardi, after Domenico Ferri; restored by Adam Cuerden

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