Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Dilong

Dilong (A Genus of Dinosaur.)
Meaning: "Dilong" means "emperor dragon".
Dilong was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs, it’s not closely related to lizards; it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.

Dilong was a Theropod - a member of a group of related bipedal dinosaurs that included the ancestors of birds (although Dilong was not itself an ancestor of birds).
It lived about 130 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period at china. It is one the earliest members of the the Tyrannosauroid superfamily of dinosaurs.
Size:The type specimen of Dilong is about 5¼ feet (1.6 meters) long, however it is believed this is a juvenile individual and that adults may have grown to perhaps 6½ (2 meters) or more in length.
Skin:It shows fossilized skin imitation around the tail and jaw.
Feathers: It seems to show proto-feathers which totally varies from the modern birds where there is a absence of middle shafts.
Dilong was not able to fly or glide. It is therefore thought that the primary function of its feathers must have been for warmth.
For more information:
http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Red sea urchins

Red sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus
Recognition Red sea urchins have a radial symmetrical body made up of 10 fused plates or sections. These are covered in long, red spines.
Description: The creature which is so colorful, varying between a uniform red and dark burgundy, that move slowly over the sea bottom using their spines as stilts. It is one of the marine invertebrate group called echinoderms or "spiny-skinned" animals. They are close relatives of sea cucumbers.
The largest of the sea urchins are of these kinds, a maximum spine length is of 8 cm. Every other section has holes through which the sea urchin can extend its tube feet. A water vascular system presents and this will be controlling the feet. By changing the amount of water inside, the animal can extend or contract the feet. Similar to the movements of Sea stars.
Range: They prefer rocky ground with quantities of their food source of seaweeds and kelp. They avoid rocky areas exposed to extreme wave action and areas with sediments such as sand, mud and gravel.
Fertilization: The fertilized eggs develop into planktonic larvae before settling on the bottom where they change into tiny juvenile sea urchins. This replacement of the population appears to occur annually in local waters. New ones must hide from potential predators and many seek shelter under the spines of adult sea urchins
Interesting Fact:
Life span - They live Up to 200 years.
Description: The creature which is so colorful, varying between a uniform red and dark burgundy, that move slowly over the sea bottom using their spines as stilts. It is one of the marine invertebrate group called echinoderms or "spiny-skinned" animals. They are close relatives of sea cucumbers.
The largest of the sea urchins are of these kinds, a maximum spine length is of 8 cm. Every other section has holes through which the sea urchin can extend its tube feet. A water vascular system presents and this will be controlling the feet. By changing the amount of water inside, the animal can extend or contract the feet. Similar to the movements of Sea stars.
Range: They prefer rocky ground with quantities of their food source of seaweeds and kelp. They avoid rocky areas exposed to extreme wave action and areas with sediments such as sand, mud and gravel.
Feeding: They have specialized jaws consists of 5 teeth used to eat greedily the plant material. Feet will be used to hold and for the support while feeding. But they can move quickly using their feet, spines, or even their teeth.
• Red Sea urchins can remove all large plant material in a particular area.
• Sea urchins are readily eaten by some fish.
• Red Sea urchins can remove all large plant material in a particular area.
• Sea urchins are readily eaten by some fish.
Fertilization: The fertilized eggs develop into planktonic larvae before settling on the bottom where they change into tiny juvenile sea urchins. This replacement of the population appears to occur annually in local waters. New ones must hide from potential predators and many seek shelter under the spines of adult sea urchins
Interesting Fact:
Life span - They live Up to 200 years.
For More Info:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/top-10-longest-living-animals.html
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