Diplodocus (continued)

Diet

Diplodocus has highly unusual teeth compared to other sauropods. The crowns are long and slender, elliptical in cross-section, while the apex forms a blunt triangular point.[30] The most prominent wear facet is on the apex, though unlike all other wear patterns observed within sauropods, Diplodocus wear patterns are on the labial (cheek) side of both the upper and lower teeth.[30] What this means is Diplodocus and other diplodocids had a radically different feeding mechanism than other sauropods. Unilateral branch-stripping is the most likely feeding behaviour of Diplodocus,[31][32][33] as it explains the unusual wear patterns of the teeth (coming from tooth-food contact). In unilateral branch stripping, one tooth row would have been used to strip foliage from the stem, while the other would act as a guide and stabiliser. With the elongated preorbital (in-front of the eyes) region of the skull, longer portions of stems could be stripped in a single action.[30] Also the palinal (backwards) motion of the lower jaws could have contributed two significant roles to feeding behaviour: 1) an increased gape, and 2) allowed fine adjustments of the relative positions of the tooth rows, creating a smooth stripping action.[30]

With a laterally and dorsoventrally flexible neck, and the possibilty of using its tail and rearing up on its hind limbs (tripodal ability), Diplodocus would have had the ability to browse at many levels (low, medium, and high), up to approximately 10 metres (39 ft) from the ground.[34] The neck's range of movement would have also allowed the head to graze below the level of the body, leading some scientists to speculate on whether Diplodocus grazed on submerged water plants, from riverbanks. This concept of the feeding posture is supported by the relative lengths of front and hind limbs. Furthermore, its peglike teeth may have been used for eating soft water plants

Other anatomical aspects


The head of Diplodocus has been widely depicted with the nostrils on top due to the position of the nasal openings at the apex of the skull. There has been speculation over whether such a configuration meant that Diplodocus may have had a trunk.[35] A recent study[36] surmised there was no paleoneuroanatomical evidence for a trunk. It noted that the facial nerve in an animal with a trunk, such as an elephant, is large as it innervates the trunk. The evidence suggests that the facial nerve is very small in Diplodocus. Studies by Lawrence Witmer (2001) indicated that, while the nasal openings were high on the head, the actual, fleshy nostrils were situated much lower down on the snout.[37]

Recent discoveries have suggested that Diplodocus and other diplodocids may have had narrow, pointed keratinous spines lining their back, much like those on an iguana.[38][39] This radically different look has been incorporated into recent reconstructions, notably Walking with Dinosaurs. It is unknown exactly how many diplodocids had this trait, and whether it was present in other sauropods

Diplodocus

Diplodocus (pronounced /ˌdɪploʊˈdoʊkəs/ or /dɪˈplɔdəkəs/) is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossilised skeleton was first discovered in 1878. The generic name refers to its double-beamed chevron bones (Greek diplos/διπλος meaning 'double' and dokos/δοκος meaning 'wooden beam' or 'bar') located in the underside of the tail.[1] They were initially believed to be unique to Diplodocus; however, they have since then been discovered in other members of the diplodocid family.

It lived in what is now western North America at the end of the Jurassic Period. Diplodocus was one of the more common dinosaurs found in the Upper Morrison Formation, about 150 to 147 million years ago, in what is now termed the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages. This was an environment and time dominated by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs such as Camarasaurus, Barosaurus, Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus.[2]

Diplodocus is among the most easily identifiable dinosaurs, with its classic dinosaur shape, long neck and tail and four sturdy legs. For many years, it was the longest dinosaur known. Its great size may have been a deterrent to the predators Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus: their remains have been found in the same strata, which suggests they coexisted with Diplodocus.

A.C Milan_stadium

The team's current stadium is the 82,955 seater San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after the former player who represented both Milan and Internazionale. The name San Siro comes from the district where it's located. The stadium is shared with Inter, the other major football club in Milan. The stadium is well known for its fantastic atmosphere due to the closeness of the stands to the pitch. Another feature of the stadium is the use of flares by the fans which can sometimes cause trouble.

On 19 December 2005, AC Milan vice-president and executive director Adriano Galliani announced that the team is seriously working to move out from San Siro. He said that Milan's new stadium will be largely based on the Veltins-Arena and following the standards of football stadia in the United States, Germany and Spain. It will likely be a stadium for football purposes only (with no athletics track). The new stadium is supposed to be named after a sponsor. [3] It remains to see if this plan will proceed or if this is just a ploy to force the owners (Comune di Milano) to sell the stadium to Milan for a nominal fee so as to proceed with extensive renovations. Rumours have also surfaced of Inter's intention to also build a new stadium which may also affect this decision.[4]

A.C Milan_Colours and badge

Colours and badge

AC Milan's official colours have been red and black since its foundation. These colours were chosen to represent the fiery ardour that is part of the team members and the opponents' fear to challenge the team. The badge represents the club colours and the flag of the Comune di Milano (Municipality of Milan), with the acronym ACM at the top and the foundation year (1899) at the bottom.

The home jersey is red and black vertical striped, with white shorts and black socks. The away strip has always been completely white. The latter is considered by both the fans and the club as their "lucky" strip in Champions League finals, due to the fact that Milan won seven finals out of nine in an all white strip (losing only to Ajax in 1995 and Liverpool in 2005), while lost both the finals played in their home strip. The third kit changes yearly and is black with red trim for the current season, but it is rarely used. The Goalkeeper kit is either green or yellow shirt, black shorts and black socks.

The Austrian on-line betting company bwin are currently Milan's main jersey sponsors after signing a 4 year deal at the start of the 2006/2007 season. [1] Previous to this deal, the German car manufacturer, Opel had sponsored Milan for 12 seasons. For most of them, Opel was displayed on the front of the jersey, but in the 2003-04 and the 2005-06 seasons respectively, Meriva and Zafira (two cars from their range) were displayed.

The current jerseys are supplied by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, whose deal runs to the end of the 2007/2008 season. [2] The deal makes Adidas the official manufacturer of all kits, training equipment and replica outfits. Prior to Adidas, the Italian sports company, Lotto produced Milan's sportswear.

A.C Milan_history

Associazione Calcio Milan is an Italian football club based in Milan. They play in red and black stripes, giving them the nickname Rossoneri ("red-blacks"). The team is known colloquially as Milan, while its city rivals are known in English, simply as Inter. One of the most successful clubs in the world, A.C. Milan has won the prestigious UEFA Champions League (or equivalent) seven times, the World Club crown (Intercontinental Cup) 3 times, the Serie A title 17 times (only rivals Juventus F.C. have more Scudetti) and the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) five times. In total they have won 12 European trophies, sharing the record with Real Madrid. It is also one of the most supported football clubs in the world, and along with Juventus and Inter are one of the most popular teams in Italy.

The club was founded as a cricket club in 1899 by Alfred Edwards, a British expatriate. In honour of its origins, the club has retained the English spelling of its city's name, instead of changing it to the Italian Milano (though it was forced to do it during the fascist regime, like Genoa and Inter); it should be noted that the Italian pronunciation is actually MEE-lahn, even though the English one is the same as in the local dialect and many other dialects of Northern Italy.

Historically, AC Milan was supported by the city's working class and trade unionists many of whom were migrants from the South of Italy. Inter, the other big club from the city was mainly supported by the more prosperous and typically Milanese middle-class. However, in recent years, the clubs have seen a notable reversal in their political positions, since Milan is now owned by media magnate and past conservative Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, while Inter is now owned by a centre-left oil businessperson, Massimo Moratti. However, AC Milan's fans still tend to be mainly left-wing as opposed to Inter Milan fans who always have been traditionally right-wing. Milan were involved in the 2006 Serie A scandal where five teams were accused of fixing matches by selecting favourable referees. Milan were punished with a 15 point deduction, which was later reduced to 8 points on appeal. In 1980 Milan were involved in the Totonero scandal and were relegated to Serie B as punishment. The scandal was centred on a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. On 23 May 2007, A.C. Milan won the UEFA Champions League for the seventh time, against Liverpool, 2-1, with two goals from Filippo Inzaghi.

Kirk o' Field

Kirk o' Field in Edinburgh, Scotland, is best known as the site of the murder of Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary Queen of Scots in 1567.

The site was occupied by the collegiate church of St Mary in the Fields, or the Kirk o' Field. It was approximately ten minutes' walk from Holyrood Palace, just adjacent to the city wall, near to the Cowgate. On his return to Edinburgh with Mary early in 1567, Darnley took residence in the Old Provost's lodging, a comfortable two storey house within the church quadrangle.

Early in the morning of 10 February, the house was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion while Mary was at Holyrood attending a wedding celebration. The partially clothed bodies of Darnley and his servant were found in a nearby orchard, apparently strangled but unharmed by the explosion. A contemporaneous drawing of the murder scene at Kirk o' Field illustrates at the top left the infant James VI sitting up in his cot praying: "Judge and avenge my cause, O Lord"; in the centre lie the rubble remains of the house; to the right Darnley and his servant lie dead in the orchard; below, the townspeople of Edinburgh gather round and four soldiers remove a body for burial.

Suspicion immediately fell upon Mary and James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, one of her closest and most trusted Noblemen. Although Bothwell was considered to be the lead conspirator, he was subsequently found not guilty at trial by the Privy council of Scotland in April, 1567. Mary married Bothwell the following month, just three months after Darnley's murder.

This led to great public disquiet and ultimately proved to be a major factor in her rapid decline in power and ultimate loss of the Scottish crown. Darnley's death remains one of the great unsolved historical mysteries, compounded by the discovery and controversy surrounding the "Casket Letters" apparently incriminating Mary in the murder plot.

The lands at Kirk o' Field went on to be granted to the city specifically for the foundation of a new university. The University of Edinburgh was founded by King James VI in 1582, and the Kirk o' Field site has long been considered to be at the current location of the Old College. Recent archaeological investigations following the Cowgate fire of 2002 have raised some questions about the true location of the house, and possibly the true identities of the murder conspirators

today's picture

The skyline of Toledo , Spain, at sunset, with the Alcázar on the left and Cathedral on the right. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and a place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures.