Reptilian resemblance.I was disappointed in news coverage of the dinosaur dinosaur (dī`nəsôr) [Gr., = terrible lizard], extinct land reptile of the Mesozoic era. The dinosaurs, which were egg-laying animals, ranged in length from 2 1-2 ft (91 cm) to about 127 ft (39 m). find in China ("Reptilian Repast: Ancient mammals The class Mammalia (the Mammals) is divided into two subclasses based on reproductive techniques: egg laying mammals (the Monotremes); and mammals which give live birth. The latter subclass is divided into two infraclasses: pouched mammals (the marsupials); and the placental mammals. preyed on young dinosaurs," SN: 1/15/05, p. 36). Science News and others ran an illustration with an obvious mistake. Unless the newly discovered mammal mammal, an animal of the highest class of vertebrates, the Mammalia. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. , Repenomamus giganticus, and its smaller cousin, Repenomamus robustus, were unique animals, they did not have legs that emerged from their sides giving them a sprawling, reptilian body plan. Surely, they would have had legs like all mammals, coming straight down from the hips and supporting the body. Not to put too fine a point on it, but there is also a problem with the Psittacosaurus in the background of the illustration. Recent finds in China suggest that this plant eater had a complement of porcupinelike quills running down its tail. HOWARD ZIMMERMAN, NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. |
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