Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 January 18

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From today's featured article

Majungasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Like other abelisaurids, Majungasaurus was a bipedal predator with a short snout. Although the forelimbs are not completely known, they were very short, while the hindlimbs were longer and very stocky. It can be distinguished from other abelisaurids by its wider skull, the very rough texture and thickened bone on the top of its snout, and the single rounded horn on the roof of its skull, which was originally mistaken for the dome of a pachycephalosaur. It also had more teeth in both upper and lower jaws than most abelisaurids. Known from several well-preserved skulls and abundant skeletal material, Majungasaurus has recently become one of the best-studied theropod dinosaurs from the Southern Hemisphere. It appears to be most closely related to abelisaurids from India rather than South America or continental Africa, a fact which has important biogeographical implications. Majungasaurus was the apex predator in its ecosystem, mainly preying on sauropods like Rapetosaurus, and is also one of the few dinosaurs for which there is direct evidence of cannibalism. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Marilyn Monroe (pictured) was discovered while building drone aircraft at Radioplane Company in 1945?
... that George A. Zentmyer, professor emeritus at the University of California, Riverside, has an avocado cultivar named after him?
... that female seaweed blennies deposit their eggs in a shared nest where the male fish guards them until they hatch?
... that the novels of Lady Mary Hamilton may have influenced the naming of characters in Jane Austen's books?
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... that Wiki, the leader of New York rap group Ratking, took his stage name from an online encyclopedia?

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In the news

After the Swiss National Bank ends its cap on the exchange rate to the euro, the franc increases in value significantly.
Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson become the first people to successfully free climb the 3,000-foot (900 m) Dawn Wall of El Capitan (pictured) in Yosemite National Park, California.
Giorgio Napolitano, the longest-serving President of Italy, resigns due to age.
Seventy-two people die after drinking contaminated beer at a funeral in Mozambique.
More than three million people, including dozens of world leaders, march for unity in France following the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
Maithripala Sirisena is elected President of Sri Lanka.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Anita Ekberg – Francesco Rosi – Edward Brooke

On this day...

January 18: World Religion Day; the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins

1126 – Emperor Huizong (pictured) of the Song dynasty of China abdicated in favour of his son Qinzong.
1535 – Conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Ciudad de los Reyes, present-day Lima, Peru, as the capital of the lands he conquered for the Spanish Crown.
1915 – Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu issued the Twenty-One Demands to China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
1958 – African Canadian Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first game in the National Hockey League, breaking the colour barrier in professional ice hockey.
1990 – In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.

More anniversaries: January 17 – January 18 – January 19

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Today's featured picture

Tunnel View is a scenic overlook on California State Route 41 in Yosemite National Park. Opened in 1933, it provides an expansive view looking east along Yosemite Valley. El Capitan dominates the view on the left, on the right are the Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall, and in the distance near the center of the picture is Half Dome.

Photograph: David Iliff

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