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Guadalupe Mountains National Park

(Encyclopedia)Guadalupe Mountains National Park gwäˈdəlo͞op [key], 86,416 acres (34,998 hectares), W Tex. Located in the Guadalupe Mts., the park contains parts of the world's largest and most significant Permi...

gar

(Encyclopedia)gar, member of the family Lepisosteidae, freshwater fishes found in the warmer rivers and lakes of the S United States, Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. Gars are highly predacious and des...

megatherium

(Encyclopedia)megatherium mĕgəthērˈēəm [key] [Gr.,=large beast], extinct ground sloth, of the genus Megatherium, that was widely distributed in North and South America in the Pleistocene epoch. Fossil evidenc...

Triceratops

(Encyclopedia)Triceratops trīsĕrˈətŏps [key] [Gr., = three-horn face], genus of ornithischian quadruped dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous period. Because of some variations in sample fossils, it was thought...

sea lily

(Encyclopedia)sea lily, stalked echinoderm of the class Crinoidea. Sea lilies are ancient, having reached their peak in the Middle Mississippian period; about 5,000 fossil species are known. About 80 modern species...

Deinonychus

(Encyclopedia)Deinonychus dīˌnənīˈkəs [key] [Gr.,=terrible claw], swift bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the early Cretaceous period, approximately 119–93 million years ago. Fossil specimens have been discov...

Cradle of Humankind

(Encyclopedia)Cradle of Humankind, extensive archaeological site, c.180 sq mi (470 sq km), encompassing dolomitic limestone caves containing numerous hominin fossils, Gauteng and North West prov., South Africa, c.3...

Iguanodon

(Encyclopedia)Iguanodon ĭgwănˈədŏn [key] [Gr., = iguana tooth], herbivorous ornithiscian dinosaur, characterized by teeth similar to those of the iguana, a horny beak, spikelike thumbs, and a powerful tail...

Broecker, Wallace Smith

(Encyclopedia)Broecker, Wallace Smith brōkˈər [key], 1931–2019, American geophysicist, b. Chicago, Ph.D. Columbia, 1958. He was a member of Columbia's faculty from 1959. In the 1970s he predicted rising temper...

Velociraptor

(Encyclopedia)Velociraptor vəlŏsˈĭrăpˌtər [key] [Gr.,=swift robber], swift bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period. It was relatively small, being approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) long. It was s...