The word of the day for April 4, 2007 is “cetacean” — noun : any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion.
They found a whale six miles inland the other day in Italy. Actually they found the fossilized bones of a whale in Italy. Apparently this is no great thing; it was the second fossil whale found in Tuscany in the past few weeks. However, the paleontologists are happy because this whale is very nearly intact, with the jaw bones slightly disarranged, and surrounded by the critters that used the whale as a post mortem smorgasboard.
One of the things about the Great Plains is that it was once under water. Cyb and I have found fossil clams in rock outcroppings along I-70 between Wakeeny and Goodland. The archaeology buffs are always digging up humongo-sharks and other prehistoric critters. We had plenty of the mega-mammals here as well, including megatherium and sabertoothed tigers. Wonderful things to take the kids to see on a slow afternoon.
The quote for today is from Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Tale of a Tub. Preface:
Seamen have a custom, when they meet a whale, to fling him out an empty
tub by way of amusement, to divert him from laying violent hands upon the ship.
;^) Jan
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