A video tribute to Pachycephalosaurus, with the song “Over my Head (Better Off Dead)” by Sum 41.
From Palaeoblog:
Harry Potter’s New DinosaurSee also here. And here.Today paleontologist Robert Sullivan of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will make an announcement of interest to both dinosaur lovers and Harry Potter fans.
Dr. Sullivan will announce a newly discovered dinosaur species, “Dracorex Hogwartsia“, which salutes the fictional “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” in the Harry Potter books.
Astute Harry Potter fans already know the derivation of “Dracorex“, as its root word in Latin can be found in the Hogwarts motto, “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus”, which translated into English means “Never tickle a sleeping dragon”.
Draco is Latin for “dragon” or “snake”.
The dinosaur, a member of the pachycephalosaur family, had a flat skull with spiky horns, bumps and a long muzzle.
Other pachycephalosaurs had domed foreheads.The original skull is on display at Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Three Sioux City, Iowa residents who found the 18-inch-long skull in South Dakota donated it to the museum in 2004, before it was named.
“When we found the skull, all that was showing was a little of the snout and some teeth,” said Steve Saulsbury, one of those who found the skull. “But as we excavated more of it, it was clear we had something unique.”
Dracorex not a species, but a growth stage? Here. And here. And here.
From Dear Kitty ModBlog Google cache:
From Laura Hastings:July 15, 2005
The animals of ‘Harry Potter’
The much anticipated release of JK Rowling’s latest book, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ has Harry Potter fans, children and adults alike, in a happy tizzy.
For me, one thing I enjoy about the ‘Harry Potter’ books is meeting the menagerie of fantastical creatures throughout the stories.
So, in anticipation of the upcoming release, I’d like to share some interesting links that take a look at the creatures that have danced across the pages of Rowling’s previous Harry Potter books:
Including snowy owl Hedwig and others.
However, not everyone is a Harry Potter fan. From The Times:
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the Harry Potter books as “subtle seductions,” capable of corrupting young Christians, in two letters which have now been published online.
