Tanat the Defiant: Staying True To Oneself

Dinosaurs Live highlight 28: Triceratops

2012-01-28T21:00:00.004+08:00

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago (Mya) in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The term Triceratops, which literally means "three-horned face," is derived from the Greek τρί- (tri-) meaning "three", κέρας (kéras) meaning "horn", and ὤψ (ops) meaning "face".

Bearing a large bony frill and three horns on its large four-legged body, and conjuring similarities with the modern rhinoceros, Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the best known ceratopsid. It shared the landscape with and was preyed upon by the fearsome Tyrannosaurus, though it is less certain that the two did battle in the manner often depicted in traditional museum displays and popular images.

The exact placement of the Triceratops genus within the ceratopsid group has been debated by paleontologists. Two species, T. horridus and T. prorsus, are considered valid although many other species have been named. Recent research suggests that the contemporaneous Torosaurus, a ceratopsid long regarded as a separate genus, actually represents Triceratops in its mature form.

Triceratops has been documented by numerous remains collected since the genus was first described in 1889, including at least one complete individual skeleton. Paleontologist John Scannella observed: "It is hard to walk out into the Hell Creek Formation and not stumble upon a Triceratops weathering out of a hillside." Forty-seven complete or partial skulls were discovered in just that area during the decade 2000–2010. Specimens representing life stages from hatchling to adult have been found.

Description
The function of the frills and three distinctive facial horns has long inspired debate. Traditionally these have been viewed as defensive weapons against predators. More recent theories, noting the presence of blood vessels in the skull bones of ceratopsids, find it more probable that these features were primarily used in identification, courtship and dominance displays, much like the antlers and horns of modern reindeer, mountain goats, or rhinoceros beetles. The theory finds additional support if Torosaurus represents the mature form of Triceratops, as this would mean the frill also developed holes (fenestrae) as individuals reached maturity, rendering the structure more useful for display than defense.

Individual Triceratops are estimated to have reached about 7.9 to 9.0 m (26.0–29.5 ft) in length, 2.9 to 3.0 m (9.5–9.8 ft) in height, and 6.1–12.0 tonnes (13,000–26,000 lb) in weight. The most distinctive feature is their large skull, among the largest of all land animals. The largest known skull (specimen BYU 12183) is estimated to have been 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length when complete, and could reach almost a third of the length of the entire animal. It bore a single horn on the snout, above the nostrils, and a pair of horns approximately 1 m (3 ft) long, with one above each eye. To the rear of the skull was a relatively short, bony frill, adorned with epoccipitals in some specimens. Most other ceratopsids had large fenestrae in their frills, while those of Triceratops were noticeably solid.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 27: Stegosaurus

2012-01-27T21:00:00.001+08:00

Stegosaurus (meaning "roof lizard" or "covered lizard" in reference to its bony plates) is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian), some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well. Due to its distinctive tail spikes and plates, Stegosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs. At least three species have been identified in the upper Morrison Formation and are known from the remains of about 80 individuals.

A large, heavily built, herbivorous quadruped, Stegosaurus had a distinctive and unusual posture, with a heavily rounded back, short forelimbs, head held low to the ground and a stiffened tail held high in the air. Its array of plates and spikes has been the subject of much speculation. The spikes were most likely used for defense, while the plates have also been proposed as a defensive mechanism, as well as having display and thermoregulatory functions. Stegosaurus had a relatively low brain-to-body mass ratio. It had a short neck and small head, meaning it most likely ate low-lying bushes and shrubs. It was the largest of all the stegosaurians (bigger than genera such as Kentrosaurus and Huayangosaurus) and, although roughly bus-sized, it nonetheless shared many anatomical features (including the tail spines and plates) with the other stegosaurian genera.

Description
Averaging around 9 meters (30 ft) long and 4 meters (14 ft) tall, the quadrupedal Stegosaurus is one of the most easily identifiable dinosaurs, due to the distinctive double row of kite-shaped plates rising vertically along its rounded back and the two pairs of long spikes extending horizontally near the end of its tail. Although a large animal, it was dwarfed by its contemporaries, the giant sauropods. Some form of armor appears to have been necessary, as it coexisted with large predatory theropod dinosaurs, such as the fearsome Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus.

The hind feet each had three short toes, while each forefoot had five toes; only the inner two toes had a blunt hoof. All four limbs were supported by pads behind the toes. The forelimbs were much shorter than the stocky hindlimbs, which resulted in an unusual posture. The tail appears to have been held well clear of the ground, while the head of Stegosaurus was positioned relatively low down, probably no higher than 1 meter (3.3 ft) above the ground.

The long and narrow skull was small in proportion to the body. It had a small antorbital fenestra, the hole between the nose and eye common to most archosaurs, including modern birds, though lost in extant crocodylians. The skull's low position suggests that Stegosaurus may have been a browser of low-growing vegetation. This interpretation is supported by the absence of front teeth and their replacement by a horny beak or rhamphotheca. Stegosaurian teeth were small, triangular and flat; wear facets show that they did grind their food. The inset placement in the jaws suggests that Stegosaurus had cheeks to keep food in their mouths while they chewed.

Despite the animal's overall size, the braincase of Stegosaurus was small, being no larger than that of a dog. A well-preserved Stegosaurus braincase allowed Othniel Charles Marsh to obtain in the 1880s a cast of the brain cavity or endocast of the animal, which gave an indication of the brain size. The endocast showed that the brain was indeed very small, maybe the smallest among the dinosaurs. The fact that an animal weighing over 4.5 metric tons (5 short tons) could have a brain of no more than 80 grams (2.8 oz) contributed to the popular old idea that dinosaurs were unintelligent, an idea now largely rejected.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 26: Ornithomimus

2012-01-26T21:00:00.001+08:00

Ornithomimus ("bird mimic") is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America.

In 1890 Ornithomimus velox was named by Othniel Charles Marsh on the basis of a foot and partial hand from the Maastrichtian Denver Formation. Another seventeen species have been named since. Most of these have subsequently been assigned to new genera or shown to be not directly related to Ornithomimus. The best material of species still considered part of the genus has been found in Canada, representing the earlier Edmontonian-age Ornithomimus edmontonicus Sternberg 1933, known from several skeletons. However, on some of these the new genus Dromiceiomimus including Dromiceiomimus brevitertius (Parks 1926) has been based, causing taxonomic problems of priority and identity that are still unresolved.

Ornithomimus was a relatively small swift bipedal animal, equipped with a small toothless beaked head, that may indicate an omnivorous diet.

Description
Like other ornithomimids, Ornithomimus is characterized by a foot with three weight-bearing toes, long slender arms and a long neck with a birdlike, elongated, toothless, beaked skull. It was bipedal and superficially resembled an ostrich, except for its long tail. It would have been a swift runner. It had very long limbs, hollow bones, and a large brain and eyes. The brains of ornithomimids were large for dinosaurs, but this may not necessarily be a sign of greater intelligence; some paleontologists think that the enlarged portions of the brain were dedicated to kinesthetic coordination. Their hands are remarkably sloth-like in appearance, which led Henry Fairfield Osborn to suggest that they were used to hook branches during feeding.

Ornithomimus differs from other ornithomimids, such as Struthiomimus, in having a short back, long slender forearms, very slender, straight hand and foot claws and in having metacarpals and fingers of similar lengths.

The three Ornithomimus species today seen as possibly valid, differ rather in size. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated the length of O. edmontonicus at 3.8 metres, its weight at 170 kilograms (370 lb). One of its specimens, CMN 12228, preserves a femur (thigh bone) 46.8 centimetres (18.4 in) long. O. sedens was by Paul estimated at 4.8 metres and 350 kilograms (770 lb). O. velox, the type species of Ornithomimus, is based on material of a much smaller animal. Whereas the holotype of O. edmontonicus, CMN 8632, preserves a second metacarpal eighty-four millimetres long, the same element with O. velox measures only fifty-three millimetres.

Paleobiology
The diet of Ornithomimus is still debated. As theropods, ornithomimids might have been carnivorous but their body shape would also have been suited for a partly or largely herbivorous lifestyle. Suggested food includes insects, crustaceans, fruit, leaves, branches, eggs, and the meat of lizards and small mammals.

Ornithomimus had legs that seem clearly suited for rapid locomotion, with the tibia about 20% longer than the femur. The large eye sockets suggest a keen visual sense, and also suggest the possibility that they were nocturnal.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 25: Iguanodon

2012-01-25T21:00:00.001+08:00

Iguanodon (meaning "iguana-tooth") is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs. Many species of Iguanodon have been named, dating from the Kimmeridgian age of the Late Jurassic Period to the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period from Asia, Europe, and North America. However, research in the first decade of the 21st century suggests that there is only one well-substantiated species: I. bernissartensis, that lived from the late Barremian to the earliest Aptian ages (Early Cretaceous) in Belgium, between about 126 and 125 million years ago. Iguanodon's most distinctive features were its large thumb spikes, which were possibly used for defence against predators, combined with long prehensile fifth fingers able to forage for food.

Named in 1825 by English geologist Gideon Mantell, Iguanodon was the second dinosaur formally named, after Megalosaurus. Together with Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus, it was one of the three genera originally used to define Dinosauria. A large, bulky herbivore, Iguanodon is a member of Iguanodontia, along with the duck-billed hadrosaurs. The taxonomy of this genus continues to be a topic of study as new species are named or long-standing ones reassigned to other genera.

Scientific understanding of Iguanodon has evolved over time as new information has been obtained from the fossils. The numerous specimens of this genus, including nearly complete skeletons from two well-known bonebeds, have allowed researchers to make informed hypotheses regarding many aspects of the living animal, including feeding, movement, and social behaviour. As one of the first scientifically well-known dinosaurs, Iguanodon has occupied a small but notable place in the public's perception of dinosaurs, its artistic representation changing significantly in response to new interpretations of its remains.

Description
Iguanodon was a bulky herbivore that could shift from bipedality to quadrupedality. The best-known species, I. bernissartensis, is estimated to have weighed about 3 tonnes (3.5 tons) on average, and measured about 10 metres long (33 ft) as an adult, with some specimens possibly as long as 13 metres (43 ft). This genus had a large, tall but narrow skull, with a toothless beak probably covered with keratin, and teeth like those of an iguana, but much larger and more closely packed.

The arms were long (up to 75% the length of the legs in I. bernissartensis) and robust,[4] with rather inflexible hands built so that the three central fingers could bear weight. The thumbs were conical spikes that stuck out away from the three main digits. In early restorations, the spike was placed on the animal's nose. Later fossils revealed the true nature of the thumb spikes, although their exact function is still debated. They could have been used for defense, or for foraging for food. The little finger was elongated and dextrous, and could have been used to manipulate objects. The legs were powerful, but not built for running, and each foot had three toes. The backbone and tail were supported and stiffened by ossified tendons, which were tendons that turned to bone during life (these rod-like bones are usually omitted from skeletal mounts and drawings). Overall, in body structure, it was not too dissimilar from its later relatives, the hadrosaurids.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 24: Nanotyrannus

2012-01-24T21:00:00.001+08:00

Nanotyrannus ("dwarf tyrant") is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur, known only from two juvenile specimens, which may in fact represent juvenile specimens of the contemporary species Tyrannosaurus rex.

Description: Differences from the T-Rex
The primary differences that some scientists have used to distinguish Nanotyrannus lancensis from Tyrannosaurus rex primarily concern the number of teeth. Nanotyrannus had more teeth in its upper and lower jaws than an adult Tyrannosaurus. N. lancensis had 14-15 teeth in each side of the upper jaw (maxilla) and 16 teeth in each side of the lower jaw (dentary). T. rex, on the other hand, had 11-12 tooth positions in the upper jaw and 11-14 in the lower. The exact implications of this difference in tooth count has been controversial. In his 1999 study of tyrannosaurid growth patterns, Carr showed that in Gorgosaurus libratus, the number of teeth decreased as the animal grew, and he used this data to support the hypothesis that N. lancensis is simply a juvenile T. rex. The team of scientists who studied growth in the related Tarbosaurus bataar found little to no decrease in tooth count as that species grew, even though they had juvenile specimens much younger than the Nanotyrannus specimens. These researchers also noted, however, that in both Tyrannosaurus and Gorgosaurus, there were significant differences in tooth count between individuals of the same age group, and that tooth count may vary on an individual basis not related to growth.

Another difference cited by those who support the validity of N. lancensis is the presence of a small foramen, or pit, in the quadratojugal, a bone in the back corner of the skull. Both the holotype and the "Jane" specimen have this feature, suggesting it is not a deformity, and it is not known in any adult tyrannosaurid specimens. It is possible that this is again an individual variant, or that it was a feature lost as the animals grew, though studies of other juvenile tyrannosaurids do not show an equivalent feature.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 23: Utahraptor

2012-01-23T21:00:00.001+08:00

Utahraptor (meaning "Utah's predator" or "Utah thief") is a genus of theropod dinosaurs, including the largest known members of the family Dromaeosauridae. Fossil specimens date to the upper Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous period (in rock strata dated to 126 ± 2.5 million years ago). It contains a single species, Utahraptor ostrommaysorum.

Description
The holotype specimen of Utahraptor is fragmentary, consisting of skull fragments, a tibia, claws and some caudal (tail) vertebra. These few elements suggest an animal about twice the size of Deinonychus. Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had large curved claws on their second toes. One claw specimen is preserved at 22 centimetres (8.7 in) in length and is thought to reach 24 centimetres (9.4 in) restored.

The largest described U. ostrommaysorum specimens are estimated to have reached up to 7 m (23 ft) long and somewhat less than 500 kg (1,100 lb) in weight, comparable to a grizzly bear in size. Some undescribed specimens in the BYU collections may have reached up to 11 m (36 ft) long, though these await more detailed study.

It is thought that Utahraptor may be closely related to the smaller Dromaeosaurus and the giant Mongolian dromaeosaurid genus Achillobator.

Although feathers have never been found in association with Utahraptor specimens, there is strong phylogenetic evidence suggesting that all dromaeosaurids possessed them. This evidence comes from phylogenetic bracketing, which allows paleontologists to infer traits that exist in a clade based on the existence of that trait in a more basal form. The genus Microraptor is one of the oldest known dromaeosaurids, and is phylogenetically more primitive than Utahraptor. Since Microraptor possessed feathers, it is reasonable to assume that this trait was present in all of Dromaeosauridae. Feathers were very unlikely to have evolved more than once in dromaeosaurids, so assuming that Utahraptor lacked feathers would require positive evidence that they did not have them. So far, there is nothing to suggest that feathers were lost in larger, more derived species of dromaeosaurs.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 22: Pachycephalosaurus

2012-01-22T21:00:00.002+08:00

Pachycephalosaurus (meaning "thick headed lizard," from Greek pachys-/παχυς- "thick", kephale/κεφαλη "head" and sauros/σαυρος "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur. It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period (Maastrichtian stage) of what is now North America. Remains have been excavated in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It was an herbivorous or omnivorous creature which is only known from a single skull and a few extremely thick skull roofs. This dinosaur is monotypic, meaning the type species, P. wyomingensis, is the only known species. Pachycephalosaurus was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs before the K–T extinction event. Another dinosaur, Tylosteus of western North America, has been synonymized with Pachycephalosaurus.

Like other pachycephalosaurids, Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal omnivore with an extremely thick skull roof. It possessed long hindlimbs and small forelimbs. Pachycephalosaurus is the largest known pachycephalosaur.

The thick skull domes of Pachycephalosaurus and related genera gave rise to the hypothesis that pachycephalosaurs used their skulls in intraspecific combat. This hypothesis has been disputed in recent years.

Description
The anatomy of Pachycephalosaurus is poorly known, as only skull remains have been described. Pachycephalosaurus is famous for having a large, bony dome atop its skull, up to 25 cm (10 in) thick, which safely cushioned its tiny brain. The dome's rear aspect was edged with bony knobs and short bony spikes projected upwards from the snout. The spikes were probably blunt, not sharp.

The skull was short, and possessed large, rounded eye sockets that faced forward, suggesting that the animal had good vision and was capable of binocular vision. Pachycephalosaurus had a small muzzle which ended in a pointed beak. The teeth were tiny, with leaf-shaped crowns. The head was supported by an "S"- or "U"-shaped neck.

Pachycephalosaurus was probably bipedal and was the largest of the pachycephalosaurid (bone-headed) dinosaurs. It has been estimated that Pachycephalosaurus was around 4.5 metres (15 ft) long and weighed 450 kilograms (990 lb). Based on other pachycephalosaurids, it probably had a fairly short, thick neck, short fore limbs, a bulky body, long hind legs and a heavy tail, which was likely held rigid by ossified tendons.

Classification
Pachycephalosaurus gives its name to the Pachycephalosauria, a clade of herbivorous ornithischian ("bird hipped") dinosaurs which lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in North America and Asia. Despite their bipedal stance, they were likely more closely related to the ceratopsians than the ornithopods.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 21: Protoceratops

2012-01-21T21:00:00.001+08:00

Protoceratops (from Greek proto-/πρωτο- "first", cerat-/κερατ- "horn" and -ops/-ωψ "face", meaning "First Horned Face") is a genus of sheep-sized (1.5 to 2 m long) herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur, from the Upper Cretaceous Period (Campanian stage) of what is now Mongolia. It was a member of the Protoceratopsidae, a group of early horned dinosaurs. Unlike later ceratopsians, however, it was a much smaller creature that lacked well-developed horns and retained some primitive traits not seen in later genera.

Protoceratops had a large neck frill, which may have served to protect the neck, to anchor jaw muscles, to impress other members of the species, or combinations of these functions. Described by Walter Granger and W.K. Gregory in 1923, Protoceratops was initially believed to be an ancestor of the North American ceratopsians. Researchers currently distinguish two species of Protoceratops (P. andrewsi and P. hellenikorhinus), based in part by their respective sizes.

Description
Protoceratops was a quadrupedal dinosaur that was partially characterized by its distinctive neck frill at the back of its skull. The frill itself contained two large parietal fenestra (holes in the frill), while its cheeks had large jugal bones. The exact size and shape of the neck frill varied by individual; some specimens had short, compact frills, while others had frills nearly half the length of the skull. The frill consists mostly of the parietal bone and partially of the squamosal. Some researchers, including Peter Dodson attribute the different sizes and shapes of these bones to sexual dimorphism, as well as the age of the specimen, at the time of death.

Protoceratops was approximately 1.8 meters (6 ft) in length and 0.6 meters (2 ft) high at the shoulder. A fully grown adult would have weighed less than 400 pounds (180 kg). The large numbers of specimens found in high concentration suggest that Protoceratops lived in herds.

Protoceratops was a relatively small dinosaur with a proportionately large skull. Despite being herbivorous, Protoceratops appears to have had muscular jaws capable of a powerful bite. These jaws were packed with dozens of teeth, well suited for chewing tough vegetation. The skull consisted of a massive frontal beak, and four pairs of fenestrae (skull openings). The foremost hole, the naris, was considerably smaller than the nostrils seen in later genera. Protoceratops had large orbits (the holes for its eyes), which measured around 50 millimeters in diameter. Behind the eye was a slightly smaller fenestra, known as the "infratemporal fenestra."

Daily activity patterns
The large eyes of Protoceratops has been suggested as evidence for a nocturnal lifestyle. However, subsequent comparisons between the scleral rings of Protoceratops and modern birds and reptiles have indicated a more cathemeral lifestyle, being active throughout the day during short intervals. This suggests that the fight between Protoceratops and the primarily nocturnal Velociraptor indicated by the fighting specimens may have occurred at twilight or under low-light conditions.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 20: Omeisaurus

2012-01-20T21:00:00.001+08:00

Omeisaurus (meaning "Omei lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period (Bathonian-Callovian stage) of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province.

Like other sauropods, Omeisaurus was herbivorous and large. It measured 10 to 15.2 metres (30 to 50 ft) long, 4 metres (12 ft) high and weighed 4 tons.

Omeisaurus was first described in 1939. It was named after the sacred mountain Omeishan, which is were the first fossil example of Omeisaurus was found. Most skeletons of Omeisaurus were found in the 1970s and 1980s, during the great “Chinese Dinosaur rush”. There have been six species of Omeisaurus named so far: O. junghsiensis, O. changshouensis, O. fuxiensis, O. tianfuensis, O. luoquanensis, and O. maoianus. All of these but the last were named after the locations where they were found. O. fuxiensis was the smallest species, measuring around 35 feet (11 m) long. O. tianfuensis had the longest neck of the genus, around 30 feet (9.1 m) long. The only dinosaur with a longer neck was Mamenchisaurus. A club tail fossil discovered in the same bone bed as the Omeisaurus fossils was thought to belong to this genus, but is now believed to belong to a large specimen of Shunosaurus.

Mounted skeletons of Omeisaurus are on display at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong, Sichuan Province and at Beipei Museum, near Chongqing, both in China.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 19: Pteranodon

2012-01-19T21:00:00.002+08:00

Pteranodon (from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν-οδων "toothless"), from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over 6 metres (20 ft). Pteranodon is known from more fossil specimens than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved, with complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important genus of the animal community present in the Western Interior Seaway.

Pteranodon was a reptile, but not a dinosaur. By definition, all dinosaurs belong to the groups Saurischia and Ornithischia, which excludes pterosaurs. Nevertheless, Pteranodon is frequently featured in dinosaur books and is strongly associated with dinosaurs by the general public.

Desription
Pteranodon species are extremely well represented in the fossil record, allowing for detailed descriptions of their anatomy and analysis of their life history. Over 1,000 specimens have been identified, though less than half are complete enough to give researchers good information on the anatomy of the animal. Still, this is more fossil material than is known for any other pterosaur, and it includes both male and female specimens of various age groups and, possibly, species.

Skull and beak
Unlike earlier pterosaurs such as Rhamphorhynchus and Pterodactylus, Pteranodon had toothless beaks, similar to those of modern birds. Pteranodon beaks were made of solid, bony margins that projected from the base of the jaws. The beaks were long, slender, and ended in thin, sharp points. The upper jaw was longer than the lower jaw. The upper jaw was curved upward; while this normally has been attributed only to the upward-curving beak, one specimen (UALVP 24238) has a curvature corresponding with the beak widening towards the tip. While the tip of the beak is not known in this specimen, the level of curvature suggests it would have been extremely long.

The most distinctive characteristic of Pteranodon is its cranial crest. These crests consisted of skull bones (frontals) projecting upward and backward from the skull. The size and shape of these crests varied due to a number of factors, including age, sex, and species. Male Pteranodon sternbergi, the older species of the two described to date (and sometimes placed in the distinct genus Geosternbergia), had a more vertical crest with a broad forward projection, while their descendants, Pteranodon longiceps, evolved a narrower, more backward-projecting crest. Females of both species were smaller and bore small, rounded crests. The crests were probably mainly display structures, though they may have had other functions as well.

Skeleton
Other distinguishing characteristics that set Pteranodon apart from other pterosaurs include narrow neural spines on the vertebrae, plate-like bony ligaments strengthening the vertebrae above the hip, and a relatively short tail in which the last few vertebrae are fused into a long rod. The entire length of the tail was about 3.5% as long as the wingspan, or up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) in the largest males.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 18: Ankylosaurus

2012-01-18T21:00:00.001+08:00

Ankylosaurus (meaning "fused lizard") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris. Fossils of Ankylosaurus are found in geologic formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period (about 66.5–65.5 Ma ago) in western North America.

Although a complete skeleton has not been discovered and several other dinosaurs are represented by more extensive fossil material, Ankylosaurus is often considered the archetypal armored dinosaur. Other ankylosaurids shared its well-known features—the heavily-armored body and massive bony tail club— but Ankylosaurus was the largest known member of the family.

Paleobiology
In comparison with modern land animals the adult Ankylosaurus was very large. Some scientists have estimated a length of 9 meters (30 ft). Another reconstruction suggests a significantly smaller size, at 6.25 m (20.5 ft) long, up to 1.5 m (5 ft) wide and about 1.7 m (5.5 ft) high at the hip. Ankylosaurus may have weighed over 6,000 kilograms (13,000 lb), making it one of the heaviest armored dinosaurs yet discovered. The body shape was low-slung and quite wide. It was quadrupedal, with the hind limbs longer than the forelimbs. Although its feet are still unknown, comparisons with other ankylosaurids suggest Ankylosaurus probably had five toes on each foot. The skull was low and triangular in shape, wider than it was long. The largest known skull measures 64.5 centimeters (25 in) long and 74.5 cm (29 in) wide. Like other ankylosaurs, Ankylosaurus was herbivorous, with small, leaf-shaped teeth suitable for cropping vegetation. These teeth were smaller, relative to the body size, than in any other ankylosaurid species. Ankylosaurus did not share the grinding tooth batteries of the contemporaneous ceratopsid and hadrosaurid dinosaurs, indicating that very little chewing occurred. Bones in the skull and other parts of the body were fused, increasing their strength.

Armour
The most obvious feature of Ankylosaurus is its armour, consisting of massive knobs and plates of bone, known as osteoderms or scutes, embedded in the skin. Osteoderms are also found in the skin of crocodiles, armadillos and some lizards. The bone was probably overlain by a tough, horny layer of keratin. These osteoderms ranged greatly in size, from wide, flat plates to small, round nodules. The plates were aligned in regular horizontal rows down the animal's neck, back, and hips, with the many smaller nodules protecting the areas between the large plates. Smaller plates may have been arranged on the limbs and tail. Compared to the slightly more ancient ankylosaurid Euoplocephalus, the plates of Ankylosaurus were smooth in texture, without the high keels found on the armor of the contemporaneous nodosaurid Edmontonia. A row of flat, triangular spikes may have protruded laterally along each side of the tail. Tough, rounded scales protected the top of the skull, while four large pyramidal horns projected outwards from its rear corners.

Tail Club
The famous tail club of Ankylosaurus was also composed of several large osteoderms, which were fused to the last few tail vertebrae. It was heavy and supported by the last seven tail vertebrae, which interlocked to form a stiff rod at the base of the club. Thick tendons have been preserved, which attached to these vertebrae. These tendons were partially ossified (or bony) and were not very elastic, allowing great force to be transmitted to the end of the tail when it was swung. It seems to have been an active defensive weapon, capable of producing enough of a devastating impact to break the bones of an assailant. A 2009 study showed that large tail knobs could generate sufficient force to break bone during impacts, but average and small knobs could not, and that tail swinging behavior is feasible in ankylosaurids, but it remains unknown whether the tail was used for interspecific defense, intraspecific combat, or both.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 17: Velociraptor

2012-01-17T21:00:00.001+08:00

Velociraptor (meaning 'swift seizer') is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils of this species have been discovered in Mongolia. A second species, V. osmolskae, was named in 2008 for skull material from Inner Mongolia, China.

Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Achillobator, Velociraptor nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long, stiffened tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill its prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout.

Velociraptor (commonly shortened to 'raptor') is one of the dinosaur genera most familiar to the general public due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park motion picture series. In the films it was shown with anatomical inaccuracies, including being much larger than it was in reality and without feathers. It is also well known to paleontologists, with over a dozen described fossil skeletons—the most of any dromaeosaurid. One particularly famous specimen preserves a Velociraptor locked in combat with a Protoceratops.

Description
Velociraptor was a mid-sized dromaeosaurid, with adults measuring up to 2.07 m (6.8 ft) long, 0.5 m (1.6 ft) high at the hip, and weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb). The skull, which grew up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long, was uniquely up-curved, concave on the upper surface and convex on the lower. The jaws were lined with 26–28 widely spaced teeth on each side, each more strongly serrated on the back edge than the front—possibly an adaptation that improved its ability to catch and hold fast-moving prey.

Velociraptor, like other dromaeosaurids, had a large manus ('hand') with three strongly curved claws, which were similar in construction and flexibility to the wing bones of modern birds. The second digit was the longest of the three digits present, while the first was shortest. The structure of the carpal (wrist) bones prevented pronation of the wrist and forced the 'hands' to be held with the palmar surface facing inwards (medially), not downwards. The first digit of the foot, as in other theropods, was a small dewclaw. However, whereas most theropods had feet with three digits contacting the ground, dromaeosaurids like Velociraptor walked on only their third and fourth digits. The second digit, for which Velociraptor is most famous, was highly modified and held retracted off of the ground. It bore a relatively large, sickle-shaped claw, typical of dromaeosaurid and troodontid dinosaurs. This enlarged claw, which could be over 6.5 cm (2.6 in) long around its outer edge, was most likely a predatory device used to tear into prey, possibly delivering a fatal blow.

Long bony projections (prezygapophyses) on the upper surfaces of the vertebrae, as well as ossified tendons underneath, stiffened the tail of Velociraptor. The prezygapophyses began on the tenth tail (caudal) vertebra and extended forward to brace four to ten additional vertebrae, depending on position in the tail. The stiffening forced the entire tail to act as a single rod-like unit, preventing vertical motion between vertebrae. However, at least one specimen preserves a series of intact tail vertebrae curved sideways into an S-shape, suggesting that there was considerably more horizontal flexibility. These adaptations of the tail probably provided balance and stability while turning, especially at high speeds.

In 2007, paleontologists reported the discovery of quill knobs on a well-preserved Velociraptor mongoliensis forearm from Mongolia, confirming the presence of feathers in this species. The fact that the ancestors of Velociraptor were feathered and possibly capable of flight long suggested to paleontologists that Velociraptor bore feathers as well, since even flightless birds today retain most of their feathers. These bumps on bird wing bones show where feathers anchor, and their presence on Velociraptor indicate it too had feathers.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 16: Diplodocus

2012-01-16T21:00:00.000+08:00

Diplodocus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek διπλόος (diploos) "double" and δοκός (dokos) "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones located in the underside of the tail. These bones were initially believed to be unique to Diplodocus; however, they have since then been discovered in other members of the diplodocid family and in non-diplodocid sauropods such as Mamenchisaurus.

It lived in what is now western North America at the end of the Jurassic Period. Diplodocus is one of the more common dinosaur fossils found in the Upper Morrison Formation, a sequence of shallow marine and alluvial sediments deposited about 155 to 148 million years ago, in what is now termed the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages (Diplodocus itself ranged from about 154 to 150 million years ago). The Morrison Formation records an environment and time dominated by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs such as Camarasaurus, Barosaurus, Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus.

Diplodocus is among the most easily identifiable dinosaurs, with its classic dinosaur shape, long neck and tail and four sturdy legs. For many years, it was the longest dinosaur known. Its great size may have been a deterrent to the predators Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus: their remains have been found in the same strata, which suggests they coexisted with Diplodocus.

Description
One of the best-known sauropods, Diplodocus was a very large long-necked quadrupedal animal, with a long, whip-like tail. Its forelimbs were slightly shorter than its hind limbs, resulting in a largely horizontal posture. The long-necked, long-tailed animal with four sturdy legs has been mechanically compared with a suspension bridge. In fact, Diplodocus is the longest dinosaur known from a complete skeleton. The partial remains of D. hallorum have increased the estimated length, though not as much as previously thought; when first described in 1991, discoverer David Gillette calculated it may have been up to 54 m (177 ft) long, making it the longest known dinosaur (excluding those known from exceedingly poor remains, such as Amphicoelias). Some weight estimates ranged as high as 113 tons (125 US short tons). This review was based on recent findings that show that the giant tail vertebrae were actually placed further forward on the tail than Gillette originally calculated. The study shows that the complete Diplodocus skeleton at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on which estimates of Seismosaurus were based, had its 13th tail vertebra come from another dinosaur, throwing size estimates for Seismosaurus off by up to 30%. While dinosaurs such as Supersaurus were probably longer, fossil remains of these animals are only fragmentary. Modern mass estimates for Diplodocus (exclusive of D. hallorum) have tended to be in the 10 to 16 tonne (11–17.6 ton) range: 10 tonnes (11 tons); 11.5 tonnes (12.7 tons); 12.7 tonnes (14 tons); and 16 tonnes (17.6 tons).

The skull of Diplodocus was very small, compared with the size of the animal, which could reach up to 35 m (115 ft), of which over 6 m (20 ft) was neck. Diplodocus had small, 'peg'-like teeth that pointed forward and were only present in the anterior sections of the jaws. Its braincase was small. The neck was composed of at least fifteen vertebrae and is now believed to have been generally held parallel to the ground and unable to have been elevated much past horizontal.

Diplodocus had an extremely long tail, composed of about 80 caudal vertebrae, which is almost double the number some of the earlier sauropods had in their tails (such as Shunosaurus with 43), and far more than contemporaneous macronarians had (such as Camarasaurus with 53). There has been speculation as to whether it may have had a defensive or noisemaking (by cracking it like a coachwhip) function. The tail may have served as a counterbalance for the neck. The middle part of the tail had 'double beams' (oddly shaped bones on the underside, which gave Diplodocus its name). They may have provided support for the vertebrae, or perhaps prevented the blood vessels from being crushed if the animal's heavy tail pressed against the ground. These 'double beams' are also seen in some related dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 15: Dimorphodon

2012-01-15T21:00:00.001+08:00

Dimorphodon was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from Greek δι/di meaning 'two', μορφη/morphe meaning 'shape' and οδων/odon meaning 'tooth', referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws - which is comparatively rare among reptiles.

Description
Dimorphodon had a large, bulky skull approximately 22 centimetre in length, whose weight was reduced by large openings separated from each other by thin bony partitions. Its structure, reminiscent of the supporting arches of a bridge, prompted Richard Owen to declare that, in far as achieving great strength from light-weight materials was concerned, no vertebra was more economically constructed; Owen saw the vertebrate skull as a combination of four vertebrae modified from the ideal type of the vertebra. The front of the upper jaw had four or five fang-like teeth followed by an indeterminate number of smaller teeth; the maxilla of all exemplars is damaged at the back. The lower jaw had five longer teeth and thirty to forty tiny, flattened pointed teeth, shaped like a lancet. Many depictions give it a speculative puffin-like 'beak' because of similarities between the two animals' skulls.

The body structure of Dimorphodon displays many "primitive" characters, such as, according to Owen, a very small brain-pan[citation needed] and proportionally short wings. The first phalanx in its flight finger is only slightly longer than its lower arm. The neck was short but strong and flexible and may have had a membraneous pouch on the underside. The vertebrae had pneumatic foramina, openings through which the air sacks could reach the hollow interior. Dimorphodon had an adult body length of 1 metre (3.3 ft) long, with a 1.45 meter (4.6 ft) wingspan.

The tail of Dimorphodon was long and consisted of thirty vertebrae. The first five or six were short and flexible but the remainder gradually increased in length and were stiffened by elongated vertebral processes. The terminal end of the tail may have borne a Rhamphorhynchus-like tail vane, although no soft tissues have yet been found of Dimorphodon to confirm this speculation.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 14: Tyrannosaurus

2012-01-14T21:00:00.002+08:00

Tyrannosaurus (meaning "tyrant lizard", from Greek tyrannos (τυράννος) meaning "tyrant," and sauros (σαύρος) meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning "king" in Latin), commonly abbreviated to T-Rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian age of the upper Cretaceous Period, 67 to 65.5 million years ago. It was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

Like other tyrannosaurids, Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to the large and powerful hindlimbs, Tyrannosaurus forelimbs were small, though unusually powerful for their size, and bore two clawed digits. Although other theropods rivaled or exceeded Tyrannosaurus rex in size, it was the largest known tyrannosaurid and one of the largest known land predators, measuring up to 12.8 m (42 ft) in length, up to 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the hips, and up to 6.8 metric tons (7.5 short tons) in weight. By far the largest carnivore in its environment, Tyrannosaurus rex may have been an apex predator, preying upon hadrosaurs and ceratopsians, although some experts have suggested it was primarily a scavenger. The debate over Tyrannosaurus as apex predator or scavenger is among the longest running in paleontology.

More than 30 specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex have been identified, some of which are nearly complete skeletons. Soft tissue and proteins have been reported in at least one of these specimens. The abundance of fossil material has allowed significant research into many aspects of its biology, including life history and biomechanics. The feeding habits, physiology and potential speed of Tyrannosaurus rex are a few subjects of debate. Its taxonomy is also controversial, with some scientists considering Tarbosaurus bataar from Asia to represent a second species of Tyrannosaurus and others maintaining Tarbosaurus as a separate genus. Several other genera of North American tyrannosaurids have also been synonymized with Tyrannosaurus.

Description
Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land carnivores of all time; the largest complete specimen, FMNH PR2081 ("Sue"), measured 12.8 metres (42 ft) long, and was 4.0 metres (13.1 ft) tall at the hips. Mass estimates have varied widely over the years, from more than 7.2 metric tons (7.9 short tons), to less than 4.5 metric tons (5.0 short tons), with most modern estimates ranging between 5.4 and 6.8 metric tons (6.0 and 7.5 short tons). Packard et al. (2009) tested dinosaur mass estimation procedures on elephants and concluded that dinosaur estimations are flawed and produce over-estimations; thus, the weight of Tyrannosaurus could be much less than usually estimated. Other estimations have concluded that the largest known Tyrannosaurus specimens had a weight exceeding 9 tonnes.

Although Tyrannosaurus rex was larger than the well known Jurassic theropod Allosaurus, it was slightly smaller than two other Cretaceous carnivores, Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus.

The neck of Tyrannosaurus rex formed a natural S-shaped curve like that of other theropods, but was short and muscular to support the massive head. The forelimbs had only two clawed fingers, along with an additional small metacarpal representing the remnant of a third digit. In contrast the hind limbs were among the longest in proportion to body size of any theropod. The tail was heavy and long, sometimes containing over forty vertebrae, in order to balance the massive head and torso. To compensate for the immense bulk of the animal, many bones throughout the skeleton were hollow, reducing its weight without significant loss of strength.

Skulls
The largest known Tyrannosaurus rex skulls measure up to 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. Large fenestrae (openings) in the skull reduced weight and provided areas for muscle attachment, as in all carnivorous theropods. But in other respects Tyrannosaurus's skull was significantly different from those of large non-tyrannosauroid theropods. It was extremely wide at the rear but had a narrow snout, allowing unusually good binocular vision. The skull bones were massive and the nasals and some other bones were fused, preventing movement between them; but many were pneumatized (contained a "honeycomb" of tiny air spaces) which may have made the bones more flexible as well as lighter. These and other skull-strengthening features are part of the tyrannosaurid trend towards an increasingly powerful bite, which easily surpassed that of all non-tyrannosaurids. The tip of the upper jaw was U-shaped (most non-tyrannosauroid carnivores had V-shaped upper jaws), which increased the amount of tissue and bone a tyrannosaur could rip out with one bite, although it also increased the stresses on the front teeth.

Teeth
The teeth of Tyrannosaurus rex displayed marked heterodonty (differences in shape). The premaxillary teeth at the front of the upper jaw were closely packed, D-shaped in cross-section, had reinforcing ridges on the rear surface, were incisiform (their tips were chisel-like blades) and curved backwards. The D-shaped cross-section, reinforcing ridges and backwards curve reduced the risk that the teeth would snap when Tyrannosaurus bit and pulled. The remaining teeth were robust, like "lethal bananas" rather than daggers; more widely spaced and also had reinforcing ridges. Those in the upper jaw were larger than those in all but the rear of the lower jaw. The largest found so far is estimated to have been 30 centimetres (12 in) long including the root when the animal was alive, making it the largest tooth of any carnivorous dinosaur yet found.

Arms
When Tyrannosaurus rex was first discovered, the humerus was the only element of the forelimb known. For the initial mounted skeleton as seen by the public in 1915, Osborn substituted longer, three-fingered forelimbs like those of Allosaurus. However, a year earlier, Lawrence Lambe described the short, two-fingered forelimbs of the closely related Gorgosaurus. This strongly suggested that Tyrannosaurus rex had similar forelimbs, but this hypothesis was not confirmed until the first complete Tyrannosaurus rex forelimbs were identified in 1989, belonging to MOR 555 (the "Wankel rex"). The remains of "Sue" also include complete forelimbs. Tyrannosaurus rex arms are very small relative to overall body size, measuring only 1 metre (3.3 ft) long. However, they are not vestigial but instead show large areas for muscle attachment, indicating considerable strength. This was recognized as early as 1906 by Osborn, who speculated that the forelimbs may have been used to grasp a mate during copulation. It has also been suggested that the forelimbs were used to assist the animal in rising from a prone position.[54] Another possibility is that the forelimbs held struggling prey while it was killed by the tyrannosaur's enormous jaws. This hypothesis may be supported by biomechanical analysis.
Tyrannosaurus rex forelimb bones exhibit extremely thick cortical bone, indicating that they were developed to withstand heavy loads. The biceps brachii muscle of a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex was capable of lifting 199 kilograms (439 lb) by itself; other muscles such as the brachialis would work along with the biceps to make elbow flexion even more powerful. The M. biceps muscle of T. rex was 3.5 times as powerful as the human equivalent. A Tyrannosaurus rex forearm also had a reduced range of motion, with the shoulder and elbow joints allowing only 40 and 45 degrees of motion, respectively. In contrast, the same two joints in Deinonychus allow up to 88 and 130 degrees of motion, respectively, while a human arm can rotate 360 degrees at the shoulder and move through 165 degrees at the elbow. The heavy build of the arm bones, extreme strength of the muscles, and limited range of motion may indicate a system evolved to hold fast despite the stresses of a struggling prey animal. Carpenter and Smith dismissed notions that the forelimbs were useless or that Tyrannosaurus rex was an obligate scavenger.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 13: Styracosaurus

2012-01-13T21:00:00.002+08:00

Styracosaurus (meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek styrax/στύραξ "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and sauros/σαῦρος "lizard") was a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period (Campanian stage), about 76.5 to 75.0 million years ago. It had four to six long horns extending from its neck frill, a smaller horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to 60 centimetres (2 ft) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years.

Styracosaurus was a relatively large dinosaur, reaching lengths of 5.5 metres (18 ft) and weighing nearly 3 tons. It stood about 1.8 meters (6 ft) tall. Styracosaurus possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its tail was rather short. The skull had a beak and shearing cheek teeth arranged in continuous dental batteries, suggesting that the animal sliced up plants. Like other ceratopsians, this dinosaur may have been a herd animal, traveling in large groups, as suggested by bonebeds.

Named by Lawrence Lambe in 1913, Styracosaurus is a member of the Centrosaurinae. One species, S. albertensis, is currently assigned to Styracosaurus. Other species assigned to the genus have since been reassigned elsewhere.

Individuals of the Styracosaurus genus were approximately 5.5 metres (18 ft) long as adults and weighed around 2.7 tons. The skull was massive, with a large nostril, a tall straight nose horn, and a parietosquasomal frill (a neck frill) crowned with at least four large spikes. Each of the four longest frill spines was comparable in length to the nose horn, at 50 to 55 centimetres long (19.7 to 21.7 in). The nasal horn is estimated at 57 centimeters long (19.7 in) in the type specimen, but the horn is only partially complete. Based on other nasal horn cores from Styracosaurus and Centrosaurus, this horn may have come to a rounded point at around half of that length.

Aside from the large nasal horn and four long frill spikes, the cranial ornamentation was variable. Some individuals had small hook-like projections and knobs at the posterior margin of the frill, similar to but smaller than those in Centrosaurus. Others had less prominent tabs. Some, like the type individual, had a third pair of long frill spikes. Others had much smaller projections, and small points are found on the side margins of some but not all specimens. Modest pyramid-shaped brow horns were present in subadults, but were replaced by pits in adults.[5] Like most ceratopsids, Styracosaurus had large fenestrae (skull openings) in its frill. The front of the mouth had a toothless beak.

The bulky body of Styracosaurus resembled that of a rhinoceros. It had powerful shoulders which may have been useful in intraspecies combat. Styracosaurus had a relatively short tail. Each toe bore a hooflike ungual which was sheathed in horn.

Various limb positions have been proposed for Styracosaurus and ceratopsids in general, including forelegs which were held underneath the body, or, alternatively, held in a sprawling position. The most recent work has put forward an intermediate crouched position as most likely. Paleontologists Gregory Paul and Per Christiansen of the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark proposed that large ceratopsians such as Styracosaurus were able to run faster than an elephant, based on possible ceratopsian trackways which did not exhibit signs of sprawling forelimbs.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 12: Gastornis

2012-01-12T21:00:00.000+08:00

Gastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Cenozoic. It was named in 1855, after Gaston Planté, who had discovered the first fossils in Argile Plastique formation deposits at Meudon near Paris (France). At that time, Planté (described as a "studious young man full of zeal") was at the start of his academic career, and his remarkable discovery was soon to be overshadowed by his subsequent achievements in physics.

In the 1870s, the famous American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope discovered another, more complete set of fossils in North America, and named them Diatryma (from Ancient Greek διάτρημα, diatrema, meaning "canoe").

Description
Gastornis parisiensis measured on average 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) tall, but large individuals grew up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall. The Gastornis had a remarkably huge beak with a slightly hooked top, which was taken as evidence suggesting that it was carnivorous. Gastornis had large powerful legs, with large, taloned feet, which also were considered in support of the theory that it was a predator.

The plumage of Gastornis is unknown; it is generally depicted with a hair-like covering as in ratites, but this is conjectural. Some fibrous strands recovered from a Green River Formation deposit at Roan Creek, Colorado were initially believed to represent Gastornis feathers and named Diatryma filifera. Subsequent examination showed that they were actually not feathers at all but plant fibers or similar.

Paleoecology
At its time, the environment in which Gastornis lived had large portions of dense forest and a moist semiarid, subtropical or tropical climate. North America and Europe were still rather close, and especially since Greenland was probably then covered with lush woodland and grassland, only narrow straits of a few 100 km would have blocked entirely landbound dispersal of the Gastornis ancestors. While there were large contiguous areas of land in their North American range after the Western Interior Seaway had receded, their European range was an archipelago due to the Alpide orogeny and the high sea levels of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum; geographically (but not geologically), it was perhaps roughly similar to today's Indonesia.

Classically, Gastornis has been depicted as predatory. However, with the size of Gastornis legs, the bird would have had to have been more agile to catch fast-moving prey than the fossils suggest it to have been. Consequently, it has been suspected that Gastornis was an ambush hunter and/or used pack hunting techniques to pursue or ambush prey; if Gastornis was a predator, it would have certainly needed some other means of hunting prey through the dense forest.

Alternatively, they may have been predominantly scavengers, omnivores or even herbivores. Indeed, the large beak of Gastornis would have been as well suited for crushing seeds and tearing off vegetation. But it seems excessively strong for a purely vegetarian diet, except in the rather improbable case that huge hard-shelled seeds and nuts formed the main food item of Gastornis. Regardless of what these birds ate, the beak may simply have been used for social display though its presence in all known fossils argues against a sexual display role. These contradicting hypotheses, equivocally supported by the material evidence, make the dietary paleobiology of Gastornis impossible to pinpoint.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 11: Confuciusornis

2012-01-11T21:00:00.001+08:00

Confuciusornis is a genus of primitive crow-sized birds from the Early Cretaceous Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 120 million years ago. Like modern birds, Confuciusornis had a toothless beak, but close relatives of modern birds such as Hesperornis and Ichthyornis were toothed, indicating that the loss of teeth occurred convergently in Confuciusornis and living birds. It is the oldest known bird to have a beak. It was named after the Chinese moral philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confuciusornis is one of the most abundant vertebrates found in the Yixian Formation, and several hundred complete, articulated specimens have been found.

Description
Confuciusornis was about the size of a modern pigeon, with a wingspan of up to 0.7 meters (2.3 ft), and its body weight has been estimated to have been as much as 1.5 kilograms, or less than 0.2 kilograms. C. feducciai was about a third longer than average specimens of C. sanctus.

Confuciusornis shows a mix of basal and derived traits. It was more "advanced" or derived than Archaeopteryx in possessing a short tail with a pygostyle (a bone formed from a series of short, fused tail vertebrae) and a bony sternum, but more basal or "primitive" than modern birds in retaining large claws on the forelimbs, having a primitive skull with a closed eye-socket, and a relatively small breastbone. At first the number of basal characteristics was exaggerated: Hou assumed in 1995 that a long tail was present and mistook grooves in the jaw bones for small degenerated teeth.

The skull of Confuciusornis was equipped with a pointed toothless beak. It was relatively heavy-built and immobile, incapable of the kinesis of modern birds that can raise the snout relative to the back of the skull. This immobility was caused by the presence of a triradiate postorbital separating the eye-socket from the lower temporal opening, like with more basal theropods, and the premaxillae of the snout reaching all the way to the frontals, forcing the nasals to the sides of the snout.

Fossils of Confuciusornis show that it had an exceptionally large humerus (upper arm bone). Near its shoulder-end this was equipped with a prominent deltopectoral crest. Characteristically this crista deltopectoralis was with Confuciusornis pierced by an oval hole which may have reduced the bone's weight or enlarged the attachment area of the flight miscles. The furcula or wishbone, like that of Archaeopteryx, was a simple curved bar lacking a pointed process at the back, a hypocleidum. The sternum (breastbone) was relatively broad and had a low keel which was raised at the back end. This bony keel may or may not have anchored a larger, cartilaginous, keel for enlarged pectoral muscles. The scapulae (shoulder blades) were fused to the strut-like coracoid bones and may have formed a solid base for the attachment of wing muscles. The orientation of the shoulder joint was sideways, instead of angled upward as in modern birds; this means that Confuciusornis was unable to lift its wings high above its back. According to a study by Phil Senter in 2006, the joint was even pointed largely downwards meaning that the humerus could not be lifted above the horizontal. This would make Confuciusornis incapable of the upstroke required for flapping flight; the same would have been true for Archaeopteryx.

The wrist of Confuciusornis shows fusion, forming a carpometacarpus. The second and third metacarpals were also partially fused but the first was unfused, however, and also the fingers could freely move relative to each other. The second metacarpal, supporting the flight feathers, was very heavily built; its finger carries a small claw. The claw of the first finger to the contrary was very large and curved, that of the third intermediate in size. The formula of the finger phalanges was 2-3-4-0-0.

The pelvis was connected to a sacrum formed by seven sacral vertebrae. The pubis was strongly pointing backwards. The left and right ischia were not fused. The femur was straight; the tibia only slightly longer. The metatarsals of the foot were relatively short and fused to each other and to the lower ankle bones, forming a tarsometatarsus. A rudimentary fifth metatarsal is present. The first metatarsal was attached to the lower shaft of the second and supported a first toe or hallux, pointing to the back. The formula of the toe phalanges was 2-3-4-5-0. The proportions of the toes suggest that they were used for both walking and perching, while the large claws of the thumb and third finger were probably used for climbing.

Feathers
The wing feathers of Confuciusornis were long and modern in appearance. The primary wing feathers of a 0.5 kilogram individual reached 20.7 centimeters in length. The five longest primary feathers (remiges primarii) were more than 3.5 times the length of the hand and relatively longer than those of any living bird, while the secondary feathers of the lower arm were rather short by comparison. Thus, the wing shape was very unlike that of living birds, being long and narrow. The primary feathers were asymmetrical to varying degree, and especially so in the outermost primaries. It is unclear whether the upper arm carried tertiaries. Covert feathers are preserved covering the upper part of the wing feathers in some specimens, and some specimens have preserved the contour feathers of the body. Unlike some more advanced birds, Confuciusornis lacked an alula, or "bastard wing". In modern birds this is formed by feathers anchored to the first digit of the hand, but this digit appears to have been free of feathers and independent of the body of the wing in Confuciusornis. According to Dieter Stefan Peters to compensate for the lack of an alula, the third finger might have formed a separate winglet below the main wing, functioning like the flap of an aircraft.[17] Despite the relatively advanced and long wing feathers, the forearm bones lacked any indication of quill knobs (papillae ulnares), or bony attachment points for the feather ligaments.

Many specimens preserve a pair of long, narrow tail feathers, which grew longer than the entire length of the rest of the body. Unlike the feathers of most modern birds, these feathers were not differentiated into a central quill and barbs for most of their length. Rather, most of the feather formed a ribbon-like sheet, about six millimetres wide. Only at the last one quarter of the feather, towards the rounded tip, does the feather become differentiated into a central shaft with interlocking barbs. Many individuals of Confuciusornis lacked even these two tail feathers, possibly due to sexual dimorphism. The rest of the tail around the pygostyle was covered in short, non-aerodynamic feather tufts similar to the contour feathers of the body, rather than the familiar feather fan of modern bird tails.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 10: Ornitholestes

2012-01-10T21:00:00.001+08:00

Ornitholestes (meaning "bird robber") was a small theropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic era (middle Kimmeridgian age, about 154 million years ago) of Western Laurasia (the area that was to become North America). To date, it is known only from a single partial skeleton, and badly crushed skull found at the Bone Cabin Quarry near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, in 1900. It was described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1903. An incomplete hand was later attributed to Ornitholestes, although it now appears to belong to Tanycolagreus. The type (and only known) species is O. hermanni. The species name honors the American Museum of Natural History preparator Adam Hermann.

Description
Ornitholestes was a bipedal carnivore. Its head was proportionally smaller than that of most other predatory dinosaurs, but the skull was heavily built, with a short snout and robust lower jaw. The orbits (eye sockets) were quite large, measuring over 25 percent of the skull's length. There is no indication of a bony eye ring.

The front teeth of Ornitholestes were somewhat conical, with reduced serrations; back teeth were recurved and more sharply serrated, similar to those of other theropod dinosaurs. Henry Fairfield Osborn (1903) counted four teeth in the premaxilla, of which the front tooth was the largest in the upper jaw. In contrast, Gregory S. Paul (1988) reconstructed the skull with only three premaxillary teeth, much smaller than those illustrated by Osborn. Each maxilla (main tooth-bearing bone in the upper jaw) contained 10 teeth, and each dentary (tooth-bearing bone in the lower jaw) contained 12 teeth. The tooth rows of Ornitholestes were short, with the dentary (lower) row being even shorter than the maxillary (upper) row. Teeth did not extend as far back as the orbits, and neither tooth row spanned much more than one-third of the skull.

An area of broken bone near the external naris (nostril) appears to bulge upward, which led Gregory S. Paul to suggest in Predatory Dinosaurs of the World (1988) that Ornitholestes had a nasal horn "rather like a chicken's comb in looks." Both Oliver W.M. Rauhut (2003) and Kenneth Carpenter et al. (2005) rejected that interpretation, and indicated that the upward flare of bone was due to post-mortem crushing of the skull. Paul's updated illustration of Ornitholestes in his 2010 Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs no longer contains the nasal horn.

Ornitholestes had a relatively short neck with a slight sigmoidal (S-shaped) curve. The tail was long and whiplike, comprising over half of the body's length. Not all of the vertebrae were preserved, but Osborn (1917) estimated that Ornitholestes had nine or ten cervical (neck) vertebrae, 13 dorsal (back) vertebrae, four sacral (hip) vertebrae, and 39 to 44 caudal (tail) vertebrae. Carpenter et al. (2005a) recorded that the specimen contained five sacral vertebrae. Ornitholestes was a short-bodied theropod, and this was reflected in the short front-to-back dimensions of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae.

The forelimbs of Ornitholestes were relatively long, slightly under two-thirds the length of the hind legs. The humerus (upper arm bone) was heavily built, and somewhat longer than the radius and ulna (forearm bones). Both the humerus and radius were straight-shafted. The claws on digits I and II of the hand were about the same size. Although the hand's third ungual (claw bone) was not preserved, extrapolation from the closest relatives of Ornitholestes indicates that it was probably shorter than the first two.

Ornitholestes is often portrayed as a fast, long-legged theropod, but its lower limb bones were fairly short. Osborn (1917) calculated that the tibia (shin bone) was only about 70.6% as long as the femur (thigh bone). The metatarsals (foot bones) were spaced closely, but not fused together. As is typical of theropods, the feet were tridactyl (three-clawed). John H. Ostrom (1969) noted that the claw of digit II (the innermost toe) was larger than those of digits III and IV, and suggested that this digit may have borne a modified sickle claw similar to that of Deinonychus. However, as both Ostrom (1969) and Paul (1988) noted, the poor preservation of digit II makes this hypothesis difficult to confirm.

In his 1903 description, Osborn wrote that the length of Ornitholestes along "the skull and vertebral column as restored" was 2.22 m (7.28 ft). However, this reconstruction was inaccurate, being based in part on Othniel Charles Marsh's restoration of the basal sauropodomorph Anchisaurus, and the neck and trunk were both too elongated. David Norman (1985) and John Foster (2007) both estimated that Ornitholestes was about 2 m (6.6 ft) long. Gregory S. Paul's 1988 Predatory Dinosaurs of the World listed the length of Ornitholestes as approximately 2.08 m (6.82 ft).

Paul (1988) and Foster (2007) both estimated that Ornitholestes weighed 12.6 kg (27.8 lb). John A. Long and Peter Schouten (2008) suggested a slightly higher figure, 15 kg (33 lb).

Dinosaurs Live highlight 09: Parasaurolophus

2012-01-09T21:00:00.003+08:00

Parasaurolophus (meaning "parallel crested lizard" in reference to Saurolophus) is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 76.5–73 million years ago.[1] It was an herbivore that walked both as a biped and a quadruped. Three species are recognized: P. walkeri (the type species), P. tubicen, and the short-crested P. cyrtocristatus. Remains are known from Alberta (Canada), and New Mexico and Utah (USA). The genus was first described in 1922 by William Parks from a skull and partial skeleton in Alberta.

Parasaurolophus was a hadrosaurid, part of a diverse family of Cretaceous dinosaurs known for their range of bizarre head adornments. This genus is known for its large, elaborate cranial crest, which at its largest forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull. Charonosaurus from China, which may have been its closest relative, had a similar skull and potentially a similar crest. The crest has been much discussed by scientists; the consensus is that major functions included visual recognition of both species and sex, acoustic resonance, and thermoregulation. It is one of the rarer hadrosaurids, known from only a handful of good specimens.

Description
Like most dinosaurs, the skeleton of Parasaurolophus is incompletely known. The length of the type specimen of P. walkeri is estimated at 9.5 m (31 ft), and its weight is estimated at 2.5 tonnes (2.8 short tons). Its skull is about 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) long, including the crest, whereas the type skull of P. tubicen is over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long, indicating a larger animal. Its single known forelimb was relatively short for a hadrosaurid, with a short but wide shoulder blade. The thighbone measures 103 cm (41 in) long in P. walkeri and is robust for its length when compared to other hadrosaurids. The upper arm and pelvic bones were also heavily built.[5]

Like other hadrosaurids, it was able to walk on either two legs or four. It probably preferred to forage for food on four legs, but ran on two. The neural spines of the vertebrae were tall, as was common in lambeosaurines; tallest over the hips, they increased the height of the back. Skin impressions are known for P. walkeri, showing uniform tubercle-like scales but no larger structures.

The most noticeable feature was the cranial crest, which protruded from the rear of the head and was made up of the premaxilla and nasal bones. The P. walkeri type specimen has a notch in the neural spines near where the crest would hit the back, but this may be a pathology peculiar to this individual. William Parks, who named the genus, hypothesized that a ligament ran from the crest to the notch to support the head. Although this idea seems unlikely, Parasaurolophus is sometimes restored with a skin flap from the crest to the neck. The crest was hollow, with distinct tubes leading from each nostril to the end of the crest before reversing direction and heading back down the crest and into the skull. The tubes were simplest in P. walkeri, and more complex in P. tubicen, where some tubes were blind and others met and separated.[8] While P. walkeri and P. tubicen had long crests with only slight curvature, P. cyrtocristatus had a short crest with a more circular profile.

Classification
As its name implies, Parasaurolophus was initially thought to be closely related to Saurolophus because of its superficially similar crest. However, it was soon reassessed as a member of the lambeosaurine subfamily of hadrosaurids — Saurolophus is an hadrosaurine. It is usually interpreted as a separate offshoot of the lambeosaurines, distinct from the helmet-crested Corythosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, and Lambeosaurus. Its closest known relative appears to be Charonosaurus, a lambeosaurine with a similar skull (but no complete crest yet) from the Amur region of northeastern China, and the two may form a clade Parasaurolophini. P. cyrtocristatus, with its short, rounder crest, may be the most basal of the three known Parasaurolophus species, or it may represent subadult or female specimens of P. tubicen.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 08: Dilophosaurus

2012-01-08T21:00:00.002+08:00

Dilophosaurus (Greek: di for "two", lophos "crest", and sauros "lizard") was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name. It is one of the earliest known Jurassic theropods and one of the least understood.

Description
Dilophosaurus measured around six meters (20 ft) long and may have weighed half a ton. The most distinctive characteristic of Dilophosaurus is the pair of rounded crests on its skull, possibly used for display. Studies by Robert Gay show no indication that sexual dimorphism was present in the skeleton of Dilophosaurus, but says nothing about crest variation. The teeth of Dilophosaurus are long, but have a fairly small base and expand basally. Another skull feature was a notch behind the first row of teeth, giving Dilophosaurus an almost crocodile-like appearance, similar to the putatively piscivorous spinosaurid dinosaurs. This "notch" existed by virtue of a weak connection between the premaxillary and maxillary bones of the skull. This conformation led to the early hypothesis that Dilophosaurus scavenged off dead carcasses, with the front teeth being too weak to bring down and hold large prey.

Classification
Dilophosaurus may be a primitive member of the clade containing both ceratosaurian and tetanuran theropods. Alternatively, some paleontologists classify this genus as a large coelophysoid.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 07: Sinosauropteryx

2012-01-07T21:00:00.001+08:00

Sinosauropteryx (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", in Chinese 中华龙鸟: zhonghua longniao) was the first genus of dinosaur outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. They were covered with "furry" coats of very simple filament-like feathers. Structures that indicate colouration have been preserved for some of the feathers, which also makes Sinosauropteryx the first non-avialian dinosaurs where colouration has been determined. Colouration includes a banded tail with reddish and light bands. Some contention has arisen with an alternative interpretation of the filamentous impression as remains of collagen fibres.

Sinosauropteryx were small theropods with unusually long tails and short arms. They were close relatives of the similar but older genus Compsognathus, both genera belonging to the family Compsognathidae. Only one species of Sinosauropteryx has been named: S. prima, meaning "first" in reference to its status as the first feathered non-avialian dinosaur species discovered. A handful of specimens have been described. One specimen previously assigned to this genus represents either a second, as-yet unnamed species or a related genus.

Sinosauropteryx prima lived in what is now northeastern China during the early Cretaceous period. They were among the first dinosaurs discovered from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, and were members of the remarkable Jehol Biota. Well-preserved fossils of this species illustrate many aspects of their biology, such as their diet and reproduction.

Sinosauropteryx prima were small bipedal theropods, noted for their short arms, large first fingers (thumbs), and long tails. The species includes some of the smallest known adult non-avian theropod specimens, with the holotype specimen measuring only 68 cm (27 in) in length, including the tail. This individual was relatively young. The longest known specimen reaches up to 1.07 m (3.5 ft) in length, with an estimated weight of 0.55 kg (1.2 lb).

Sinosauropteryx were anatomically similar to Compsognathus, differing from their European relatives in their proportions. The skulls of Sinosauropteryx were 15% longer than their thigh bones, unlike Compsognathus, in which the skulls and thigh bones are approximately equivalent in length. The arms of Sinosauropteryx (humerus and radius) were only 30% the length of their legs (thigh bone and shin), compared to 40% in Compsognathus. Additionally, Sinosauropteryx had several features unique among all other theropods. S. prima had 64 vertebrae in their tails. This high number helps give them the longest tails relative to body length of any theropod species. Their hands were long compared to its arms, about 84% to 91% of the length of the rest of the arm (humerus and radius), and half the length of the foot. The first and second digits were about the same length, with a large claw on the first digit. The first fingers were large, being both longer and thicker than either of the bones of the forearm. The teeth differed slightly based on position: those near the tips of the upper jaws (on the premaxillae) were slender and lacked serrations, while those behind them (on the maxillae) were serrated and laterally compressed. The teeth of the lower jaws were similarly differentiated.

A pigmented area in the abdomen of the holotype has been suggested as possible traces of organs,[2] and was interpreted as the liver by John Ruben and colleagues, which they described as part of a crocodilian-like "hepatic piston" respiratory system. A later study, while agreeing that the pigmented area represented something originally inside the body, found no defined structure and noted that any organs would have been distorted by the processes that flattened the skeleton into an essentially two-dimensional form. Dark pigment is also present in the eye region of the holotype and another specimen.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 06: Maiasaura

2012-01-06T21:00:00.001+08:00

Maiasaura (from the Greek "μαία + σαύρα", meaning "caring mother lizard") is a large duck-billed dinosaur genus that lived in the area currently covered by the state of Montana in the Upper Cretaceous Period (Campanian), about 74 million years ago.

Description
Maiasaura was large, attaining an adult length of about 9 metres (30 ft) and had the typical hadrosaurid flat beak and a thick nose. It had a small, spiky crest in front of its eyes. The crest may have been used in headbutting contests between males during the breeding season.

This dinosaur was herbivorous. It walked both on two (bipedal) or four (quadrupedal) legs and appeared to have no defense against predators, except, perhaps, its heavy muscular tail and its herd behaviour. These herds were extremely large and could have comprised as many as 10,000 individuals. Maisaura lived in an inland habitat.

Reproducation
Maiasaura lived in herds and it raised its young in nesting colonies. The nests in the colonies were packed closely together, like those of modern seabirds, with the gap between the nests being around 7 metres (23 ft); less than the length of the adult animal. The nests were made of earth and contained 30 to 40 eggs laid in a circular or spiral pattern. The eggs were about the size of ostrich eggs.

The eggs were incubated by the heat resulting from rotting vegetation placed into the nest by the parents, rather than a parent sitting on the nest. Upon hatching, fossils of baby Maiasaura show that their legs were not fully developed and thus they were incapable of walking. Fossils also show that their teeth were partly worn, which means that the adults brought food to the nest.

The hatchlings grew from a size of 16 to 58 inches (41 to 150 cm) long in the span of their first year. At this point, or perhaps after another year, the animal left the nest. This high rate of growth may be evidence of warm bloodedness. The hatchlings had different facial proportions from the adults, with larger eyes and a shorter snout. These features are associated with cuteness and are common among animals that are dependant on their parents for survival during the early stages of life.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 05: Spinosaurus

2012-01-05T21:00:00.002+08:00

Spinosaurus (meaning "spine lizard") is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in what is now North Africa, from the lower Albian to lower Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period, about 112 to 97 million years ago. This genus was first known from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material has come to light in recent years. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species S. maroccanus has been recovered from Morocco.

Spinosaurus may be the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs, even larger than Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus. Estimates published in 2005 and 2007 suggest that it was 12.6 to 18 metres (41 to 59 ft) in length and 7 to 20.9 tonnes (7.7 to 23.0 short tons) in weight. The skull was long and narrow like that of a modern crocodilian. Spinosaurus is thought to have eaten fish; evidence suggests that it lived both on land and in water like a modern crocodilian. The distinctive spines of Spinosaurus, which were long extensions of the vertebrae, grew to at least 1.65 meters (5.4 ft) long and were likely to have had skin connecting them, forming a sail-like structure, although some authors have suggested that the spines were covered in fat and formed a hump. Multiple functions have been put forward for this structure, including thermoregulation and display.

Size
Spinosaurus is known for its neural spines, its large size, and its elongated skull. Since its discovery, Spinosaurus has been a contender for the longest and largest theropod dinosaur. Both Friedrich von Huene in 1926 and Donald F. Glut in 1982 listed it as among the most massive theropods in their surveys, at 15 meters (49 ft) in length and upwards of 6 tons in weight. In 1988, Gregory Paul also listed it as the longest theropod at 15 meters (49 ft), but gave a lower mass estimate of 4 tonnes (4.4 short tons).

The lower estimates for Spinosaurus would imply that the animal was shorter and lighter than Carcharodontosaurus and Giganotosaurus. The Therrien and Henderson study has been criticized for the choice of theropods used for comparison (e.g., most of the theropods used to set the initial equations were tyrannosaurids and carnosaurs, which have a different build than spinosaurids), and for the assumption that the Spinosaurus skull could be as little as 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) in length. Improvement of the precision of size estimates for Spinosaurus requires the discovery of more complete remains as available for some other dinosaurs, especially the limb bones of Spinosaurus which are "hitherto unknown."

Neural Spines
Very tall neural spines growing on the back vertebrae of Spinosaurus formed the basis of what is usually called the animal's "sail." The lengths of the neural spines reached over 10 times the diameters of the vertebral bodies from which they extended. The neural spines were slightly longer front to back at the base than higher up, and were unlike the thin rods seen in the pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon, contrasting also with the thicker spines in the contemporary iguanodont Ouranosaurus.

Spinosaurus sails were unusual, although other dinosaurs, namely the ornithopod Ouranosaurus, which lived a few million years earlier in the same general region as Spinosaurus, and the South American sauropod Amargasaurus, might have developed similar structural adaptations of their vertebrae. The sail is possibly analogous (not homologous) to that of the Permian synapsid Dimetrodon, which lived before the dinosaurs even appeared; these similarities are due to parallel evolution.

The structure may also have been more hump-like than sail-like, as noted by Stromer in 1915 ("one might rather think of the existence of a large hump of fat, to which the neural spines gave internal support") and by Jack Bowman Bailey in 1997. In support of his "buffalo-back" hypothesis, Bailey argued that in Spinosaurus, Ouranosaurus, and other dinosaurs with long neural spines, the spines were relatively shorter and thicker than the spines of pelycosaurs (which were known to have sails); instead, the dinosaurs' neural spines were similar to the neural spines of extinct hump-backed mammals such as Megacerops and Bison latifrons.

Skull
The skull had a narrow snout filled with straight conical teeth that lacked serrations. There were six or seven teeth on each side of the very front of the upper jaw, in the premaxillae, and another twelve in both maxillae behind them. The second and third teeth on each side were noticeably larger than the rest of the teeth in the premaxilla, creating a space between them and the large teeth in the anterior maxilla; large teeth in the lower jaw faced this space. The very tip of the snout holding those few large anterior teeth was expanded, and a small crest was present in front of the eyes. Using the dimensions of three specimens known as MSNM V4047, UCPC-2, and BSP 1912 VIII 19, and assuming that the postorbital part of the skull of MSNM V4047 had a shape similar to the postorbital part of the skull of Irritator, Dal Sasso et al. (2005) estimated that the skull of Spinosaurus was 1.75 meters (5.7 ft) long.[5] The Dal Sasso et al. skull length estimate was questioned because skull shapes can vary across spinosaurid species.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 04: Dimetrodon

2012-01-04T21:00:00.004+08:00

Dimetrodon (meaning "two measures of teeth") was a predatory synapsid genus that flourished during the Permian period, living between 280–265 million years ago (during the Artinskian to Capitanian stages).

As a synapsid it was more closely related to mammals than to true reptiles such as lizards and snakes. It is classified as a pelycosaur. Fossils of Dimetrodon have been found in North America and Europe. Dimetrodon had a sail on its back, which is thought to have been used for regulating body temperature, or for display.

Description
Dimetrodon was one of the largest land animals and the apex predator of its time. Dimetrodon’s diet could have included freshwater sharks, amphibians, reptiles and other amniotes. The amphibian Eryops and freshwater shark Xenacanthus were prey. Humeruses of Eryops and skulls of Xenacanthus were found to have teeth marks matching the shape of the teeth of Dimetrodon.[1] Dimetrodon probably hunted based on sight and smell. Different types ranged in length from 90 to 400 centimetres (35 to 160 in) and weighing 14 to 300 kilograms (31 to 660 lb).

The structure of the bones indicate that it was cold-blooded and had low metabolism. There are few channels in the bones, which indicates limited circulation. For proper metabolism, Dimetrodon needed external heat. The growth pattern of Dimetrodon is unclear. Analysis based on the length and ossification of the thigh, the ulna and the humerus, shows a poor correlation between the size and relative age of individuals. There was a difference in habitat between juveniles and adults in Dimetrodon. Younger animals lived mainly in habitats with plenty of shelter, such as swamps and reed-lined banks. The adults preferred the open areas of flood plains.[4] This is the finding of fossils from the Wichita Group of Texas. The length of the upper arm and thigh, the main measure that was used to distinguish between young and adult specimens, were examined and it was determined what type of sediment the fossils occurred. A similar difference in distribution between young and adult specimens, was also found for Ophiacodon and Eryops and is also known from modern crocodiles and water turtles.

Teeth
Dimetrodon has two types of teeth, shearing teeth and sharp canine teeth. Its name, in fact, means "two-measures of teeth". Dimetrodon was one of the first animals with differentiated teeth and the teeth were suitable for killing animals then tearing them to pieces. Dimetrodon has a large skull with a temporal fenestra behind each eye orbit on the lateral surface, a distinguishing feature of synapsid skull. This made possible new attachment sites for jaw muscles, which could run faster and create mastication. Based on the osteology of the temporal region, the posterior part of the palate and mandible, powerful jaw muscles of Dimetrodon was found to have differentiated. Two groups of muscles have been reconstructed: the adductors and the pterygoideus. The adductors were from temporal to the inside of the lower jaw and caused the closing of the jaws. The pterygoideus ran from the Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid and the sphenoid bone to the articular, one of the bones in the lower jaw, and caused a backward movement of the mandible. The development of the coronoid process in Dimetrodon compared with other quadrupeds , led to an increase in the length of the moment of external muscular and thus greater bite force. The construction of the inner ear and vestibular system of Dimetrodon were described by Case, but he drew no conclusions about the possible function of these organs.

In a 2001 study on the biomechanics of the dinosaur Albertosaurus's teeth, William L. Abler observed that examined Dimetrodon teeth possessed serrations so fine they resembled a crack in the tooth. Though These voids, termed an ampulla, would hinder the ability of the "crack" formed by the serration to propagate through the tooth. Dimetrodon was found to lack adaptations for preventing "crack" propagation

Sail
The most striking feature of Dimetrodon has been the one meter long protrusions at the back of the spine, the spinous processes also referred to as spines. These spines have a wide base and then his long and slender with a pointed tip. It is believed that the spines were connected by a solid skin and thus formed a sail on the back.

Many suggestions have been made about the function of the sail; as camouflage among reeds while it waited for prey, for sexual display, or literally as a sail while swimming. Romer and Price first suggested that it served a mechanical function and strengthened the backbone, but Romer later realized that the sail had evolved with features strongly suggesting an early attempt at temperature regulation. In a study of the relationship between body temperature and blood pressure, Rodbard analyzed the evolution of thermoregulation, which he thought was a one possible function of the sails of Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. The spines of Dimetrodon have grooves on the base that were presumably ingested by blood vessels and thus ensured good bloodflow through the skin of the sail. The theory is that Dimetrodon was active in the early morning when the sun rose. The sail would be pointed towards the sun and would absorb heat allowing rapid warming. This allowed Dimetrodon to hunt at a time when other animals were not sufficiently warmed up and were slow. The sail increased body surface area by 50%.

According to calculations by Bramwell Fellgett, it took a 200 kg (440 lb) Dimetrodon approximately one and a half hours for its body temperature to go from 26 to 32 °C (79 to 90 °F) A study by Haack concluded that warming was slower than previously thought and that the process probably took four hours.[14] In order to cool its body in the hot midday sun, Dimetrodon turned its sail away from the sun, causing the heat to drain. The rapid warming using the sail give Dimetrodon an edge over larger animals, weighing over 55 kg. Smaller animals had higher body surface-to-mass ratio, making them hotter than Dimetrodon. The prey of Dimetrodon would therefore have been mostly large animals like Diadectes, Eryops and Ophiacodon. The changing climate during the Permian period, when the temperature increased, is a possible reason for the extinction of Dimetrodon since the sail meant no benefit over other animals and was rather a disadvantage due to its fragility.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 03: Deinosuchus

2012-01-03T21:00:00.003+08:00

Deinosuchus is an extinct genus related to the alligator that lived 73 to 80 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and is derived from the Greek deinos (δεινός), "terrible", and soukhos (σοῦχος), "crocodile". The first remains were discovered in North Carolina (United States) in the 1850s; the genus was named and described in 1909. Additional fragments were discovered in the 1940s and were later incorporated into an influential, though inaccurate, skull reconstruction at the American Museum of Natural History. Knowledge of Deinosuchus remains incomplete, but better cranial material found in recent years has expanded scientific understanding of this massive predator.

Although Deinosuchus was far larger than any modern crocodile or alligator—measuring up to 12 m (39 ft) and weighing up to 8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons)—in overall appearance it was fairly similar to its smaller relatives. It had large, robust teeth that were built for crushing, and its back was covered with thick hemispherical osteoderms. One study indicates that Deinosuchus may have lived for up to 50 years, growing at a rate similar to that of modern crocodilians, but maintaining this growth over a much longer period of time.

Deinosuchus fossils have been found in ten U.S. states, including Texas, Montana, and many along the East Coast. Fossils have also been found in northern Mexico. It lived on both sides of the Western Interior Seaway, and was an opportunistic apex predator in the coastal regions of eastern North America. Deinosuchus reached its largest size in its western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant. Opinion remains divided as to whether these two populations represent separate species. Deinosuchus was probably capable of killing and eating large dinosaurs. It may have also fed upon sea turtles, fish, and other aquatic and terrestrial prey.

Description
Despite its large size, the overall appearance of Deinosuchus was not considerably different from that of modern crocodilians. It had an alligator-like broad snout, with a slightly bulbous tip. Each premaxilla contained four teeth, with the pair nearest to the tip of the snout being significantly smaller than the other two. Each maxilla (the main tooth-bearing bone in the upper jaw) contained 21 or 22 teeth. The tooth count for each dentary (tooth-bearing bone in the lower jaw) was at least 22. All the teeth were very thick and robust; those close to the rear of the jaws were short, rounded, and blunt. They appear to have been adapted for crushing, rather than piercing. When the mouth was closed, only the fourth tooth of the lower jaw would have been visible.

Modern American alligators, with the strongest bite of any living animal, have a maximum force of 9,452 newtons (2,125 lbf). The bite force of Deinosuchus has been estimated to exceed 18,000 newtons (4,000 lbf).[1] Even the largest and strongest theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, probably had a bite force inferior to that of Deinosuchus.

Deinosuchus had a secondary bony palate, which would have permitted it to breathe through its nostrils while the rest of the head remained submerged underwater. The vertebrae were articulated in a procoelous manner, meaning that they had a concave hollow on the front end and a convex bulge on the rear; these would have fit together to produce a ball and socket joint.[7][8] The secondary palate and procoelous vertebrae are advanced features also found in modern eusuchian crocodilians.

The osteoderms (scutes) covering the back of Deinosuchus were unusually large, heavy, and deeply pitted; some were of a roughly semispherical shape. Deep pits and grooves on these osteoderms served as attachment points for connective tissues. Together, the osteoderms and connective tissues would have served as load-bearing reinforcement to support the massive body of Deinosuchus out of water. Consequently, despite its bulk, Deinosuchus was probably almost as agile on land as its modern relatives.

Although there is some disagreement as to its exact size, the fossil remains are nonetheless sufficient to indicate that Deinosuchus was substantially larger than any modern crocodilian. Even the relatively low estimate provided by Erickson and Brochu suggests that the maximum weight reached by Deinosuchus exceeded that of currently living species by a factor of three to five. Deinosuchus has often been described as the largest crocodilian of all time, but some other crocodyliforms—including Purussaurus, Rhamphosuchus, and Sarcosuchus—may have equaled or exceeded it in size.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 02: Pterodactyl

2012-01-02T21:00:00.003+08:00

Pterodactylus (from the Greek πτεροδάκτυλος, pterodaktulos, meaning "winged finger") is a genus of pterosaurs, whose members are popularly known as pterodactyls. It was the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile. Its fossil remains have been found primarily in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, dated to the late Jurassic Period (early Tithonian), about 150.8-148.5 million years ago, though more fragmentary remains have been identified from elsewhere in Europe and in Africa. It was a carnivore and probably preyed upon fish and other small animals. Like all pterosaurs, the wings of Pterodactylus were formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges.

The name derives from the Greek words pteron (πτερόn, meaning 'wing') and daktylos (δάκτυλος, meaning 'finger') and refers to the way in which the wing is supported by one large finger.

Description
Pterodactylus is known from over 27 fossil specimens, and though most of those are juveniles, many preserve complete skeletons. The discovery of several specimens with well-preserved soft tissue traces has allowed scientists to faithfully reconstruct the life appearance of Pterodactylus. Pterodactylus was a relatively small pterosaur, with an estimated adult wingspan of about 1.5 meters (5 ft) in P. antiquus. Other "species" were once thought to be smaller. However, these smaller specimens have been shown to represent juveniles of Pterodactylus, as well as its contemporary relatives Ctenochasma, Germanodactylus and Gnathosaurus.[3]

The skulls of adult Pterodactylus were long and narrow with about 90 large, conical teeth. The teeth extended back from the tips of both jaws, and became smaller farther away from the jaw tips (unlike some relatives, where teeth were absent in the upper jaw tip and were relatively uniform in size). The teeth extended farther back into the jaw than in close relatives, as some were present below the front of the nasoantorbital fenestra, the largest opening in the skull. Unlike related species, the skull and jaws were straight, not curved upwards.[4] A small, hooked beak was present in the very tips of the jaws, with both upper and lower hook no larger than the teeth that surrounded them.

The neck was long, and covered in long, bristle-like pycnofibres. A throat pouch extended from about the middle of the lower jaw to the upper part of the neck.

Pterodactylus, like related pterosaurs, had a crest on its skull composed mainly of soft tissues. In adult Pterodactylus, this crest extended between the back edge of the antorbital fenestra (the largest opening in the skull) and the back of the skull. The back of the crest extended upward into a backward-curving cone-shaped structure. The crest was composed mainly of long, hardened fibres (twisted together in a spiral pattern inside the conical part of the crest), and covered in scales. In at least one specimen of P. longicollum, the crest had a short bony base, also seen in related pterosaurs like Germanodactylus. Crests have only been found on large, fully adult specimens of Pterodactylus, indicating that this was a display structure and only developed when individuals reached maturity.

The wings were long, and the wing membranes appear to have lacked the furry covering of pycnofibres present in some other pterosaurs (such as Pterorhynchus and Jeholopterus). The wing membrane extended between the fingers and toes as webbing, and a uropatagium (secondary membrane between the feet and tail) was present, as well as a propatagium (membrane between the wrist and shoulder).[6] Both the finger and toe claws were covered in keratin sheaths that extended and curved into sharp hooks well beyond their bony cores.

Dinosaurs Live highlight 01: Apatosaurus

2012-01-01T21:00:00.005+08:00

Apatosaurus, also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian and early Tithonian ages). It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of 23 m (75 ft) and a mass of at least 23 metric tons (25 short tons). The composite term Apatosaurus comes from the Greek names apate (ἀπάτη)/apatelos (ἀπατηλός) meaning "deception"/"deceptive" and sauros (σαῦρος) meaning "lizard"; thus, "deceptive lizard".

Description
Apatosaurus was a large, long-necked quadrupedal animal with a long, whip-like tail. Its forelimbs were slightly shorter than its hindlimbs. One measurement places the total length of the species Apatosaurus louisae at 22 m (72 ft).

It was roughly the weight of four elephants. One specimen of A. excelsus was estimated to weigh 25,952 kg (57,210 lb); estimates for A. louisae were 20,600 kg (45,000 lb) and 22,407 kg (49,400 lb). Other estimates of the body mass of adult Apatosaurus species range from 18,000 kg (40,000 lb) to 35,000 kg (77,000 lb). A microscopic study of Apatosaurus bones concluded that the animals grew rapidly when young and reached near-adult sizes in about 10 years.

The skull was small in comparison with the size of the animal. The jaws were lined with spatulate teeth, which resembled chisels, suited to an herbivorous diet. Like other sauropods, the vertebrae of the neck were deeply bifurcated; that is, they carried paired spines, creating a wide and deep profile for the neck. The apparently massive neck was, however, filled with an extensive system of weight-saving air sacs. Apatosaurus, like its close relative Supersaurus, is notable for the incredibly tall spines on its vertebrae, which make up more than half the height of the individual bones. Also unusual among diplodocids is the shape of the tail, which is comparatively thin in breadth and short in height, a profile caused by the vertebral spines decreasing in height rapidly the farther they are from the hips. Apatosaurus also had very long ribs compared to most other diplodocids, giving it an unusually deep chest. The limb bones were also very robust.

Classification and Species
Apatosaurus is a member of the family Diplodocidae, a clade of gigantic sauropod dinosaurs. The family includes some of the longest creatures ever to walk the earth, including Diplodocus, Supersaurus, Suuwassea, and Barosaurus. Within the subfamily Apatosaurinae, Apatosaurus may be most closely related to Suuwassea, Supersaurus and Eobrontosaurus.

In 1877, Othniel Charles Marsh published the name of the type species Apatosaurus ajax. He followed this in 1879 with a description of another, more complete specimen, which he thought represented a new genus and species, which he named Brontosaurus excelsus. In 1903, Elmer Riggs re-examined the fossils. While he agreed with Marsh that Brontosaurus excelsus was likely a distinct species, he also noted many similarities between B. excelsus and A. ajax, and decided that both should be placed in the same genus. Riggs re-classified the species as Apatosaurus excelsus. Almost all paleontologists since Riggs published his opinions have agreed that the two species should be classified together in a single genus. According to the rules of the ICZN (which governs the scientific names of animals), the name Apatosaurus, having been published first, had priority as the official name; Brontosaurus is considered a junior synonym and has therefore been discarded from formal use.

Apatosaurus ajax is the type species of the genus, and was named by the paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877 after Ajax, the hero from Greek mythology. It is the holotype for the genus and two partial skeletons have been found, including part of a skull. Apatosaurus excelsus (originally Brontosaurus) was named by Marsh in 1879. It is known from six partial skeletons, including part of a skull, which have been found in the United States, in Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. Apatosaurus louisae was named by William Holland in 1915 in honor of Mrs. Louise Carnegie, wife of Andrew Carnegie who funded field research to find complete dinosaur skeletons in the American West. Apatosaurus louisae is known from one partial skeleton which was found in Utah in the United States. Apatosaurus parvus was originally known as Elosaurus parvus, but was reclassified as a species of Apatosaurus in 1994.

Dinosaurs Live intro 02: Order of Dinosaurs

2012-01-01T18:00:00.000+08:00

Saurischia and Ornithischia are the two orders, or basic divisions, of dinosaurs. In 1888, Harry Seeley classified dinosaurs into two orders, based on their hip structure. Saurischians ('lizard-hipped') are distinguished from the ornithischians ('bird-hipped') by retaining the ancestral configuration of bones in the hip.

SAURISCHIA
Saurischians are distinguished from ornithischians by their three-pronged pelvic structure, with the pubis pointed forward. The ornithischians' pelvis is arranged with the pubis rotated backward, parallel with the ischium, often also with a forward-pointing process, giving a four-pronged structure.

All carnivorous dinosaurs (the theropods) are saurischians, as are one of the two primary lineages of herbivorous dinosaurs, the sauropodomorphs. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, all non-avian saurischians became extinct. This is referred to as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Avians (modern birds), as direct descendants of one group of theropod dinosaurs, are considered to be a sub-clade of saurischian dinosaurs in phylogenetic classification.

In his paper naming the two groups, Seeley reviewed previous classification schemes put forth by other paleontologists to divide up the traditional Order Dinosauria. He preferred one that had been put forward by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, which divided dinosaurs into four Orders: Sauropoda, Theropoda, Ornithopoda, and Stegosauria (these names are still used today in much the same way to refer to suborders or clades within Saurischia and Ornithischia).

Seeley, however, wanted to formulate a classification that would take into account a single primary difference between major dinosaurian groups based on a characteristic that also differentiated them from other reptiles. He found this in the configuration of the hip bones, and found that all four of Marsh's orders could be divided neatly into two major groups based on this feature. He placed the Stegosauria and Ornithopoda in the Ornithischia, and the Theropoda and Sauropoda in the Saurischia. Furthermore, Seeley used this major difference in the hip bones, along with many other noted differences between the two groups, to argue that "dinosaurs" were not a natural grouping at all, but rather two distinct orders that had arisen independently from more primitive archosaurs.[2] This concept that "dinosaur" was an outdated term for two distinct orders lasted many decades in the scientific and popular literature, and it was not until the 1960s that scientists began to again consider the possibility that saurischians and ornithischians were more closely related to each other than they were to other archosaurs.

ORNITHISCHIA
The ornithischian hip structure is superficially similar to that of birds, which led Seeley to name them "bird-hipped dinosaurs," though he did not propose any specific relationship with birds. He termed saurischians "lizard-hipped" dinosaurs because they retained the ancestral hip anatomy also found in modern lizards.

However, as later study revealed, the hip structure possessed by modern birds actually evolved independently from the "lizard-hipped" saurischians (specifically, a sub-group of saurischians called the Maniraptora) in the Jurassic Period. In this example of convergent evolution, birds developed hips oriented similar to the earlier ornithischian hip anatomy, in both cases possibly as an adaptation to a herbivorous or omnivorous diet.

This division, which has generally been accepted, is based on the evolution of the pelvis into a more bird-like structure (although birds did not descend from these dinosaurs), details in the vertebrae and armor and the possession of a 'predentary' bone. The predentary is an extra bone in the front of the lower jaw, which extends the dentary (the main lower jaw bone). The predentary coincides with the premaxilla in the upper jaw. Together they form a beak-like apparatus used to clip off plant material.

The ornithischian pubis bone points downward and toward the tail (backwards), parallel with the ischium, with a forward-pointing process to support the abdomen. This makes a four-pronged pelvic structure. In contrast to this, the saurischian pubis points downward and toward the head (forwards), as in ancestral lizard types. Ornithischians also had smaller antorbital fenestrae (holes in front of their eye sockets) than did saurischians, and a wider, more stable pelvis. A bird-like pubis arrangement, parallel to the vertebral column, evolved independently three times in dinosaur evolution, namely in the ornithischians, in the therizinosauroids and in bird-like dromaeosaurids.

Ornithischians shifted from bipedal to quadrupedal posture at least three times in their evolutionary history and have been shown to have been capable of adopting both postures early in their evolutionary history.

Dinosaurs Live intro 01: Description of Dinosaurs

2012-01-01T15:00:00.003+08:00

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs at the close of the Mesozoic era. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved within theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period. Some of them survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, including the ancestors of all modern birds. Consequently, in modern classification systems, birds are considered a type of dinosaur—the only group which survived to the present day.

Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals. Birds, at over 9,000 living species, are the most diverse group of vertebrates besides perciform fish. Using fossil evidence, paleontologists have identified over 500 distinct genera and more than 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by both extant species and fossil remains. Some are herbivorous, others carnivorous. Many dinosaurs have been bipedal, and many extinct groups were also quadrupedal, and some were able to shift between these body postures. Many species possess elaborate display structures such as horns or crests, and some prehistoric groups even developed skeletal modifications such as bony armor and spines. Avian dinosaurs have been the planet's dominant flying vertebrate since the extinction of the pterosaurs, and evidence suggests that all ancient dinosaurs built nests and laid eggs much as avian species do today. Dinosaurs varied widely in size and weight; the smallest adult theropods were less than 100 centimeters (40 inches) long, while the largest sauropods could reach lengths of almost 50 meters (165 feet) and were several stories tall.

Although the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard," the name is somewhat misleading, as dinosaurs were not lizards. Rather, they were a separate group of reptiles with a distinct upright posture not found in lizards. Through the first half of the 20th century, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs were sluggish, unintelligent, and cold-blooded. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that dinosaurs were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction, and many groups (especially the carnivores) were among the most intelligent organisms of the time.

Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century, mounted fossil dinosaur skeletons or replicas have been major attractions at museums around the world, and dinosaurs have become a part of world culture. Their diversity, the large sizes of some groups, and their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature have captured the interest and imagination of the general public for over a century. They have been featured in best-selling books and films such as Jurassic Park, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media.

Info on the White Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-18T14:00:00.004+08:00

The first white power ring is depicted during the Blackest Night event. It is worn by Sinestro after he bonds himself to a creature embodying life itself, known as "the Entity." The exact capabilities and limitations of white power rings are still unknown, but they have been shown as capable of providing their bearers with the default Corps abilities of flight, protective aura generation, and light construct creation. Their most notable and unique ability to date is the power to restore the dead to life. The first instances of this ability were shown not by the intention of any individual, but by the ring itself. They are also shown "overriding" power rings of other colors, turning them white for a period of time.

Boston Brand, aka Deadman, was brought back to true life through the power of the white ring. Unable to control it or remove it, the ring rendered him invisible and teleported him across Earth and Mars so that he could observe events "The Entity" deemed important. His white ring allowed him to make constructs of other lanterns, similar to the orange light, but only when he was in danger and expressed a desire to keep living.

Powers and abilities
White Energy Conduit: The rings use white energy, supplied by the White Lantern Central Power Battery, which in most cases takes the form of white light. A White Power Ring is the most powerful type of Power Rings, which themselves are one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. White Power Rings have the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the universe, including gravity, radiation, heat, light, and blasts of concussive force. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an energy bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the ring wearer.

* White Energy Blasts: The ring can be used to fire blasts of white energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the will of the user. The weapons power is more an indication of the user's will to live.

* Force-Field Generation: The ring can create force fields to protect the wearer and others around him/her. With the cosmic scope of a White Lantern's abilities, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void, including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of white energy. The ring is a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's mastery of the will to live. A White Lantern can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the mastery of the will to live necessary to conjure it into existence. The constructs are made out of white energy, which is a tangible form of pure life, and they exist only as long as a White Lantern is fueling it with their mastery of the will to live. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the will of the Lantern creating them.

* Environmental Playback: Upon request, the ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events, but the wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. Objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrums. The ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the wielder's undivided attention.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In space, a White Lantern's speed can be significantly greater and can approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light-speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field.

* Energy Twin: The ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of his/her/itself that can travel far faster than the wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active, the ring wielder remains motionless, his/her/its life force is needed to guide the twin. The twin can not alter its surroundings, and may only be perceived by Guardians or another ring wielder as a ghostlike image. Any knowledge gained by the twin is transferred back to the wielder's physical form upon recontact with the body. As a rule, a wielder can not create actual, independent duplicates of him/her/itself.

* Ring Duplication: Most rings are capable of duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the capabilities of the original ring. Each duplicate still needs to be recharged by a power battery. All rings, as being based upon the green ring templates created by the Guardians of the Universe, are all programmed to be able to duplicate themselves on a specialised command known apparently only by the Guardians.

* Mind Alteration: Though the ethics of mind tampering may be debatable, sometimes it is necessary. As the power ring relies on thought and will to operate, mind tampering is not impossible. The difficulty lies in properly applying the power. There lies a risk of catastrophic damage to the mind should mistakes be made. A ring wielder can use the power ring to erase portions of an individual's memories. The ring can also be used to beam information from the ring wielder to another. Lanterns have used this technique to share information during combat situations.

* Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Doing so does not replenish the normal store of energy the ring has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has an ability to heal physical injuries.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he/she can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Universal Translator: The power ring acts a unuiversal translator.

* Material Alteration: A White Lantern's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most White Lanterns wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default. However, each White Lantern is able to adjust their uniform to fit their own needs, personalities and whims.

* Emergency Beacon: A White Lantern in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a another Lantern's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one White Lantern to another. The ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others.
* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power ring. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than green.

* Time Travel: Time travel is possible with the power ring, though the further forward in time a ring wielder travels, the more will it takes.

* Phasing: The ring allows its wearer to pass through solid objects. Which objects not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's will to live and the density of the object's molecular structure. The wielder can pass through the fourth dimensional gap or dissemble their own molecular structure.

* Pocket Dimension: Within the ring exists the possibility of an entire world.

* Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen.

* Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

* Thought Relay: Otherwise known as a telepathic link.

* Overriding: White Power Rings can "override" rings of other colors, temporarily turning them into White Power Rings also.

* Resurrection: White Power Rings also have the notable power to bring deceased beings back from the dead.

* Other uses: The full extent of the White Power Rings is unknown. Presumably, they have the standard powers and functions as rings of other colors.

Weaknesses
The white ring has recently shown a darker side. Having been charged up by Boston's embracing of his new life, the ring then commandeered him, forcing him to take it to see various resurrected individuals. When Hawkman and Hawkgirl refused to follow its orders, it acted independently to kill them, much to Boston's horror. It then teleported him to Aquaman's location and killed him as well, despite Boston's desperate attempts to gain control of it long enough for Arthur to get away.

Info on the White Lantern Corps

2011-06-18T13:00:00.002+08:00

The White Lantern Corps appeared near the end of the Blackest Night, after Thaal Sinestro, who had absorbed the Entity of Life, had the Entity removed from him. No sooner had this happened, then Hal Jordan absorbed it himself, and spread its power over a number of earth's super heroes, some of them Black Lanterns, thus resurrecting them (This included Kid Flash, Superman, Superboy, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, Ice, and Animal Man, as Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and Wonder Woman, had all become other Lanterns before hand).

With their combined powers, they defeated the Herald of Death, Black Hand, thus allowing the Indigo Tribe to take custody of him, and defeated Nekron, Lord of the Unliving. The White Lantern Corps disbanded soon after this, as the Life Entity vanished.

Powers and abilities
Each White Lantern possesses a power ring that lets the user create white energy constructs powered by life itself. The original wielder of the Entity, Sinestro, showed the ability to eradicate swarms of Black Lanterns effortlessly and is described as "godlike". He also appeared to be immortal, able to survive a seemingly fatal wound and recovering within minutes. When Hal Jordan wielded the power, he demonstrated the ability to create additional rings restoring heroes claimed by Nekron to life. When Deadman possessed a white ring, he demonstrated the ability to restore life to a bird that had died falling out of its nest. He was also able to transform the area devastated by Prometheus into a lush forest. However, this seems to be the work of the Entity as Deadman has so far been unable to access the ring's powers himself.

Similar to black rings, white rings start with no charge. As the wearer embraces life again the ring rises in power level. What happens when a white ring reaches one hundred percent charge remains unknown. The only thing known is that the ring as it charged itself gave Deadman the sensation that someone would die. As the ring reached 100%, it forced Deadman to meet the Hawks where the ring tasked them a second labor, however when Carter and Shiera refused to obey, both lovers were apparently reduced to white dust in the process.

Info on the Black Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-17T14:00:00.000+08:00

Black Lantern Power Rings were weapons wielded by the undead ranks of the Black Lantern Corps and created by the powerful cosmic entity known as Nekron, Lord of the Unliving. These Black Power Rings were formed to be unleashed in the prophecised event known as The Blackest Night which stated that "The Dead Will Rise" with all the enemies of the Guardians of the Universe rising up to destroy them and their Green Lantern Corps. Following the Sinestro Corps War, Nekron began to work in the shadows to bring about the fulfillment of the Blackest Night Prophecy. His first act was the imprisonment of the Anti-Monitor on Ryut in Space Sector 0666 and forming him into the Black Lantern Central Power Battery from which the Black Power Rings would emerge. He also had the corrupted Oan Scar work subtely in bringing about his plans.

Powers
The Black Lantern power rings have the ability to animate the dead, although how this is accomplished is unclear. The ring does not animate corpses, but appears to forcibly resurrect the spirit of the victim into corporeal form. As a notable exception, when Boston Brand of Earth was resurrected, his disembodied soul, known as the superhero Deadman, was left behind, trying to possess his former body but unable to enter it because of a powerful personality, mirroring darkly his own, already possessing it. The Black Rings however are known to have resurrected individuals whose bodies were long since destroyed or decayed, such as Tomar Re and Ch'p of the Green Lantern Corps, Firestorm whose body disintegrated during the Identity Crisis and the original Aquaman, whose body was warped into a monstrous, amnesiac, marine life-form with a watery arm before death and was brought back as his more recognized, humanoid, self.

Individuals resurrected by the rings are fueled with a hunger for the hearts of the living. A Black Lantern ring is charged by .01 percent for every heart claimed by the bearer. The reanimated individuals retain the powers they had when alive, but it is not yet known if resurrected Green Lanterns (or members of other Corps) have the ability to create constructs and other effects as they did when they wielded their original power rings.

Members of the Black Lantern Corps exhibit corrupted versions of their original personalities, often goading or tormenting their victims with comments referring to their past friendships and associations.

Black Lantern rings emit a sound similar to buzzing flies when searching for victims to resurrect.

Weaknesses
This far only one individual, Don Hall (the original Dove of Hawk and Dove) has escaped resurrection by a Black Lantern power ring. When the ring attempted to recruit him, it was destroyed and the words "Don Hall of Earth at Peace" were heard. This would seem to indicate that a person who dies in a state of complete peace with himself cannot be recruited as a Black Lantern. Dawn Granger, current Dove and successor of Don, similarly found herself resistent to assimilation: since the Black Lantern need to discern one of the seven main emotions in the heart they're stealing, Dawn Granger, whose heart balances the seven emotion in a white, unreadable aura, is unfit to replenish their rings.

It's actually revealed that the only main weakness of the Black Lantern is the White Light, the pure, uncorrupted light of Creation who was splintered at the dawn of times into the Seven Lights of the Emotional Spectrum. Thus the Indigo Tribe, whose coral staff can combine one or more lights, hold the power to destroy single black rings by striking them with a burst of Indigo Light replenished by another Power Ring, but only the combined power of the Seven Corps could destroy the Blackest Night itself.

Info on the Black Lantern Corps

2011-06-17T13:00:00.004+08:00

The Black Lantern Corps consisted of various slain and deceased beings throughout the universe who fell into the domain of the dead. There, they were used by the Lord of the Unliving, Nekron as part of a plan to wage a war against the Emotional Spectrum. The Blackest Night Prophecy spoken by Qull of the Five Inversions foretold of The Blackest Night where the enemies of the Guardians of the Universe would rise up against them and destroy their great work. Abin Sur attempted to stop the prophecy from coming to pass and took the demon Atrocitus to Earth in order to find the bearer of "The Black". Though Sur died, Atrocitus managed to discover William Hand and sought to claim the power he would unleash but the red skinned alien was defeated by Hal Jordan and Sinestro. This allowed William Hand to escape and allow the creation of the Black Lantern Corps in the future.

Abilities

* Reanimation: Upon being inducted into the Black Lantern Corps, dead people are restored to a fully functional state. Even if they keep the semblance of a dead, shambling corpse, Black Lantern members are resurrected with the same abilities and powers they had in life, and the same level of intelligence, though their mindset is warped by a deepening belief in death. They, however, don't possess a soul anymore, as shown by the co-existance of the soulless Black Lantern Boston Brand and his disembodied spirit, the superhero Deadman: Ray Palmer, known as The Atom explains that as the Black Ring merely instilling in dead, reanimated corpses the memories pertaining to their former lives, without actually restoring their souls and emotions, for maximizing their abilities to elicit emotions into their former faimilies and peers;

* Healing Factor/Regeneration: No matter how much damage a Black Lantern sustains, the Black Ring will always restore it to a fully functional state, in a time directly proportionated to the punishment taken by the Corpse. Since the Black Rings bond with the corpse they're reanimating, there's no way to destroy a Black Lantern until the combination of two or more lights of the emotional spectrum shine on them: when that happens, the connection is disrupted and the Black Lantern loses his/her regenerative capabilities.

* Energy Spectrum Assimilation: Upon killing individuals feeling strong emotions, the Black Lanterns can forcibly extract their hearts and siphon away their last feeling recharging the Central Battery on their home planet. A Black Lantern power ring is charged by .01 percent for every heart collected by the bearer.

* Aura Recognition: To aid in their assimilation the Black Lantern can see what's the prevalent feeling of their opponent. When the feelings reaches their maximum point, they can see a colored aura, shining with one or more of the seven Emotional Spectrum colours. When that happens, their opponents hearts are ripe for assimilation. As a notable exception, Black Lanterns are unable to perceive the emotions of the superheroine Dove, as they can't rise her namesake and predecessor.

* Infection: The bites from a Black Lantern were capable of imparting an infection that slowly killed the victim and thus turned them into a new member of the Black Lantern Corps.

Weakness

* Black Lantern power rings are apparently unable to resurrect an individual who died in a state of peace with themselves, such as the original Dove, Don Hall. They similarly can't steal the hearts of people able to balance their emotions in a peaceful white aura, as with the second Dove. Although their rings will rebuild their bodies when damaged, a strong amount of punishment can slow them down.
* Black Lanterns are apparently unable to harm an individual who feels no emotion at all, such as Jonathan Crane.
* The light of two or more different power ring can distrupt their powers: it's surmised that the combined light of the Seven Emotions, by restoring the original White Light of Creation can exstinguish darkness and bring on the end of the Black.

Additional Notes
* The Anti-Monitor, Powers the Central Power Battery but is not an official member because it is kept prisoner inside the Central Power Battery as its energy source.

* The Former Guardians of the Universe member, Scar, is a member of the Black Lantern Corps, and the official Guardian of the Black Lantern Corps. However unlike the Guardians of the Universe who are the leaders of the Green Lantern Corps, even with Scar's rank as Guardian, she is not the leader of the Black Lantern Corps; the leader is Nekron, Lord of the Unliving.

* The first two members of the Black Lantern Corps were Superman (Kal-L) and The Martian Manhunter. * Later Confirmed Members of the Black Lantern Corps were Aquaman (Arthur Curry) and Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond).

* When a dead person is made a Black Lantern, the ring commands them to rise. But when someone living who was ressurected is made a Lantern, they are commanded to die. Resurrected Black Lanterns also appear much less like corpses than other Lanterns.

Symbol
* The symbol on the Black Lantern Power Ring is the same that was worn by the villain Black Hand, and he has been confirmed to be the Embodiment of Death (Scar being its Guardian, and Nekron being its leader.

Info on the Star Sapphire Power Ring

2011-06-16T14:00:00.002+08:00

These rings were created directly out of Star Sapphire crystals as a weapon to fight against fear and hate and the enemies the Star Sapphires will face in the War of Light.

When the ring finds its potential candidate it first encases the initiate in a violet crystal casing from which minutes later the initiate bursts forth in a Star Sapphire uniform. During The Blackest Night, Miri Riam used the power of her Star Sapphire ring to bring back the recently killed Kyle Rayner on Oa by infusing the love between him and Soranik Natu. Later, after the failure in destroying the Black Lantern Central Power Battery, Ganthet activated a hidden programming in all power rings which commanded them to duplicate themselves and seek new users in order to increase their numbers to fight the Black Lantern Corps. Carol Ferris's Star Sapphire Power Ring was thus duplicated and it sought Wonder Woman as its wielder, though she had been turned into a Black Lantern. Fighting the presence of the Black Lantern Power Ring, the Star Sapphire ring was successful in displacing the black ring and bringing Wonder Woman back to life, as well as making her a member of the Star Sapphire Corps.

Powers and advantages
Star Sapphire Energy Conduit: The rings use Star Sapphire energy, supplied by a Power Battery, which in most cases takes the form of violet light. Star Sapphire Power rings, considered by some to be one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe, has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the known universe, including electromagnetic energies such as gravity, radiation, heat, light, and powerful blasts of concussive force. It is also theorized that the ring also has a basis in other dimensional energies commonly called magic by users of such energies. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an unknown energy that was bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user. The power of love is apparently more powerful in numbers, allowing for various star sapphires to group together to increase the effect of their power.

* Energy Blasts: The ring can be used to fire blasts of violet energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the love of the user. The weapons power is more an indication of the love of the user.

* Force-Field Generation: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him. With the cosmic scope of a Star Sapphire's duties, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting her from the hazards of the void including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of violet energy. The primary function of the Power Ring is to provide a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's mastery of love. A Star Sapphire can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the mastery of love necessary to will it into existence. The constructs are made out of violet energy, which is a tangible form of pure love, and they exist only as long as a Star Sapphire is fueling it with their mastery of love. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the inspired love of the Star Sapphire creating them. The types of constructs usually reflects the ring wearer's personality.

* Crystallization: A Star Sapphire has the unique power to crystallize others with the power of love. This power is not fully understood but they apparently put the victim in a form of suspended animation. The power is great enough to crystallize a entire planet in a limited amount of time.

* Phasing: The Power Ring allows the wearer to pass through certain solid objects, such as walls. Which objects that are not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's mastery of love and the density of the object's molecular structure.

* Environmental Playback: Upon request, the power ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events in a ghostlike state, but the ring wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. All objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrum's. The power ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the ring wielder's undivided attention.

* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render herself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around her form, as well as that of the power ring. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than violet.

* Energy Twin: The power ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of her that can travel at far greater speeds than that of the ring wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active the ring wielder remains motionless, his/her/its life force is needed to guide the energy twin.

* Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Unlike the green lantern power rings a qwardian power ring can replenish the normal store of energy the ring has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity, for example.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, a Star Sapphire can fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around her body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, her speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, Star Sapphire's speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries and this seems to be a feature held over from the previous incarnations of the ring. A Star Sapphire can use the ring to repair minor injuries in herself or others.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Universal Translator: Keeping in mind the myriad of worlds, life forms, and cultures throughout the cosmos, it is understandable why Star Sapphire added a translation system to the power ring. The power ring can translate virtually any language in the universe, facilitating diplomatic encounters rather than violent confrontations.

* Material Alteration: The Star Sapphire's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most Star Sapphire's wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default. However, each Star Sapphire is able to adjust their uniform to fit her own needs, personalities and whims.

* Ring Duplication: Most Power Rings are capable of automatically duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring. While the thought of an unauthorized person getting a hold of a power ring and making duplicates for nefarious purposes, their ability to inflict damage is limited because each duplicate still requires to be recharged by a personal power battery.

* Emergency Beacon: A Star Sapphire in distress can use her power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a Star Sapphire's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Star Sapphire to another. The power ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others.

* Mind Alteration: As the power ring relies on thought and will to operate, mind tampering is not impossible, the real difficulty lies in properly applying the power. There lies a risk of catastrophic damage to the mind should mistakes be made. A ring wielder can use the power ring to erase portions of an individual's memories. Star Sapphire can use mind techniques as part of training. New recruits may be subjected to mind scans by other Star Sapphire's. They may be taught to build mental defenses to protect themselves from psionic attack. The power ring can also be used to beam information from the ring wielder to another being. Star Sapphire can use this technique to share information regarding their enemies during combat situations.

* Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen.

* Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

* Thought Relay: otherwise known as a telepathic link.

* Rage Immunity: As rage is the opposite of love, ther violet light is unaffected by it, in fact it can shut down a Red Power Ring, if the weilder of it is made to feel love.

* Avarice Immunity: True Love cannot be affected by greed, so Orange Light constructs can't absorb it.

Weaknesses
Though Star Sapphires do not have a weakness to other Corps (they are immune to the energy stealing properties of an Orange Power Ring), they are more susceptible to being controlled by their own power. Love is one of the two emotions on the far ends of the emotional spectrum, and has a much stronger influence over its users. Unlike the Star Sapphire gem, which could force itself on a user, violet power rings must be accepted by the wearer.

Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the rings needed to be charged after a period of 24 hours, regardless of how often it was used.

Info on the Star Sapphires

2011-06-16T13:00:00.003+08:00

The Star Sapphires were created by the Zamarons to collect the various emotions of emotional energy spectrum and to spread and protect love throughout the universe in order to promote order and revenge against males.

Carol Ferris reveals to Hal Jordan that during the most recent time the gem possessed her, she gained knowledge of the Star Sapphires: they come from Sector 1416 and comprise a corps known as the Star Sapphires whose purpose is to spread love throughout all 3600 sectors of the universe. The leaders of the Corps are Oans who, after migrating to Zamaron, found a parasitic crystal which they shaped into several Star Sapphires. These were used to empower females who had been loved and spurned, providing them the opportunity for revenge.

In the afterlude of this incident, the Zamarons are shown converting the Star Sapphire (which Hal Jordan had tricked into latching onto one of the Zamarons) into a power ring and lantern, which they place on a dais which contains a ring and lantern set of the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps, alongside several ring/lantern sets of different colors mentioning that they must collect all emotions in order to combat "the Prophecy".

After realizing the power of the Star Sapphire was too great for them to control, the Zamarons forged a Violet Power Battery and power ring out of the Star Sapphire (Gem). Violet power rings are fueled by the emotion of love, one of the two emotions, with the other being rage, that most influence their user.

Lantern Oath
For hearts long lost and full of fright,
For those alone in Blackest Night.
Accept our ring and join our fight,
Love conquers all with violet light!"

Additional Notes
The Star Sapphires are unique amongst the various factions of the War of the Light in that they are capable of converting members of other corps to their own by force. At the moment, several captured Sinestro Corps members are being reprogrammed, including Karu-Sil, while one member has been sucessfully converted.

Info on the Indigo Tribe Power Ring

2011-06-15T14:00:00.002+08:00

The Indigo Tribe Power Ring is a Power Ring; that "preserves" the rare energy of the Indigo Light from the Emotional Spectrum. It was harnessed as a weapon by the Indigo Tribe, who waited in the shadows for the fulfillment of the Blackest Night Prophecy so that they could take part in it and defeat the coming darkness. The first noted encounter with a power ring was after the Sinestro Corps War, when a Green Lantern and Sinestro Corpsmen battled on a planet where the Indigo Tribe were.

Powers and advantages
Indigo Energy Conduit: The rings channel the power of compassion for a variety of uses.

* Energy Blasts: The ring can fire indigo energy blasts.

* Force-Field Generation: The ring can create various forcefields to protect the wearer and others around him/her. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her from the hazards of the void. An atmosphere appropriate to the wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of indigo energy. An Indigo Tribesman can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the mastery of compassion necessary to will it into existence. The constructs are made out of indigo energy, which is a tangible form of pure compassion, and they exist only as long as a indigo lantern is fueling it with their mastery of compassion. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the inspired compassion of the indigo lantern creating them.

* Phasing: The Power Ring allows the wearer to pass through certain solid objects, such as walls. Which objects that are not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's compassion and the density of the object's molecular structure.

* Environmental Playback: Upon request, the power ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events in a ghostlike state, but the wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. All objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrum's. The power ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the staff wielder's undivided attention.

* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power staff. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than indigo.

* Energy Twin: The power ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of his/her/itself that can travel at far greater speeds than that of the ring wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active, the ring wielder remains motionless, as his/her/its life force is needed to guide the energy twin. The energy twin can not alter its surroundings, and may only be perceived by the another ring wielder as a indigo, ghostlike image. Any knowledge gained by the energy twin is transferred back to the ring wielder's physical form upon recontact with the body. As a rule, a ring wielder can not create actual, independent duplicates of him/her/itself, as the power staff cannot create life.

* Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Doing so does not replenish the normal store of energy the staff has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity, for example.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, an Indigo Tribesman has been known to fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around his body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, his speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, an Indigo Lantern speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the staff's field.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the staff wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport.

* Time Travel: Time travel is possible with the power ring, though the further forward in time a ring wielder travels, the more compassion it takes.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: The ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, the user can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Universal Translator: The power ring can translate virtually any language in the universe, facilitating diplomatic encounters rather than violent confrontations.

* Ring Duplication: Most Power Rings are capable of automatically duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring. While the thought of an unauthorized person getting a hold of a power ring and making duplicates for nefarious purposes, their ability to inflict damage is limited because each duplicate still requires to be recharged by a personal power battery.

* Emergency Beacon: An Indigo Tribesman in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to an Indigo Tribesman's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Indigo Lantern to another.

* Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen.

* Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

* Thought Relay: Otherwise known as a telepathic link.

* Emotion Immunity: The Indigo Tribe power rings control the emotions of those who weild them, preventing them from feeling anything but compassion, which is required to channel other lights without being affected by them.
* Interstellar Teleportation: The Indigo Tribe power rings can teleport the weilder of it and anyone they want from one part of the universe to another, this is only used when nessesary as it requires a large amount of energy to do so.

Weaknesses
* Willpower Subversion: While the Indigo Rings prevent the lights that they channel from influencing them (e.g. to prevent the red light from consuming them once it's no longer in use) is a strength, it is also a weakness as it subverts their wills to the influence of the Indigo light.

* Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the Rings needed to be charged after a period of 24 hours, regardless of how often it was used.

Additional Info
In contrast to all other forms of Power Ring, the Indigo Lantern Ring is always complemented by the Indigo Lantern Power Staff. The ring is capable of directing the Indigo light as other power rings do, but more often than not an Indigo Tribesman utilises the staff to direct the energies.

Info on the Indigo Tribe

2011-06-15T13:00:00.000+08:00

The Indigo Tribe was a mysterious group that had formed and harnessed the power of compassion from the Emotional Spectrum. At this time, they were led by a woman known as Indigo. It did not take part in the War of Light though its existence was known to a few who sought to find them, which included Scar who wished to destroy them and the Blue Lantern Corps who wished to ally with the Indigo Tribe. The members of this corps came across a battle between a Green Lantern and a Sinestro Corpsmen in Space Sector 3544. The Green Lantern had been gravely injured, and the leader of the Indigo Tribe used her light of compassion to put him out of his misery by killing him due to the extent of his injuries. When the Sinestro Corpsmen attacked, Indigo used her light to absorb the yellow energy and fired it back by creating a monstrous construct that scared her opponent away.

Lantern Oath
"Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur,
Natromo faan tornek wot ur.
Ter Lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
Taan lek lek nok--Formorrow Sur!

Additional Notes
* The Indigo Tribe's oath, seems to mention Abin Sur, who was mentioned to be Indigo-1's "savior".
* The oath is in an unknown foreign dialect that apparently even the Guardians have not encountered, as the Power Rings have been shown unable to translate it.
* "Nok", a common saying of the Indigo Tribe, means "may compassion guide you".

Info on the Blue Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-14T14:00:00.003+08:00

Following the end of the Sinestro Corps War and their exile from the Council of Guardians, Ganthet and Sayd discussed the changes within the Green Lantern Corps. Knowing that the Guardians of the Universe were ignoring the threat of the Blackest Night, and that the Green Lanterns of Earth would be unable to stop the Black from occurring, Ganthet and Sayd decided to form their own Blue Lantern Corps, forming Blue Power Rings and Blue Power Batteries fueled by the power of hope. This Power Ring was created to act as a conduit for the emotional spectrum power of hope.

Powers and advantages
Blue Energy Conduit: The rings use Blue energy, supplied by a Power Battery, which in most cases takes the form of blue light. The Blue energy of hope is an infallible connection to the universe. Hope is the most powerful of lights, and thus the universe speaks through it. A Blue Power ring's possibly one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe: it has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the known universe, including electromagnetic energies such as gravity, radiation, heat, light, and powerful blasts of concussive force. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an unknown energy that was bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user.

* Blue Energy Blasts: The ring can be used to fire blasts of blue energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the will of the user. The weapons power is more an indication of the hope of the user.

* Force-Field Generation: The ring can create various force fields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him. With the cosmic scope of a Blue Lantern's abilities, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder. This is one of only two abilities a Blue Power Ring has access to when away from an active Green Lantern.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of blue energy. Unlike a Green Lantern Power Ring, The primary function of the Blue Power Ring will manifest its constructs in response to the targets specific psychosis. In this way, the ring can remove the corruptive influence of the red flame of rage by infusing hope. Otherwise the ring is a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's mastery of hope. A Blue Lantern can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the mastery of hope necessary to conjure it into existence. The constructs are made out of blue energy, which is a tangible form of pure hope, and they exist only as long as a Blue Lantern is fueling it with their mastery of hope. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the inspired hope of the Blue Lantern creating them.

* Hope Empowerment: the Blue Lantern ring is unique in that its base of power, Hope, can be manipulated by the ring user. Being in direct range of the emotional aura of a blue lantern allows them to charge an outer power reserve, by the sheer hope of the lantern its power will remain constant. The empowerment extends to even the stellar reactions of stars, allowing one to reverse the age of a dying star to that of a relatively new born star. Solely empowered by the hope of the population that relied on it, in turn empowering the Blue Lantern who then collects and uses it for the purpose of transformation.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, a Blue Lantern has been known to fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around his body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, his speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, Blue Lantern's speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field. This is one of only two abilities a Blue Power Ring has access to when away from an active Green Lantern.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries and this seems to be a feature held over from the previous incarnations of the ring. Blue Lanterns can use the ring to repair minor injuries in himself or others.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Universal Translator: The power ring acts a universal translator.

* Material Alteration: The Blue Lantern's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most Blue Lantern wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default. However, each Blue Lantern is able to adjust their uniform to fit their own needs, personalities and whims.

* Emergency Beacon: A Blue Lantern in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a Blue Lantern's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Blue Lantern to another. The power ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others.

* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power ring. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than green. As Hal Jordan's experience grew, he was able to create power ring illusions of people and objects. It can be assumed the ring wielder would not risk the extra time and effort to create other colors in a combat situation.

Weaknesses
* Emotional Requirement: Unlike the "neutral" Green Lantern Power Rings, a Blue Power Ring demands that the wielder keep hope alive in their heart constantly. Hal Jordan's ring left him when Jordan could not hope beyond a trivial desire, and Barry Allen noted to Saint Walker that his ring was "struggling" with him. Saint Walker replied saying it was Barry struggling by not giving in fully to the ring.

* Interference: as the continuing power of the rings connection of "universal hope", it has a tendency to cause a form of interference to Green Lantern Power Rings' long-range communication.

* Willpower Dependence: the Blue Lantern Power Rings can only function at their full potential in the presence of an active Green Lantern Power Ring.

* Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the rings needed to be charged after a period of 24 hours, regardless of how often it was used.

Info on the Blue Lantern Corps

2011-06-14T13:00:00.000+08:00

Created to bring hope to the future in the light of so much destruction, when good faces overwhelming odds. At the end of the war with the Sinestro Corps and after being exiled from the Guardians of the Universe for their individuality, Ganthet and Sayd started the Blue Lantern Corps by creating a Blue Power Ring out of their hope for the future. The Blue Lantern Power Rings are powered by the emotion of Hope. While an entirely separate corps they are meant to aid other benevolent wielders of the emotional spectrum, rather then replace them.

The Blue Lantern Corps recruitment is unique in that it takes a process of three days in which the being in question is picked by the most recently recruited lantern. Then they are taken to the Blue Lantern Headquarters on Odym. Once on Odym they are explained to, in great length what it means to wield the power of hope. They learn that it is a responsibility to give one's self to the universe. When they agree to the terms and conditions of wielding such power, the Guardians of Hope bestow the ring upon them.

Lantern Oath
"In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full, our souls ignite.
When all seems lost in the War of Light,
Look to the stars, for hope burns bright!"

Additional Notes
All current members have a religulous theme. Saint Walker was a former priest and a saint on his planet, Brother Wairth resembles the Hindu god Ganesha, Brother Hym and Sister Sercy look like a Tibetan monk and Catholic Nun, respectively.

Info on the Green Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-13T14:00:00.002+08:00

The Green Lantern Power Ring was a piece of jewelry which was actually an advanced device created by the Guardians of the Universe and granted the wearers incredible powers. They were created thousands of years ago after the failure of the Manhunters who were incapable of bringing order to the cosmos. For a time, the Halla's fulfilled their role but that organization was eventually dissolved and in the aftermath the Green Lantern Corps was created. Unlike their previous servants, they were gifted a new weapon which were the power rings and considered one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe. One of the precursors and early prototypes for these Oan devices was the Emerald Eye of Ekron. Their power was based on the aspect of Will within the Emotional Spectrum and its users energized the rings through Power Batteries that were linked to the Central Power Battery on Oa. Despite the power of these remarkable Oan devices, their early incarnations were ineffective against objects or beings colored yellow due to the Central Power Battery suffering from the Yellow Impurity.

Powers and advantages

Oan Energy Conduit: The rings use Oan energy (supplied by a Green Lantern Power Battery) which in most cases takes the form of green light. A Green Lantern's ring, considered to be one of, if not the most powerful weapon in the universe, has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the known universe, including gravity, radiation, heat, light, and blasts of concussive force. It is also theorized that the ring also has a basis in other dimensional energies commonly called magic by users of such energies. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an unknown energy that was bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user.

* Energy Projection: The ring can be used to fire blasts of Oan energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the will of the user. Kyle generally uses fanciful constructs in the shape of advanced technology. Their appearance does not indicate the power of the weapon. The weapons power is more an indication of the will of the user. Certain users (i.e. Hal Jordan) have been powerful enough to stagger even Superman. If the user wishes, they can alter the form of the blasts, such as Kilowog's "booms."

* Force Field: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him. With the cosmic scope of a Green Lantern's duties, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder. The only exception to force fields was attacks based on the color yellow. The newer version of the ring is not limited by the color yellow as long as the wielder can overcome their fear.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of Oan energy. The primary function of the Power Ring is to provide a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's strength of willpower. A Green Lantern can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the willpower necessary to will it into existence. The constructs are made out of green energy, which is a tangible form of pure willpower, and they exist only as long as a Green Lantern is fueling it with their willpower. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the willpower of the Green Lantern creating them. The types of constructs usually reflects the ring wearer's personality. Green Kryptonite has also been constructed using a Ring.

* Phasing: The Power Ring allows the wearer to pass through certain solid objects, such as walls. Which objects that are not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's willpower and the density of the object's molecular structure. It has also been cited that the wielder could pass through the fourth dimensional gap or dissemble their own molecular structure.

* Environmental Playback: Upon request, the power ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events in a ghostlike state, but the ring wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. All objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrums. The power ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the ring wielder's undivided attention.

* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power ring. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than green. As Hal Jordan's experience grew, he was able to create power ring illusions of people and objects. It can be assumed the ring wielder would not risk the extra time and effort to create other colors in a combat situation.

* Energy Twin: The power ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of his/her/itself that can travel at far greater speeds than that of the ring wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active the ring wielder remains motionless, his/her/its life force is needed to guide the energy twin. The energy twin can not alter its surroundings, and may only be perceived by the Guardians or another ring wielder as a green, ghostlike image. Any knowledge gained by the energy twin is transferred back to the ring wielder's physical form upon recontact with the body. The Guardians frequently used energy twins as a means of contacting a Green Lantern. As a rule, a ring wielder can not create actual, independent duplicates of him/her/itself, as the power ring cannot create life.

* Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Doing so does NOT replenish the normal store of energy the ring has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity, for example.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, a Green Lantern has been known to fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around his body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, his speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, Green Lantern's speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. The Guardians established at least one known wormhole to Oa, which required the use of a power ring to enter. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders. The power ring cannot generate a Boom Tube, as it needs a Mother Box and a sample of the highly unstable X-Element. There is no known way to duplicate either item, even with the power ring. Should a Green Lantern make his/her/its way to the other-dimensional worlds of Apokolips or New Genesis through a Boom Tube, the ring will function as it does in the rest of the universe. The ring wielder would still need a Boom Tube to return to his/her/it's dimension.

* Time Travel: Time travel is possible with the power ring, though the further forward in time a ring wielder travels, the more willpower it takes. They are known to travel as far as the 70th century.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries; this seems to be a feature held over from the previous incarnations of the ring. Green Lantern can use the ring to repair minor injuries in himself or others.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Search Probes: A user was capable of sending probes through their Power Ring that were tasked with locating specific targets or individuals.

* Galactic Encyclopedia: The earlier rings worn by the Corps functioned as references for their users. Having the vast knowledge of the Oans to draw upon, each ring functioned as a ready reference on most peoples, stellar events and conditions that may have been seen by other rings or other Green Lanterns. The rings also served as a repository of adventures had by the Green Lantern and these mission reports were stored in the Prime Battery on Oa for review and training.

* Universal Translator: The power ring can translate virtually any language in the universe, facilitating diplomatic encounters rather than violent confrontations. Complications can arise, though, when a frame of reference for translation is not available, as evidenced during Katma Tui's induction of Rot Lop Fan into the Green Lantern Corps.

* Material Alteration: The Green Lantern's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most Green Lanterns wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default, such as Hal Jordan's uniform. However, each Green Lantern is able to adjust their uniform to fit their own needs, personalities and whims. The uniform also produces a "siren" taking on the form of the Green Lantern Corps' symbol, circling the Green Lantern when active. The symbol, or badge, will not appear on the uniform until after a newly inducted Lantern has completed training on Oa, leading to the term "White-circle" to describe a rookie Lantern.

* Ring Duplication: Most Power Rings are capable of automatically duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring. Each duplicate still requires to be recharged by a personal power battery. All power rings, as being based upon the green ring templates created by the Guardians of the Universe, are all programmed to be able to duplicate themselves on a specialised command known apparently only by the Guardians.

* Emergency Beacon: A Green Lantern in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a Green Lantern's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Green Lantern to another. This was one of the recent power ring upgrade features added by the Guardians of the Universe. The power ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others. The Green Lantern Corps of Earth found the remnants of the Green Lantern Corps of The Klyminade by tracking them through their power rings.

* Mind Alteration: Though the ethics of mind tampering may be debatable, sometimes it is necessary. As the power ring relies on thought and will to operate, mind tampering is not impossible. The difficulty lies in properly applying the power. There lies a risk of catastrophic damage to the mind should mistakes be made. A ring wielder can use the power ring to erase portions of an individual's memories. To protect his secret identity as Hal Jordan, Green Lantern created a mental block in the mind of Major Disaster. Green Lanterns have used mind techniques as part of training. New recruits may be subjected to mind scans by other Green Lanterns or the Guardians of the Universe. They are taught to build mental defenses to protect themselves from psionic attack. The power ring can also be used to beam information from the ring wielder to another being. Green Lanterns have used this technique to share information regarding their enemies during combat situations.

* Pocket Dimension: Within the ring exists the possibility of an entire world. This undefined space may be a tesseract or a virtual reality created by the power ring. Whether or not this area exists in all rings has yet to be proven.

* Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen. The ring will refuse to take an action that would kill a being unless they are on Oa or with permission. The Guardians recently removed the lethal force prohibition, first to allow lethal force against members of the Sinestro Corps, then against all enemies of the Green Lantern Corps.

* Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

* Thought Relay: The Ring allows a Green Lantern to communicate with other Green Lanterns via telepathic link.

Weaknesses
* Mental Instability Protocol: Drug use, neural interference, vertigo or other forms of mental incapacitation can render the wearer unable to use their ring.

* Yellow Impurity: Formerly, the rings were unable to directly affect yellow. Now, a wearer can bypass this if they can 'accept fear', which is personified by the color yellow. Rookie lanterns are more susceptible to fear and thus vulnerable to the color yellow.

* Rage Vulnerability: The Red light can corrupt the aura of a Green Lantern, draining the power of a Green Lantern Ring.

* Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the rings needed to be charged after a period of one planetary axial rotation (dependent on each ring's location), regardless of how often it was used. Currently, the rings retain a charge until they run out of power. This variability ensures that the wearer takes great effort to keep it charged.

* Vibrational Interference: If a vibration from a device is set to a certain speed, it causes the ring to function only in miniature, so that if the user wanted to make hands to grab something, the hands would be smaller than intended. A clock has been seen to do this.

Info on the Green Lantern Corps

2011-06-13T13:00:00.003+08:00

The Guardians of the Universe are one of several races that originated on the planet Maltus and were among the first intelligent life forms in the universe. At this time they were short greyish blue humanoids with black hair. They became scientists and thinkers, experimenting on the worlds around them. In a pivotal moment billions of years ago, a Maltusian named Krona used time-bending technology to observe the beginning of the universe. However, this experiment unleashed disaster upon all existence. Originally, the experiment splintered the universe into the multiverse and created the evil anti-matter universe. Following the retroactive destruction of the Multiverse, it was revealed that Krona flooded the beginning of the universe with entropy causing it "to be born old".

The male Maltusians argued about how to deal with the situation. One group decided to dedicate their eternal existences to contain evil; this group fractured into the Guardians of the Universe and the Controllers. The females, however, saw no need to involve themselves and, since the Oans were by then immortal and had no more need to reproduce, left their mates and became known as the Zamarons. Relocating to the planet Oa at "the center of the universe", the Guardians dedicated themselves to combatting evil and creating an orderly universe. During this period they slowly evolved into their current appearance.

Chastened by the failure of the Manhunters, the Guardians decided that their newest force of soldiers for good would consist of living beings, ones who had free will and strong moral character. To arm this new legion of celestial knights, the Guardians created the Power Rings, rings of inconceivably-advanced technology that allowed their wearers to project green beams of energy with which the bearer could conjure objects of any size or shape, limited only by their imagination and willpower.

Lantern Oath
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power--Green Lantern's light!"

Info on the Qwardian (Yellow Lantern) Power Ring

2011-06-11T14:00:00.001+08:00

The Qwardian Power Ring was an advanced device of alien design that worked as a Power Ring which was created by the Weaponers of Qward. The Qwardians had long been aware of the existence of an Oan Power Ring as they had once attempted to capture an unidentified member of the Green Lantern Corps in order to make use of that power, but the Ring simply disappeared before they could claim it. However, a further opportunity to develop their own equivalent came when the renegade Green Lantern Sinestro was exiled from the Corps for crimes of tyranny on his homeworld of Korugar. During his trial on Oa, the Guardians of the Universe found him guilty and transported him to Qward in the Anti-Matter Universe where the Korugarian vowed revenge against his former masters as well as the Green Lantern Corps. In his new surroundings, he met with the native race known as the Qwardians and managed to form an alliance with them. Sinestro stated that he would help their species achieve glory against the counterparts in the Positive-Matter Universe and led them on such a journey. However, to accomplish this feat, he asked that he be given a weapon similar to the one he had previously used for millenia and which was now lost. Thus, he asked that the Qwardians create for him an equivalent to the Green Lantern Power Ring which based its energy by tapping into the Emotional Spectrum and harnessing the aspect of Willpower to fuel its ability to create Lantern Energy Constructs.

Upon striking the alliance with the Qwardians, he was taken to the one being said to be capable of achieving such a feat - a person known only as The Weaponer who was the greatest of his brethren in the arts of forging. In order to be able to create a Power Ring, he first had to tap into the aspect of Fear in the Emotional Spectrum and had to learn everything about Sinestro in order to create the device. Among the things he learnt was the Yellow Impurity that inflicted the Oan Power Rings which made them vulnerable to that color in the Emotional Spectrum. Using all their resources of Qwardamite as well as slowly extinguish the life of an entire species in order to capture their distilled fear - the Weaponer was successful in forging the first Qwardian Power Ring and gifted it to Sinestro as a weapon whereupon they expected great things from him in return as they helped him achieve his vengeance. The sheer effort and resources that were used to create the initial Power Ring meant that the Qwardians were unable to recreate it at first though its durability meant that it was unable to be destroyed either. Furthermore, its ability to project Constructs using the color yellow made it a potent weapon against the Green Lanterns as it even drew energy from their emerald light.

Powers and advantages

Qwardian Energy Conduit: The rings use Qwardian energy, supplied by a Power Battery, which in most cases takes the form of yellow light. Qwardian Power rings, considered by some to be one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe, has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the known universe, including electromagnetic energies such as gravity, radiation, heat, light, and powerful blasts of concussive force. It is also theorized that the ring also has a basis in other dimensional energies commonly called magic by users of such energies. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an unknown energy that was bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user.

* Energy Blasts: The ring can be used to fire blasts of Qwardian energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the will of the user. The weapons power is more an indication of the will of the user.

* Force-Field Generation: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him. With the cosmic scope of a Sinestro corpsman's duties, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of Qwardian energy. The primary function of the Power Ring is to provide a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's mastery of Fear. A Sinestro Corpsman can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the mastery of fear necessary to will it into existence. The constructs are made out of yellow energy, which is a tangible form of pure fear, and they exist only as long as a Sinestro Corpsman is fueling it with their mastery of fear. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the inspired fear of the Sinestro Corpsman creating them. The types of constructs usually reflects the ring wearer's personality.

* Instill Fear: the Sinestro Corps ring is unique in that its base of power, fear, can be manipulated by the ring user. An opponents fears can be laid bare by delving into their minds. The power only works on the direct emotion of fear. This allows them to create the energy constructs of a opponents worst nightmare. Also once that fear is exposed, the ring's ability allows the wielder to amplify the fear to the point of irrationality and true horror on the part of victim and conversely empowering the ring wielder.

* Phasing: The Power Ring allows the wearer to pass through certain solid objects, such as walls. Which objects that are not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's mastery of fear and the density of the object's molecular structure.

* Environmental Playback: Upon request, the power ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events in a ghostlike state, but the ring wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. All objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrums. The power ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the ring wielder's undivided attention.

* Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power ring. Presumably, a similar action allows an experienced ring wielder to create objects of colors other than yellow. As Green Lantern Hal Jordan's experience grew, he was able to create power ring illusions of people and objects. It can be assumed the ring wielder would not risk the extra time and effort to create other colors in a combat situation.

* Energy Twin: The power ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of his/her/itself that can travel at far greater speeds than that of the ring wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active the ring wielder remains motionless, his/her/its life force is needed to guide the energy twin. The energy twin can not alter its surroundings, and may only be perceived by another ring wielder as a yellow, ghostlike image. Any knowledge gained by the energy twin is transferred back to the ring wielder's physical form upon recontact with the body.

* Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Unlike the green lantern power rings a Qwardian power ring can replenish the normal store of energy the ring has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity, for example.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, a Sinestro Corpsmen has been known to fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around his body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, his speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, Sinestro Corpsman's speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field.

* Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders.

* Time Travel: Time travel is possible with the power ring, though the further forward in time a ring wielder travels, the more mastery of fear it takes.

* Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries and this seems to be a feature held over from the previous incarnations of the ring. Sinestro Corpsman can use the ring to repair minor injuries in himself or others.

* Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

* Universal Translator: Keeping in mind the myriad of worlds, life forms, and cultures throughout the cosmos, it is understandable why Sinestro added a translation system to the power ring. The power ring can translate virtually any language in the universe, facilitating diplomatic encounters rather than violent confrontations.

* Material Alteration: The Sinestro Corpsman's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most Sinestro Corpsmen wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default. However, each Sinestro Corpsman is able to adjust their uniform to fit their own needs, personalities and whims. The yellow parts of the wearer's uniform are usually very warm or hot to those who touch it, while the black parts are very cold.

* Ring Duplication: Most Power Rings are capable of automatically duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring. While the thought of an unauthorized person getting a hold of a power ring and making duplicates for nefarious purposes, their ability to inflict damage is limited because each duplicate still requires to be recharged by a personal power battery.

* Emergency Beacon: A Sinestro Corpsman in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a Sinestro Corpsman's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

* Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Sinestro Corpsman to another. The power ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others.

* Mind Alteration: As the power ring relies on thought and will to operate, mind tampering is not impossible, the real difficulty lies in properly applying the power. There lies a risk of catastrophic damage to the mind should mistakes be made. A ring wielder can use the power ring to erase portions of an individual's memories. Sinestro Corpsmen have used mind techniques as part of training. New recruits may be subjected to mind scans by other Sinestro Corpsmen. They are taught to build mental defenses to protect themselves from psionic attack. The power ring can also be used to beam information from the ring wielder to another being. Sinestro Corpsmen have used this technique to share information regarding their enemies during combat situations.

* Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen.

* Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

Weaknesses
* Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the rings needed to be charged after a period of 24 hours, regardless of how often it was used. Currently the rings retain a charge until they run out of power. This variability ensures that the wearer takes great effort to keep it charged.

* Hope Energy: The Qwardian Power Rings can be drained of energy by the presence of a nearby Blue Power Ring.

Info on the Sinestro (Yellow Lantern) Corps

2011-06-11T13:00:00.002+08:00

Created by the Anti-Monitor in order to facilitate his plans to feed on New Earth and the Multiverse. Co-created by Sinestro to instill fear in the Universe and the Guardians of the Universe so that they would be forced to change the laws of the Book of Oa. The Parallax entity is a space parasite that is the embodiment of fear that was imprisoned within the Central Power Battery on Oa. After a long time, the entity became known as the yellow impurity, the cause for the Green Lantern's weakness with the color yellow. After Sinestro went rogue, he was banished by the Guardians of the Universe to Qward in the Anti-Matter Universe. When he returned, he wielded a power ring which used yellow energy. After various encounters with Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan, he was imprisoned within the Central Power Battery. There he was able to use his ring, which uses fear, as opposed to willpower, as a power source, to awaken Parallax from hibernation. From here, Parallax and Sinestro were able influence the fall of Hal Jordan and instigate the fall of the Green Lantern Corps, leaving one last Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner.

Lantern Oath

"In blackest day, in brightest night,
Beware your fears made into light.
Let those who try to stop what's right
Burn like my power--Sinestro's might!"

Additional Notes
According to Ethan Van Sciver, the ring's symbol is based on ancient carvings made by beings who had looked into the gullet of Parallax and survived.

Info on the Orange Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-10T14:00:00.004+08:00

Created as a weapon to channel the orange light of avarice. Weapon of the Orange Lantern Corps, an Orange Lantern Ring is powered by the orange light of avarice. Larfleeze is the only one who actually wears one of these rings, as everyone else in the Orange Lantern Corps were assimilated into the orange central power battery and only exist as constructs. There are many other orange rings, but while the other six corps send their rings out to find worthy weilders of their light, Larfleeze keeps his horded away in his lair on Okaara, laying unused in a massive pile.

Powers and advantages

* Orange Energy Conduit: The rings use Avarice energy, supplied by a Power Battery which in most cases takes the form of Orange light. An Orange Power ring, possibly one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe, has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the known universe, including electromagnetic energies such as gravity, radiation, heat, light, and powerful blasts of concussive force. The ring can also create fields of force formed from an unknown energy that was bound by the users' will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user.

* Orange Energy Blasts: The ring can be used to fire blasts of orange energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them. The ring can project beams of force powered by the user's greed.

* Force-Field: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him. With the cosmic scope of a Orange Lantern's abilities, it is only natural that the power ring is designed for operation in space. The ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder. Theoretically, a ring wielder could use the ring as his/her/its sole source of life support.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of Orange energy. Much like a Green Lantern Ring, the ring is a weapon capable of transforming the wielder's thoughts into physical constructs through the wielder's desire of avarice. A Orange Lantern can create any particular items or constructs that they can imagine as long as they have the desire of avarice necessary to conjure it into existence. The constructs are made out of orange energy, which is a tangible form of pure greed, and they exist only as long as an Orange Lantern is fueling it with their desire of avarice. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the desire of the Orange Lantern creating them. The types of constructs usually reflects the ring wearer's personality.

* Energy Absorption: The Orange rings have the unique ability to absorb the constructs of other ring wielders. The power is so great that even constructs made by the likes of the Guardians of the Universe can be absorbed. It seems as though no form of energy is exempt from this ability as they also can absorb magic.

* Identity Usurpation: Identity theft acts as the sole "recruitment method" of the Orange Lantern Corps. If a Orange lantern consumes the body of another or ring of another lantern they in turn steal the identity.

* Energy Avatar: Agent Orange is capable of creating avatar Orange Lanterns of the beings he kills, literally stealing their identity postmortem. This avatar is avarice corrupted version of its former self, possessing no thought pattern besides the insatiable greed. In all other circumstances they act as individual but collective soldiers to Agent Orange, as they are an extension of his power.

Weaknesses
* Insatiable Greed: Those who are recruited into the corps are infected with greed like a disease. They are incapable of in decreeable thought or action other then to take whatever they want from another.

* Blue Energy: Avarice can erode will, but it cannot consume hope. Therefore Orange Lantern Power Rings cannot absorb the energy from a Blue Lantern Power Ring.

* Violet Energy: True Love is not affected by Avarice, thus Orange Lantern Power Rings cannot absorb the energy from a Star Sapphire Ring.

Info on the Orange Lantern Corps

2011-06-10T13:00:00.004+08:00

Many years ago (too long ago even for ancient beings to remember), the Guardians of the Universe hid the fact that they made a treaty to stay out of the the Vega System with Larfleeze, covering it with a peace treaty with the Spider Guild. The extent of this treaty seems for Larfleeze, the keeper of the power of avarice, to be left in peace and isolation and the Green Lantern Corps to be forbidden to enter the vega system. The Orange Lantern Power Ring is powered by avarice, or greed. The wielders of the Orange Power Rings are, in fact, constructs created by the sole member of the Corps, Agent Orange, which is why members appear to be covered in an orange aura entirely. According to Ganthet, "the orange light of avarice will be discovered and manipulated by a being whose greed knows no bounds, Larfleeze." The Controllers, an off-shoot of the Oan race, were searching the Vega star-system for the orange light in order to create their own Corps. With the Guardians occupied with the Zamarons' experiments on the Star Sapphires, the Controllers were left to begin a search without opposition from the only two groups which would stop them. The Controllers believed they had located the orange light on the planet Okaara, within the Vega star-system, a forbidden territory for the Green Lantern Corps. Without the interference of the Guardians they could finally attain a power source that would allow them the means of creating an army to control the universe.

Additional Notes
Agent Orange aka Larfleeze was the only true Orange Lantern and is the Leader of the Corps; all other are a extension of his power until the induction of Lex Luthor during the Blackest Night. Luthor's Ring is later confiscated from him, leaving Larfleeze the last remaining Orange Lantern once more.

Info on the Red Lantern Power Ring

2011-06-09T14:00:00.003+08:00

The Red Power Rings were created as a conduit for the Red Energy of Rage. A Red Lantern Ring is similar in form and function to that of a Green Lantern Ring. However, whereas a Green Lantern Ring is powered by willpower, a Red Lantern Ring is fueled by rage. Members, upon taking on the ring, undergo a form of indoctrination; making its members give into the rage and hatred in their hearts until it is all that they know; an all consuming need for revenge and destruction which in turn takes over their minds. For one to be accepted by a Red Power Ring, one must feel great rage over a loss. A red ring fuctionally replaces the heart of its bearer, rendering it useless. The blood spoils and the ring expels it from the bearer's mouth in a vomit of violent rage. A Red Lantern's veins stretch as they fill with the liquid fire of the red light. The only known method of removing the ring safely is to place a Blue Lantern Ring upon the bearer, which shatters the Red Ring, and starts the bearer's heart again.

Powers and advantages

* Red Energy Conduit: The rings use Red energy, supplied by a Red Power Battery, which in most cases takes the form of red light. A Red Lantern's ring has the ability to affect and use fundamental forces of the universe, including gravity, radiation, heat, light, and blasts of concussive force. The ring can also create force fields formed from energy was bound by the user's will. The limitations of such use are the skill, knowledge and imagination of the user.

* Rage Plasma: Red Lanterns can vomit plasma, which has been described as napalm and acid mixed together; it burns away at anything. These flames burn even in space. The effect it has on living beings allows it to ignite the flames of rage in a victim's blood and has the effect of burning through energy aura's of an opponent, as well as corrupting other power rings, depleting them at an accelerated rate and greatly weakening the structures they create.

* Energy Projection: The ring can be used to fire blasts of Rage energy. This power is unique, as it takes the form of rage-energized blood. The ring can project this blood as a blast that has the effect of a concussive blast with high destructive capability. The weapons power is more an indication of the Rage of the user, rather then their willpower.

* Energy Constructs: The ring can form constructs of Rage energy. The primary function of the Power Ring is to provide a weapon capable of transforming the wearer's thoughts into physical constructs through the wearer's rage. A Red Lantern can create any particular items or construct that they can imagine as long as they have the appropriate amount of rage necessary to will it into existence. The constructs are made out of red energy, which is a tangible form of pure rage, and they exist only as long as a Red Lantern is fueling it with their rage. Items created by the rings are not indestructible and are only as powerful as the rage of the Red Lantern creating them. The types of constructs usually reflects the ring wearer's personality. However, most Red Lanterns are so consumed by rage that they cannot focus the willpower needed to bring constructs into existance. Atrocitus and Hal Jordan are the only ones seen so far to make energy constructs with a Red Power Ring.

* Force-Field: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him or her. In space, a red ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void, including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

* Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds.

* Rage Infection: The Red Power Ring is capable of infecting others with the rage of the Red Lantern, which can lead to them being converted to the the Red Lantern Cause.

* Rage Empowerment: the Red Lantern ring is unique in that its base of power, Rage, can be manipulated by the ring user. A Red Lantern can detect the rage in the heart of others and by connection the blood that pumps that blood. The rage and hatred of a individual red lantern empowers their abilities as well as the rage and hatred of others.

* Life Support: these power ring also allowed the host to survive a fatal removal of their user's heart, as they replaced it.

Weaknesses

* Life-Support Dependency: As the Red Power Ring assumes the functions of the heart, a Red Lantern cannot remove the their ring without risking death.

* Uncontrollable Rage: Because red is on the farthest edges of the emotional spectrum, Red Lanterns are unable to think clearly or be reasoned with. They rarely speak, save for their leader Atrocitus, and often attack without distinction.

* Hope: the Blue light of hope is seemingly the only power that can extinguish the red flame.

* Love: As it is the opposite of Rage, the Red Power Ring's connection to the weilder will be severed and they will die, if they feel Love or made to feel it.

* Recharge Protocol: Formerly, the Rings needed to be charged after a period of 24 hours, regardless of how often it was used.

Info on the Red Lantern Corps

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The Red Lantern Corps was formed by Atrocitus of the Five Inversions, one of the five survivors of the Massacre of Sector 666. Using the blood magics of the Five Inversions, Atrocitus harnessed the red spectrum of light, allowing him to empower the rage within him. The Red Power Ring was born out of anger and crystalized by the blood of the Inversions. This is due to the rage he felt over being imprisoned and because due justice was not brought to the Guardians of the Universe, whose Manhunters had slaughtered almost the entirety of his Space Sector. Given that a Red Lanterns's rage is centrally rage felt over loss, Atrocitus likely feels rage specifically over the loss of his sector, or the billions of years of his life lost because of his imprisonment.

Red Lantern Corps Oaths

"With blood and rage of crimson red,
Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,
Together with our hellish hate,
We'll burn you all--that is your fate!"

Additional notes
Red Lanterns can only be none-lethally parted from their rings by a Blue Lantern Ring, whose aura will cleanse the red taint in the Red Lantern's blood while removing the red ring. Another similar method is to use the love between the Red Lantern and their partner to form a tether which will restart the Red Lantern's heart, though this method still requires a Blue Lantern aura to expunge the taint.

The only other known method is employed by Mogo, who uses leech-like creatures on his surface to cleanse the lantern's body at a cellular level, thus removing the ring and restarting the heart. A Blue Lantern aura is still required to remove the taint from the lantern's blood if they are to survive this process.

Entities of the Emotional Spectrum

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Emotional entities are a small pantheon of creatures, within the DC Universe that are pure embodiments of the emotions comprising the Emotional Spectrum. As of Green Lantern (vol. 4) #54 all seven entities have been revealed within Green Lantern titles. Though the Black Lantern Corps (introduced as major antagonists within the Blackest Night plot line) are powered by death rather than one of the lights of the Emotional Spectrum, Green Lantern #43 reveals that their leader (Black Hand) is a similar entity as well. In Blackest Night #7, Nekron unearths another similar being referred to as "The Entity." Like Black Hand, the Entity does not belong to the Emotional Spectrum, but instead is the embodiment of the white light that creates life in Johns' creation story for the DC Universe. In Brightest Day it's revealed that the former guardian Krona was the Caretaker/Handler for the entities and has immunity from the various lights of the emotional spectrum.

The Butcher is the embodiment of rage and is connected to the red light of the Emotional Spectrum and its appearance bears a resemblance to a demonic bull. The Butcher is born to the DC Universe after the first murder. The head and horns of this emotional manifestation resembles the Red Lantern Corps insignia.

Ophidian is the embodiment of greed which is connected to the orange light of the Emotional Spectrum. This entity resembles a large serpent with the Orange Lantern insignia on its head. In its debut appearance, it is depicted being created when the first creature ate what it did not need.

Parallax is the embodiment of fear, born when one of the earliest life forms first felt terror, and is connected to the yellow light of the Emotional Spectrum; it is insect-like in appearance, and the inside of its mouth resembles the Sinestro Corps symbol. Parallax is described as an entity of living fear that is born at the dawn of sentience itself. Parallax creates fear and paranoia in any civilization it comes across, and threatens to trap the entire universe in a vicious cycle of fear and violence.

Ion is the embodiment of willpower, born when life first moved of its own accord, and is connected to the green light of the Emotional Spectrum, resembling a large, primitive whale. Representing the stability of willpower, Ion serves to support its host, providing a vast supply of power in return for the willpower provided by its host.

Adara is the embodiment of hope and is connected to the blue light of the Emotional Spectrum, is bird-like in appearance, and has the Blue Lantern Corps' insignia on its chest. The hope entity is depicted as being created from the first act of prayer from a sentient being.

Proselyte is the embodiment of compassion and is connected to the indigo light of the Emotional Spectrum. In its first depiction, Proselyte is explained simply as: "Rage grows from murder. Hope from Prayer. And at last, compassion is offered to us all." This entity has a form similar to a cephalopod with four visible appendages. Its inner surface is lined with features that resemble the Indigo Tribe's insignia.

The Predator is the embodiment of love and is connected to the violet light of the Emotional Spectrum. In earlier continuity, an energy-projection being named Predator is presented as a component of Carol Ferris' own personality, which acts as a masculine animus to the feminine anima of Star Sapphire. It is indicated that the Star Sapphires have access to this emotional entity. The Predator appears to reside on Zamaron but its relationship with the women there is unclear.

Common Abilities of the Power Rings

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# Energy Constructs: The ring can be used to fire blasts of colored energy or create weapons such as projectiles of them.

# Force-Field: The ring can create various forcefields of various sizes and shapes to protect the wearer and others around him or her. In space, a power ring creates a force-field around the wearer, protecting him/her/it from the hazards of the void, including filtration of stellar radiation and microscopic particulate matter which would ordinarily be fatal should the space debris strike the ring wielder at high speeds. An atmosphere appropriate to the ring wielder's biology is created inside the force-field, body temperature is maintained and waste products are removed. Gravitational stresses which could cause injury are stabilized for the ring wielder.

# Phasing: The Power Ring allows the wearer to pass through certain solid objects, such as walls. Which objects that are not penetrable are not known, but it may depend upon the strength of the wearer's mastery of fear and the density of the object's molecular structure.

# Environmental Playback: Upon request, the power ring can recreate a holographic environment based on data in its memory banks. The ring wielder can observe events in a ghostlike state, but the ring wielder cannot alter the outcome of the playback. All objects in the playback will appear in the full spectrum of colors, regardless of the wielder's level of expertise creating simulacrums. The power ring will automatically end the playback if outside interference warrants the ring wielder's undivided attention.

# Invisibility & Light Refraction: A ring wielder can render him/her/itself invisible by willing the ring to bend light waves around his/her/its form, as well as that of the power ring.

# Energy Twin: The power ring allows the wearer to create an "energy twin" of his/her/itself that can travel at far greater speeds than that of the ring wielder's physical form. While the energy twin is active the ring wielder remains motionless, his/her/its life force is needed to guide the energy twin. The energy twin can not alter its surroundings, and may only be perceived by another ring wielder as a yellow, ghostlike image. Any knowledge gained by the energy twin is transferred back to the ring wielder's physical form upon recontact with the body.

# Energy Absorption: The ring can absorb and store most other energies. Unlike the green lantern power rings a Qwardian power ring can replenish the normal store of energy the ring has. A ring that needs recharging but contained a store of electricity could only discharge that electricity, for example.

# Flight: By the manipulation of anti-gravitons and directed molecular movement, the ring allows the user to fly at incredible speeds. In atmosphere, a Sinestro Corpsmen has been known to fly as fast as Mach 10 in atmosphere by creating an aerodynamic envelope around his body. Towing others, usually within a bubble, his speed is limited to the twice the speed of sound or 1440 mph. In space, Sinestro Corpsman's speed can be significantly greater and has been known to approach 80% of lightspeed in normal space. Flight is possible at velocities exceeding light speed. In atmospheres, air friction is not a hindrance, since heat is either absorbed or reflected by the ring's field.

# Wormholes & Spacial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. Black holes can be navigated by experienced ring wielders.

# Time Travel: Time travel is possible with the power ring, though the further forward in time a ring wielder travels, the more mastery of fear it takes.

# Limited Cellular Regeneration: This ring has a limited ability to heal physical injuries and this seems to be a feature held over from the previous incarnations of the ring. A Lantern Corpsman can use the ring to repair minor injuries in himself or others.

# Electromagnetic Scanning: The ring has a wide range of detection abilities based on the imagination of the user. If one can conceive of it, he can probably detect it. Magical effects like clairvoyance, seem to be beyond the scope of the ring. Most normal electromagnetic phenomena are within the range of the ring, including radio, television, infrared, ultraviolet, and high frequency band communications.

# Universal Translator: Keeping in mind the myriad of worlds, life forms, and cultures throughout the cosmos, it is understandable why Sinestro added a translation system to the power ring. The power ring can translate virtually any language in the universe, facilitating diplomatic encounters rather than violent confrontations.

# Material Alteration: A Lantern Corpsman's uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire. Most Sinestro Corpsmen wear similar uniforms that are programmed into the ring by default. However, each Sinestro Corpsman is able to adjust their uniform to fit their own needs, personalities and whims. The yellow parts of the wearer's uniform are usually very warm or hot to those who touch it, while the black parts are very cold.

# Ring Duplication: Most Power Rings are capable of automatically duplicating themselves. Each duplicate typically shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring. While the thought of an unauthorized person getting a hold of a power ring and making duplicates for nefarious purposes, their ability to inflict damage is limited because each duplicate still requires to be recharged by a personal power battery.

# Emergency Beacon: A Lantern Corpsman in distress can use his/her/its power ring as an emergency beacon. The alert can be directed to a Lantern Corpsman's neighboring sector, or it can be a Corps-wide alert.

# Homing Beacon: A homing beacon in the power ring can lead one Sinestro Corpsman to another. The power ring can be ordered to disguise itself to elude power ring wielding trackers. Most often ring wielders will allow the beacon to signal their location to others.

# Mind Alteration: As the power ring relies on thought and will to operate, mind tampering is not impossible, the real difficulty lies in properly applying the power. There lies a risk of catastrophic damage to the mind should mistakes be made. A ring wielder can use the power ring to erase portions of an individual's memories.

# Security Protocol: The rings can be programmed. They are coded to the wearer to make them unusable if stolen.

# Preset Conditions: Commands can be stored in the ring to be executed at a later date, even if the bearer is not wearing the ring.

# Thought Relay: Otherwise known as a telepathic link.

Capabilities of the Power Rings

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The Bad Power Rings: Red, Orange, and Yellow

A disparate group of villains and violent individuals, the owners of the rings representing negative emotions are some of the most feared individuals in the universe.

The Red Lantern Corps Power Rings

The Rage Lanterns are consumed by rage through and through. The most significantly changed of any Lanterns, the Red Lanterns entire physiology is changed when the ring chooses them. All of their blood is expelled from their bodies and replaced with a blood like acid.

In addition to the power their rings grant them, they are able to expel this corrosive blood from their mouths and control it much the way the Green or Yellow lanterns would their constructs. Blindly angry and impervious to the influence of other emotions, the Red Lanterns never stop showing the world how angry they are.

Strengths: Acid Blood, Immune to Pain

Weaknesses: Reduced to mindless rage, members who resist the Red Ring can be cured by Blue Lanterns

The Orange Lantern Corps Power Rings

Although many Orange Lantern power rings exist, they're all held tight by the owner of the Orange power battery: Larfleeze. The lone Orange Lantern greedily hordes the rings and prevents them from finding hosts. Instead, he is able to create monstrous avatars of any creatures he has killed in the past as avatars of his power. These orange avatars are under his control but can act semi-autonomously or at the very least, still display their original personalities.

When these avatars are called in, Larfleeze gains increased abilities depending on how many of the avatars are active. When all avatars are recalled, he has the ability to take on a roomful of Green Lanterns and their Guardians by himself.

Strengths: Ability to create his own one man army with his ring, can send them out through the universe

Weaknesses: Significantly weakened when avatars are away and unable to be recalled fast enough

The Yellow Lantern Corps Power Rings (aka The Sinstero Corps)

Powered not by their own fear but the fear they instill in others, Yellow Lanterns are some of the most terrifying creatures in the world. With abilities and strength equal to the Green Lantern Corps, Yellow Lantern rings are able to project fearsome constructs designed to terrify and destroy any and all who oppose them.

Their ability to instill fear is their greatest weapon against the Green Lantern Corps. However, any Green Lantern able to put their fear aside will have a significant advantage against the yellow light.

Strengths: Powerful Constructs, Insight into others Fear

Weaknesses: Fearless Green Lanterns have the upper hand

The Classic: The Green Lantern Corps Power Ring

Easily one of the most recognizable tools in the world of comic book heroes, the Green Lantern ring allows its wearer to wield one of the most powerful energies in the world. Like all Lantern Corps rings, the Green Lantern ring allows its users to fly, survive in a hostile atmosphere (the vaccuum of space, etc) and resist injury.

In addition, they can create powerful physical constructs using only their own will power. These constructs can take any form or function. Guns, swords, buzz-saws, giant robots, space ships, anything the Green Lantern can think of, they can successfully recreate. It can even be used to restore lost limbs or other body parts to Green Lanterns.

When fighting alongside the Blue Lantern Corps, the Green Lanterns receive near-infinite power supplies and can fly faster.

Strengths: Powerful constructs, ability to team up with all shades of the Lantern Corps, ability to overcome Yellow Lanterns

Weaknesses: When Lanterns show fear, their constructs can be destroyed or bypassed by all things yellow. Until they overcome that fear, they will remain vulnerable.

The Blue Lantern Corps Power Rings

The Blue Lantern's power rings are fueled by hope. Technically the most powerful shade of the emotional spectrum, the Blue Lantern rings can perform great feats. Able to reignite stars, inspire hope and calm in the masses, fire powerful blasts, and cure the taint of rage from Red Lanterns, the Blue Lanterns are not to be underestimated. Their great power has a catch, however - their rings only run at full power when near a Green Lantern. When separated from a Green Lantern, the Blue Lantern Rings are only able to provide flight and basic protection from the elements to their user.

But the relationship is not one way! A Green Lantern teamed with a Blue Lantern will find his power ring constantly recharging and providing extra power and strength to their already formidable repertoire of tricks.

Strengths: Strongest of all Lantern Corps

Weaknesses: Dependent on Green Lanterns

Indigo Lantern Power Corps Rings (aka The Indigo Tribes)

These enigmatic figures have great power but are reclusive and lack in numbers. Indigo Lantern Power rings give their members the ability to redirect other lanterns emotional energy as well as cure wounds and teleport.

Although much is left to learn about this small group, it does seem that their power is limited by the relative lack of compassion found in the universe. Their own compassion is tested daily and they must renounce their old lives to join the corps.

Strengths: Healing, Perfect replication of nearby Lanterns Powers

Weaknesses: Limited numbers, Small amount of emotional energy

The Violet Lantern Corps Power Rings (aka the Star Sapphires)

Violet Lanterns are individuals fueled by their loss to spread love throughout the universe. Deceptively powerful, a Violet Lantern Power Ring allows for these champions of love to create crystal constructs, find and protect love in all its forms when it is in danger, and fly through space like other Lanterns. A power unique to the Star Sapphires is the ability to telepathically see other peoples past loves and force them to relive it.

Unfortunately, being at the end of the emotional spectrum leads to extreme changes in personality to the owners of a violet lantern ring. Although they only act altruistically, Violet Lanterns are firm believers that all creatures should follow the ways of love. This is done through force in the case of captured criminals or through political pressure or heated conversation when dealing with innocents.

Strengths: Attuned to love, Ability to control crystals

Weaknesses: Often warped by the intensity of their love

Info on the White Light

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The White Light, also known as The Light of Creation, was a force created eons ago, presumably at the birth of life in the universe. The White Light comprised the 7 Lights of emotion; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. The White Light was presumably created along with sentient life, as The Guardians noted that sentient life inadvertently created "the ultimate power" through their emotions. Around about this time, The Black made its first bid for dominance of the universe by eradicating life, but was stopped by the White Light. Some time after this, the White Light splintered into the seven colour concepts of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Gathering of the Light
The White Light either gave birth to, or originated from, the Life Entity. At some point during the very beginning of their assension to the title of Guardians of the Universe, the Maltusians who became the Oans discovered and sealed away the Entity to protect it from being exploited or harmed, as they understood that the Entity was symbiotically connected to every living being. They buried it in the confines of the Earth, the keystone of the Multiverse, and the original planet of life in the universe. At the same time, they used the opportunity to claim that Maltus in fact spawned the first life, and claimed their authority as the Guardians from that. (It is unknown whether this means that sentient life began on earth first or not, though it is more likely that the Maltusians were, and that the Earth was merely the birth place of organisms).

The Green Light of the White Light was harnessed by the Guardians of the Universe, and was dubbed "The Glow". It formed the emotional entity Ion. The Yellow Light formed the entity Parallax, which was imprisoned by the Guardians in a box, and later the Green Lantern Central Power Battery. It was later harnessed by Sinestro and The Anti-Monitor to form the Sinestro Corps. The Orange Light was presumably contained by the Guardians, but was found and harnessed by Larfleeze during the Guardians' use of the Manhunters. The Violet Light was forged into crystal known as the Star Sapphire and the Predator Entity, then found and used by the Zamarons. The Indigo Light is currently under the control of Indigo-1 and her Indigo Tribe. The Blue Light was found by Ganthet and Sayd. Finally, the Red Light was harnessed by Atrocitus of the 5 Inversions.

Info on the Emotional Spectrum

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The Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is an energy field that is fueled by the emotions of all sentient beings. Inadvertantly, sentient beings channeled and created seven unique forms of energy based on their emotions, with a color unique to the emotion. The Maltusians, the oldest known race in existence, were the first to discover and harness this field. Their successor races eventually chose to harness the emotions of several different colors. They also discovered that the farther one is away from the center of the Spectrum, the more control the energy has on the wielder. According to a prophecy in the Book of Oa, the seven colors of the emotional spectrum would be harnessed by seven different Lantern Corps, which would go to war with each other in a conflict called the War of Light and fulfilling the Blackest Night Prophecy.

Here are the seven major lantern rings and the emotions they represent.

Red Lantern Ring - Rage

Orange Lantern Ring - Greed

Yellow Lantern Ring - Fear

Green Lantern Ring - Willpower

Blue Lantern Ring - Hope

Indigo Lantern Ring - Compassion

Violet Lantern Ring - Love

As you can see, three "evil" emotions and three "good" emotions are on either side of the spectrum, anchored by the neutral Green Lanterns in the middle. The further from the middle the ring is on the emotional light spectrum, the more their personality is influenced by that emotion.

Black is the color of the dead and emotionless. It is the colour of the Black Lantern Corps. Black, technically not a colour but more an absence of colour and light, does not appear on the spectrum itself for this reason, as the Emotional Spectrum is a light based energy classification. Those dead or once dead are capable of becoming Black Lanterns.

Still very mysterious, details about the White Lantern Power Ring are still coming to bear. It is known that it has the ability to return the dead to life. Many super heroes who had returned from the dead briefly wielded a White Lantern Ring, but as of now the only hero currently using a white ring is Boston Brand, the former Dead Man.

X-Men First Class character study: Riptide

2011-05-27T12:00:00.000+08:00

Janos Quested, code-named Riptide, is a mutant with the ability to spin his body at an incredibly fast rate. Actor Álex González portrays Riptide, a member of the Hellfire Club, in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Riptide is a mutant with the ability to spin his body at an incredibly fast rate. He also has the ability to generate calcium growth from his bones that protrude through his skin, often taking the form of shurikens and spikes. When he spins, Riptide can release these growths at will from his skin, the additional velocity that comes from his spinning making them lethal missiles that can even punch through steel.

X-Men First Class character study: Darwin

2011-05-26T12:00:00.000+08:00

Armando Munoz, code-named Darwin, is a mutant with the power of "reactive evolution", the ability to develop a resistance or immunity to whatever they were injured by or exposed to, or instantenous adaptation to any situation. Actor Edi Gathegi has been cast as Darwin in the upcoming film X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Darwin has the power of "reactive evolution". The exact nature and limits of his powers have not been revealed, but what this means is that his body automatically adapts to any situation or environment he is placed in, allowing him to survive possibly anything. Examples of his powers include: gaining night-vision after a few seconds in the dark; functional gills after being submerged in water; fire-proof skin after being exposed to flame; increasing his own intelligence; converting his body into pure energy; no longer requiring oxygen after being sucked into space; and acquiring comprehension of the Shi'ar language merely by looking at written samples. His power may concern itself with more efficient methods of survival than Darwin himself might choose; for example, instead of continually increasing Darwin's powers when taking punishment from the Hulk, his body simply teleported him away from the fight.

X-men First Class character study: Banshee

2011-05-25T12:00:00.000+08:00

Sean Cassidy, code-named Banshee, is a mutant with the ability of hypersonic screaming and flight. Banshee possesses a "sonic scream," capable of harming enemies’ auditory systems and causing physical vibrations. He is named after the banshee, a legendary ghost from Irish mythology, said to possess a powerful cry, although the banshee spirit is invariably female.

Actor Caleb Landry Jones has been cast as a younger Banshee in the upcoming film X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Banshee is a mutant whose superhumanly powerful lungs, throat, and vocal cords could produce a sonic scream for various effects, in concert with limited, reflexive psionic powers which directed his sonic vibrations. He could hover or fly at the speed of sound, and could carry at least one passenger. He could overwhelm listeners with deafening noise, stun them with tight-focus low-frequency sonic blasts (effective even against shielded ears by penetrating the skull via bone conduction), plunge them into a hypnotic trance, disorient them, nauseate them, or simply render them unconscious. Using sonic waves, he could rapidly vibrate himself or other masses at will. He could generate sonic blasts which struck with tremendous concussive force, liquefying or outright disintegrating targets at his highest levels of power. By radiating sound waves outward and reading the feedback, he could locate and analyze unseen objects in a sonar-like fashion. By modulating his scream's harmonics, he could confuse most scanning equipment. He could instinctively analyze, replicate, and block sonic waves or vibrations from other sources.

Banshee generated a psionic field which protected him from the detrimental effects of his sonic vibrations, though his sonic powers could still injure him when pushed beyond safe limits. For a while, his sonic powers were gone after having to use them up and down the harmonic scale to stop a weapon of Moses Magnum's. His physiology seemed fully vulnerable to conventional injury when his sonic powers were not engaged. Banshee had selective hearing, enabling him to focus upon, enhance, or totally block out any given sound in his environment; this shielded him from the deafening sound of his own screams, and made him a superhumanly acute eavesdropper in surveillance situations. Sean and his cousin Black Tom were immune to each other's natural mutant energy powers, though Sean's immunity did not extend to the new powers Tom later developed via artificial mutations.

A gifted detective, veteran undercover operative, and formidable unarmed combatant, Cassidy was an excellent marksman and a competent amateur machine-smith, well-versed in combat strategy & tactics, and teamwork drills, from his training at Interpol. An effective educator, organizer, and lobbyist, he was also an avid American country music aficionado and skillful amateur piano player. As Cassidy, he wielded conventional firearms, sometimes loaded with explosive "micro-bombs." As Banshee, he wore synthetic costuming designed to resist air friction, usually including underarm wings that helped him glide on air currents and his own sonic waves. The "ribbons" on Banshee's costume (a visual trademark of the character) aid him in his flight.

X-Men First Class character study: Havok

2011-05-24T12:00:00.001+08:00

Alex Summers, code-named Havok, is a mutant who has the ability to absorb cosmic energy and discharge destructive blasts from the energy. He has had difficulty controlling this power at first, and has to wear a special containment suit equipped with special sensors for measuring and controlling his power output. In the comic timeline, Havok is the younger brother of Scott Summers aka Cyclops and older brother to Gabriel Summers aka Vulcan. Actor Lucas Till has been cast as Havok in X-Men: First Class. According to executive producer Bryan Singer, Havok will not be portrayed as Cyclops' brother in the film but somehow be related to him 'in a way that works for the film'.

Powers and Abilities
Havok is a mutant possessing the power to absorb ambient cosmic energy, process it and emanate it from his body as waves of energy that heat the air in the path, turning it into plasma in the form of a blast or discharge, with a tell-tale concentric circle pattern. These waves will emanate from his body in all directions unless he purposefully tries to channel them in a single direction, usually along the length of his arms. This results in control over an extremely powerful sort of destructive force. Havok is immune to the adverse effects of most forms of radiation and heat. In the past, he was not entirely able to control this ability, which made him a danger to those around him unless he wore a special containment suit equipped with special sensors for measuring and controlling his power output. Havok is immune to his own powers and to those of his brother Scott. He is resistant but not immune to Vulcan's powers.

Despite past accounts, the energy that Havok releases is not truly a concussive force. When Havok strikes an object with hot plasma, the sudden temperature jump often causes objects to shatter or disintegrate. Should Havok direct his energy at the lowest level, he can project it towards a human being and his target will suffer a severe headache, but will not burn up. He can absorb cosmic energy from his environment (such as starlight, x-rays, and gamma radiation) and store them in his cells, metabolizing the energy to generate plasma wave discharges that super-heat and disintegrate objects. His absorption is normally passive, but he has shown that he can actively drain and absorb energy as well.

Havok's body is constantly absorbing cosmic radiation. When his body reaches its capacity, excess energy is then immediately re-emitted in negligible quantities. The circle on his chest is an indicator as how much energy he has left. Upon the expenditure of all his available energy, it takes Havok about 16 to 17 hours to recharge to peak level. The concentration involved in releasing his energy in focused beams is exhausting for Havok, especially if he does it over an extended period.

Havok has the normal human strength, height, and build of a man who engages in intensive regular exercise. Havok is well-educated in the field of geophysical science where he has earned a masters degree and completed some doctoral work. He is an instinctive tactician and strategist.

X-Men First Class character study: Angel Salvadore

2011-05-20T12:00:00.002+08:00

Angel Salvadore, also known as Tempest, is a mutant with insectoid physiology. She is portrayed by Zoë Kravitz in X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Angel possessed several superhuman abilities akin to those of the common housefly. She had a pair of veined wings growing from her back that allowed her to fly and which she could vibrate at high speed to create a deafening ultrasonic sound. She possessed a reproductive system that involved laying eggs with a complete gestation period of only five days from conception to birth. Angel was also able to vomit a highly acidic substance that she used to partially digest her food prior to consumption.

As of M-Day, she possesses no superhuman powers. When she later became a member of the New Warriors, she gained technologically based fire, ice, and flight powers from the new costume given to her.

X-Men First Class character study: Azazel

2011-05-19T12:00:00.000+08:00

Azazel is a member of the Hellfire Club, a red-skinned demon with the ability to teleport. He is said to be the biological father of Nightcrawler, the result of an affair with the shapeshifter Mystique. Actor Jason Flemyng has been cast as Azazel in X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Azazel has the ability to teleport across interdimensional distances, generate bolts and streams of paralyzing energy, as well as destructive energy which causes a form of disintegration, and can disguise his appearance. In addition to this, he and all other Neyaphem are negatively affected by the healing blood of the Cheyarafim which causes their body to begin to break down. Azazel also has the ability to mentally communicate with and control individuals of inferior mental capacity that originate from the brimstone dimension, and has a great knowledge of ancient magic.

Azazel also seems to be immortal as he has lived since biblical times. His long lifespan has also allowed him to study swordsmanship to such a degree that he has become a near unparallelled master with bladed weapons.

X-Men First Class character study: Mystique

2011-05-18T12:00:00.005+08:00

Raven Darkholme, codename Mystique, has been a supervillain, founding her own Brotherhood of Mutants and assassinating several important people involved in mutant affairs. Mystique herself is a mutant, a shapeshifter whose natural appearance includes blue skin and yellow eyes.

Actress Rebecca Romijn portrayed Mystique in all three of the X-Men films. In the upcoming 2011 superhero film, X-Men: First Class, Jennifer Lawrence will play the role of a younger Mystique.

Powers and Abilities
Mystique is a mutant shapeshifter with the ability to psionically shift the formation of her biological cells at will to change her appearance and thereby assume the form of other humans. She can also alter her voice to duplicate exactly that of another person. Originally, it was clearly stated that Mystique's powers were limited to appearances only; she could not assume the powers of the people she morphed into or alter her body to adapt to different situations. In addition, she cannot change her overall body mass when taking on the appearance of a person larger or smaller than she is.

Her body is not limited to purely organic appearances. She has the ability to create the appearance of clothes out of her own body. Mystique is shown in at least one instance transforming a metallic part of her costume into a functioning blaster pistol. Whether this is a function of her powers or of the costume piece itself is unclear. She can transform part of her body into a separated, clear and hard substance that appears to be glass, as she does when she appears to be wearing glasses.

As a shape-shifter, Mystique is able to constantly alter and rejuvenate her body's cells and thereby retain her youthful appearance despite being older than she looks. She can even compress nearly two-dimensional like a sheet of paper to glide on air currents, similar to Mister Fantastic, which she uses to survive an explosion. She has moved her vital organs out of place in order to survive a gunshot to her torso. She is also now able to hold a shape when knocked unconscious.

Damage to her biological tissue is known to heal at a relatively fast rate and she can form a resistance to poisons upon contracting them. Recently she has stated that her body mass is not fixed and can change when she does. While she retains her advanced powers, she now appears in her old form without scales. Her powers grant her immunity to diseases, enhanced agility, and agelessness.

In the films, Mystique has the ability to duplicate retinal patterns (as shown in the first film) and hand prints (as shown in the second). In the third film, she was shown to seemingly alter her mass by taking the form of a child. In addition to her mutant powers, Mystique is extremely nimble and flexible, able to slip out of restraints with ease and use her feet as dexterously as her hands. Her transformation is shown as skin pigments overlapping a part of the body as a scaly domino-like effect takes over the body.

Mystique is a cunning strategist in terrorist and commando operations, and adept at martial arts and information technology. She has a talent for finding, stealing, and understanding cutting edge weaponry. She is a talented actress. She has some natural resistance to telepathic intrusion and wears devices to prevent her mind from being read by telepathy. Furthermore, with over a century's experience in posing as other people she has picked up the uncanny skill of being able to identify people posing as others based on body language and changes in behavioral cues.

X-Men First Class character study: Beast

2011-05-17T12:00:00.001+08:00

Henry "Hank" McCoy aka Beast is a former scientist and political activist who transformed into a frightening looking mutant with blue skin and sharp teeth in an attempt to cure himself, but is kind at heart. Despite his inhuman appearance, he is a brilliant man of the arts and sciences; he is a world authority on biochemistry and genetics, the X-Men's medical doctor, and the science and mathematics instructor at the Xavier Institute (the X-Men's headquarters and school for young mutants). He is also a mutant political activist. Fighting his bestial instincts and fears of social rejection, the Beast dedicates his physical and mental gifts to the creation of a better world for man and mutant. He also has a witty sense of humor.

In X-Men: The Last Stand, he was played by Kelsey Grammer, and in X2, Steve Bacic portrayed him in a very brief cameo in a newscast scene as a human. Nicholas Hoult will portray a younger version of Beast in the 2011 film, X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
It is possible that Beast's mutation is a result of genetic atavism. However, he also possesses neotenous characteristics, which may explain him having a super genius intellect despite his animal physique. He possesses also superhuman strength, speed and agility. He is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, employing a unique style of acrobatic combat, from combat training he received at Professor Xavier's and coaching from Captain America.

Anthropoid/Simian physique (seen in X-Men 3)
Originally, Hank McCoy retains the basic features of a normal human alongside a generally simian physiology (e.g., elongated limbs and enlarged extremities) equivalent to that of a Great Ape. This mutation gives him superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, agility, flexibility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance. He is equally dexterous in all four limbs; able to perform tasks with his feet or hands with equal ease. Because of his talents and training, Beast can outperform any Olympic-level athlete, contorting his body and performing aerial feats gracefully. Later, Hank mutated further (from drinking an experimental solution), first through the growth of grey - then blue - fur covering his entire body. He gained claw-like nails and fang-like teeth, and his overall appearance became more bestial. With this physique, Beast used his claws to climb vertical surfaces (though, he has been depicted performing this feat prior to his furry transformation). Beast gained the ability to emit mood altering pheromones, causing sexual attraction in women, and he became strong enough to withstand falls that would crush the bones of a normal human. Beast developed extremely powerful limbs, allowing him to make astounding leaps and to run at great speeds for a short duration. Prior to restoring this form, Hank McCoy had returned to his humanoid/simian form but as a result he began losing his intellect but also increasing his physical strength as a result of this process.

Feline physique (seen in X-Men: First Class)
After being critically wounded, Hank's body undergoes a secondary mutation, jump started by Sage. The result is a more feline appearance equivalent to that of a big cat. His strength, speed, stamina, sturdiness, and senses increase further with this change. He gains cat-like agility, flexibility, coordination, and balance, and all his senses are enhanced to twenty times that of a normal human being. In addition, Beast develops an accelerated healing factor that allows him to repair mild to moderate injuries within the span of a few hours. Following the X-Men's relocation to San Francisco, Beast discovers that he had regained some of his old manual dexterity. In the first issue of Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run, Beast also comments he no longer needs full sleep.

Genius intellect
Hank possesses a brilliant intellect. He is a world-renowned biochemist, having earned a Ph.D. in biophysics and genetics. He frequently functions as both field medic and in-house physician for the X-Men, despite not technically having an MD. His intelligence and expertise in genetics rival that of Professor X, Moira McTaggert, and Kavita Rao. Despite this, he has never received a Nobel Prize or been elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences. A Renaissance man, McCoy is well-versed in many fields including languages (fluent in English, German, French, Latin, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian), literature, philosophy, psychology, and sociology, history, art and art history, anthropology, linguistics, and music, as well as in political science and economics with a special affinity for science and technology and a penchant for quoting literary classics. His vast scientific knowledge ranges from theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, differential equations, nanotechnology, anatomy, biomedicine, analytical chemistry, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering to the construction of a hyper-magnetic device. An electronics expert, he often repairs Cerebro and makes upgrades to the Danger Room settings.

X-Men First Class character study: Emma Frost

2011-05-13T12:00:00.001+08:00

Emma Frost aka the White Queen is a mutant telepath who can also change her body into diamond form; also a member of the Hellfire Club. Actress January Jones will portray the character in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class.

Powers and abilities

Telepathy
Since her introduction, Emma Frost's primary mutant power has been telepathy. She is capable of extraordinary psionic feats, including the telepathic standards of: broadcasting and receiving thoughts, mind-control, altering perceptions and memories, psychic shielding, astral projection, mind switching, brain engram modification, mental sedation, and induction of mental pain via touch. She is also able to boost or activate a mutant's powers through access of their brain's neurological pathways, and can communicate across global distances unaided. The exact level of her telepathic power has varied depending on writers and has ranged from weaker than other prominent telepaths to rivaling the abilities of Charles Xavier himself. She has also been referred to as a "psi of the highest order," been ranked among the five most skilled telepaths on the planet, and has demonstrated the ability to overcome more powerful telepaths, such as Nate Grey, or Rachel Summers, through greater experience and skill. Later, under the writing of Matt Fraction, Emma was classified as an "omega-level" telepath, the highest ranking for mutants, defined as having "unlimited potential".

Diamond form
At the moment of the destruction of Genosha, Frost manifested a secondary mutation giving her the ability to transform her body into organic diamond. In this form, Frost is translucent and retains mobility while being nigh invulnerable and able to support incredible amounts of weight, though different writers have shown varying accounts of her strength.

Emma's diamond body is virtually tireless as she does not produce fatigue poisons and has no need for water nor food. She is also numbed from emotion, pain and empathy, impervious to cold, and resistant to heat in this form. Despite this high level of invulnerability, her diamond form has a single molecular flaw, which if exploited – such as being shot with a diamond bullet – can cause her body to shatter. Though the exact location of the flaw in her diamond body has not been stated outright, clues point to it being located in between her eyes.

Frost's full range of abilities between her diamond state and regular form have been inconsistent; however, later occurrences depict that Frost cannot access her psychic powers in diamond form, explained by different writers as either a distinct genetic flaw or suppression by her diamond form's adamantine luster. Depictions have also stated that Emma has a degree of telepathic immunity while in diamond form, though the extent of this immunity has been portrayed inconsistently as well, ranging from total shielding from psychic invasion to vulnerability to psychic attack. Her diamond form is also stated to emit low-level ultraviolet light, causing it to glow in darkness.

Innate traits and expertise
Frost has a gifted intellect with college degrees in multiple fields, including a Bachelors of Science in Education with a minor in Business Administration from the prominent Marvel Universe's Empire State University. A superb businesswoman, Emma Frost for many years was founder and CEO of Frost Enterprises, a major multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City that rivaled Stark Enterprises and Worthington Industries and specialized in shipping, aerospace engineering and new technology R&D.

Frost is also a highly capable planner, an electronics expert, and can invent machines that grant various psionic abilities, such as "Multivac", a mutant locater capable of monitoring the psionic levels of mutants; the "Hallucinator" used to induce hypnotic hallucinations to brainwash others; the gun-like device that enabled her to exchange minds and powers with Storm; and the Mindtap mechanism which enhanced and enabled her Hellfire cohort Mastermind to project his illusions directly into the mind of the Phoenix.

X-Men First Class character study: Sebastian Shaw

2011-05-12T12:00:00.002+08:00

Sebastian Hiram Shaw is the leader of the Hellfire Club, a secret society bent on world domination. He possesses the ability to absorb kinetic energy and transform it into raw strength and speed. Shaw will be portrayed by Kevin Bacon in the upcoming 2011 superhero film, X-Men: First Class.

Powers and Abilities
Sebastian Shaw is a mutant with the unique ability to absorb kinetic energy and other forms of energy like electricity, although to a lesser degree, and use this energy to augment his strength, speed, stamina and recuperation capabilities to superhuman levels. He absorbs the energy of any blow he is struck by, including not only physical strikes, but also bullets, and less successfully, concussive energy beams; notably Cyclops' optic blasts. By absorbing enough blows from an opponent, Shaw can surpass the strength level of said opponent and then over power them. Whether it is possible for him to reach Hulk-level strength (or surpass it) is unknown, but he has, in the past, been known to over power Colossus who is close to 100 ton strength level. He is capable of absorbing the cutting, piercing and thrusting energy from a blade which makes it exceedingly difficult to cut or stab him with sharp edged weapons. While Shaw is highly resistant to injury, especially kinetic ones, even he can be damaged by powerful enough blows. Because of this, it would stand to reason that with enough physical punishment, even Shaw could possibly be killed during a fight, but, so far, no one has caused him any more damage from a physical fight than moderate bruising.

Without any absorbed kinetic energy Shaw is merely a strong ordinary human in excellent physical condition, but regularly works to keep his strength at a superhuman level. For example, in one instance, he was shown to spend time hitting a wall after waking in order to build up his power reserves before starting the day. It is not known how long these power levels can be maintained without absorbing more kinetic energy. If Shaw is captured and bound so he could not move at all, he would be helpless. (But even the slightest give could start to increase his strength, such as friction from rubbing against his bonds.)

Shaw also can forgo sleep if he receives enough kinetic energy. Often he will have his mercenaries pummel him so that he need not sleep for some time. As a way of aiding himself in combat, Shaw is adept at taunting, and will not let enemies realize his power until they have hit him one too many times. Members of the X-Men have learned the best way to defeat him is to remove him from the field of battle. The most dramatic example of which was when Rogue threw him hundreds of feet directly up into the air and away from the fight, essentially temporarily defeating him. It is not known if other human limits apply to Shaw, such as, among other things, whether he can be hurt or killed from drowning or from a lack of air.

Shaw is vulnerable to being incapacitated, or being attacked psionically. Shaw has also been overloaded by being struck by lightning and by falling a great distance when his gravity was increased.

Other key traits are his successful business acumen and his access to sophisticated weaponry. He not only prides himself on his power and the connections it allows him, but on knowing his opponents and how best to defeat them, whether in battle or in business. He also possesses technology that can block telepathic intrusions by Professor X.