Zuul crurivastator. It means Zuul, destroyer of shins.
Yes, it was named after the demon in Ghostbusters. It’s also an ankylosaur with a tail club, which is where the species name comes from.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Bad dog!
You’re right. Best. Name. EVER!
ok, who brought the dog?!
Is it me ,or does it seem to be smiling ?.
The Romans used leg-breaking (the infamous crurifragium) as a method of judicial punishment for severe impiety. It was also administered to crucifixion victims to help them die more quickly if a swifter execution than usual was required.
They probably didn’t use these adorable little monsters for it though…
Heh. What a cutie…
#5: Maybe they survived the Great Flood and were around in Roman times.
There is no crurivastator, only Zuul…
The mildly deranged penguin doesn’t think she recalls these beasties, and so far hasn’t been able to find them in either Encheeseopedia or The Penguin’s Companion to Other Dinosaurs. She’s now looking for her copy of Lovable Aliens Who Will Feast On You.
Some moron brought a cougar to a party and it went berserk.
PZ, #7
If they did then Christians the world over should probably be wearing little images of them on pendants. It is entirely likely that Jesus’s crucifixion would have involved crucifragium – conducted, as it was, on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, during which the exposure of the dead was considered unclean. Though some apocryphal gospels from the early Middle Ages give the story that Jesus was already dead before they got to the leg breaking, and only his two thief companions were subjected to it.
Apocryphal?
From John 19:
“Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. “
keithb, #12
I was actually thinking of the Gospel of Nicodemus. I didn’t realise it was in John too!
Destroyer of shins? He does have a tail like a trailer hitch.
Its a gorgeous specimen.
@BLF:
She should try Tobin’s Spirit Guide.
When I was a kid, I had little plastic dinosaurs that included an ankylosaurss. My grand father saw me playing with them and reminded him of something he supposedly saw while in North Africa during the second world war. He told me he was crawling out of his tent because he couldn’t sleep and saw a crature that was very similar to the toy walk by their encampment. He said it was quite large, but he specifically remembered it’s large club like tail and spiky armor.
As a child I believed him, and thinking back on it, I think he also believed he saw something similar. It was the only time I can remember him ever mentioning anything to do with the war.