RE: the longest animal? AND a new dino

[Adam Yates <zooamy@zoo.latrobe.edu.au>]

On Tue, 24 Mar 1998, Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. wrote:

> 
> Not to get pedantic (what, ME? Pedantic? :-), but Physalia is not a proper
> jellyfish (i.e., a member of the Scyphozoa).  It is a member of the
> Siphonophora, which form mass colonies.  Thus, the 50 m lengths are for
> colonies, rather than individuals.  True jellyfish are individual medusae.
> 
> Still, stay away from them, colony or not!

To get even more pedantic back at you, you might consider that the
siphonophore colonies are so integrated with each individual so highly
specialised for its appointed task that the whole thing is effectively an
individual. After all aren't all eucaryotes colonies of prokaryotes?
(historically speaking). Anyway its a bit of moot point because there is a
true scyphozoan (Cyanea or something like that) with tentacles in the 50m+
range (I think it outstrips Physalia).
Anyway to get back to dinosaurs. A new maniraptoriform theropod genus and
species is described in this week's Nature. Scipionyx samniticus is that
complete juvenile skeleton from Italy we have been hearing about for a few
years now. The summary on Nature's web page says that there is soft part
preservation but no trace of integumentary structures - curious.

Finally I'm first on the list with news of a new dinosaur!!!!
Adam Yates