This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Jurassic Water Mammal

Fans of the Jurassic Park movies know the names of the Jurassic period's fierce and majestic creatures by heart: T. rex, velociraptor, apatosaurus, beaver.

All right, that last one didn't make the movies, but it wouldn't have been so farfetched. Scientists in China have discovered the fossil of a Jurassic mammal with the flat tail and water-resistant fur of a modern beaver. The 164-million-year-old crea-ture is the oldest known swimming mammal. Scien-tists had believed that all mammals of the Jurassic era were mouselike.

The mammal is not related to modern beavers, which appeared 55 million to 25 mil-lion years ago. "It probably lived along river or lake banks," said paleontologist Zhe-Xi Luo. "It doggy-paddled around, ate aquatic animals and insects, and burrowed tunnels for its nest."

Next: The Baseball Hall's First Lady