Slow lorises are a group of several species of strepsirrhine primates. Found in South and Southeast Asia, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Philippines in the east, and from the Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south. Although many previous classifications recognized one all- inclusive species, there are now at least eight that are considered valid (including the Sunda slow loris, pictured). Slow lorises have a round head, narrow snout, large eyes, and a variety of distinctive coloration patterns. Their arms and legs are nearly equal in length, and their long trunk allows them to twist and extend to nearby branches. The hands and feet of slow lorises have a pincer-like grip, enabling them to grasp branches for long periods. Slow lorises have a toxic bite, a trait rare among mammals. They are omnivores, eating small animals, fruit, tree gum, and other vegetation. Many of the slow loris species are listed as either "Vulnerable" or "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List. Their habitat is rapidly disappearing, but the greatest causes of their decline are the exotic pet trade and traditional medicine.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_loris
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1684:
Edmond Halley presented the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, containing Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, to the Royal Society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_motu_corporum_in_gyrum
1861:
Forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, sank the French lorcha L'Esperance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Trung_Tr%E1%BB%B1c
1896:
Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi made its only performance in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre, infamously causing a riotous response in the audience. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubu_Roi
1936:
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, still desiring to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson against widespread opposition, abdicated the throne, the only British monarch to have voluntarily done so since the Anglo-Saxon period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_abdication_crisis
1989:
At the first open pro-democracy demonstration in Mongolia, journalist Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announced the formation of the Mongolian Democratic Union, which would be instrumental in ending Communist rule four months later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsakhiagiin_Elbegdorj
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
canary in a coal mine: (idiomatic) Something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canary_in_a_coal_mine
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
A genuine work of art must mean many things; the truer its art, the more things it will mean. If my drawing, on the other hand, is so far from being a work of art that it needs THIS IS A HORSE written under it, what can it matter that neither you nor your child should know what it means? It is there not so much to convey a meaning as to wake a meaning. If it do not even wake an interest, throw it aside. A meaning may be there, but it is not for you. If, again, you do not know a horse when you see it, the name written under it will not serve you much. --George MacDonald https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_MacDonald