The ruffed lemur is a Strepsirhine primate and the largest extant lemur
within the family Lemuridae. Like all lemurs, they are found only on
the island of Madagascar. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus,
two species are now recognized: the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, with
its three subspecies, and the Red Ruffed Lemur. Ruffed lemurs are
diurnal and arboreal quadrupeds, often observed leaping through the
upper canopy of the seasonal tropical rainforests in eastern
Madagascar. They are also the most frugivorous of the Malagasy lemurs,
and they are very sensitive to habitat disturbance. Ruffed lemurs live
in multi-male/multi-female groups and have a complex and flexible
social structure, described as fission-fusion. They are highly vocal,
and have loud, raucous calls. Ruffed lemurs are seasonal breeders and
highly unusual in their reproductive strategy. They are considered an
"evolutionary enigma" in that they are the largest of the extant
species in Lemuridae, yet exhibit reproductive traits more common in
small, nocturnal lemurs, such as short gestation periods and large
average litter sizes. Ruffed lemurs also build nests for their newborns
(the only primates that do so), carry them by mouth, and exhibit an
absentee parental system by stashing them while they forage. Threatened
by habitat loss and hunting, ruffed lemurs are facing extinction in the
wild.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffed_lemur>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1660:
The Long Parliament, originally called by King Charles I of England in
1640 following the Bishops' Wars, dissolved itself.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Parliament>
1872:
In the first-ever final of the FA Cup , today the oldest association
football competition in the world, Wanderers F.C. defeated Royal
Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1872_FA_Cup_Final>
1900:
British archaeologist Arthur Evans purchased the ruins of Knossos, a
major centre of the Minoan civilization and the largest Bronze Age
archaeological site on Crete, for excavations.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knossos>
1926:
At the then-Asa Ward Farm in Auburn, Massachusetts, American scientist
Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, a
10-foot (3 m) cylinder that reached an altitude of about 41 feet (12 m)
and flew for two-and-a-half seconds before falling to the ground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Goddard>
1988:
Iran–Iraq War: Iraqi forces began attacking the Kurdish town of Halabja
with chemical weapons, killing up to 5,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_poison_gas_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
cynosure (n):
1. That which serves to guide or direct.
2. Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as
a focal point of attraction and admiration
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cynosure>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must
always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it
overflows upon the outward world.
--Nathaniel Hawthorne
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne>