Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was a sirenian that lived until
1768 around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea, named for the
naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. He discovered the species in 1741 on
Vitus Bering's Great Northern Expedition, when the crew was shipwrecked
on Bering Island, and described it in The Beasts of the Sea, published
after his death. The sea cow reached weights of 8–10 metric tons
(8.8–11.0 short tons) and lengths of up to 9 metres (30 ft). Its
closest living relative, the 3-metre-long (9.8 ft) dugong, is the sole
surviving member of its family, Dugongidae. It had a thicker layer of
blubber than other sirenians, and its tail was forked like those of
whales and other cetaceans. Instead of teeth, the sea cow had an array
of white bristles on its upper lip and two keratinous mouth plates for
chewing. It fed mainly on kelp, and communicated via sighs and snorting
sounds. There is evidence that it was a monogamous and social animal,
living in small family groups and raising its young. Twenty-seven years
after its discovery, the slow-moving species had been hunted to
extinction for its meat, fat, and hide.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_sea_cow>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
French Revolution: Due to an overwhelming fear that foreign
armies would attack Paris and prisoners would revolt, thousands of
people were summarily executed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Massacres>
1864:
American Civil War: Union forces entered Atlanta, Georgia, a
day after the Confederate defenders fled the city, bringing the Atlanta
Campaign to a close.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Campaign>
1946:
The interim government of India, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru,
was formed to assist the transition of India from British rule to
independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interim_Government_of_India>
1957:
President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam became the first
foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem_presidential_visit_to_Australia>
1992:
An estimated magnitude 7.2 earthquake off the coast of
Nicaragua was the first tsunami earthquake to be captured on modern
broadband seismic networks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Nicaragua_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wigwag:
1. To move gently in one direction and then another; to wig or wiggle, to
wag or waggle.
2. To oscillate between two states.
3. (US, military, historical) To send a signal by waving a flag to and fro.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wigwag>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Social reform is not to be secured by noise and shouting; by
complaints and denunciation; by the formation of parties, or the making
of revolutions; but by the awakening of thought and the progress of
ideas. Until there be correct thought, there cannot be right action; and
when there is correct thought, right action will follow. Power is always
in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their
own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
--Henry George
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_George>