Gigantorhynchus is a genus of thorny-headed worms that parasitize
marsupials, anteaters, and possibly baboons by attaching themselves to
the intestines using their hook-covered proboscis. The life cycle
includes a larval stage in an intermediate host such as termites. In
addition to the proboscis, the body is characterized by
pseudosegmentation, filiform lemnisci, and ellipsoid testes. The largest
known specimen is a female G. ortizi (example pictured) with a length
of around 240 millimetres (9.4 in) and a width of 2 millimetres
(0.079 in). Genetic analysis on one species of Gigantorhynchus places
it with the related Mediorhynchus genus in the Giganthorhynchidae
family. There are six species in this genus distributed across Central
and South America and possibly Zimbabwe. Infestation by a
Gigantorhynchus species can cause potentially fatal partial obstructions
of the intestines or severe lesions of the intestinal wall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantorhynchus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1565:
The Deccan sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire at the
Battle of Talikota in present-day Karnataka, ending the last great Hindu
kingdom in southern India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talikota>
1915:
Rebels led by John Chilembwe attacked local plantation owners,
beginning an uprising regarded as a key moment in the history of Malawi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilembwe_uprising>
2001:
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Tiananmen
Square, Beijing, an act that many later claimed to have been staged by
the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their
persecution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gigot:
1. A leg of lamb or mutton.
2. (fashion) Short for gigot sleeve (“a type of sleeve shaped like a leg
of mutton”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gigot>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The way I see it, it's a great thing to be the man who hit the
most home runs, but it's a greater thing to be the man who did the most
with the home runs he hit. So as long as there's a chance that maybe I
can hammer out a little justice now and then, or a little opportunity
here and there, I intend to do as I always have — keep swinging.
--Hank Aaron
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron>