Miniopterus griveaudi is a bat found in northern and western Madagascar
and on nearby islands, including Grande Comore and Anjouan. With a
forearm length of 35 to 38 mm (1.4 to 1.5 in), M. griveaudi is a
small Miniopterus. It is usually dark brown, but sometimes reddish, with
a virtually hairless tail membrane. The species occurs up to 480 m
(1570 ft) above sea level on Madagascar, often in karstic areas. In the
Comoros, it reaches 890 m (2920 ft) and roosts in lava tubes as well
as shallower caves. Data on reproduction is limited and suggests
individual and inter-island variation. Species of Miniopterus generally
feed on insects. Although it was first described in 1959 as a subspecies
of the mainland African M. minor and later placed with the Malagasy
M. manavi, it was given its own species name after morphological and
molecular studies from 2008 and 2009 indicated that M. manavi actually
represented five unrelated species.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniopterus_griveaudi>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1305:
Raymond Bertrand de Got became Pope Clement V, succeeding Pope
Benedict XI who died one year earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_V>
1832:
The June Rebellion, an anti-monarchist uprising of students,
broke out in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Rebellion>
1883:
The Orient Express, a train line that became synonymous with
intrigue and luxury travel, began operations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient_Express>
1963:
The British Secretary of State for War John Profumo admitted he
lied to the House of Commons during enquiries about his involvement in a
sex scandal and resigned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profumo_affair>
1989:
An anonymous demonstrator, later dubbed "Tank Man", single-
handedly stopped a column of Chinese tanks during the Tiananmen Square
protests before being dragged aside.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
vulgarian:
A vulgar individual, especially one who emphasizes or is oblivious to
their vulgar qualities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgarian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Pure democracy or sheer equalitarianism in religious matters is
not to be expected of our human nature. Some distinction between leaders
or founders and followers or disciples seems to be our destiny. But
there is a question of degree, or of qualification. To what extent, or
under what conditions, are some individuals, or perhaps is some unique
individual, worthy of trust in religious matters? It is in the answer to
this question that mistakes can be made.
--Charles Hartshorne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Hartshorne>