Pseudoryzomys is a rodent from south-central South America in the family Cricetidae. Found in lowland palm savanna and thorn scrub habitats, it is a medium-sized rat, weighing about 50 grams (1.8 oz). It has gray- brown fur, long and narrow hindfeet with small membranes between the toes, and a tail that is about as long as the head and body. Its conservation status has been assessed as least concern, although almost nothing is known of its diet or reproduction. Its closest living relatives are the large semiaquatic rats Holochilus and Lundomys. These three genera form an assemblage within the oryzomyine tribe, a diverse group including over one hundred species, mainly in South America. This tribe is part of the subfamily Sigmodontinae and family Cricetidae, which include many more species, mainly from Eurasia and the Americas. The species Pseudoryzomys simplex was first described in 1888 on the basis of subfossil cave specimens from Brazil (as Hesperomys simplex).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoryzomys
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: A Union victory in the Battle of Fort Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson
1923:
Howard Carter, the English Egyptologist and archaeologist, unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun (mask pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun
1983:
The Ash Wednesday bushfires burned over half a million acres (over 2,000 km2) each in both South Australia and Victoria, killing 75 people and injuring 2,676 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_bushfires
1996:
Two trains collided in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S., killing 11 people and leading to the creation of comprehensive federal rules for passenger car design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Maryland_train_collision
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
deglutition: (physiology) The act or process of swallowing. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deglutition
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Boys never see a conclusion; only on the edge of the grave can man conclude anything; but the first impulse given to the boy is apt to lead or drive him for the rest of his life into conclusion after conclusion that he never dreamed of reaching. --Henry Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams