Mesopropithecus was a lemur from Madagascar, slightly larger than any of
those alive today, but one of the smallest that are known only from
subfossil remains. This genus of the sloth lemur family
Palaeopropithecidae includes the species M. dolichobrachion, M.
globiceps, and M. pithecoides. All three species were primarily leaf-
eaters, but also ate fruit and seeds. M. globiceps ate more seeds than
M. pithecoides, and an analysis of the teeth of M. dolichobrachion
suggests that it ate even more seeds; it also had distinctly longer
arms. A recently discovered postcranial skeleton shows that
Mesopropithecus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs—a trait shared by
all sloth lemurs. Remains of M. dolichobrachion have been found only in
the north of the island, M. pithecoides in the south and west, and
M. globiceps in the center. The genus died out after the arrival of
humans on the island, probably through hunting, habitat destruction, or
both.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopropithecus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1805:
War of the Third Coalition: French, Austrian and Russian units
all suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dürenstein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_D%C3%BCrenstein>
1918:
The armistice between the German Empire and the Allies was
signed in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne of France
(signatories pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_of_11_November_1918>
1934:
The Shrine of Remembrance, a memorial to all Australians who
have served in war, opened in Melbourne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_Remembrance>
1965:
Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith, unilaterally
declared independence from the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia%27s_Unilateral_Declaration_of_Independence>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
elevenses:
(Britain, informal) A short mid-morning break taken around eleven
o'clock for a drink or light snack.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elevenses>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First
World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of
Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was
during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon
millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked
to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told
me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God.
So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke
clearly to mankind.
--Kurt Vonnegut
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>
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