The gray mouse lemur is a small lemur, a type of strepsirrhine primate,
found only on the island of Madagascar. Nearly indistinguishable from
each other by appearance, the gray mouse lemur and all other mouse
lemurs are considered cryptic species. For this reason, the gray mouse
lemur was considered the only mouse lemur species for decades until more
recent studies began to distinguish between the species. Like all mouse
lemurs, this species is nocturnal and arboreal. It is very active, and
although it forages alone, groups of males and females will form
sleeping groups and share tree holes during the day. It exhibits a form
of dormancy called torpor during the cool, dry winter months, and in
some cases undergoes seasonal torpor (or hibernation), which is unusual
for primates. Its diet consists primarily of fruit, insects, flowers,
and nectar. In the wild, its natural predators include owls, snakes, and
endemic mammalian predators. Predation pressure is higher for this
species than among any other primate species, with one out of four
individuals taken by a predator each year. This is counterbalanced by
its high reproductive rate. Although threatened by deforestation,
habitat degradation, and live capture for the pet trade, it is
considered one of Madagascar's most abundant small native mammals.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_mouse_lemur>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1521:
After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador
Hernán Cortés captured Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Aztec
capital of Tenochtitlan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Tenochtitlan>
1868:
A major earthquake near Arica, Peru, caused an estimated 25,000
casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far
away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Arica_earthquake>
1906:
The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry
Regiment were accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white
police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all
were later dishonorably discharged.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsville_Affair>
2004:
Hurricane Charley struck the U.S. state of Florida (damage
pictured), just 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie inflicted its own
damage to the state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Charley>
2010:
Canadian authorities boarded the MV Sun Sea and placed the 492
Sri Lankan Tamil refugees on board into detention, drawing criticism
from international civil rights groups.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sun_Sea_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
erratic:
(geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a
glacier.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/erratic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe in the supreme excellence of righteousness; I believe that the
law of righteousness will triumph in the universe over all evil; I
believe that in the attempt to fulfil the law of righteousness, however
imperfect it must remain, are to be found the inspiration, the
consolation, and the sanctification of human existence.
--Felix Adler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler>
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