Hammond's rice rat (Mindomys hammondi), also known as Hammond's oryzomys, is a species of rodent in the tribe Oryzomyini of family Cricetidae. Formerly considered to be related with Nectomys, Sigmodontomys, Megalomys, or Oryzomys, it is now placed in its own genus, Mindomys, but its relationships remain obscure; some evidence supports a placement near Oecomys or as a basal member of Oryzomyini. Mindomys hammondi is known only from Ecuador, where it occurs in montane forest; a record from the Amazon basin lowlands is dubious. Reportedly, it lives on the ground and is associated with water; others suggest it lives in trees. A large, long-tailed, and long-whiskered rat, its fur is buff above and abruptly lighter below. The front part of the skull (rostrum) is heavily built. The species is named after the collector who first found it, Gilbert Hammond. He supplied natural history specimens to Oldfield Thomas and others.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond%27s_rice_rat

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1782:

The Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia as the first de facto central bank of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_America

1931:

Australian aviator Guy Menzies flew from Sydney to New Zealand's West Coast, making the first solo trans-Tasman flight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Menzies

1989:

Representatives of Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini delivered a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev, inviting him to consider Islam as an alternative to communism, and predicting the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khomeini%27s_letter_to_Mikhail_Gorbachev

2012:

A hot-air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a power line while landing, causing it to crash and killing all eleven people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Carterton_hot_air_balloon_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

to say nothing of: (idiomatic) An apophasis used to mention another important, usually related, point: not taking into account, not to mention, without considering. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_say_nothing_of

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

My fellow Americans, in life, there’s truth and, tragically, there are lies — lies conceived and spread for profit and power. We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie. And here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He can’t accept he lost, even though that’s what 93 United States senators, his own Attorney General, his own Vice President, governors and state officials in every battleground state have all said: He lost. That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward. He has done what no president in American history — the history of this country — has ever, ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people.   --Joe Biden https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden