Transandinomys is a genus of rodents in the tribe Oryzomyini of the family Cricetidae—a grouping of medium-sized, soft-furred rice rats. It includes two species—T. bolivaris and T. talamancae—found in forests from Honduras in Central America to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Venezuela in South America. The upperparts—brownish in T. bolivaris and reddish in T. talamancae—are much darker than the whitish underparts. Both species are characterized by very long vibrissae (whiskers), but those of T. bolivaris are particularly long. In addition, several other morphological differences distinguish the two, including wider first upper molars in T. bolivaris. Both species live on the ground, are active during the night, eat both plant and animal matter, and construct nests of vegetation. They are hosts to various external parasites. They are in no apparent danger of extinction and have been assessed as least-concern species on the IUCN Red List.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transandinomys

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1875:

The Ellen Southard was wrecked in a storm at Liverpool, England; the U.S. Congress subsequently awarded 27 Gold Lifesaving Medals to the men who rescued her crew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Southard

1916:

Lij Iyasu, the emperor-designate of Ethiopia, was deposed in favor of his aunt Zewditu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lij_Iyasu_of_Ethiopia

1941:

SS Patrick Henry, the first of 2,710 Liberty ships built during World War II by the United States, was launched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_ship

1983:

Software developer Richard Stallman announced plans for the Unix-like GNU operating system, the first free software developed by the GNU Project. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

saturnine: 1. (comparable) Of a person: having a tendency to be cold, bitter, gloomy, sarcastic, and slow to change and react. 2. (comparable) Of a setting: depressing, dull, gloomy. 3. (comparable, chemistry, archaic) Of, pertaining to, or containing lead (which was symbolically associated with the planet Saturn by alchemists). 4. (not comparable, pathology) Of a disease: caused by lead poisoning (saturnism); of a person: affected by lead poisoning. 5. (not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Saturn; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saturnine

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Only great souls know the grandeur there is in charity.   --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacques-B%C3%A9nigne_Bossuet