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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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