The Noronha skink is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. Perhaps seen by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503, it was first formally described in 1839. Its subsequent taxonomic history has been complex, riddled with confusion with Trachylepis maculata and other species, homonyms, and other problems. The species is classified in the otherwise mostly African genus Trachylepis and is thought to have reached its island from Africa by rafting. The enigmatic Trachylepis tschudii, supposedly from Peru, may be the same species as the Noronha skink. The Noronha skink is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) in length. The tail is long and muscular, but breaks off easily. Very common throughout Fernando de Noronha, it is an opportunistic feeder, eating both insects and plant material, including nectar from the Erythrina velutina tree, as well as other material ranging from cookie crumbs to eggs of its own species. Introduced predators such as cats prey on it and several parasitic worms infect it.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

64:

The Great Fire of Rome started among the shops around the Circus Maximus, eventually destroying three of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaging seven others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome

1863:

American Civil War: Led by Union Army Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first formal African American military unit, spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Volunteer_Infantry

1982:

Guatemalan military forces and their paramilitary allies slaughtered over 250 Mayans in the village of Plan de Sánchez, Baja Verapaz. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_de_S%C3%A1nchez_massacre

1996:

Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 exploded at about 00:31 UTC (20:31, July 17 EDT) off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800

2005:

In a joint statement, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then U.S. President George W. Bush announced the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement, a bilateral accord on civil nuclear cooperation between their two respective countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-U.S._civilian_nuclear_agreement

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

insipid (adj): 1. Unappetizingly flavorless. 2. Flat; lacking character or definition. 3. Cloyingly sweet or sentimental http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insipid

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all. --William Makepeace Thackeray http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Makepeace_Thackeray