Horseshoe bats are a family of more than 100 bat species. They are found throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. While many are brown, some species have black, reddish, or orange fur. They are small, weighing less than 30 g (1.1 oz), and are named after the horseshoe-shaped flap of skin on their noses, which helps them echolocate. They use echolocation to navigate and to forage for their prey of insects and spiders, maneuvering more slowly in flight than most bats. In colder regions, they hibernate during the winter months. Mating may occur in the spring or fall depending on the species, with gestation lasting about seven weeks before a single offspring is born. Typical lifespans are around six or seven years, though they can be as long as thirty years for some individuals. Dozens of SARS-related coronaviruses have been documented in horseshoe bats, which are hunted for food in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1904:

The Marconi International Marine Communication Company specified CQD as the distress signal to be used by its operators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQD

1939:

The French physicist Marguerite Perey identified francium, the last element first discovered in nature, rather than by synthesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francium

1978:

An article entitled "Iran and Red and Black Colonization" was published in the newspaper Ettela'at attacking Ruhollah Khomeini, then in exile in Iraq. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_Red_and_Black_Colonization

1993:

The Fourth Republic of Ghana was inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings, the country's former military ruler, as president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rawlings

_____________________________ 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:

We're debating a step that has never been taken in American history. Whether Congress should overrule the voters and overturn a Presidential election. … President Trump claims the election was stolen. The assertions range from specific local allegations to Constitutional arguments to sweeping conspiracy theories. I supported the President's right to use the legal system, dozens of lawsuits received hearings in courtrooms all across our country, but over and over, the courts rejected these claims, including all-star judges whom the President himself has nominated. … The voters, the courts, and the states have all spoken. They've all spoken. If we overrule them, it would damage our republic forever. … If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. Self-government, my colleagues, requires a shared commitment to the truth and a shared respect for the ground rules of our system. We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes with a separate set of facts and separate realities, with nothing in common except our hostility towards each other and mistrust for the few national institutions that we all still share. Congress will either override the voters, overrule them, the voters, the states, and the courts for the first time ever, or honor the people's decision. I will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing. I will vote to respect the people’s decision and defend our system of government as we know it.   --Mitch McConnell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell