Lundomys molitor, commonly known as the greater marsh rat, is a semiaquatic rat species from southeastern South America. Its distribution is now restricted to Uruguay and nearby Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but it previously ranged northward into Minas Gerais, Brazil, and southward into eastern Argentina. It was first described in 1887 by Danish zoologist Herluf Winge, who reviewed materials collected by Peter Wilhelm Lund in the caves of Lagoa Santa in Minas Gerais. The Argentine form may have been distinct from the form that now lives in Brazil and Uruguay. It is a large rodent, with a head-and-body length averaging 193 mm (7.6 in). Its tail is longer than the head and body combined. Its coat, yellow-brown at the sides, is long, dense, and soft. It is an excellent swimmer, propelled by large hindfeet with conspicuous interdigital webbing. It builds nests above the water supported by reeds. It is not currently threatened, reflecting a relatively wide distribution and the absence of evidence for a decline in populations.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundomys
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
917:
Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Achelous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Achelous_(917)
1707:
The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Pensacola_(1707)
1882:
The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was first performed in Moscow, conducted by Ippolit Al'tani. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture
1988:
Fires in the United States' Yellowstone National Park destroyed more than 150,000 acres (610 km2), the single-worst day of the conflagration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988
2008:
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take off from Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 154 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
underbelly: 1. The underside of an animal. 2. The underside of any thing. 3. (figuratively) The side which is not normally seen, normally a dark, immoral place. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/underbelly
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread. --H. P. Lovecraft https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft
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