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Skeletal diagram of Mimodactylus

Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared by researchers, and it was donated to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis; referring to the MIM Museum, with the Greek word daktylos for 'digit', and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent (which consisted of the then joined Arabian Peninsula and Africa), and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon. The marine deposits of Hjoula are late Cenomanian in age and are well-known for fish fossils. The holotype specimen is comparatively small, with a wingspan of 1.32 metres (4.3 ft), and was probably young. (Full article...)

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Jack Russell Terrier

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In the news (For today)

Thierry Neuville

Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.
Israel and Lebanon agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the current hostilities.
In motorsport, Thierry Neuville (pictured) and Martijn Wydaeghe win the World Rally Championship.
In Formula One, Max Verstappen wins the World Championship.

In two days

December 5: Krampusnacht in parts of Central Europe

Battle of Leuthen

1456 – The first of two major earthquakes strike the Kingdom of Naples, killing up to 70,000 people.
1807 – Napoleonic Wars: British ships began a raid on Griessie after the Dutch captain refused a British demand for surrender.
1918 – National Guards and Sokol volunteers protested in Zagreb, leading to an armed clash with regiments of the Home Guard and former Common Army.
1933 – The prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States at the federal level ended when the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment.
1958 – Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass, opened to the public.

Sigismund Rákóczi (d. 1608)
Yūjirō Motora (b. 1858)
Priscilla Jana (b. 1943)
Neil Druckmann (b. 1978)

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The cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera) is a species of dabbling duck found in western North and South America. It is a migratory species, travelling to northern South America and the Caribbean during the Northern Hemisphere's winter. The cinnamon teal lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants. It has a typical length of 16 in (41 cm), with a wing span of 22 inch (56 cm) and a mass of 14 oz (400 g). The male has bright reddish plumage with a duller brown coloration on the female. The bird feeds predominantly by dabbling, with its main diet being plants and sometimes molluscs and aquatic insects. This cinnamon teal was photographed at the Parrot World animal park in Crécy-la-Chapelle, France.

Photograph credit: Clément Bardot

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