Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 23

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Today's featured article
Lavanify is a mammalian genus from the late Cretaceous (probably Maastrichtian, about 71 to 66 million years ago) of Madagascar. The only species, L. miolaka, is known from two isolated teeth, one of which is damaged. The teeth were collected in 1995–1996 and described in 1997. The animal is classified as a member of the Gondwanatheria, an enigmatic group with unclear phylogenetic relationships, and within Gondwanatheria as a member of the family Sudamericidae. Lavanify is most closely related to the Indian Bharattherium; the South American Sudamerica and Gondwanatherium are more distantly related. Gondwanatheres probably ate hard plant material. Lavanify had high-crowned, curved teeth. One of the two teeth is 11.2 mm high and shows a deep furrow and, in the middle of the crown, a V-shaped area that consists of dentine. The other, damaged, tooth is 9.8 mm high and has at least one deep cavity (infundibulum). Characters shared by the teeth of Lavanify and Bharattherium include the presence of an infundibulum and a furrow; they both also have large, continuous bands of matrix (unbundled hydroxyapatite crystals) between the prisms (bundles of hydroxyapatite crystals) of the enamel, and perikymata—wave-like ridges and grooves in the enamel surface. (more...) Recently featured: Issy Smith – "A Rugrats Chanukah" – McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the banded wedge shell (shell pictured) is consumed by gulls that later regurgitate the shell fragments in "gobbets" on the beach? ... that the Mayan archaeological site Baking Pot covered a 9-square-kilometre (3.5 sq mi) area? ... that 2011 Ohio Mr. Basketball Trey Burke has won both an Ohio High School Athletic Association State championship and an Amateur Athletic Union national championship? ... that over 110 species of vascular plants have been discovered on the small Eastern Isles, of the Isles of Scilly, UK? ... that Compugen's first computer system, the "Bioccelerator," could analyze DNA sequences at speeds up to 1,000 times faster than other computers of its time? ... that Helmut Damerius spent 18 years of his life in a gulag and banishment to Kazakhstan, and was finally released on condition that he never talk or write about it? ... that Italian Renaissance artist Girolamo Mocetto was long thought to have been born a generation before he actually was? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
A series of coordinated bombings in Baghdad kills at least 63 people. Soyuz TMA-03M, launched from Baikonur, carries a crew of three men (pictured) to the International Space Station. Russia's largest stock exchanges, MICEX and RTS, merge to form MICEX-RTS. North Korea announces the death of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il. Czech writer and first President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel dies at the age of 75. The FIFA Club World Cup concludes with FC Barcelona defeating Santos FC in the final. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 23: The Emperor's Birthday in Japan; Festivus 1793 – French Revolution: The Royalist counterrevolutionary army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Savenay, although fighting continued in the War in the Vendée for years afterward. 1916 – First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory in the Battle of Magdhaba, located in the Sinai Peninsula. 1938 – A South African fisher discovered the first living specimen of a coelacanth (pictured), long believed to be extinct. 1986 – Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, landing in California's Edwards Air Force Base after a nine-day trip. 2008 – The Guinean military engineered a coup d'état, and announced that it planned to rule the country for two years prior to a new presidential election. More anniversaries: December 22 – December 23 – December 24 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 23, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) is a diurnal species of day gecko native to Madagascar and the Comoros, although it has been introduced to Hawaii and other Pacific islands. It grows to about 15–22 cm (6–9 in) in length and is bright green or yellowish green with rufous bars on the snout and head, and red bars on the lower back.

Photo: Thierry Caro

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