The false potto is a lorisoid primate of uncertain taxonomic status found in Africa. Anthropologist Jeffrey H. Schwartz named it in 1996 as the only species of the genus Pseudopotto on the basis of two skeletal specimens of uncertain provenance that had previously been identified as pottos. Schwartz thought the false potto could represent a separate family, but other researchers have argued that the supposed distinguishing features of the animal do not actually distinguish it from the potto; specifically, the false potto shares several features with West African pottos. The false potto generally resembles a small potto, but according to Schwartz it differs in having a longer tail, shorter spines on its neck and chest vertebrae, a smaller, less complex spine on the second neck vertebra, an entepicondylar foramen (an opening in the humerus, or upper arm bone), a lacrimal fossa (a depression in the skull) that is located inside the eye socket, a smaller upper third premolar and molar, and higher-crowned cheekteeth. However, many of these traits are variable among pottos; for example, one researcher found entepicondylar foramina in almost half of the specimens in his sample of pottos.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_potto> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1888: The 36 in (91 cm) refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California, at the time the largest in the world, was used for the first time. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_Observatory> 1911: A 7.7 Mw earthquake destroyed the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Kebin_earthquake> 1949: The first Central Bank of the Philippines was formally inaugurated with Miguel Cuaderno, Sr. as the first governor. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangko_Sentral_ng_Pilipinas> 1973: American businessman George Steinbrenner and a group of investors bought the New York Yankees professional baseball team for US$8.7 million. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees> 2002: Israeli forces seized the MV Karine A, which was carrying 50 tons of weapons being smuggled in on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karine_A_Affair> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: cacophonous: Containing, consisting of, or producing harsh, unpleasant or discordant sounds. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cacophonous> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule. --The Return of the King <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_King> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
