"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" Albert Einstein

Nyctibatrachus major, the Malabar night frog, is a species in the robust frog family. First described in 1882 by George Albert Boulenger, it is a large Nyctibatrachus frog, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. It is mainly brownish to greyish in colour, with a greyish-white underside, light grey sides, and grey or brown markings. Sexes can be told apart by the bulbous glands near the inner thigh in males. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of India, in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Adults are nocturnal and inhabit fast-moving forest streams at elevations of up to 900 m (3,000 ft). The diet mainly consists of other frogs and insect larvae. On hatching, tadpoles drop from leaves or rocks into a water source. The species is vulnerable: threats include habitat loss, increased human presence, and possibly nitrate pollution caused by fertiliser overuse. (Full article...)

In the Snow at Tsukahara, Sado Island

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• ... that LaVonne Griffin-Valade, the Oregon Secretary of State, has published four crime fiction novels?
• ... that Laverstock ware pottery was produced to supply the royal palace at Clarendon, but was also used all over the south of England?
• ... that geographer Richard Urquhart Goode is the namesake of three mountains and a glacier?
• ... that the Indian politician Diwan Chaman Lall failed to get rid of the painting Nude of Indira?
• ... that the musician Salute has an inclusion rider on their contracts for live performances?
• ... that the success of the book Fifth Chinese Daughter led to the U.S. State Department translating the book into various Asian languages and sending its author on a speaking tour across Asia?
• ... that a teacher of medieval literature and comic books writes the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle?

Azali Assoumani

• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SLIM lunar module lands on the Moon.
• Iran launches missile strikes in Pakistan and aerial strikes in Iraq and Syria, and Pakistan responds with retaliatory airstrikes.
• Azali Assoumani (pictured) is re-elected President of the Comoros.
• Bernardo Arévalo is inaugurated as President of Guatemala after multiple attempts to obstruct the event.