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Mini scule is a species of microhylid frog endemic to Madagascar that was described in 2019. The scientific name of the species refers to its size, being a pun on the word minuscule. It is very small, measuring only 8.4 to 10.8 mm (0.33 to 0.43 in) in snout–vent length. It has bronze underparts with a brown groin and back of the thigh, cream upperparts with brown flecking, a dark brown side of the head, and a red iris. On the hind feet, the first toe is absent and the second and fifth toes are strongly reduced. The frog is known only from the Sainte Luce Reserve, where it inhabits areas with deep leaf litter near semi-permanent water bodies. Specimens of frogs from Mandena, the Vohimena mountains, the southern Anosy Mountains, and Tsitongambarika may also be of this species. Along with Mini mum and Mini ature, the other two species in its genus, it received media attention when first described due to the wordplay in its scientific name. (Full article...)

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Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak (pictured) succeeds Liz Truss as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Xi Jinping is named General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party for a third term after the conclusion of the Party Congress.
Ulf Kristersson is elected Prime Minister of Sweden following a four-party agreement.
Hurricane Julia leaves more than 90 people dead across South and Central America.

On this day

October 27

Vazgen Sargsyan

1904 – The first underground segment of the New York City Subway opened, connecting New York City Hall with Harlem.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy achieved a pyrrhic victory against the United States at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
1992 – U.S. Navy Petty Officer Allen R. Schindler Jr. was killed in Sasebo, Japan, for being gay, which led to the U.S. Armed Forces' "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
1999 – Armed men led by Nairi Hunanyan carried out a mass shooting at the Armenian parliament, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan (pictured), National Assembly speaker Karen Demirchyan, and six others.
2011 – Michael D. Higgins was elected President of Ireland with far more votes than any politician in the country's history.

Gabriel Báthory (d. 1613)
Rex Shelley (b. 1930)
Zoya Phan (b. 1980)

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The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) is a bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily. It migrates in November from New Guinea to its breeding grounds in the rainforest of North Queensland, Australia. Despite its bright colours, the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher is often difficult to see in the rainforest and is best located by its distinctive calls.

The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher hunts on the ground and from the foliage in the middle to lower levels of the forest canopy. It feeds on phasmids, earthworms, beetles, insect larvae, spiders, skinks and small frogs, snails and one was observed holding a small tortoise. The young are fed by both parents.

Photograph credit: JJ Harrison

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