Main Page

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Welcome to Wikipedia,
4,511,394 articles in English

From today's featured article

Skull of Oryzomys peninsulae

Oryzomys peninsulae, also known as the Lower California rice rat, is a species of rodent from western Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae. Twenty-one specimens of O. peninsulae are known, caught in 1896 and 1906 at two locations about 13 km (8 mi) apart along the Río San José, a river in southernmost Baja California Sur. Río San José no longer exists, having fallen prey to irrigation projects, and touristic development of its estuary has resulted in pollution. Biologists working in the area in 1979 and from 1991 to 1993 failed to find O. peninsulae, casting doubt on its continued existence. Medium in size for its genus, it was first described as a separate species, but later lumped into other widespread species until it was reinstated as separate in 2009. It is distinctive in fur color—grayish brown on the forequarters and reddish brown on the hindquarters—and in some dimensions of its skull (pictured), with a high braincase, robust zygomatic arches (cheekbones), and long incisive foramina (perforations of the palate between the incisors and the molars). (Full article...)

Recently featured: Voyage of the James Caird – Mirror symmetry (string theory) – Doom Bar

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

General Reading room in the National Library of the Czech Republic

In the news

Conchita Wurst with ESC2014 trophy

Ongoing: Ukrainian unrest Chibok kidnapping
Recent deaths: Farley Mowat Maria Lassnig Tatiana Samoilova

On this day...

May 11: Mother's Day in several countries (2014); National Famine Commemoration Day in Ireland (2014)

Mosaic of Constantine the Great

More anniversaries: May 10 May 11 May 12

It is now May 11, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

Pinball machine

The Visible Pinball Machine, a machine for playing pinball created by the Pacific Pinball Museum with transparent surfaces to show the normally concealed mechanisms. In pinball, players manipulate one or more steel balls on a playing field to score as many points as possible; a game ends after all the balls fall into the drain located at the bottom of the slanted playing field.

Photograph: Kevin Tiell/Pacific Pinball Museum

Other areas of Wikipedia

  • Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
  • Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
  • Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
  • Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
  • Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects: