And so ends the fourth edition of the monthly rolling contest, as well as the 2023 Tree of Life Contest as a whole. This month saw simongraham win with a very impressive 120 points from 27 articles. Quetzal1964 was second with 74 points from 37 articles. The annual contest was a close race between simongraham and Quetzal1964; simongraham won first place with 256 points from 64 articles, and Quetzal1964 was second with 250 points from 146 articles. Snoteleks was third with 79 points from 33 articles. Congratulations to everyone who won this year and my gratitude to everyone else who helped raise the quality of articles in our little corner of Wikipedia this year. Additionally, a very Happy New Year to everyone in the project and here's looking forward to continuing our good work in 2024!

Snowy plover with chicks

Bofedales in the foreground

Adult female Varroa mite

Dennstaedtia christophelii fossil frond

• ... that a "bat ensnared by a plant" was discovered in the garden of the Palestine Museum of Natural History? (December 2)
• ... that female snowy plovers often abandon their families as soon as the chicks hatch? (December 4)
• ... that Lepas testudinata can form colonies of more than 1000 members at a time? (December 5)
• ... that the gecko Teratoscincus roborowskii eats caper fruits and disperses the plant's seeds in its feces? (December 5)
• ... that Henk Zwartepoorte quacked at caimans? (December 5)
• ... that the green colour of bofedales (examples pictured) stands out in the yellow surrounding landscape? (December 6)
• ... that Desulfovibrio vulgaris can remove toxic heavy metals from the environment? (December 8)
• ... that Varroa destructor (example pictured), the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most harmful honey-bee pests in the world? (December 11)
• ... that young orange-billed lorikeets are actually yellow-billed? (December 16)
• ... that stinking tutsan smells like goat? (December 20)
• ... that orange paintbrushes are guarded by rufous hummingbirds? (December 21)
• ... that the Antarctic lichen Buellia frigida has been to outer space? (December 22)
• ... that the closest modern fern relatives to Dennstaedtia christophelii (fossil pictured) of the Pacific Northwest are tropical species from South America? (December 24)
• ... that in Icelandic folklore, the Yule cat eats people who do not receive new clothing for Christmas? (December 25)
• ... that the Lake Patzcuaro salamander's native habitat is limited to a single lake in Mexico? (December 28)
• ... that plant species like Hypericum bupleuroides can reproduce by a callus? (December 29)

• Our first double issue in almost four years, although we will try to return to a monthly schedule henceforth (incidentally, the last double issue saw Markham's storm petrel at GAN, and this one sees it finally pass FAC).
• A highly competitive first round of the WikiCup sees four Tree of Life editors advance to the second round: MtBotany, Fritzmann2002, Ealdgyth, and AryKun
• The March 2024 GAN Backlog Drive starts today; everyone is welcome to participate and help reduce the backlog of GANs.
• The January edition of our monthly rolling contest was won by Quetzal1964 with 100 points from 40 articles, mainly related to various species of marine fish. simongraham was second with 80 points from 14 articles on jumping spiders.
• The February edition saw Quetzal1964 win for the second time in a row, with 114 points from 43 articles. In second place was Snoteleks, with 21 points from 7 seven articles on various unicellular eukaryotes, including the GA Telonemia.

• ... that Dacrytherium, literally meaning 'tear beast', was named after its "tear-pit"? (3 January)
• ... that misidentifications of the crested cuckoo-dove have led to claims that the extinct Choiseul pigeon is still around? (4 January)
• ... that the wood-pasture hypothesis posits that semi-open wood pastures and not primeval forests are the natural vegetation of temperate Europe? (5 January)
• ... that until April 2023, when the genus Triassosculda was discovered, the mantis shrimp fossil record contained a gap of more than a hundred million years? (5 January)
• ... that although Olga Hartman believed that her basic research on marine worms had no practical value, it was applied to experimental studies of oysters? (6 January)
• ... that Oxford ivy grows towards the light to bloom and then towards the darkness when going to seed? (17 January)
• ... that S. F. Light (pictured) disliked using his full name? (20 January)
• ... that the fossil turtle Acherontemys was named for a "river of the fabled lower world"? (26 January)
• ... that a species of spider is named after Barack Obama? (27 January)
• ... that Boquila trifoliolata is the only known plant capable of simultaneously mimicking multiple species? (27 January)
• ... that Harpegnathos alperti worker ants have black heads and chocolate-colored mandibles? (28 January)
• ... that all known populations of Epipterygium opararense (example pictured) live within a 5-metre (16 ft) radius in New Zealand? (28 January)
• ... that female swamp guppies (pictured) show no preference for orange or red coloration during courtship? (29 January)

• ... that black-billed magpies are known to eat ticks off deer and other large mammals (example pictured)? (1 February)
• ... that scientist Adelaida K. Semesi was known as "mama mangroves" due to her specialist knowledge of their ecology? (2 February)
• ... that for the southern molly, sexual selection favors smaller males because they copulate by sneaking up to females? (2 February)
• ... that eyelash seaweed may have been made extinct by a single 2016 earthquake? (4 February)
• ... that conservation in Indonesia had little local support after independence because it was associated with the Dutch colonial period? (5 February)
• ... that the artiodactyl Ephelcomenus is thought to have been capable of burrowing? (6 February)
• ... that male mangrove mollies mate sneakily? (14 February)
• ... that barley was once used as a form of money? (14 February)
• ... it has been suggested that Crassispira incrassata may be a southern variation of Crassispira bottae and not its own species? (15 February)
• ... that the shining St John's wort owes its bright colors partly to carotenoid compounds? (18 February)
• ... that having lived in Central Park for more than a year after becoming homeless, Flaco (pictured) has been accused of being a peeping tom? (19 February)
• ... that the horned sungem (example pictured) is sometimes a nectar robber? (24 February)
• ... that the sea slug Bosellia mimetica benefits from photosynthesis? (25 February)
• ... that almost all members of a flock of tufted jays work together to build a nest? (28 February)
• ... that the hippocampus of the black-capped chickadee grows in the fall and shrinks in the spring? (29 February)
• ... that an Indian rhinoceros, sent as a gift to Pope Leo X in 1515, was immortalised as Dürer's Rhinoceros after dying in a shipwreck? (29 February)