The round stingray (Urobatis halleri) or Haller's round ray and Little round stingray is a species of round ray, family Urotrygonidae, found in the coastal waters of the tropical and subtropical parts of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. It is a small, common ray that feeds mostly on benthic invertebrates. On the beaches of southern California, it is responsible for numerous injuries to bathers, who are stung when they accidentally step on the fish. The wound caused by its venomous spine can be painful, but is non-fatal.


In the wild, the western hognose snake feeds predominately on amphibians, such as large and medium-sized tree frogs, as well as small or medium-sized toads and small lizards. There have been accounts of  H. nasicus eating the occasional rodent in the wild as well. Not being a true constrictor, Heterodon bites and chews, driving the rear fangs into the prey as a way of introducing the saliva to help break down the toxins from toads. There have been many cases of hognose snakes in captivity that will not eat for about two to three-and-a-half months, from the months January to mid March. This is because hognose snakes' instinct is to brumate underground during the winter months.


Adult western hognose snakes have been observed in copulation as early as February and March. The species is oviparous, with females laying 4–23 elongate, thin-shelled eggs in June–August. The eggs take approximately 60 days to hatch. Each hatchling is 13–23 cm (5–9 in) in total length, and reaches sexual maturity after approximately two years (this is predominantly based on size, not so much age).


Podarcis muralis has been introduced in the United States and is spreading throughout the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It is commonly observed living in limestone outcrops, rock walls, and rubble along the Ohio River basin.
It is referred to locally in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area as the "Lazarus lizard", as it was introduced to the area around 1950 by George Rau, a boy who was a member of the family who owned the Lazarus department store chain (now absorbed into Macy's). After he returned from a family vacation to northern Italy, he released about 10 of the reptiles near his Cincinnati home. Genetic testing has revealed that as little as only three of these lizards survived long enough to reproduce, meaning they were subject to an extreme genetic bottleneck. This prolific lizard has reproduced exponentially; it continues to expand its distribution range annually, and has established itself so well in southwest Ohio, it is now considered a naturalized species by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and is protected under state law (it is illegal to harm, capture, or possess this animal without a proper licence).
Besides Ohio, P. muralis has also been introduced in other U.S. states. Populations occur in Kenton and Campbell counties in Kentucky, and in parts of Indiana.
The European wall lizard was also introduced to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada in 1970, when a dozen individuals were released into the wild from a small private zoo.
This lizard is also present in Los Angeles and San Diego counties in California and may exist elsewhere in California.


The warmouth (Lepomis gulosus), is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawberry perch.


The name "walleye" comes from its pearlescent eyes caused by the reflective tapetum lucidum which, in addition to allowing the fish to see well in low-light conditions, gives its eyes an opaque appearance. Their vision affects their behavior. They avoid bright light and feed in low light on fish that cannot see as well as they do. Many anglers look for walleyes at night since this is when major feeding efforts occur. The fish's eyes also allow them to see well in turbid waters (stained or rough, breaking waters), which gives them an advantage over their prey. Thus, walleye anglers commonly look for locations where a good "walleye chop" (i.e., rough water) occurs. Their vision also allows the fish to populate the deeper regions in a lake, and they can often be found in deeper water, particularly during the warmest part of the summer and at night.


The walleye  (Sander vitreus, synonym Stizostedion vitreum), also called the yellow pike or  yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the blue walleye, which is a subspecies that was once found in the southern Ontario and Quebec regions, but is now presumed extinct. However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification.
In parts of its range in English-speaking Canada, the walleye is known as a pickerel,  though the fish is not related to the true pickerels, which are a member of the family Esocidae.
Walleyes show a fair amount of variation across watersheds. In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds. The species has been artificially propagated for over a century and has been planted on top of existing populations or introduced into waters naturally devoid of the species, sometimes reducing the overall genetic distinctiveness of populations.


In most of the species' range, male walleyes mature sexually between three and four years of age. Females normally mature about a year later. Adults migrate to tributary streams in late winter or early spring to lay eggs over gravel and rock, although open-water reef or shoal-spawning strains are seen,  as well. Some populations are known to spawn on sand or vegetation. Spawning occurs at water temperatures of 6 to 10 °C (43 to 50 °F). A large female can lay up to 500,000 eggs, and no care is given by the parents to the eggs or fry. The eggs are slightly adhesive and fall into spaces between rocks. The incubation period for the embryos is temperature-dependent, but generally lasts from 12 to 30 days. After hatching, the free-swimming embryos spend about a week absorbing a relatively small amount of yolk. Once the yolk has been fully absorbed, the young walleyes begin to feed on invertebrates, such as fly larvæ and zooplankton. After 40 to 60 days, juvenile walleyes become piscivorous. Thenceforth, both juvenile and adult walleyes eat fish almost exclusively, frequently yellow perch or ciscoes, moving onto bars and shoals at night to feed. Walleye also feed heavily on crayfish, minnows, and leeches.


Walleyes grow to about 80 cm (31 in) in length, and weigh up to about 9 kg (20 lb). The maximum recorded size for the fish is 107 cm (42 in) in length and 13 kilograms (29 lb) in weight. The rate depends partly on where in their range they occur, with southern populations often growing faster and larger. In general, females grow larger than males. Walleyes may live for decades; the maximum recorded age is 29 years. In heavily fished populations, however, few walleye older than five or six years of age are encountered. In North America, where they are highly prized, their typical size when caught is on the order of 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in), substantially below their potential size.
As walleye grow longer, they increase in weight. The relationship between total length (L) and total weight (W) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form
W=cL^{b}\,
Invariably, b is close to 3.0 for all species, and c is a constant that varies among species. For walleye, b = 3.180 and c = 0.000228 (with units in inches and pounds) or b = 3.180 and c = 0.000005337 (with units in cm and kg).
This relationship suggests a 50 cm (20 in) walleye will weigh about 1.5 kg (3.3 lb), while a 60 cm (24 in) walleye will likely weigh about 2.5 kg (5.5 lb).


This species is found from Point Loma, San Diego to Humboldt County California.


This nudibranch can grow as large as 33 mm. It is pale yellow in colour, with dots of opaque white on the tips of the dorsal tubercles but not between the tubercles. The rhinophores have 10-12 lamellae and a pale yellow club with a white stalk. The gills are white with five pinnae. It has frequently been confused with Doriopsilla albopunctata and several other species which form a pseudocryptic species complex.


Doriopsilla fulva is a species of dorid nudibranch, a sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Dendrodorididae.


The distribution range is at the eastern regions of the Australian continent, mostly within 200 kilometres of the coast, from Gladstone in Queensland through to the southern Gippsland region and populations around the city of Melbourne. The breeding range has been recorded as progressing southward, the temperate climate of Melbourne and Geelong and no further north than Maryborough, Queensland.
Urbanisation may displace the species, or provide habitat that accommodates their feeding or roosting preferences. The city of Brisbane has many roosts occupied by the species; a famous colony at the Indooroopilly Island is noted for the evening departure of the bats across the local river. Within the central business district of Sydney, they can be seen travelling along city streets to feed at Moreton Bay fig trees at Hyde Park. The species was recorded as an occasional visitor to the national capital Canberra, although the flowering eucalypts at Commonwealth Park have seen more permanent camps established close to the city.
The species was surveyed during the 1920s by Francis Ratcliffe, who recorded the populations in estimates of quarter, half, or one million in camps, generally located around 40 kilometres apart. These numbers have greatly declined since this first survey.


The greater roadrunner is monogamous, forming long-term pair bonds. Greater roadrunner couples defend a territory of about 700 to 800 m in size. The male is more territorial, calling out to warn competitors, and does not hesitate to physically push the intruders out of his territory. Some couples defend the same territory all year long.
Nest building starts in March in Texas, and probably later further north. Both birds build the nest, with the male collecting the material and the female constructing the nest. The nests are compact platforms of thorny branches lined with grasses, feathers, snakeskin, roots, and other fine material. They are built low in a cactus or a bush. Greater roadrunners lay three to six eggs, which hatch in 20 days. The chicks fledge in another 18 days. Pairs may occasionally rear a second brood when there is an abundance of food in rainy summers.
Similarly to some other cuckoos, greater roadrunners occasionally lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, such as the common raven and northern mockingbird.


Dysdera crocata, which originated in the Mediterranean area, now has a cosmopolitan distribution (see map), ranging from Eurasia to parts of North and South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.


The Pacific loon breeds on tundra lakes, and winters in the open ocean or other large bodies of water.  It breeds primarily in northern Canada and eastern Siberia, and winters along the Pacific coast of North America.


The greater earless lizard (Cophosaurus texanus) is the only species in the monotypic genus Cophosaurus. It is closely related to the smaller, lesser earless lizards and other species in the genus Holbrookia, and in fact was placed in that genus and referred to Holbrookia texana from 1852 into the 1970s. Earless lizards lack external ear openings, an adaptation to burrowing in the sand, as are the recessed lower jaw and flared upper labial scales. Greater earless lizards are sexually dimorphic, males grow larger and are more colorful than females, exhibiting pink and green colors that are particularly bright in the breeding season. Two bold black bars mark the lateral region of males but are greatly reduced and vague, or occasionally entirely absent in females.
The greater earless lizard is native to the Chihuahua Desert and other arid and semi-arid regions of Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where they most often occupy moderately open areas of sparse vegetation with rocks, gravel, and sand. The overall color of individual lizards frequently match the colors of the rocks and soils of the local area they inhabit. They will often rely on camouflage and their speed to elude threats and predators before retreating into rock crevices. They are primarily insectivores, preying on wide variety of crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, flies, beetles, and bugs. Spiders and small lizards are occasionally eaten as well. Cophosaurus are oviparous. Females lay 1 to 4 clutches of 2 – 9 eggs a year, with hatchlings emerging from June to October, and reaching adult size and sexual maturity in one year.


The greater earless lizard is a medium sized lizard (relative to other species in its range) and the largest of the earless lizards. A range of sizes have been reported by various authors: Texas greater earless lizard (C. t. texanus), males 8.3 – 18.1 cm. [3.25 – 7.1 in.], females 7 – 14.3  cm. [2.75 – 5.6 in.]; Chihuahuan greater earless lizard (C. t. scitulus), males 9 – 18.4 cm. [3.5 – 7.25 in.], females 6.7 – 13.5  cm. [2.6 – 5.3 in.] in total lengths are representative of the species.
Greater earless lizards do not have external ear openings. The scales on the body are small and granular, with the dorsal scales slightly smaller than the ventral scales. Their legs, particularly the hind legs, are relatively long. The tail is slightly flattened and longer than head and body combined. The underside of the tail is white with 5 to 9 (usually 6 or 7) bold, contrasting black bands (excluding individuals with regenerated tails). The base color can be various shades of grays, browns, tans, or reddish brown and generally close to the prevailing colors of the local substrate. Cophosaurus texanus is a sexually dimorphic species, in addition to size differences, males and females differ in some aspects of colors and markings. Most noticeable are a pair of black bands located on the posterior third on the sides of the body, rising from two blue patches on the margins of the belly up sides and arching forward and ending before meeting on the back. The body anterior to the black bands is suffused with some shade of pink, orange, or red, and the body posterior to the black bands tented green, aqua-green, or lime-green. The colors are most prominent in the Chihuahuan greater earless lizard (C. t. scitulus) and are greatly enhanced and most noticeable in the breeding season in all subspecies. In parts of their range they are colloquially referred to as "the lizard with the pink shirt and green pants." In contrast, females either lack the black lateral bands entirely or they are very faint and indistinct.  Females and young often exhibit a lateral white or near white stripe running between the forelimbs and hind limbs and on the back ot the legs.
The subspecies were diagnosed in the original description with the following characters. Cophosaurus t. texana: typically, 80–86%, have 79 ventral scales or less from collar (last gular fold) to anus, 40 or more scales in head length, and 27 or less total femoral pores. Cophosaurus t. scitula: 80–84% have 80 or more ventral scales, 39 or less head scales, 28 or more femoral pores. Cophosaurus t. reticulata: 85–100% have 82 ventral scales, 36 or less head scales, less than 31 femoral pores, and the black lateral bars are faint and do not extend above the lateral fold in males.


The greater earless lizard native to the arid environment of the Chihuahua Desert, extending into western areas of the Tamaulipan mezquital, and the northeastern margins of the Meseta Central matorral, as well as the semi-arid Edwards Plateau and Central Great Plains in Texas, and the Arizona transition zone (between the Sonoran Desert and Arizona Mountains forests) in the west.
Within these ecoregions it typically occupies open scrubland and areas of sparse vegetation, with rocks and boulder. Limestone ledges and outcrops near streams with boulders and crevices, and dry gulches, arroyos, and canyons with alluvium deposits of silt, sand, gravel, and rocks are often preferred, but it is not strictly limited to these areas. Gentle to moderate slopes of limestone and gravel and hills of granite and igneous rock are also habitat for the lizard. Plants identified in association with greater earless lizards include honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), sotol (Dasylirion), lechuguilla (Agave lecheguilla), prickly pear cactus (Opuntia), leatherstem (Jatropha dioica), and candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica).
The color of an individual lizard often bears a striking correlation to the prevailing colors of the rocks and substrates where it lives: e.g. specimens from Llano County, Texas have been noted for their rusty brown color similar to the red granite characteristic of much of the Llano Uplift. Cophosaurus can be locally abundant and among the most common species of herpetofauna in some areas, and yet absent from seemingly appropriate habitat other areas.


The longevity of the greater earless lizard is typicality 3 years, but records of individuals surviving five reproductive seasons in the wild have been documented. Both males and females reach adult size in a year, attaining maturity and  mating before their second winter. Mating occurs from April to August, peeking in late April to early July. Gravid females often exhibit pink, orange, or yellow colors on their throats and sides. In one study gravid females were only found in May and June. Multiple clutches, up to four a year, are scattered over a wide area, with clutch size ranging from 2 to 9 eggs, average 3–5. Older females produce larger clutches than young females. One study reported finding single eggs buried in the sand on three occasions but never locating a clutch. The incubation period is about 50 days. The hatchlings emerge June to October with reports of sizes varying from 20–25 mm. to 26–31 mm. snout–vent length.


The white-faced ibis eats a variety of organisms, including many invertebrates such as insects, leeches, snails, crayfish and earthworms. It may also eat vertebrates such as fish, newts, and frogs. Its feeding style is to use its bill to probe for prey.


The nest of the dusky woodswallow consists of twigs, roots and other similar foliage matted together to form a bowl shape, which is lined with grass. It is positioned safely, behind bark, and/or high in a tree branch, and sometimes in a hollowed out tree stump. The nest is made during the period from August to January, and with the help of several birds. The mated pair will then guard the nest, while others will help them take care of the babies. The female lays white eggs, of which there are usually no more than three or four. While the incubation period lasts for sixteen days, the amount of time taken for fledgling can be this long to around twenty days.
The typical clutch is three to four in size, but this may vary.


It is typically found near the shore in places with seagrass or rocks. It is usually found at depths of 0–60 m (0–197 ft), but occurs as deep as 120 m (390 ft).


The Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (Coris julis) is a small, colourful fish in the family Labridae. It can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the northeast Atlantic Ocean from Sweden to Senegal (though it is a rare wanderer to the southern British Isles). Records of this species south from Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands are actually the closely related Coris atlantica.
It feeds on amphipods, isopods, sea urchins, polychaete, shrimps, and small gastropods.


Like many wrasses, C. julis is a sequential hermaphrodite: all start in the smaller initial phase. These initial-phase individuals (both females and males) can turn into the larger secondary-phase males. At a length of about 18 cm (7.1 in), all individuals are secondary-phase males. The maximum length for the species is 25 cm (9.8 in). There is a marked difference in the appearance of the two phases. In the Mediterranean Sea, the secondary-phase male is green, blue, or brown, with white belly, a dark blue spot over the ventral fin, and a bright orange band on the side, while the smaller primary-phase females and males are brown with yellowish sides and white bellies. Populations in the Atlantic differ in colour and genetics from the Mediterranean population, but are maintained in a single species at present. If found to be separate, the scientific name Coris festiva (at present considered a synonym of C. julis) is available for the Atlantic population.


The buff-necked ibis lives in a wide range of open habitats, including fields, marshes, savanna and grassland. There are two primary populations; the nominate subspecies is found across northern and central South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil, while the very similar subspecies hyperorius is found in south-central South America in southern Brazil, eastern and northern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. It is almost entirely restricted to tropical and warmer subtropical lowlands, but very locally it extends into highlands (though never as high as the Andean ibis). It is almost entirely resident, although local movements may occur. It has been recorded as an accidental visitor in Panama.
With a large range and an estimated population of 25,000 to 100,000, the buff-necked ibis is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


The crested porcupine is for the most part herbivorous, eating roots, bulbs, and leaves, but occasionally they do consume insects, small vertebrates, and carrion. To ingest calcium and sharpen incisors, they often gnaw on bones. These animals often travel long distances looking for food. They have high crowned teeth that grind plant tissues which are digested in the stomach, and the undigested fibers are retained in an enlarged appendix and anterior large intestine, where they are broken down by microorganisms.


The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been introduced to several other countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom (in England and Scotland), Ireland, the Isle of Man, France and Germany.


The Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), also known as the Pacific chorus frog, has a range spanning the Pacific Northwest, from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington to British Columbia in Canada and extreme southern Alaska. They live from sea level to more than 10,000 feet in many types of habitats, reproducing in aquatic settings. They occur in shades of greens or browns and can change colors over periods of hours and weeks.


Pacific tree frogs are common on the Pacific coast of Oregon and Washington, but they are found from extreme northern California to British Columbia. They can also be found in Idaho. A small population also exists in a pond on Revillagigedo Island near Ketchikan, Alaska, having been intentionally introduced there in the 1960s. They are found upland in ponds, streams, lakes and sometimes even further away from water; their habitat includes a wide variety of climate and vegetation from sea level to high altitudes. The Pacific tree frog makes its home in riparian habitat, as well as woodlands, grassland, chaparral, pasture land, and even urban areas including back yard ponds. Eggs of the Pacific tree frog may be consumed by the rough-skinned newt and other amphibians.


The Pacific tree frog grows up to 2 inches from snout to urostyle. The males are usually smaller than the females and have a dark patch on their throats. The dark patch is the vocal sac, which stretches out when the male is calling. Pacific tree frogs can be a number of different colors, including green, tan, reddish, gray, brown, cream, and black, but most are a shade of green or brown, with pale or white bellies. They have a variety of dark and spotty markings on their backs and sides and can be identified by a black or dark brown eye stripe that stretches from the nose, across the eye, and back to the shoulder. They can change color seasonally to better match their environments.  Their skin is covered in small bumps. They have long legs compared to their bodies and they tend to be slender. Their toes are long and only very slightly webbed. On the end of each toe is a round, sticky toe pad or disk used for climbing and sticking to surfaces. Males also have an extra, and far less noticeable toe on their outer thumbs used exclusively in amplexus. Fertilization is external.


The Pacific tree frog begins mating in early winter to early spring. Since these frogs are so widespread geographically,  their breeding season is thought to be determined by local conditions. When it is time, the males migrate to the water. They then make a call at the same time, calling "ooh-yeeh" or ribbiting loudly. This lures the females to the water and they mate. The females lay their eggs in clumps of 10-90, and usually put them on and under vegetation and leaf litter in the pond. Females usually lay their eggs in shallow, calm water that has little action around it. If they survive, embryos will hatch into tadpoles within one to three weeks. The tadpoles feed on periphyton, filamentous algae, diatoms, and pollen in or on the surface of the water. They feed using suction, and a beak-like structure that helps scrape vegetation off surfaces.
The species attracts mates using a choral song. Males call to females as loudly as possible and produce a croak so loud that they sound as though they are produced by multiple males. These sounds can be heard by numerous females. Once a female approaches, the male stops singing and attempts amplexus. Breeding takes place at night, near shallow water, typically after rainfall. Mating season usually extends from December to May, although some variation occurs. Altitude often affects the length of the breeding season. (Dickerson, 1906; Grinnell and Storer, 1924; Schaub and Larsen Jr, 1978)
Metamorphosis usually follows about two to two and a half months later, but experience raising these tadpoles shows that some may delay metamorphosis, changing up to five months after hatching. The survival rate of these delayed metamorphs is lower, and the evolutionary utility of this delayed metamorphosis is uncertain. It may be related to the prevalence of fire in their natural ecosystem.
During the final stages of transformation when the tadpoles have four limbs and a tail, they stop feeding for a short time while their mouths widen and their digestive systems adjust from herbivorous to carnivorous.
For the most part, Pacific tree frogs are nocturnal, but they have been spotted during the day. These frogs spend a lot of time hiding under rotten logs, rocks, long grasses, and leaf litter, where they are very difficult to see unless they move. When they hunt, their toe pads allow them to climb on vegetation and other surfaces where they are to ambush their prey. Much of their diets consists of spiders, beetles, flies, ants, and other insects and arthropods; they can and do eat insects that are almost as large as they are, and will expand their bodies slightly to accommodate these meals.
Pacific tree frogs mature quickly, and usually mate the season after metamorphosis. Predators include snakes, raccoons, herons, egrets, and other small mammals and reptiles.
When they sense potential food nearby, they commonly twitch a toe to attract it within easy reach of their tongues. They can live up to 8 years in captivity.
They produce several call types.  These include the males' advertisement call, commonly described as “ribbit” or “crek-ek”, as well as an encounter trill call. The cre-ek call can be quite loud and can thus be heard from very far away. Males also produce a “dry land call”, a long cre-ee-ee-eeek, that can be heard anytime in the year except during the coldest and driest periods. Pacific tree frogs are the most commonly heard frogs along much of the West Coast of the United States.


Steenbok live in a variety of habitats from semi-desert, such as the edge of the Kalahari Desert and Etosha National Park, to open woodland and thickets, including open plains, stony savannah, and Acacia–grassland mosaics. They are said to favour unstable or transitional habitats. At least in the central part of Kruger National Park, South Africa, Steenbok show a distinct preference for Acacia tortilis savannah throughout the year, with no tendency to migrate to moister areas during the dry season (unlike many larger African savannah ungulates, including species sympatric with Steenbok in the wet season).
Population density is typically 0.3–1.0 individuals per square kilometre, reaching 4 per km² in optimal habitats.


Steenbok typically browse on low-level vegetation (they cannot reach above 0.9 m), but are also adept at scraping up roots and tubers. In central Kruger National Park, Steenbok show a distinct preference for forbs, and then woody plants (especially Flueggea virosa) when few forbs are available. They will also take fruits and only very rarely graze on grass. They are almost entirely independent of drinking water, gaining the moisture they need from their food.


At the first sign of trouble, steenbok typically lie low in the vegetation. If a predator or perceived threat comes closer, a steenbok will leap away and follow a zigzag route to try to shake off the pursuer. Escaping steenbok frequently stop to look back, and flight is alternated with prostration during extended pursuit. They are known to take refuge in the burrows of aardvarks. Known predators include Southern African wildcat, caracal, jackals, leopard, martial eagle and pythons.


The steenbok /ˈsteɪnbɒk, ˈstiːn-/ (Raphicerus campestris) is a common small antelope of southern and eastern Africa. It is sometimes known as the steinbuck or steinbok.


Steenbok are typically solitary, except for when a pair come together to mate. However, it has been suggested that pairs occupy consistent territories while living independently, staying in contact through scent markings, so that they know where their mate is most of the time. Scent marking is primarily through dung middens. Territories range from 4 hectares to 1 square kilometre. The male is aggressive during the female's oestrus, engaging in "bluff-and-bluster" type displays with rival males—prolonged contests invariably involve well-matched individuals, usually in their prime.
Breeding occurs throughout the year, although more fawns are born November to December in the southern spring–summer; some females may breed twice a year. Gestation period is about 170 days, and usually a single precocial fawn is produced. The fawn is kept hidden in vegetation for 2 weeks, but suckles for 3 months. Females become sexually mature at 6–8 months and males at 9 months.
Steenbok are known to live for 7 years or more.


The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or  monotypic taxon of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.
Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes. It is one of the few mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, it senses prey through electrolocation. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, and the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body (in 1799) judged it a fake, made of several animals sewn together.
The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples of Australia, who also used to hunt the animal for food. It has appeared as a mascot at national events and features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and the platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales. Until the early 20th century, humans hunted the platypus for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive-breeding programs have had only limited success, and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.
As of 2020, the platypus is a legally protected species in all states where it occurs. It is listed as an endangered species in South Australia and Victoria and has been recommended for listing in New South Wales. The species is classified as a near-threatened species by the IUCN, but a November 2020 report has recommended that it is upgraded to threatened species under the federal EPBC Act, due to habitat destruction and declining numbers in all states.


The least weasel has a circumboreal, Holarctic distribution, encompassing much of Europe and North Africa, Asia and parts of northern North America, where it occurs mainly in places where the stoat is not found. It has been introduced in New Zealand, Malta, Crete, the Azore Islands and also São Tomé off West Africa. It is found throughout Europe (but not Ireland) and on many islands, including the Azores, Great Britain, and all major Mediterranean islands. It also occurs on Honshu and Hokkaido Islands in Japan and on Kunashir, Iturup, and Sakhalin Islands in Russia.
The least weasel occupies a similar type of habitat as the stoat, but it frequents wet places less often. It can be found in fields, open woodland, bushy or rocky areas, parks and gardens, and at altitudes of up to about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).


The painted comber (Serranus scriba) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae, classified as part of the family Serranidae which includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. Confusingly, a synonym of this species is Perca marina, but that name (as Sebastes marinus) has incorrectly been used for a separate species, the rose fish.


The northern cricket frog is one of North America's three smallest vertebrates, ranging from 19–38 mm (0.75–1.50 in) long. Its dorsal coloration varies widely, and includes greys, greens, and browns, often in irregular blotching patterns. One New York biologist has identified six distinct color morphs and four pattern morphs, and several intergrades between these. Typically there is dark banding on the legs and a white bar from the eye to the base of the foreleg. The skin has a bumpy texture. It is very similar to the southern cricket frog, Acris gryllus, found in the US Southeastern Coastal Plain, but with some overlap along the Fall Line. The southern cricket frog has longer legs, with less webbing on the hind feet, and a more pointed snout, though northern cricket frogs have been observed with snouts indistinguishable from those of the southern species, and the markings on the back of the thigh are typically more sharply defined than that of the northern cricket frog, though biologists have recorded northern cricket frogs in the northern fringes of their range with extremely sharp posterior leg stripes.


The Formosan rock macaque (Macaca cyclopis), also known as the Formosan rock monkey or Taiwanese macaque, is a macaque endemic to the island of Taiwan, which has also been introduced to Japan. Besides humans, Formosan rock macaques are the only native primates living in Taiwan. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1862.


In a given habitat, female brown anoles reproduce in the warmer parts of the year. The brood size of a single female brown anole is one egg, which it lays in damp environments. The female lays its eggs roughly 2 weeks apart from each other, resulting in a total of 15 to 18 eggs in a single breeding season. The breeding season of a female extends slightly longer than that of a male, as the female is capable of storing sperm for a short time. When a juvenile anole is born, usually in June, it is completely independent from its parents. Sexual maturation of both males and females occurs within a year of hatching, so an individual can participate in the mating season following its birth.
When a female anole is prepared for mating, it begins by making itself visible to the male whose territory it is in. When mating occurs, the male grabs on to the back on the females neck with its mouth, so prior to mating, a female will bend it's neck such that it is more visible and accessible by the male, indicating that it is ready for procreation. If the male decides to reproduce, it will begin mating with the female, which usually last from 30 to 60 minutes. Males indicate that they are available for mating by extending their dewlap and bobbing their head.


The fruit bodies contain unique chemical compounds that are derived from phenylpropanoids. The compounds, named squarrosidine and pinillidine, inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase. Xanthine oxidase catalyzes the crystallization of uric acid in the joints, a main cause of gouty arthritis, and inhibitors of this enzyme are being used clinically to reduce this side effect. The natural function of these compounds may be to quench reactive oxygen species produced by plants as a defensive response to fungal infection.


Healthy adults do not have many predators, but human activities pose many threats. Collisions with power lines, hunting, intentional poisoning, lead accumulation from ingesting gunshot in carcasses, and pesticide accumulation take a toll on populations. Young birds at the nest are sometimes taken by golden eagles, eagle owls, and red foxes. Only rarely do adult birds attempt to drive away predators. Young birds that fall off of cliff ledges may be preyed on by mammalian predators such as jackals, foxes and wolves. Like all birds they serve as hosts for ectoparasitic birdlice including Aegypoecus perspicuus as well as organisms that live within them such as mycoplasmas.
Egyptian vulture populations have declined in most parts of its range. In Europe and most of the Middle East, populations in 2001 were half of those from 1980. In India, the decline has been rapid with a 35% decrease each year since 1999. In 1967–70, the area around Delhi was estimated to have 12,000–15,000 of these vultures, with an average density of about 5 pairs per 10 km². The exact cause of the decline is not known, but has been linked with the use of the NSAID Diclofenac, which has been known to cause death in Gyps vultures.
In Italy, the number of breeding pairs declined from 30 in 1970 to 9 in the 1990s. Nearly all breeding failures were due to human activities. In Spain, which holds about 50% of the European population suggested causes of decline include poisoning by accumulation of lead, pesticides (especially due to large-scale use in the control of Schistocerca gregaria locust swarms), and electrocution. Windfarms may also pose a threat. Poorly designed power transmission lines in east Africa electrocute many wintering vultures. A shortage of carrion resulting from new rules for disposal of dead animals following the outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis in parts of Europe during 2000 may have also had an effect on some populations. In Armenia direct persecution for trophy and for local illegal trade of animals as pets has been recorded.
The population of Egyptian vultures in the Canary Islands has been isolated from those in Europe and Africa for a significant period of time leading to genetic differentiation. The vulture population there declined by 30% in the ten years between 1987 and 1998. The Canarian Egyptian vulture was historically common, occurring on the islands of La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote. It is now restricted to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the two easternmost islands. The total population in 2000 was estimated at about 130 individuals, including 25–30 breeding pairs. Island birds also appear to accumulate significant amounts of lead from scavenging on hunted animal carcasses. The long-term effect of this poison at a sub-lethal level is not known, though it is known to alter the mineralization of their bones. In order to provide safe and uncontaminated food for nesting birds, attempts have been made to create "vulture restaurants" where carcasses are made available. However, these interventions may also encourage other opportunist predators and scavengers to concentrate at the site and pose a threat to vultures nesting in the vicinity.


This species is native to the west coast of North America and farther south. It has been reported as far north as British Columbia, Canada, and as far south as Punta Asunción, Baja California Sur, Mexico. In addition it is found in the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands.
It has been found off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, California.
It has also been found off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and San Diego, California .


This nudibranch displays a stunning set of colors: the body is purple, the cerata are orange and the rhinophores are scarlet. The neon orange appendages on the back of Flabellinopsis iodinea are the cerata which extract oxygen from the sea water they are surrounded by and live in. The cerata are also extensions of the digestive system, and are used to store the stinging cells of the anemones and fan-like hydroids they eat. The red rhinophores are sensory structures used for detecting the presence of possible mates and prey. The purple, red, and orange colors are derived from a single carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin. The pigment appears in three modified states, leading to the three distinct colors.
Scientists think the reason why the Spanish Shawl's gills are orange is so they can camouflage with their prey while they are eating. The orange gills on their backs are also a warning to potential predators. The color tells their predators that they are either poisonous or distasteful.


Females grow up to 8 millimeters in length, males up to 6 millimeters.
The males are mostly black, with a red "mask" and pedipalps that are partly white. A white crescent is present on the back part of the abdomen, and another one on the front part of the opisthosoma. There are two small white dots on the posterior back, and two even smaller ones towards the end. These white areas - especially on the pedipalps - have a nacre-like iridescence.
Females are dark brown, with a lighter and somewhat rufous opisthosoma.


The striped skunk inhabits a wide variety of habitats, particularly mixed woodlands, brushy corners and open fields interspersed with wooded ravines and rocky outcrops. Some populations, particularly in northwestern Illinois, prefer cultivated areas over uncultivated ones.


Breeding takes place around mid-May, when temperatures become warmer. It is at this time that the toads emerge from hibernation. Males call to the females with a light sound that is comparable to a musical triangle. They will jump onto the backs of any other fire-bellied toad that happens to pass by, which in some cases will cause them to accidentally attempt to mate with other species of amphibians, fish, plants, or even human fingers. Females lay 40 to 110 eggs in a large cluster near the surface of the water. The tadpoles begin to develop legs in 6–8 weeks, and are fully metamorphosed by August or September.


Although found throughout semiarid regions, the Plains leopard frog is almost always found in or very near permanent water sources, such as streams, creeks, and ponds. They are nocturnal, and primarily insectivorous, though they will eat almost anything they can overpower and swallow, including other frogs. They are shy animals, often fleeing beneath the water if approached.


The northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends to be found in damp ground, but usually not near open water.


The northern two-lined salamander is a small salamander, with adults ranging from 65–120 mm in total length. This salamander is yellow or yellowish-brown, with two black stripes running down the back which tends to break up after the base of the tail. The flanks are mottled grayish or brown. The belly is pale yellowish, nearly transparent. There are four toes on the fore feet and five toes on the hind feet. On the side of the body are 14–16 costal grooves.


The long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) is a mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. This species, typically 4.1–8.9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long when mature, is characterized by its mottled black, brown, and yellow pigmentation, and its long outer fourth toe on the hind limbs. Analysis of fossil records, genetics, and biogeography suggest A. macrodactylum and A. laterale are descended from a common ancestor that gained access to the western Cordillera with the loss of the mid-continental seaway toward the Paleocene.
The distribution of the long-toed salamander is primarily in the Pacific Northwest, with an altitudinal range of up to 2,800 m (9,200 ft). It lives in a variety of habitats, including temperate rainforests, coniferous forests, montane riparian zones, sagebrush plains, red fir forests, semiarid sagebrush, cheatgrass plains, and alpine meadows along the rocky shores of mountain lakes. It lives in slow-moving streams, ponds, and lakes during its aquatic breeding phase. The long-toed salamander hibernates during the cold winter months, surviving on energy reserves stored in the skin and tail.
The five subspecies have different genetic and ecological histories, phenotypically expressed in a range of color and skin patterns. Although the long-toed salamander is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, many forms of land development threaten and negatively affect the salamander's habitat.


Like all amphibians, the life of a long-toed salamander begins as an egg. In the northern extent of its range, the eggs are laid in lumpy masses along grass, sticks, rocks, or the mucky substrate of a calm pond. The number of eggs in a single mass ranges in size, possibly up to 110 eggs per cluster. Females invest a significant amount of resources into egg production, with the ovaries accounting for over 50% of the body mass in the pre-breeding season. A maximum of 264 eggs have been found in a single female—a large number considering each egg is approximately 0.5 millimeters (0.02 in) in diameter. The egg mass is held together by a gelatinous outer layer protecting the outer capsule of individual eggs. The eggs are sometimes laid singly, especially in warmer climates south of the Canada and US border. The egg jellies contribute a yearly supply of biological material that supports the chemistry and nutrient dynamics of shallow-water aquatic ecosystems and adjacent forest ecosystems. The eggs also provide habitat for water molds, also known as oomycetes.


Aneides aeneus has been observed to begin its period of mating and courtship in late May to early June. For Aneides aeneus, the male will enter the breeding crevices and await the arrival of females. Once a male and female meet, the courtship begins. Like some salamanders of genus Plethodon, A. aeneus begins courtship with the female straddling the base of the male's tail. In this position, and with periodic nudging and encouragement from the male, the two will traverse a small circle within the rock crevice. After some time in this dance, the male will deposit a spermatophore upon the ground and the female, still straddling the base of the male, eventually makes her way to it and “scoops” it up by lateral undulations and slow movements of the base of the tail of the female.
Eggs are laid soon after courtship. The female A. aeneus lies on her back within the rock crevice, her ventral surface pressed against the ceiling. Egg-laying often takes a period of 20 to 30 hours, where the female will apply an adhesive substance to the surface of the rock, followed by a single egg. Clutches of eggs average 15-25 eggs. The female will stay with the eggs, usually wrapping her body around the cluster or at least pressed against it, guarding them for the entirety of development. When presented with a foreign object, be it a wire, stick, or a wandering insect, the female will attack, eating the invader if possible. Female A. aeneus are not known to feed during brooding. Individuals taken from their eggs had their stomachs and small intestines examined and were all found to be completely empty in Gordon's study in 1971. This guarding period usually lasts 3 months, where the eggs hatch in September.


Scupi became the capital of Dardania, which extended from Naissus to Bylazora, in the second century BC. The Dardanians had remained independent after the Roman conquest of Macedonia, because they had supported the Romans, hoping to enlarge their territory in this way. It is not clear when the Romans finally annexed Dardania and it seems most likely that the Dardani actually lost independence in 28 BC. Scupi grew up as a colony of legionnaires, mainly veterans of the Legio VII Claudia in the time of Domitian (AD 81–96), even though  several legions of Crassus' army of 29-28 BC, may already have been stationed there, before the official imperial command in this area was instituted. Scupi was included in Moesia Superior after the province was formed in AD 6. From 272 AD, it was a colony inside the Roman province of Dardania after Dardania was established. Scupi was ravaged several times by barbarians, in AD 269 by the Goths, in 5th century by the Huns and finally in the year 518 was completely destroyed by an earthquake. Life in Scupi stopped after the earthquake and it is assumed that the people from Scupi moved to live on Kale, a hill in the center of Skopje.
The moving of the city is often connected with the founding of Justiniana Prima. Justiniana Prima was a legendary city founded by Justinian I, who reigned over the Eastern Roman Empire in 527–565. The connection is based on the assumption that the village Taor which is located near Skopje is Tauresium, Justinian I's birthplace, and by the description of Justininiana Prima by Procopius that suits Skopje's fortress (Kale), the Old Bazaar and the aqueduct which are still landmarks of Skopje.
He therefore built a wall of small compass about this place in the form of a square, placing a tower at each corner, and caused it to be called, as it actually is, Tetrapyrgia. And close by this place he built a very notable city which he named Justiniana Prima, thus paying a debt of gratitude to the home that fostered him. In that place also he constructed an aqueduct and so caused the city to be abundantly supplied with ever-running water. And many other enterprises were carried out by the founder of this city - works of great size and worthy of especial note. For to enumerate the churches is not easy, and it is impossible to tell in words of the lodgings for magistrates, the great stoas, the fine marketplaces, the fountains, the streets, the baths, the shops. In brief, the city is both great and populous and blessed in every way.
— Procopius, description of Justiniana Prima in 'The Buildings'


Scupi (Σκούποι in ancient greek) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (Зајчев Рид 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp was founded here in the second century BC on the site of an older Dardanian settlement. It became later Colonia Flavia Aelia Scupi and many veteran legionnaires were settled there. A Roman town was founded in the time of Domitian (AD 81–96) and  Scupi became the chief center for romanizing Dardania. It was abandoned in AD 518 after an earthquake destroyed the city.


The Locmariaquer megaliths are a complex of Neolithic constructions in Locmariaquer, Brittany. They comprise the elaborate Er-Grah tumulus passage grave, a dolmen known as the Table des Marchand and "The Broken Menhir of Er Grah", the largest known single block of stone to have been transported and erected by Neolithic people.


Machaerus (Μαχαιροῦς, from Ancient Greek: μάχαιρα, lit. 'makhaira' [a sword]; Hebrew: מכוור; Arabic: قلعة مكاور, romanized: Qala'at Mukawir, lit. 'Mukawir Castle') was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, now in ruins, located in the village of Mukawir in modern-day Jordan, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. According to the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, it was the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. According to the chronology of the Bible (Mark 6:24; Matthew 14:8), the execution took place in about 32 CE shortly before the Passover, following an imprisonment of two years. The site also provides the setting for four additional New Testament characters: Herod the Great; his son, Tetrarch Herod Antipas; his second wife, Princess Herodias; and her daughter, Princess Salome.


The village on the plateau to the east of the mountain is called Mukawir (Arabic: مكاور, sometimes also rendered as Mkawer). The site was visited in 1807 by the Frisian explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, and the name of the village reminded him of the name of Machaerus in Greek. The archaeological excavation of Machaerus was begun in 1968 by Jerry Vardaman, then of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and later director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University. In 1973, the German scholar, August Strobel, identified and studied the wall by which the Romans encircled the defenders within the fortress. In 1978–1981, excavations were carried out by Virgilio Corbo, Stanislao Loffreda and Michele Piccirillo, from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.
Within the fortified area are the ruins of the Herodian palace, including rooms, a large courtyard, and an elaborate bath, with fragments of the floor mosaic still remaining. Farther down the eastern slope of the hill are other walls and towers, perhaps representing the "lower town," of which Josephus also wrote. Traceable also, coming from the east, is the aqueduct that brought water to the cisterns of the fortress. Pottery found in the area extends from late Hellenistic to Roman periods and confirms the two main periods of occupation, namely, Hasmonean (90 BC-57 BC) and Herodian (30 BC-AD 72), with a brief reoccupation soon after AD 72 and then nothing further—so complete and systematic was the destruction visited upon the site by the Romans.


The fortress Machaerus was originally built by the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus (104 BC-78 BC) in about the year 90 BC, serving an important strategic position. Its high, rocky vantage point was difficult to access, and invasions from the east could be easily spotted from there. It was also in line of sight of other Hasmonean (and later Herodian) citadels, so other fortresses could be signaled if trouble appeared on the horizon.  Nevertheless, it was destroyed by Pompey's general Gabinius in 57 BC, but later rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC to be used as a military base to safeguard his territories east of the Jordan.
Upon the death of Herod the Great, the fortress was passed to his son, Herod Antipas, who ruled from 4 BC until 39 AD.  It was during this time, at the beginning of the first century AD, that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded at Machaerus.
After the deposition and banishment of Herod Antipas in 39 AD, Machaerus passed to Herod Agrippa I until his death in AD 44, after which it came under Roman control. Jewish rebels took control after AD 66 during the First Jewish Revolt.  Shortly after defeating the Jewish garrison of Herodium, the Roman legate Lucilius Bassus advanced on Machaerus with his troops and began siege in AD 72.  An embankment and ramp were created in order to facilitate Roman siege engines but the Jewish rebels capitulated before the Roman attack had begun.  The rebels were allowed to leave and the fortress was torn down, leaving only the foundations intact.


Gokul Medh is an archaeological site in Bangladesh. It is an excavated mound in the village of Gokul in Bogra Sadar Upazila, Bogra, about 2km southwest of Mahasthangarh. It is also known as Lakshindar Medh, as it is known in folklore as the bridal chamber of Behula and Lakshinder, protagonists of a ballad. The mound served as the base of a Buddhist shrine or stupa built in the 7th century AD.


Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the  Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE. Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailash temple, a chariot-shaped monument dedicated to the god Shiva. The Kailash temple excavation also features sculptures depicting various Hindu deities as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu epics.
There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to public. These consist of 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, each group representing deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion. They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India. All of the Ellora monuments were built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty, which constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist caves, and the Yadava dynasty, which constructed a number of the Jain caves. Funding for the construction of the monuments was provided by royals, traders and the wealthy of the region.
Although the caves served as temples and a rest stop for pilgrims, the site's location on an ancient South Asian trade route also made it an important commercial centre in the Deccan region. It is 29 kilometres (18 miles) north-west of Sambhaji Nagar, and about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast of Mumbai. Today, the Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, are a major tourist attraction in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).


Cave 21, also called Rameshwar Lena, is another early excavation whose construction has been credited to the Kalachuri dynasty. The cave was completed prior to the ascension of Rashtrakuta dynasty which went on to expand the caves at Ellora
Although the cave features similar works to those in other Ellora caves, it also has a number of unique pieces, such as those depicting the story of goddess Parvati's pursuit of Shiva. Carvings depicting Parvati and Shiva at leisure, Parvati's wedding to Shiva, Shiva dancing and Kartikeya (Skanda) have been found in other caves. The cave also features a large display of the Sapta Matrika, the seven mother goddesses of the Shakti tradition of Hinduism, flanked on either side by Ganesha and Shiva. Inside the temple are other goddesses important to Shakti tradition, for example, the Durga. The entrance to Cave 21 is flanked by large sculptures of the goddesses Ganga and Yamuna representing the two major Himalayan rivers and their significance to the Indian culture.
The cave is laid out symmetrically according to the mandapa square principle and has embedded geometric patterns repeated throughout the cave. The Shiva linga at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is equidistant from the major statues of goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, with all three set in an equilateral triangle. According to Carmel Berkson, this layout likely symbolizes the Brahman–Prakriti relationship, the interdependence of the masculine and the feminine energies, that is central to Hindu theology.


Old Orhei (Romanian: Orheiul Vechi) is a Moldovan historical and archaeological complex located in Trebujeni, which is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-east of Chișinău on the Răut River in the Republic of Moldova.


The ancient city of Orheiul Vechi is a natural and historical complex, located in a narrow bend of the Răut River. The natural landscape of limestone rock, eroded by the river, is combined with archaeological vestiges of the ancient Trypillian civilization. As a result of archaeological excavations, cultural layers were discovered from different epochs, such as the Paleolithic, Eneolithic, and Iron Age.
Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations, including the remnants of earthen and wooden fortresses of Geto–Dacian fortress (6th–1st centuries B.C.), the Golden Horde fort Shehr al-Jedid (or Yangi-Shehr) (14th century), a Moldavian fort dating from the 14th-16th centuries, an Orthodox monastery (c. 14th century), and the Moldavian town of Orhei from the 14th–16th centuries.
The Orthodox monastery is still inhabited by a handful of Orthodox monks, who maintain the church at the top of the hill. The caves are still functional as chapels. The caves contain an array of historical artifacts and Old Church Slavonic inscriptions dating from the 1690s, which testify that the Hajduk took shelter in the caves, hiding from the Ottoman Empire.


Prasat Kravan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទក្រវាន់) is a small 10th-century temple consisting of five reddish brick towers on a common terrace, at Angkor, Cambodia, south of the artificial lake (baray) called Srah Srang. Its original Sanskrit name is unknown. The modern name in Khmer, "Prasat Kravan", means artabotrys odoratissimus temple. The temple was dedicated to Vishnu in 921 CE, according to an inscription on doorjambs.
The site was cleaned from vegetation in the 1930s by Henri Marchal and Georges Trouvé. Afterwards the towers were restored on Bernard Philippe Groslier's initiative from 1962 to 1966, adding some new bricks which are marked with a "CA" (meaning "Conservation Angkor").
The temple is oriented to the east and surrounded by a small moat. Its exterior is striking for its classical lines and symmetry. The central and the south tower have superstructures which take advantage of false perspective by simple means of diminishing tiers. The sanctuary's interiors are remarkable for the large bas-relief depictions of Vishnu and Lakshmi that have been carved into the walls of reddish brick, connected by a vegetable compound. This type of sculptured artwork is rather common in Cham temples, but rare in known Khmer monuments.


Since 1992 the Gallery has a seat in the building of the former County House. The building in a Baroque and Classicist style, designed by a Vienna-based builder, J. Langer, was completed in 1779. In the period of 1888-1889 the building underwent several alterations: the front part of the house was adjusted, courtly wings were added and the rear wing was modified. On the facade one can see the coat of arms of the Abaúj-Torna County of 1558. Upstairs, there is the assembly hall, the so-called historic hall, with illusive arcades showing the coat of arms of former Abaúj-Torna County as well as some of its towns and villages. It was here that the first cabinet meeting of the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks was held on April 5, 1945, which proclaimed the Košice government programme.


WikiWeb_Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art_0

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western American paintings and sculptures collected by businessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg (1903–1997). The museum houses one of the finest collections of Native contemporary art in the world.


WikiWeb_Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art_1

The museum is located in Indianapolis's White River State Park, which is also home to the neighboring Indiana State Museum and Military Park, among other attractions. The museum offers free parking to its visitors in the park's underground parking garage.
The Gund Gallery has an appreciable collection of paintings and bronzes by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. It also has paintings by: George Winter, Thomas Hill, Albert Bierstadt, Charles King, and Olaf Seltzer. In another room, there is a large collection of paintings by New Mexico-associated painters, such as: Joseph Henry Sharp, William Victor Higgins, Ernest L. Blumenschein ("Penitentes"), John French Sloan, and Georgia O'Keeffe (“Taos Pueblo”).
In June 2005, the museum opened an extensive expansion that doubled the public space of the museum by adding three new galleries, the Sky City Café, an education center, outdoor gardens, and event space. The new galleries include two galleries dedicated to the museum's extensive contemporary art collection. The collection includes works by T. C. Cannon, Kay WalkingStick, Andy Warhol, and many more. The other gallery added in the expansion is the Gund Gallery of Western Art. This gallery is dedicated to the 57-piece collection of traditional Western art donated to the museum by the George Gund Family.


MAXXI (Italian: Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, "national museum of 21st-century arts") is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio neighborhood of Rome, Italy. The museum is managed by a foundation created by the Italian ministry of cultural heritage. The building was designed by Zaha Hadid, and won the Stirling Prize of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2010.


The Juan Manuel Blanes Municipal Museum of the Arts is located at Avenida Millan 4015, in the neighbourhood of Prado, Montevideo, in a Palladian villa designated a National Heritage Site in 1975. The villa was originally designed in 1870 by Juan Alberto Capurro, an engineer trained at the Turin Polytechnic, for the then-owner Dr. Juan Battista Raffo. The surrounding garden reveals elements of French landscape design. The municipality acquired the villa in 1929, when it commissioned the architect Eugenio Baroffio to renovate and expand the building. Baroffio maintained the eclecticism of the original design, leaving the facade intact. The museum was founded in 1930, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the first Constitution of Uruguay, and named after the patriotic Uruguayan artist, Juan Manuel Blanes.


The Semper Gallery or Semper Building (German: Sempergalerie or Semperbau) in Dresden, Germany, was designed by the architect Gottfried Semper and constructed from 1847 until 1854.
The long-stretched building in Neoclassical style closes the Zwinger courtyard on its northern side. It faces the Zwinger to the south; to the north it borders on the Theatre Square (Theaterplatz) with the Semper Opera House as well as Dresden Castle and the Catholic Church of the Royal Court (Katholische Hofkirche).
The Semper Gallery houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister).


The National Gallery of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի ազգային պատկերասրահ, Hayastani azgayin patkerasrah) is the largest art museum in Armenia. Located on Yerevan's Republic Square, the museum has one of the most prominent locations in the Armenian capital. The NGA houses significant collections of Russian and Western European art, and the world's largest collection of Armenian art. The museum had 65,000 visitors in 2005.


The first part of Classic Armenian art  brings light to Ancient and Medieval art including Urartu frescoes and copies of Garni Temple's mosaics, as well as Medieval wall-paintings and miniatures, such as a 7th-century fresco of "Christ Enthroned" from St. Stephanos Church (Lmbatavank), a 10th-century fresco fragment of "The Last Judgment" from St. Poghos-Petros (Tate (Akhtala).
Around 700 items of Armenian art make up the majority of the collection. The museum houses a large collection of paintings relating to the Armenian Apostolic Church dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, as well as silver book covers, crosses, and 18th-century altar curtains from all across Asia.
The collection of historic Armenian art is the largest in the world. There are particularly strong collections of work by Hakob Hovnatanyan, Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Gevorg Bashinjaghian, Panos Terlemezian, Vardges Sureniants, Vartan Mahokian, Martiros Saryan, Hakob Kojoyan, Hakob Gyurjian, Edgar Chahine, Grigor Khanjyan, Minas Avetisyan, and many more.
There is a particular strength in the field of art by diasporan Armenians, and it includes works by Zakar Zakarian (Paris), Edgar Chahine (Paris), Hovsep Pushman (New York), Jean Carzou (Paris), Jean Jansem (Paris), Gerardo Oragyan (Rome), and Paul Guiragossian (Beirut).
Russian art is also extensively present in the NPGA's collection. These include religious icons and images from the 16th and 17th centuries and works of well-known Russian artists from the 18th–20th-century, including F. Rokotov, I. Argunov, F. Shubin, Ilya Repin, Valentin Serov, Ilya Mashkov, Sergey Konenkov, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Vassily Kandinsky, Natalia Goncharova, Marc Chagall, and others.
NPGA has also incorporated many examples of "foreign art" (predominantly Western) into their collection, many of which were originally part of the 'Armenian Cultural Center' (the former Lazarian Seminary, Moscow), which was nationalized during the Soviet period and moved to Yerevan.
The ancient collections include examples of ancient art from Egypt (New Kingdom, Greco-Roman, Coptic), Greece (Corinth, Attica), Rome, and Iran. The Decorative Arts department has ceramic and porcelain collections of Chinese, Iranian, Italian, Japan, German, Austrian, Danish, and an extensive collection from the 18th–19th-century Tsarist Imperial Porcelain Factory in Russia. There are also a small collection of bronze items from 18th-century China (Qing dynasty) and 16th–17th-century Western European wooden furniture.
There are a number of European Old Master works in their holdings, including works by well-known artists from Italy, Holland, Belgium and French art movements, including significant works by Donatello, Tintoretto, Antonio Canova, Joos de Momper, Caspar Netscher, Matthias Stomer, Jan van Goyen, P. Claesz, E. M. Falconet, Carle Vanloo, J. B. Greuze, Joseph Vernet, Robert Hubert, Théodore Rousseau, Adolphe Monticelli.
In 2008, a pavilion was opened specifically for Hakob Gyurjian's works.
The NPGA building also houses the restoration and conservation studios affiliated with the museum. The complex also has a moderately sized library and archive, a small cafeteria, a souvenir and book store, and a hall used for film screenings and lectures.
The NPGA also lends to international exhibitions with works from her collection, helping to organizize exhibitions of Armenian art in different countries to see that Armenia's works are appreciated by citizens around the world.


The Kunsthalle Bern is a Kunsthalle (art exposition hall) on the Helvetiaplatz in Bern, Switzerland.
It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous expositions of contemporary art. The Kunsthalle gained international renown with expositions by artists such as Paul Klee, Christo, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Jasper Johns, Sol LeWitt, Gregor Schneider, Bruce Nauman and Daniel Buren, and with thematic expositions such as Harald Szeemann's Live In Your Head: When Attitudes Become Form (1969).
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary the Kunsthalle Bern became the first building ever to be wrapped entirely by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in July 1968.


The original bridge was called Ponte di Rubaconte after the name of the podestà Rubaconte da Mandello who had commissioned construction in 1227, making it older than the Ponte Vecchio. It was rebuilt in 1345 with nine arches, making it the longest in Florence. Giorgio Vasari attributed the design to an architect by the name of Lapo Tedesco, the architect of the Bargello.
In 1346, two of the arches in the Oltrarno neighborhood were filled up to extend the bank, leaving the seven arch structure seen in a 17th-century print on this page. This landfill widened the street of Piazza dei Mozzi, which leads to the Palazzo Mozzi.
On the city side was a small oratory with an icon of the Madonna Alle Grazie, which also gave the bridge its name. Structures were erected at each of the pylons, and remained there till a widening of the road, to make way for railway track. These structures initially were either chapels, once dedicated to Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Barbara, and Lawrence; or erected as huts for female hermits or Romite. These women, wishing to avoid the scandals of some of the nunneries in the city, were said to have immured themselves here, receiving their food from passersby through small slots. These hermitages were ultimately cleared and the remaining women moved to a convent near Santa Croce, renamed the  Murate, or Immured. The houses became dwellings until cleared in the 1870s.
In August 1944, the bridge was destroyed by the retreating Germans as they withdrew before the advancing Allied forces in World War II.  Following the end of the War, a competition was held to create a new design for a replacement bridge.  The winning design, the work of a group formed of architects including Giovanni Michelucci, Edoardo Said, Edoardo Detti, Riccardo Gizdolich and Danilo Know and an engineer, Piero Melucci, feature four slender piers with thin arches between them.  The new bridge was completed in 1953. While the new design is harmonious with the surrounding city, its modern design and construction materials do not mirror the shape of the prior bridge.


In June 1978 the Highland Regional Council asked Ove Arup & Partners Scotland to prepare a feasibility study for a bridge, in their capacity as consulting civil engineers, and was prepared by March 1979.
Construction for the approach roads, costing £4 million, began in summer 1981. Construction of the bridge began in August 1982, with Morrison Construction and Lehane, Mackenzie and Shand the chief contractors.
It was constructed by building out the supporting legs and then lifting into place the central span, which had been constructed on land and then moved onto a barge by rail and weighed 640 tonnes (630 long tons; 710 short tons).
The cost of the bridge was £4 million, although was earlier budgeted at £2.75 million. The bridge opened to traffic in July 1984, and was formally opened by the Queen on 8 August 1984.
In 2019, the bridge was classified by Historic Environment Scotland as a Category A structure, recognising it as "visually striking and technically innovative". It was also officially renamed to the Gaelic translation of its name, Drochaid a' Chaolais Chumhaing.


The Puente de Piedra (English: Stone Bridge) is a bridge across the river Ebro in Zaragoza, Spain.
The Puente de Piedra is also called the Bridge of Lions because since 1991 four lions (symbols of the city) have been placed on the pillars at each end of the bridge. The lion statues were designed by Francisco Rallo Lahoz.


The Puente de Isabel II, Puente de Triana or Triana Bridge, is a metal arch bridge in  Seville, Spain, that connects the Triana neighbourhood with the centre of the city. It crosses the Canal de Alfonso XIII, one of the arms of the River Guadalquivir that isolate Triana as an almost-island.
It was built during the reign of Isabella II of Spain and completed in 1852 as the first solid bridge in Seville, replacing an earlier floating bridge consisting of boats (a pontoon bridge). First built by the Moors in the 12th century, the pontoon bridge managed to exist for seven centuries due to later repairs.


Przemyśl Castle or Casimir Castle (Polish: Zamek Przemyśl or Polish: Zamek Kazimierzowski) is a Renaissance castle in Przemyśl, Poland, located on the Castle Hill, which rises to a height of 270 metres above sea level and 70 meters above the city and the San River.


Točník Castle lies in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. More accurately, it is in the Beroun District above the village of Točník. It was built during the reign of Wenceslaus IV at the end of the 14th century above the already existing castle Žebrák as his private residence. The two castles, Točník and Žebrák, make up a picturesque "couple," standing almost right next to each other.


The area where the castle stands was inhabited by people two thousand years ago, but it was not until the 14th century when the Bohemian and German king Wenceslaus IV decided to build his residence there. The castle Točník was built after the large fire at the castle Žebrák, which showed how unsafe it was for the king and how its position was not strategic.
The castle was built on a three-part ground plan. Behind the defensive wall is a massive moat with a bridge, which was originally protected by a gate tower. The most important building, situated in the residential section on the L-shaped ground plan, is the Royal Palace with its side wing. The second floor of the palace was taken up with a ceremonial hall, while other floors were residential.
During the Hussite wars, when Wenceslaus' brother Sigismund was in power, the castle was besieged by the Hussite army for three days, until it gave up and burnt down the towns Točník and Hořovice instead. The castle was then mortgaged and handed over from one person to another, but it never found an owner that would keep it for a longer time and so it was gradually reduced to ruins. Jan of Wartenberg initiated the first stage of the Renaissance alterations, which were continued by the Lobkowicz family. In 1594, the castle came once again to the royal property and was administrated by the Bohemian Royal Chamber. The Thirty Years' War contributed greatly to the castle's deterioration. In the year 1923, the castle was sold to the Czech Association of Tourists for 2000 Czechoslovak crowns and now it belongs to the state. Since the 1930s the gradual restoration works continue until this day.


The castle has an irregular shape. In the 1590s and 1610s, it had a four-wing structure, three towers and fortifications surrounding the castle with two gates. After the year 1516, Piotr Kmita expanded the castle. After his death in 1553, the castle came into ownership of the Barzów in 1566, which ceded ownership rights of the castle to the Stadnickis. In 1593 Sebastian Lubomirski bought the castle. In between the years of 1615 to 1621, Sebastian Lubomirski's son Stanisław Lubomirski undertook the expansion of the castle. The architect Maciej Trapola drew up the project of the Baroque reconstruction and bastion fortifications. During the Deluge the Swedes looted the castle and destroyed the castle. After Sweden was defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the castle was seeded to the Lubomirskich, which carried out restoration works which have not been completed.
After the first half of the eighteenth century, the castle became the property of the Sanguszko princely family, later the Potocki family, and the House of Zamoyski. After the Third Partition of Poland, the castle started falling into decline, and in 1831 the castle was destroyed by a fire and left abandoned. In the year of 1901, the castle was bought by Professor Maurycy Straszewski of the Lubomirski Ancestral Federation (Zjednoczenie Rodowe Lubomirskich) which had commenced the renovation the castle. From 1928, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz supervised renovation, however further renovation was stopped due to the outbreak of World War II. After World War II, the castle was seized by the state, and from the year of 1949, renovation was conducted by Alfred Majewski, which was to restore the castle to its former structure. The history of the castle is enlivened by many legends (the legend of the Queen Bona, the legend of the "flyers", the legend of the stone "mushroom"). Many well-known artists (Marcin Bielski, Klemens Janicki, Juliusz Kossak, Jan Matejko, Stanisław Orzechowski, Stanisław Wyspiański) visited the castle in centuries past.


From 1110 until the French Revolution, the castle and village belonged to the Archbishops of Narbonne. It was the seat of one of the bailiwicks of the Archbishopric and shows that the prelates were integrated into feudal society and that the ecclesiastical power was exerted on seigneuries. The archbishops had to defend their properties against their neighbours, before and after the Albigensian Crusade. Villerouge was the centre of a vast domain, because the Archbishop of Narbonne was the lord of many villages in the region and he collected tithes, taxes or duties there. To collect these revenues and to control his vassals, the archbishop had a baillif and Villerouge was in the centre of the bailiwick. The archbishops of Narbonne tried to fortify this place which is imposing in its robustness. The large tower or keep of the south-eastern corner comprises three superimposed rooms, with very thick walls, in which staircases were arranged, leading to a crenelated terrace. The structure was certainly built in the 12th century, perhaps in the third quarter.
The castle played an important role during the Albigensian Crusade. The last Cathar "bon homme", Guillaume Bélibaste, was burnt alive there on 24 August 1321.
The castle, now in ruins, has been classified as a monument historique since 1976.


Trausnitz Castle is a medieval castle situated in Landshut, Bavaria in Germany.
It was the home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, and it served as their ducal residence for Lower Bavaria from 1255–1503, and later as the seat of the hereditary rulers of the whole of Bavaria. The castle was founded in 1204 by Duke Ludwig I.


York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruined keep of the medieval Norman castle is commonly referred to as Clifford's Tower. Built originally on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of Jórvík, the castle suffered a tumultuous early history before developing into a major fortification with extensive water defences. After a major explosion in 1684 rendered the remaining military defences uninhabitable, York Castle continued to be used as a jail and prison until 1929.
The first motte and bailey castle on the site was built in 1068 following the Norman conquest of York. After the destruction of the castle by rebels and a Viking army in 1069, York Castle was rebuilt and reinforced with extensive water defences, including a moat and an artificial lake. York Castle formed an important royal fortification in the north of England.
In 1190, 150 local Jews were killed in a pogrom in the timber castle keep; most of them died by suicide in order not to fall into the hands of the mob. Henry III rebuilt the castle in stone in the middle of the 13th century, creating a keep with a unique quatrefoil design, supported by an outer bailey wall and a substantial gatehouse. During the Scottish wars between 1298 and 1338, York Castle was frequently used as the centre of royal administration across England, as well as an important military base of operations.
York Castle fell into disrepair by the 15th and 16th centuries, becoming used increasingly as a jail for both local felons and political prisoners. By the time of Elizabeth I the castle was estimated to have lost all of its military value but was maintained as a centre of royal authority in York. The outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 saw York Castle being repaired and refortified, playing a part in the Royalist defence of York in 1644 against Parliamentary forces. York Castle continued to be garrisoned until 1684, when an explosion destroyed the interior of Clifford's Tower. The castle bailey was redeveloped in a neoclassical style in the 18th century as a centre for county administration in Yorkshire, and was used as a jail and debtors' prison. Prison reform in the 19th century led to the creation of a new prison built in a Tudor Gothic style on the castle site in 1825; used first as a county and then as a military prison, this facility was demolished in 1935. By the 20th century the ruin of Clifford's Tower had become a well-known tourist destination and national monument; today the site is owned by English Heritage and open to the public. The other remaining buildings serve as the York Castle Museum and the Crown Court.


York Prison finally closed in 1929, and the Tudor Gothic Victorian prison buildings were demolished in 1935. The Assize Courts building now houses the York Crown Court, while the former Debtors' Prison and Female Prison, together with a modern entrance area, are now the Castle Museum. The circular grassed area between these buildings that was once known as the "Eye of the Ridings" is now known as Castle Green, or the "Eye of York". Clifford's Tower is the most prominent surviving part of the original medieval fortification, although the stone steps up the side of the motte are modern. Fragments of the bailey wall, parts of the south gatehouse and one of the corner towers also survive.
The castle is classed as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled monument. The site, managed by English Heritage, is open to the public. Until the 1970s, the pogrom of 1190 was often underplayed by official histories of the castle; early official guides to the castle made no reference to it. In 1978, however, the first memorial tablet to the victims was laid at the base of Clifford's Tower, and in 1990 the 800th anniversary of the killings was commemorated at the tower. Recently, commercial interests have sought to introduce retail development to the area surrounding it. Citizens, visitors, academics, environmentalists, local businesspeople and Jewish groups have opposed the development with some success, winning a lengthy and bitter public inquiry in 2003.
In March 2022 an English Heritage conservation project, including work on the limestone fabric of the tower and care of the chapel roof,  was completed. New internal access stairways of gluelam timber leading  to a new roof deck allow visitors a close view of some original features of the building and less-crowded viewpoints over the city.


Devín Castle (Slovak: hrad Devín [ˈɦrad ˈɟeʋiːn] or Devínsky hrad [ˈɟeʋiːnski ˈɦrat], Hungarian: Dévényi vár, German: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.


Lietava Castle (Slovak: Lietavský hrad, older names Litova, Letava, Lethowa, Zsolnalitva) is an extensive castle ruin in the Súľov Mountains of northern Slovakia, between the villages of Lietava and Lietavská Svinná-Babkov in the Žilina District.


Rhuddlan Castle (Welsh: Castell Rhuddlan; [kastɛɬ ˈr̥ɨðlan]) is a  castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277, following the First Welsh War.
Much of the work was overseen by master mason James of Saint George. Rhuddlan, which was not completed until 1282, was built concurrently with Flint Castle, at a time when King Edward I of England was consolidating his conquest of Wales. It was temporarily his residence, and his daughter, Elizabeth, is presumed to have been born there.


The story of Rhuddlan goes back much further than the fortress built by Edward I. Prior to the Norman occupation of lower Gwynedd, Rhuddlan was at the heart of a Welsh cantref. From here the Lords of Rhuddlan commanded the Perfeddwlad (lands of north east Wales) on behalf of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1007 – 5 August 1063), the last ruler of all Wales.  The town itself, however, began as a Saxon "burgh" founded by Edward the Elder.
In the late 11th century, the Normans invaded Gwynedd. Rhuddlan's strategic position ensured that it was fought over by the Princes of Gwynedd and the Earls of Chester, with Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, who had been driven out by Harold Godwinson, re-taking the town. The remains of a Norman castle at Twthill, built in 1086, is just to the south of the current castle; it was built by Robert of Rhuddlan, a supporter of King William I of England.
In July 1277, at the outbreak of the Welsh Wars, Edward I left Chester and established an advance base at Flint, where building work immediately began on Flint Castle. With naval assistance from 25 ships of the Cinque Ports fleet, the army pushed along the coast. By August Edward had moved his forces on to Rhuddlan, which, as was his custom, he was able to supply by river. Three months later the town was ceded to the English Crown following the Treaty of Aberconwy between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Edward I.
Work on Rhuddlan Castle began immediately under the control of Master Bertram, a Gascon engineer, but construction was soon handed over to Savoyard master mason, James of St George who remained in charge until labour ceased in 1282. Besieged by the Welsh during the rebellion of 1282, until relieved by an English force led by future Amadeus V, Count of Savoy.
Edward I also created a new borough, north of his castle, away from the pre-existing Norman town and Dominican Friary. The 13th-century street layout can still be seen in the modern town. The borough, like at Flint, was defended with a pair of ditch-separated earthworks and a timber palisade. Rhuddlan Castle became a part of Edward's Ring of Iron fortifications.
Elizabeth, the eighth daughter of Edward I, was born at Rhuddlan in 1282, the same year work at the castle was completed. Two years later the Statute of Rhuddlan was signed at the castle following the defeat of Llewellyn the Last, who had attacked the castle unsuccessfully. It ceded all the lands of the former Welsh Princes to the English Crown and introduced English common law. Edward I could now appoint Royal officials such as sheriffs, constables, and bailiffs to collect taxes and enforce English law throughout Wales. Following Rhuddlan, the counties of north western North Wales were placed under the control of the Justiciar of North Wales. Although the statute brought in English legislation, Welsh law continued to be practised at local level after the conquest of the Wales. This remained the case until 1536 when Rhuddlan's statute was repealed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 that made English common law the exclusive judicial system in Wales.
In 1294 the castle was attacked during the Welsh rising of Madog ap Llywelyn but was not taken. It remained in English hands and was one of the places where King Richard II of England stopped in 1399 on his way to Flint, where he would be taken prisoner by his rival, Henry IV. It was attacked again in the following year by forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1400. This time the town was badly damaged but the castle held out. In the latter 15th and early 16th centuries the castle's condition deteriorated as its strategic and administrative importance waned.
Rhuddlan Castle was again garrisoned by Royalist troops during the English Civil War, and remained a stronghold of King Charles I of England until well after the Battle of Naseby, being taken by Parliamentary forces under Thomas Mytton after a siege in 1646. Two years later, Parliamentarians partially demolished the castle to prevent any further military use.  By the time Pennant passed through in 1781, it was largely ruined.


1547 it was struck by lightning, heavily damaging church and tower. The tower was again damaged by French troops in 1672, the rampjaar. It was once more struck by lightning in 1717 and in 1783 became the first building in the Netherlands to be protected from lightning by a lightning rod.
It was restored 1919–1930 by W. te Riele and N. de Wolf, and restored again after it was heavily damaged when retreating German troops blew up the tower in April 1945.


Plymouth Church is an historic church located at 57 Orange Street between Henry and Hicks Streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City; the Church House has the address 75 Hicks Street. The church was built in 1849–50 and was designed by Joseph C. Wells. Under the leadership of its first minister, Henry Ward Beecher, it became the foremost center of anti-slavery sentiment in the mid-19th century. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1961, and has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966. It is part of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965.
The church is a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.


Built in 1849–50, Plymouth Church is an  example of 19th century urban tabernacle architecture with italianate and colonial motifs. Its layout, influenced by the Broadway Tabernacle in Manhattan, was designed by Joseph C. Wells – who was later one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects. The barn-like church building, with its pews arranged in an arc before the pulpit, resemble more an auditorium or theater than what had traditionally been considered a church. This open design was adopted by many evangelical Protestant churches throughout the United States in the second half of the 19th century.
In 1866, the church's original pipe organ was replaced by E. and G. G. Hook, which installed what was then the largest organ in the United States, expanded further by Aeolian-Skinner in 1937.
In 1907–09, the church installed stained-glass windows by the noted J&R Lamb Studios. This studio opened it doors in 1857 and is now the oldest existing studio of its kind in the US. The windows in Plymouth Church are unique in that they do not depict any biblical scenes. Instead they focus on the history of democracy in England and the US, with a particular emphasis on the influence of the Puritans, Pilgrims and Congregational Churches. In 1913 the family of John Arbuckle, a coffee merchant, donated money to create a large garden and the Classic revival parish house.  The house and arcade which adjoin the building were designed by Woodruff Leeming.
The church garden, fronting on Orange Street and located between the Church House and the Sanctuary, contains a statue of Beecher and a bas-relief of Lincoln. Both were produced by famed sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. An almost identical statue of Beecher is located less than a mile away, next to Cadman Plaza, in front of Brooklyn's historic Federal Building and Post Office.
The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 4, 1961, and  was named a National Historic Landmark on October 15, 1966. It is located within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, designated on November 23, 1965, by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Tours of the church, including its grounds, the Sanctuary, Hillis Hall, and the original Underground Railroad facilities, are available upon request. From 2000 to 2015, these tours were given by Lois Rosebrooks, the long-time director of history ministry services.


Kiplin Hall is a Jacobean historic house at Kiplin in North Yorkshire, England, and a Grade I listed building. It is not far from the River Swale in the Vale of Mowbray. Kiplin Hall is rich in education, in architecture and art, a museum of history, a gallery and provides a biographical record of its past English country house owners. The nearest villages are Scorton, Great Langton and Bolton-on-Swale.


Sarah Talbot Carpenter married Christopher Hatton Turnor from Stoke Rochford in Lincolnshire in 1907 but they had no children.  The couple never resided at Kiplin and the house was let.  Five sales of land reduced the estate to 120 acres and disposed of many of the tenant farms, land and cottages that had contributed to its running.  The estate entered virtually a century of decline. Much of the nearby local landscape has since been extensively quarried for sand and gravel extraction.
In 1937 Sarah Turnor shared ownership of the Hall with her first cousin, Bridget Elizabeth Talbot, daughter of the Admiral's youngest brother, Alfred.  Miss Talbot had happy memories of visiting the estate in her childhood and had previously campaigned to save the Ashridge Estate near her home in Little Gaddesden (near Berkhamstead). In an attempt to capitalise on the connection with Maryland (see above) she advertised the Hall as a guest house to American visitors and as a conference centre.  From 1937 until 1958 she tried to interest the National Trust in taking over Kiplin but it remained largely indifferent, considering the Hall of little historical significance and insisting that the north and south wings, which were later additions, would have to be demolished.
During the Second World War the Hall was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force and used as a maintenance unit, storing and supplying armaments for local airfields at RAF Catterick, RAF Croft and RAF Middleton St George. In addition some of the rooms were converted to flats for officers’ use and it was used by men from the 1st Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment as a place to recover after being rescued at Dunkirk.
In February 1968 Miss Talbot set up the Kiplin Hall Trust, its purpose being to hold Kiplin Hall and its appurtenances in trust permanently to preserve them for the benefit of the nation as a place of beauty and historical and architectural interest.  Bridget Talbot died in November 1971, leaving the contents of the Hall to the Trust, which still cares for the Hall and estate today.
Bridget Talbot was a rather "remarkable woman who received the Italian Medal for Valour for her work with the Red Cross on the Italian-Austrian front during the First World War and who invented a waterproof torch for lifebelts which saved the lives of many seamen during the Second World War. She stood as a Liberal Party candidate for Bermondsey in 1950 and in 1968 established the Kiplin Charitable Trust to preserve the Hall." Bridget Talbot was awarded for her service the Italian Medal of Military Valor (Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare) for exceptional valour as a nurse, Croce di Guerra (Croce al Merito di Guerra) and the British Order of the British Empire as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.).