title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: and others are smaller, averaging about the size of Florida horseshoe crabs. Horseshoe crabs possess the rare ability to regrow lost limbs, in a manner similar to sea stars. A wide range of marine species become attached to the carapace, including algae, flat worms, mollusks, barnacles, and bryozoans, and horseshoe crabs have been described as 'walking museums' due to the number of organisms they can support. In areas where "Limulus" is common, the shells, exoskeletons or exuviae (molted shells) of horseshoe crabs frequently wash up on beaches, either as whole shells, or as disarticulated pieces. The brain and the heart


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: are located in the prosoma. On the underside of the prosoma, six pairs of appendages occur, the first of which (the small pincers or chelicerae) are used to pass food into the mouth, which is located in the middle of the underside of the cephalothorax, between the chelicerae. Although most arthropods have mandibles, the horseshoe crab is jawless. The second pair of appendages, the pedipalps, are used as walking legs; in males they are tipped with 'claspers', which are used during mating to hold onto the female's carapace. The remaining four pairs of appendages are the 'pusher legs', also used


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: in locomotion. The first four pairs of legs have claws, the last pair has a leaf-like structure used for pushing. The opisthosoma bears a further six pairs of appendages; the first pair houses the genital pores, while the remaining five pairs are modified into flattened plates, known as book gills, that allow them to breathe underwater, and can also allow them to breathe on land for short periods of time, provided the gills remain moist. The telson (i.e., tail or caudal spine) is used to steer in the water and also to flip itself over if stuck upside down. Among


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: other senses, they have a small chemoreceptor organ that senses smells on the triangular area formed by the exoskeleton beneath the body near the ventral eyes. "Limulus" has been extensively used in research into the physiology of vision. The Nobel prize in Medicine was awarded in 1967 in part for research performed on the horseshoe crab eye. A large compound eye with monochromatic vision is found on each side of the prosoma; it has five simple eyes on the carapace, and two simple eyes on the underside, just in front of the mouth, making a total of nine eyes. The


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: simple eyes are probably important during the embryonic or larval stages of the organism, and even unhatched embryos seem to be able to sense light levels from within their buried eggs. The less sensitive compound eyes, and the median ocelli, become the dominant sight organs during adulthood. In addition, the tail bears a series of light-sensing organs along its length. Each compound eye is composed of about 1000 receptors called ommatidia, complex structures consisting of upwards of 300 cells. The ommatidia are somewhat messily arranged, not falling into the ordered hexagonal pattern seen in more derived arthropods. Each ommatidium feeds


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: into a single nerve fiber. Furthermore, the nerves are large and relatively accessible. This made it possible for electrophysiologists to record the nervous response to light stimulation easily, and to observe visual phenomena such as lateral inhibition working at the cellular level. More recently, behavioral experiments have investigated the functions of visual perception in "Limulus". Habituation and classical conditioning to light stimuli have been demonstrated, as has the use of brightness and shape information by males when recognizing potential mates. The retinula (literally, "small retina") cells of the ommatidium of the compound eye contain areas from which membranous organelles of


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: conceivable size (rhabdomeres) extend. Rhabdomeres have tiny microvilli (tiny tubes extending out of the retinula) that interlock with neighboring retinular cells. This forms the rhabdom, which contains the dendrite of the eccentric cell, and may also contribute some microvilli. The only other species with an eccentric cell is the silkworm moth. Microvilli are composed of a double layer, 7 nm each and with 3.5 nm space of two electron-deficient boundaries in between. Where the microvilli meet, these outer borders fuse and yield five membranes about 15 nm thick. In all arthropods, there is always a rhabdom below a crystalline cone,


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: on or near the center of the ommatidium, and always aligned with the path of light. At right angles to the length of the rhabdome are the length of the microvilli, which are in line with each other. The microvilli are about 40–150 nm in diameter. The blood of horseshoe crabs (as well as that of most mollusks, including cephalopods and gastropods) contains the copper-containing protein hemocyanin at concentrations of about 50 g per liter. These creatures do not have hemoglobin (iron-containing protein), which is the basis of oxygen transport in vertebrates. Hemocyanin is colorless when deoxygenated and dark blue


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: when oxygenated. The blood in the circulation of these creatures, which generally live in cold environments with low oxygen tensions, is grey-white to pale yellow, and it turns dark blue when exposed to the oxygen in the air, as seen when they bleed. Hemocyanin carries oxygen in extracellular fluid, which is in contrast to the intracellular oxygen transport in vertebrates by hemoglobin in red blood cells. The blood of horseshoe crabs contains one type of blood cell, the amebocytes. These play an important role in the defense against pathogens. Amebocytes contain granules with a clotting factor known as coagulogen; this


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: is released outside the cell when bacterial endotoxin is encountered. The resulting coagulation is thought to contain bacterial infections in the animal's semiclosed circulatory system. The Atlantic horseshoe crab is the only extant (living) species of horseshoe crab native to the Americas, although there are other extinct species only known from fossil remains from this region. The other living species of horseshoe crab are restricted to Asia, but all are quite similar in form and behavior. The Asian species are "Tachypleus tridentatus", "Tachypleus gigas" and "Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda". Atlantic horseshoe crabs are found along the Atlantic East Coast of the United


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: States, ranging from Maine to Florida. In the Gulf Coast of the United States, they are found in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Outside the United States, the only breeding population is in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, where found on western, northern and eastern coasts. Individuals rarely appear outside the breeding range, with a few records from the Atlantic coast of Canada (Nova Scotia), the Bahamas, Cuba and the western Gulf of Mexico (Texas and Veracruz). There have been attempts of introducing it to Texas, California and the southern North Sea, but these all failed to become established. Records from Europe,


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: Israel and Western Africa are considered releases/escapees of captives. Atlantic horseshoe crabs range from shallow coastal habitats such as lagoons, estuaries and mangrove to depths of more than up to offshore. There are indications that they prefer depths shallower than . The temperature preference varies depending on the population, with the northernmost being the most cold-resistant: In the Great Bay in New Hampshire they show increased activity above and in Delaware Bay they are active above . In contrast, these northern populations do not tolerate as warm temperatures as southern populations of the species. Atlantic horseshoe crabs can be seen


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: in waters that range from brackish (almost fresh water) to hypersaline (almost twice the salinity of sea water), but their optimum growth is at salinities around or slightly below sea water (20–40‰). The crab feeds on mollusks, annelid worms, other benthic invertebrates, and bits of fish. Lacking jaws, it grinds up the food with bristles on its legs and a gizzard that contains sand and gravel. The breeding season varies. Northern populations (all in the United States, except those in southern Florida) generally breed from the spring to the autumn, while southern populations (southern Florida and Yucatán Peninsula) breed year-round.


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: In the north, breeding is triggered by a temperature increase, but this is reversed in the Yucatán Peninsula, the southernmost population, where decreasing temperatures stimulate breeding. In Massachusetts, horseshoe crabs spend the winters on the continental shelf and emerge at the shoreline in late spring to spawn, with the males arriving first. The smaller male grabs on to the back of a female with a "boxing glove" like structure on his front claws, often holding on for months at a time. Often several males will hold on to a single female. Females reach the beach at high tide. After the


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: female has laid a batch of eggs in a nest at a depth of in the sand, the male or males fertilize them with their sperm. Egg quantity is dependent on the female's body size, and ranges from 15,000 to 64,000 eggs per female. "Development begins when the first egg cover splits and new membrane, secreted by the embryo, forms a transparent spherical capsule" (Sturtevant). The larvae form and then swim for about five to seven days. After swimming, they settle, and begin the first molt. This occurs about 20 days after the formation of the egg capsule. As young


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: horseshoe crabs grow, they move to deeper waters, where molting continues. Before becoming sexually mature around age 9, they have to shed their shells some 17 times. In the first 2–3 years of their life, the juveniles stay in shallow coastal waters near the breeding beaches. Longevity is difficult to assess, but the average lifespan is thought to be 20–40 years. Research from the University of New Hampshire gives insight into the circadian rhythm of Atlantic horseshoe crabs. For example, several studies have looked into the effect of a circa tidal rhythm on the locomotion of this species. While it


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: has been known for a while that a circadian clock system controls eye sensitivity, scientists discovered a separate clock system for locomotion. When a sample of Atlantic horseshoe crabs were exposed to artificial tidal cycles in the lab, circa tidal rhythms were observed. The study found that light and dark cycles influence locomotion, but not as much as tidal activity. Horseshoe crabs were traditionally grouped with the extinct eurypterids (sea scorpions) as the Merostomata. However, recent studies suggest a relationship between the eurypterids and the arachnids, leaving Xiphosura in the clade Prosomapoda. They may have evolved in the shallow seas


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: of the Paleozoic Era (570–248 million years ago) with other primitive arthropods like the trilobites. The four species of horseshoe crab are the only remaining members of the Xiphosura, one of the oldest classes of marine arthropods. The extinct diminutive horseshoe crab, "Lunataspis aurora", from head to tail-tip, has been identified in 445-million-year-old Ordovician strata in Manitoba. Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as living fossils, as they have changed little in the last 445 million years. Forms almost identical to this species were present during the Triassic period 230 million years ago, and similar species were present in the


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: Devonian, 400 million years ago. However, horseshoe crab preservation in the fossil record is extremely rare and the Atlantic horseshoe crab itself has no fossil record at all. Until recently it was thought that the genus "Limulus" "ranges back only some 20 million years, not 200 million", but the discovery of "Limulus darwini" pushes that date back to at least the late Jurassic, 148 million years ago. Horseshoe crabs are valuable as a species to the medical research community, and in medical testing. The above-mentioned clotting reaction of the animal's blood is used in the widely used "Limulus" amebocyte lysate


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: (LAL) test to detect bacterial endotoxins in pharmaceuticals and to test for several bacterial diseases. Enzymes from horseshoe crab blood are used by astronauts in the International Space Station to test surfaces for unwanted bacteria and fungi. A protein from horseshoe crab blood is also under investigation as a novel antibiotic. LAL is obtained from the animals' blood. Horseshoe crabs are returned to the ocean after bleeding. Studies show the blood volume returns to normal in about a week, though blood cell count can take two to three months to fully rebound. Overall the Atlantic horseshoe crab is recognized as


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: vulnerable by the IUCN due primarily to overharvesting and habitat loss. There are, however, significant geographic differences with some populations increasing, some stable and some declining. Early in the 20th century and possibly before, there was the mistaken belief in some areas that horseshoe crabs were destructive to fisheries, folklore held that they used their long spines to drill into some shellfish. Because of this mistaken belief and folklore, bounties were sometimes offered by authorities for them. On Cape Cod in the early 20th century five cents was offered for every dead horseshoe crab turned in. The Atlantic horseshoe crab


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: is not presently endangered, but harvesting and habitat destruction have reduced its numbers at some locations and caused some concern for this animal's future. Since the 1970s, the horseshoe crab population has been decreasing in some areas, due to several factors, including the use of the crab as bait in eel, whelk and conch trapping. Conservationists have also voiced concerns about the declining population of shorebirds, such as red knots, which rely heavily on the horseshoe crabs' eggs for food during their spring migration. Precipitous declines in the population of the red knots have been observed in recent years. Predators


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: of horseshoe crabs, such as the currently threatened Atlantic loggerhead turtle, have also suffered as crab populations diminish. In 1995, the nonprofit Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG) was founded with the aim of preserving the four remaining species of horseshoe crab. Since its inception, the ERDG has made significant contributions to horseshoe crab conservation. ERDG founder Glenn Gauvry designed a mesh bag for whelk/conch traps, to prevent other species from removing the bait. This has led to a decrease in the amount of bait needed by approximately 50%. In the state of Virginia, these mesh bags are mandatory in


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: whelk/conch fishery. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2006 considered several conservation options, among them being a two-year ban on harvesting the animals, affecting both Delaware and New Jersey shores of Delaware Bay. In June 2007, Delaware Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes has allowed limited harvesting of 100,000 males. He ruled that while the crab population was seriously depleted by overharvesting through 1998, it has since stabilized, and that this limited take of males will not adversely affect either horseshoe crab or red knot populations. In opposition, Delaware environmental secretary John Hughes concluded that a decline in the red


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: knot bird population was so significant that extreme measures were needed to ensure a supply of crab eggs when the birds arrived. Harvesting of the crabs was banned in New Jersey March 25, 2008. Every year, about 10% of the horseshoe crab breeding population dies when rough surf flips the creatures onto their backs, a position from which they often cannot right themselves. In response, the ERDG launched a "Just Flip 'Em" campaign, in the hopes that beachgoers will simply turn the crabs back over. A large-scale project to tag and count horseshoe crabs along the North American coast was


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: underway in the spring and summer of 2008, termed projectlimulus.org. Due to the lack of information and knowledge regarding horseshoe crab populations, the management policies lack any abundance of rules and regulations. To implement management policies for the species, more population information needs to be obtained. Since 1994, the populations in the Yucatán Peninsula have been recognized as endangered under Mexican law. They have declined since the 1960s and remaining significant Yucatán populations are mostly within protected areas. Atlantic horseshoe crab The Atlantic horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"), also known as the American horseshoe crab, is a species of marine and


title: Weka content: Weka The weka (also known as Maori hen or woodhen) ("Gallirallus australis") is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand, where four subspecies are recognized. Weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit. Weka usually lay eggs between August and January; both sexes help to incubate. Weka are large rails. They are predominantly rich brown mottled with black and grey; the brown shade varies from pale to dark depending on subspecies. The male is the larger sex at in length and


title: Weka content: in weight. Females measure in length and weigh . The reduced wingspan ranges from . The relatively large, reddish-brown beak is about long, stout and tapered, and used as a weapon. The pointed tail is near-constantly being flicked, a sign of unease characteristic of the rail family. Weka have sturdy legs and reduced wings. The common name, "weka", is a Māori word. The species was named "Rallus australis" by Anders Erikson Sparrman in 1789. Sparrman published the information in "Museum Carlsonianum", four fascicules based on specimens collected while voyaging with Captain James Cook between 1772 and 1775. "Australis" is Latin


title: Weka content: for "southern". Johann Georg Wagler's suggestion of the genus "Ocydromus" in 1830 to describe each weka as a species was generally adopted. However, weka were later classified as a single species in the genus "Gallirallus" with four subspecies. The buff weka ("Gallirallus australis hectori") formerly inhabited the eastern districts of the South Island but is now confined to Chatham Island and Pitt Island to which it was introduced in the early 1900s, and where they are widely hunted and eaten, being considered 'introduced'. Reintroduction into Canterbury has been unsuccessful so far but introductions to Mao Waho Island (in Lake Wanaka


title: Weka content: in 2004) and from there to Pigeon and Pig Island (in Lake Wakatipu in 2005/2006) have been much more successful. It has a lighter overall colouring than the other subspecies. The North Island weka ("Gallirallus australis greyi") is represented by original populations in Northland and Poverty Bay, and by liberations elsewhere from that stock. This subspecies differs in its greyer underparts, and brown rather than reddish coloured legs. The western weka ("Gallirallus australis australis") is found mainly in the northern and western regions of the South Island from Nelson to Fiordland. Distinguished by dark red-brown and black streaking on the


title: Weka content: breast, the western weka has two distinct colour phases, that of the southernmost range showing a greater degree of black. The Stewart Island weka ("Gallirallus australis scotti") is smaller than the other subspecies and, like the western weka, has two colour phases; a chestnut form - similar to the chestnut-phase western weka - and a black phase which is not as dark as the black western weka. Reintroduced populations are confined to Stewart Island/Rakiura and outliers, and to Kapiti Island to which it was introduced. Weka occupy areas such as forests, sub-alpine grassland, sand dunes, rocky shores and modified semi-urban


title: Weka content: environments. They are omnivorous, with a diet comprising 30% animal foods and 70% plant foods. Animal foods include earthworms, larvae, beetles, weta, ants, grass grubs, slugs, snails, insect eggs, slaters, frogs, spiders, rats, mice, and small birds. Stewart Island weka ("G. a. scotti") have been observed preying on sooty shearwater ("Puffinus griseus") eggs and chicks. Plant foods include leaves, grass, berries and seeds. Weka are important in the bush as seed dispersers, distributing seeds too large for smaller berry-eating birds. Where the weka is relatively common, their furtive curiosity leads them to search around houses and camps for food scraps,


title: Weka content: or anything unfamiliar and transportable. They have been known to steal shiny objects such as tin-foil. The breeding season varies, but when food is plentiful, weka can raise up to four broods throughout the whole year. Nests are made on the ground under the cover of thick vegetation, and built by making grass (or similar material) into a bowl to hold about four eggs. On average, female weka lay three creamy or pinkish eggs blotched with brown and mauve. Both sexes incubate. The chicks hatch after a month, and are fed by both parents until fully grown between six and


title: Weka content: ten weeks. Weka are classed as a vulnerable species. The Department of Conservation's weka recovery plan, approved in 1999, aims to improve the conservation status of threatened weka, clarify the status of data deficient weka, maintain the non-threatened status of other weka, and eventually restore all weka to their traditional ranges as a significant component of the ecosystems. Weka are problematic in conservation; some subspecies are threatened, but have been a problem to other threatened wildlife on offshore islands, especially when introduced to an island that they would not naturally inhabit. Weka are unable to withstand the current pressures faced


title: Weka content: in both the North Island and South Island. However, they can be very productive in good conditions and high food availability. Year-round breeding has been recorded at several sites with up to 14 young produced in a year. Weka populations can persist in highly modified habitats, but they have disappeared from huge areas of their former range, suggesting that they can adapt to a wide range of conditions but are particularly vulnerable to threats. The Department of Conservation identifies eight main threats to weka. Predation by ferrets, cats, and dogs are a threat to adult weka; stoats and ferrets are


title: Weka content: a threat to chicks; stoats and rats are a threat to eggs. It faces competition with introduced species for fruits and invertebrates, and suffers from the impact browsers have on forest composition and regeneration. Habitat depletion is caused by the modification and degradation of forests and wetlands. Diseases and parasites have been associated with population declines, although little is known. Drought has been implicated in the disappearance of weka from some areas. In some regions, motor vehicles cause a significant amount of roadkill death. Pest control operations sometimes kill weka, as they have ground foraging habits vulnerable to poison baits,


title: Weka content: and traps are laid in a way that weka can reach. Genetic diversity can be lost during the transmission of genes through generations, affecting isolated populations. Weka are significant to some Māori iwi who admire their curiosity and feisty, bold personality, traits which have led to them being relatively easy to catch. Weka were used by the Māori as a source of food, perfume, oil to treat inflammations, feathers in clothing and lures to catch dogs. Early European explorers and settlers frequently encountered and utilised weka; they were called "bush hens". Tales of weka stealing shiny items and bags of


title: Weka content: sugar are part of New Zealand folklore. Weka The weka (also known as Maori hen or woodhen) ("Gallirallus australis") is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand, where four subspecies are recognized. Weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit. Weka usually lay eggs between August and January; both sexes help to incubate. Weka are large rails. They are predominantly rich brown mottled with black and grey; the brown shade varies from pale to dark depending on subspecies. The male is


title: Plethodontidae content: the dominant biomass of vertebrates. An estimated 1.88 billion individuals of the southern redback salamander inhabit just one district of Mark Twain National Forest alone, about 1,400 tons of biomass. Due to their modest size and low metabolism, they are able to feed on prey such as springtails, which are usually too small for other terrestrial vertebrates. This gives them access to a whole ecological niche with minimal competition from other groups. The family Plethodontidae consists of four subfamilies and about 380 species divided among these genera, making up the majority of known salamander species: Following a major revision in


title: "Evening grosbeak" content: Evening grosbeak The evening grosbeak ("Coccothraustes vespertinus") is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae found in North America. The International Ornithologists' Union and the "Handbook of the Birds of the World" place the evening grosbeak in the genus "Hesperiphona". However, the species is named "Coccothraustes vespertinus" (in the same genus as the hooded grosbeak and the hawfinch) by the Clements Checklist and the American Ornithologists' Union. The genus "Hesperiphona" was introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. The name is from Ancient Greek "hesperos", "evening", and "phone" "cry", and the specific "vespertina" is Latin for "evening". The evening


title: "Evening grosbeak" content: grosbeak is similar in appearance to the Eurasian hawfinch, both being bulky, heavily built finches with large bills and short tails. The evening grosbeak ranges in length from and spans across the wings. In a large sampling of grosbeaks in Pennsylvania during winter, males weighed from , with an average of , while females weighed from , with an average of . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the tail is , the bill is and the tarsus is . The adult has a short black tail, black wings and a large pale bill. The adult male has


title: "Evening grosbeak" content: a bright yellow forehead and body; its head is brown and there is a large white patch in the wing. The adult female is mainly olive-brown, greyer on the underparts and with white patches in the wings. The breeding habitat is coniferous and mixed forest across Canada and the western mountainous areas of the United States and Mexico. It is an extremely rare vagrant to the British Isles, with just two records so far. The nest is built on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a tree. The migration of this bird is variable; in some winters, it


title: "Evening grosbeak" content: may wander as far south as the southern U.S. These birds forage in trees and bushes, sometimes on the ground. They mainly eat seeds, berries, and insects. Outside of the nesting season they often feed in flocks. Sometimes, they will swallow fine gravel. The range of this bird has expanded far to the east in historical times, possibly due to plantings of Manitoba maples and other maples and shrubs around farms and the availability of bird feeders in winter. Evening grosbeak The evening grosbeak ("Coccothraustes vespertinus") is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae found in North America. The


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: Pine grosbeak The pine grosbeak ("Pinicola enucleator") is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and Siberia. The species is a frugivore, especially in winter, favoring small fruits, such as rowans (mountain-ashes in the New World). With fruit-crop abundance varying from year to year, pine grosbeak is one of many subarctic-resident bird species that exhibit irruptive behavior. In irruption years, individuals can move long distances in search of suitable food supplies, bringing them farther south and/or downslope than


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: is typical of years with large fruit crops. This species is one of the largest species in the true finch family. It measures from in length and weighs from , with an average mass of . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the tail is , the bill is and the tarsus is . Adults have a long forked black tail, black wings with white wing bars and a large bill. Adult males have a rose-red head, back and rump. Adult females are olive-yellow on the head and rump and grey on the back and underparts. Young birds


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: have a less contrasting plumage overall, appearing shaggy when they moult their colored head plumage. Its voice is geographically variable, and includes a whistled "pui pui pui" or "chii-vli". The song is a short musical warble. The breeding habitat of the pine grosbeak is coniferous forests. They nest on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a conifer. This bird is a permanent resident through most of its range; in the extreme north or when food sources are scarce, they may migrate farther south. Pine grosbeaks forage in trees and bushes. They mainly eat seeds, buds, berries, and insects.


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: Outside of the nesting season, they often feed in flocks. Pine grosbeaks breed in the boreal forests of northern Eurasia and North America, and typically either remain resident near their breeding grounds or migrate relatively short distances to the southern extent of boreal forests. During irruptive years, more travel to southern boreal forests and some move further south. In such years in the New World, they can occur well south of their typical winter distribution, which is the northern Great Lakes region and northern New England in the United States. This species is a very rare vagrant to temperate parts


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: of Europe; in all of Germany, for example, not more than 4 individuals per year and often none at all have been recorded since 1980. The scientific name is from Latin. The genus "Pinicola" is from "pinus", "pine tree", and "colere", "to dwell", and the specific "enucleator" is from "enucleare", to remove the kernel ("nucleus"). The pine grosbeak, together with its Himalayan relative the crimson-browed finch ("Carpodacus subhimachala"), represents an ancient divergence from the same stock that also gave rise to the true bullfinches ("Pyrrhula"). The "Pinicola" lineage diverged from its relatives perhaps a dozen million years ago, during the


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: Clarendonian faunal stage of the mid-Miocene. Across the species' range, nine subspecies have been described, with the five New World forms having differing plumages and vocalizations, suggesting genetic divergence within the New World, perhaps to species level. At the same time, the evolutionary radiation of "Pyrrhula" throughout Eurasia and the Holarctic expansion of the closely related "Leucosticte" mountain finches and relatives began. These genera evolved in the interior of Asia, and thus the original "Pinicola" stock was probably already a conifer forest bird living to the north of the Himalayas. The separation of the modern species is likely the result


title: "Pine grosbeak" content: of climate change which displaced "Pinicola" habitat to subarctic northern and subalpine Himalayan regions. Possibly, the ancestors of the North American pine grosbeaks were wind-blown individuals which arrived via the northern Pacific, as the Bering Land Bridge was generally submerged in the Late Miocene. According to studies by Arnaiz-Villena et al., all birds belonging to the genus "Pyrrhula" have a common ancestor in the extant pine grosbeak Pine grosbeak The pine grosbeak ("Pinicola enucleator") is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada,


title: Stanhopea content: Stanhopea Stanhopea is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) from Central and South America. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is "Stan." The genus is named for the 4th Earl of Stanhope (Philip Henry Stanhope) (1781-1855), president of the Medico-Botanical Society of London (1829-1837). It comprises 55 species and 5 natural hybrids. These epiphytic, but occasionally terrestrial orchids can be found in damp forests from Mexico to Trinidad to NW Argentina. Their ovate pseudobulbs carry from the top one long, plicate, elliptic leaf. "Stanhopea" is noted for its complex and usually fragrant flowers that are generally spectacular and short-lived.


title: Stanhopea content: Their pendant inflorescences are noted for flowering out of the bottom of the containers in which they grow, lending themselves to culture in baskets that have enough open space for the infloresence push through. They are sometimes called upside-down orchids. Primitive Stanhopeas Most "Stanhopea" flowers flash prominent, elegant horns on the epichile. The exception are the species; "S. annulata", "S. avicula", "S. cirrhata", "S. ecornuta" and "S. pulla". A second group have short or truncated horns, they include the species; "S. candida", "S. grandiflora", "S. reichenbachiana", "S. tricornis" and the natural hybrid "S. x herrenhusana". The structure of the labellum


title: Stanhopea content: of this group is in general, not as complex as other members of the genus. With most "Stanhopea" flowers lasting three days or less, the flowers must attract pollinators very quickly. These chemical attractants are generated in the hypochile, attracting the male euglossine bees to the flower. These male euglossine bees are known to be important pollinators of "Stanhopea" flowers, collecting fragrances at these flowers over their lifetime and storing them in their hind tibia. Bees in the Euglossini tribe, including "Eulaema meriana", are known to pollinate these flowers supposedly because the orchids can deceptively mimic the form of a


title: Stanhopea content: female and her sex pheromone. When the bee touches down on the flower, a great effort is made to collect chemical scent - he eventually slides on the waxy surface of the hypochile, gliding down on the slippery lip to exit the flower. The long column is touched in the process, resulting in the bee taking up pollinia at the very tip of the column. When the bee slides down another flower, the pollinia are deposited on the sticky surface of the stigma. The majority of species are robust plants that grow readily in cultivation. For relatives of Stanhopea see


title: Stanhopea content: Stanhopeinae and the closely related sister subtribe Coeliopsidinae. Stanhopea Stanhopea is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) from Central and South America. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is "Stan." The genus is named for the 4th Earl of Stanhope (Philip Henry Stanhope) (1781-1855), president of the Medico-Botanical Society of London (1829-1837). It comprises 55 species and 5 natural hybrids. These epiphytic, but occasionally terrestrial orchids can be found in damp forests from Mexico to Trinidad to NW Argentina. Their ovate pseudobulbs carry from the top one long, plicate, elliptic leaf. "Stanhopea" is noted for its complex and usually


title: "Samoyedic languages" content: Mator, with Enets–Nenets–Yurats and Kamas–Selkup forming internal branches. At present, Samoyed territory extends from the White Sea to the Laptev Sea, along the Arctic shores of European Russia, including southern Novaya Zemlya, the Yamal Peninsula, the mouths of the Ob and the Yenisei, and into the Taimyr peninsula in northernmost Siberia. Their economy is based on reindeer herding. They are contiguous with the trans-Ural Ugric speakers and the cis-Ural Komi to the south, but they are cut off from the Baltic Finns by the Russians in the west. To the east traditionally dwell the northern Turkic Sakha. A substantial Samoyed


title: "Pine siskin" content: Pine siskin The pine siskin ("Spinus pinus") is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range. These birds are fairly small, being around the same size as the widespread American goldfinch. In both sexes, total length can range from , with a wingspan of and weight of . Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on the underparts, with heavy streaking throughout. They have short forked tails. Their bills are conical like most finches but are more elongated and slender than those of other co-occurring finches. Variably, pine


title: "Pine siskin" content: siskins have yellow patches on their wings and tails, which may also consist of white streaks on the wings. Although they can be confused by the more inexperienced for other finches or even American sparrows, pine siskins are distinguished by their heavy streaking, relatively slender bills, notched tail, yellow or whitish patches on the wings and smallish size. Pine siskin in its typical morph is a drab bird, whereas Eurasian siskin (a bird the species does not naturally co-exist with), in many plumages, is much brighter. Adult male Eurasian siskins are bright green and yellow with a black cap, and


title: "Pine siskin" content: an unstreaked throat and breast; pine siskin does not have a corresponding bright plumage. Adult female Eurasian siskins also usually have green and yellow plumage tones: for example, yellow in the supercilium and on the sides of the breast, green tones in the mantle and yellow in the rump. Adult pine siskins of the typical morph do not have green and yellow tones, although juveniles can have a yellowish-buff wash on their underparts and buff-toned wingbars, for a short period prior to their autumn migration. The ground colour of the underparts of Eurasian siskin is normally pure white, whereas on


title: "Pine siskin" content: pine siskin it is usually a dirtier colour. In female and juvenile Eurasian siskin, the centre of the belly and lower breast are often largely or entirely unstreaked, whereas in most pine siskins the streaking extends across the whole of the underparts. The wingbars of Eurasian siskin are broad and yellow (with the tips white) whereas they are normally narrower and buffish white in pine siskin, contrasting with the bright yellow flash at the base of the primaries. Pine siskins have a longer bill, usually with a straight culmen, compare with a short bill in Eurasian siskin, with a decurved


title: "Pine siskin" content: culmen. There is a green morph of pine siskin, closer in appearance to Eurasian siskin; these birds make up only 1% of the population. These are closer in appearance to female Eurasian siskin, but differ in that they have a yellow wash on the undertail-coverts (white on Eurasian siskin), no yellow in the supercilium, reduced underparts streaking, and much yellow at the base of the tail and remiges; there may also be a difference in the extent of yellow in the underparts but this needs further study. Their breeding range spreads across almost the entirety of Canada, Alaska and, to


title: "Pine siskin" content: a more variable degree, across the western mountains and northern parts of the United States. As their name indicates, the species occurs mostly as a breeder in open conifer forests. Northern pine forests supports the majority of the species breeding population. However, stands of ornamental conifers or deciduous trees may support nesting birds in partially developed parks, cemeteries, and suburban woodlands. While they favor feeding in open forest canopies where cone seeds are abundant, they'll forage in habitats as diverse as deciduous forests and thickets, meadows, grasslands, weedy fields, roadsides, chaparral, and backyard gardens and lawns. They flock to backyard


title: "Pine siskin" content: feeders offering small seeds. Mineral deposits can lure them to otherwise unattractive habitats like winter road beds that are salted to melt snow and ice. The nest is well-hidden on a horizontal branch of a tree, often a conifer. Migration by this bird is highly variable, probably related to food supply. Large numbers may move south in some years; hardly any in others. This species is one of a few species that are considered "irruptive winter finches" because of the high variability of their movements based on the success of crops from year to year. These birds forage in trees,


title: "Pine siskin" content: shrubs and weeds. They mainly eat seeds, plant parts and some insects. In winter, they often feed in mixed flocks including American goldfinches and redpolls. Small seeds, especially thistle, red alder, birch, and spruce seeds, make up the majority of the pine siskin's diet. In a part of their esophagus called the crop, the species can store up to 10% of their body weight in seeds overnight, providing extra food on cold days. They will alternately eat the young buds of willows, elms and maples, and the soft stems and leaves of weeds and even young garden vegetables. They'll glean


title: "Pine siskin" content: the seeds of grass, dandelions, chickweed, sunflowers and ragweed. Bird feeders often attract pine siskins, where they may eat fragments of heavy-shelled seeds, such as black oil sunflowers, left behind by heavier-billed bird species. In summer, they will eat many insects, especially aphids, as well as a few spiders and grubs, which they then feed to the young as a protein-rich food that contributes to their growth. By the time of winter, even first year siskins predominately eat seeds. Pine siskins can survive in very cold temperatures. The metabolic rates of this species are typically 40% higher than a "normal"


title: "Pine siskin" content: songbird of their size. When temperatures plunge as low as , they can accelerate that rate up to five times normal for several hours. They also put on half again as much winter fat as their common redpoll and American goldfinch relatives. They also can protect their young from cold as well. Nests are often heavily insulated with thick plant materials and females may literally never cease incubating their eggs and hatchlings, while being fed by their male mate. Although considered Washington's most common finch, the pine siskin has suffered a significant annual decline in population since 1966, according to


title: "Pine siskin" content: the Breeding Bird Survey. Due to the irruptive nature of this species, populations vary widely from year to year, and trends can be difficult to interpret. Parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds can have a significant impact on pine siskin productivity, and forest fragmentation has increased their contact with cowbirds. Maintaining large tracts of coniferous forest will help keep this bird common. • The Eurasian siskin, "S. spinus" is the ancestor of pine siskin, Antillean siskin, "S. dominicensis," and black-capped siskin, "S. atriceps". The sub-species "S. pinus perplexus" may be closer to "S. atriceps"; they both thrive in the Guatemalan-Mexican altiplano. •


title: "Pine siskin" content: This siskin seems to belong to the North American Spinus/Carduelis evolutive radiation, whose parental species is the Eurasian siskin. This finch may have displaced from America to the parental species Eurasian siskin. Pine siskin The pine siskin ("Spinus pinus") is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range. These birds are fairly small, being around the same size as the widespread American goldfinch. In both sexes, total length can range from , with a wingspan of and weight of . Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on


title: "Indigo bunting" content: Indigo bunting The indigo bunting ("Passerina cyanea") is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The indigo bunting is closely related to the lazuli bunting and interbreeds with the species where their ranges overlap. The indigo bunting is a small bird, with a length of . It displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the


title: "Indigo bunting" content: male is a vibrant blue in the summer and a brown color during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. Nest-building and incubation are done solely by the female. The diet of the indigo bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months. The indigo bunting is included in the family Cardinalidae, which is made up of passerine birds found in North and South America, and is one of seven birds in the genus "Passerina". It was originally


title: "Indigo bunting" content: described as "Tanagra cyanea" by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, "Systema Naturae". The current genus name, "Passerina", is derived from the Latin term "passer" for true sparrows and similar small birds, while the species name, "cyanea", is from the Latin word meaning dark or sea blue. The indigo bunting is a close relative of the lazuli bunting and interbreeds with the species where their ranges overlap, in the Great Plains. They were declared to form a superspecies by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1983. However, according to sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene of members of the genus "Passerina", it


title: "Indigo bunting" content: was determined that the indigo bunting and lazuli bunting are not, in fact, sister taxa. The indigo bunting is the sister of two sister groups, a "blue" (lazuli bunting and blue grosbeak) and a "painted" (Rosita's bunting, orange-breasted bunting, varied bunting, and painted bunting) clade. This genetic study shows these species diverged between 4.1 and 7.3 million years ago. This timing, which is consistent with fossil evidence, coincides with a late-Miocene cooling, which caused the evolution of a variety of western grassland habitats. Evolving to reduce size may have allowed buntings to exploit grass seeds as a food source. The


title: "Indigo bunting" content: indigo bunting is a smallish songbird, around the size of a small sparrow. It measures long, with a wingspan of . Body mass averages , with a reported range of . During the breeding season, the adult male appears mostly a vibrant cerulean blue. Only the head is indigo. The wings and tail are black with cerulean blue edges. In fall and winter plumage, the male has brown edges to the blue body and head feathers, which overlap to make the bird appear mostly brown. The adult female is brown on the upperparts and lighter brown on the underparts. It


title: "Indigo bunting" content: has indistinct wing bars and is faintly streaked with darker markings underneath. The immature bird resembles the female in coloring, although a male may have hints of blue on the tail and shoulders and have darker streaks on the underside. The beak is short and conical. In the adult female, the beak is light brown tinged with blue, and in the adult male the upper half is brownish-black while the lower is light blue. The feet and legs are black or gray. The habitat of the indigo bunting is brushy forest edges, open deciduous woods, second growth woodland, and farmland.


title: "Indigo bunting" content: The breeding range stretches from southern Canada to Maine, south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to southern Nevada. The winter range begins in southern Florida and central Mexico and stretches south through the West Indies and Central America to northern South America. It has occurred as a vagrant in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Serbia and the United Kingdom. The indigo bunting communicates through vocalizations and visual cues. A sharp "chip!" call is used by both sexes, and is used as an alarm call if


title: "Indigo bunting" content: a nest or chick is threatened. A high-pitched, buzzed "zeeep" is used as a contact call when the indigo bunting is in flight. The song of the male bird is a high-pitched buzzed "sweet-sweet chew-chew sweet-sweet", lasting two to four seconds, sung to mark his territory to other males and to attract females. Each male has a single complex song, which he sings while perched on elevated objects, such as posts, wires, and bush-tops. In areas where the ranges of the lazuli bunting and the indigo bunting overlap, the males defend territories from each another. Migration takes place in April


title: "Indigo bunting" content: and May and then again in September and October. The indigo bunting often migrates during the night, using the stars to navigate. In captivity, since it cannot migrate, it experiences disorientation in April and May and in September and October if it cannot see the stars from its enclosure. These birds are generally monogamous but not always faithful to their partner. In the western part of their range, they often hybridize with the lazuli bunting. Nesting sites are located in dense shrub or a low tree, generally above the ground, but rarely up to . The nest itself is constructed


title: "Indigo bunting" content: of leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, lined with soft grass or deer hair and is bound with spider web. It is constructed by the female, who cares for the eggs alone. The clutch consists of one to four eggs, but usually contains three to four. The eggs are white and usually unmarked, though some may be marked with brownish spots, averaging in size. The eggs are incubated for 12 to 13 days and the chicks are altricial at hatching. Chicks fledge 10 to 12 days after hatching. Most pairs raise two broods per year, and the male


title: "Indigo bunting" content: may feed newly fledged young while the females incubate the next clutch of eggs. The brown-headed cowbird may parasitize this species. Indigo buntings abandon their nest if a cowbird egg appears before they lay any of their own eggs, but accept the egg after that point. Pairs with parasitized nests have less reproductive success. The bunting chicks hatch, but have lower survival rates as they must compete with the cowbird chick for food. The indigo bunting forages for food on the ground or in trees or shrubs. In winter, it often feeds in flocks with other indigo buntings, but is


title: "Indigo bunting" content: a solitary feeder during the breeding season. During the breeding season, the species eats insects, seeds and berries, including caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, beetles, and grass seeds. The seeds of grasses are the mainstay of its diet during the winter, although buds, and insects are eaten when available. The young are fed mainly insects at first, to provide them with protein. The indigo bunting does not drink frequently, generally obtaining sufficient water from its diet. The species is classified as being of least concern according to the IUCN, with an estimated range of and a population of 28 million individuals. Global


title: "Indigo bunting" content: population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for a population decline warranting an upgrade in conservation status. The criteria for a change in conservation status are a decline of more than 30% in ten years or over three generations. Indigo bunting The indigo bunting ("Passerina cyanea") is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate.


title: Bridport content: local good causes and organisations. Melplash Show, described by its organisers as "the South West’s premier agricultural exhibition", is held annually on the showground at West Bay on the Thursday before the August Bank Holiday weekend. Local artists in Bridport and the surrounding area open up their studios as part of Bridport Open Studios, which marked its 15th year in 2013. The event takes place over the three days of the August Bank Holiday weekend and over 100 artists participate. The popularity of the event has led to three more open events in November, Easter and May. The biggest artist


title: "Nipkow disk" content: Nipkow disk A Nipkow disk (sometimes Anglicized as Nipkov disk; patented in 1884), also known as scanning disk, is a mechanical, rotating, geometrically operating image scanning device, patented in 1885 by Paul Gottlieb Nipkow. This scanning disk was a fundamental component in mechanical television through the 1920s and 1930s. The device is a mechanically spinning disk of any suitable material (metal, plastic, cardboard, etc.), with a series of equally distanced circular holes of equal diameter drilled in it. The holes may also be square for greater precision.These holes are positioned to form a single-turn spiral starting from an external radial


title: Grassmannian content: by what are now called Plücker coordinates. Grassmannians are named after Hermann Grassmann, who introduced the concept in general. Notations vary between authors, with formula_2 being equivalent to , and some authors using formula_3 or to denote the Grassmannian of -dimensional subspaces of an unspecified -dimensional vector space. By giving a collection of subspaces of some vector space a topological structure, it is possible to talk about a continuous choice of subspace or open and closed collections of subspaces; by giving them the structure of a differential manifold one can talk about smooth choices of subspace. A natural example comes


title: Philistinism content: materialistic values" derives from Matthew Arnold's adaptation to English of the German word Philister, as applied by university students in their antagonistic relations with the townspeople of Jena, Germany, where, in 1689, a row resulted in several deaths. In the aftermath, the university cleric addressed the town-vs-gown matter with an admonishing sermon "The Philistines Be Upon Thee", drawn from the "Book of Judges" (Chapt. 16, 'Samson vs the Philistines'), of the Tanakh and of the Christian Old Testament. In "Word Research and Word History", the philologist Friedrich Kluge said that the word "philistine" originally had a positive meaning that identified


title: "Emergency Vets" content: with the doctors involved. In 2007, Animal Planet announced that the real-life drama at Alameda East would return to prime-time airwaves under a new title, "E-Vet Interns". The new series features six new veterinary interns during their first year of residency practice at the new Alameda East hospital, as well as familiar faces Dr. Robert Taylor, Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Dr. Preston Stubbs, and Dr. Holly Knor. In preparation for the new show's debut on January 22, 2007, Animal Planet aired a new E-Vets special, "E-Vets: Things Pets Swallow", featuring memorable cases from the "Emergency Vets" years dealing with dramatic objects


title: "Pro forma" content: prepared in the form of a "pro forma" invoice, which is different from a commercial invoice. It is used to create a sale and is sent in advance of the commercial invoice. The content of a "pro forma" invoice is almost identical to a commercial invoice and is usually considered a binding agreement, but because a "pro forma" invoice is not a legally-binding document, the price may change in advance of the final sale. A "pro forma" invoice can also be used for shipments containing items that "are not" being bought or sold, such as gifts, samples and personal belongings,


title: "Nawaz Sharif" content: companies. Hassan also lists the Park Avenue address for an additional six companies registered in the United Kingdom of which he is a director, according to the British business registry Companies House. A seventh, Flagship Development, is listed at Stanhope House in Stanhope Place, near Marble Arch. Samina Durrani, mother of Shebaz Sharif's second wife Aaliya Honey, and Ilyas Mehraj, brother of his first wife Begum Nusrat Shahbaz, also figure in the documents. Habib Waqas Group/Ilyas Mehraj is listed as a shareholder with 127,735 shares in Haylandale Limited, registered 24 July 2003 in the Bahamas. Mehraj denied knowing anything about


title: "Education in Finland" content: than the ones entering higher education in Finland at present and for quite some time into the foreseeable future. If the current number of student places were kept unchanged to the year 2020, for example, Eastern Finland would have enough student places for 103% of the estimated size of the age group 19-21. Due to globalization and increasing competition for diminishing younger age groups, system-wide restructuring has been called for by the Ministry of Education. Since 2006 all institutions of higher education have been sharing methods of cooperation. The total number of institutions is expected to drop significantly within 10–15


title: "Lansdowne Road" content: Park while the Aviva Stadium was being developed, with fixtures in both sports also taking place at Thomond Park, and RDS Arena with Ravenhill Stadium also hosting a rugby international. Croke Park is owned by the Gaelic Athletic Association, whose rules until recently did not allow foreign sports to be played on their grounds. In September 2006, Lars-Christer Olsson, CEO of UEFA, hinted that the new stadium might stage the UEFA Cup Final in 2010. The 2010 final was ultimately awarded to Hamburg, but in January 2009, UEFA named the new ground as the host stadium for the renamed 2011


title: "University of Maryland, Baltimore County" content: in 2006. Professor of Computer Science Alan Sherman has been instrumental in building up the UMBC chess dynasty by recruiting players from around the world. UMBC hosts two annual open chess tournaments, the UMBC Open (March) and the UMBC Championship (September). The school's sports teams are called the Retrievers, with colors black and gold. The mascot of the university is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the state dog of Maryland, named True Grit. A statue of True Grit stands in front of the Retriever Activities Center (RAC). The Retrievers participate in NCAA Division I as a member of the America East


title: "Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus" content: the Roman Senate granted Brutus a triumph and gave him the cognomen Callaicus or Callaecus (winner against the Callaeci/Gallaeci) At an unknown date he built a temple by the Circus Flaminius which is thought to have been dedicated to Hercules Callaicus. This was one of various public buildings Callaicus built with the proceeds of the spoils of his war. All of them had insctiptions by Lucius Accius, the tragic poet. He had a colossal statue of a seated Mars erected in this temple. Brutus was the patron of Lucius Accius, who wrote a tragedy on the tyranny of Lucius Tarquinius


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: Miniature Schnauzer The Miniature Schnauzer is a breed of small dog of the Schnauzer type that originated in Germany in the mid-to-late 19th century. Miniature Schnauzers may have been developed from smallest specimens of the Standard Schnauzer, or crosses between the Standard and one or more smaller breeds such as the Affenpinscher, Miniature Pinscher, and Poodles, as farmers bred a small dog that was an efficient ratting dog. They are described as "spunky" but aloof dogs, with good guarding tendencies without some guard dogs' predisposition to bite. Miniature Schnauzers are recognized in three colors internationally: solid black, black and silver,


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: and pepper and salt. There is a controversial fourth color variant in Miniature Schnauzers, pure white, which is not recognized universally. It is the most popular Schnauzer breed, and remains one of the most popular worldwide, primarily for its temperament and relatively small size. As of 2017 it is the 17th most popular breed in the U.S. The earliest records surrounding the development of the Standard Schnauzer in Germany come from the late 19th century. They were originally bred to be medium-sized farm dogs in Germany, equally suited to ratting, herding, and guarding property. As time passed, farmers bred the


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: Standard Schnauzer into a smaller, more compact size for ratting by combining it, according to cynologists theorization, with one or more small breeds such as the Affenpinscher and Miniature Poodle, Miniature Pinscher, or Pomeranian, or by chance from smallest specimens of the Standard Schnauzer. The first recorded Miniature Schnauzer appeared in 1888, black female named Fidel, and the Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub (formed in 1895) in its first volume of the club's stud book mentioned Wirehaired Miniature Pinscher. The first exhibition was held in 1899. The AKC accepted registration of the new breed in 1926, two years after Miniature Schnauzers were introduced


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: to the United States. The American Miniature Schnauzer Club was formed in 1933, from the older parent club Wire-Haired Pinscher Club of America which also included Standard Schnauzer, and initially both competed in the Working Group until 1927. International Kennel Club classifications vary; by the VDH and FCI it is placed in "", with "Nr. 183" in "Section 1.2" dedicated to the Miniature Schnauzer breed, the KC, ANKC and NZKC include it in the Utility Group, while by the AKC, UKC and CKC the Miniature Schnauzer is classed in the Terrier Group. The start of the modern Miniature Schnauzer in


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: the United States is considered to have a beginning in 1924 when four dogs were imported from Germany. It is argued that almost all American-bred Miniatures partly descend from them, and between 1926-1936, 108 more dogs were imported. One of the most notable champions was Ch. Dorem Display, born in 1945 and lived to be nearly fourteen. It is claimed that many champion Miniature Schnauzers in America can trace its lineage back to Dorem Display. Miniature Schnauzers were the 11th most popular breed in the U.S. in 2008, falling to 17th most popular in 2016. Miniature Schnauzers have a very


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: square-shaped build, measuring tall and weighing for females and for males. They have a double coat, with wiry exterior fur and a soft undercoat. In show trim, the coat is kept short on the body, but the fur on the ears, legs, belly, and face is retained. Recognized coat colors are black, salt and pepper, black and silver, and pure white; salt and pepper coloration is where coat hairs have banded shades of black, gray and silver, fading to a gray or silver at the eyebrows, whiskers, underbody and legs. Miniature Schnauzers are often described as non-moulting dogs, and while


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: this is not entirely true, their shedding is minimal and generally unnoticeable. They are characterized by a rectangular head with bushy beard, mustache, and eyebrows; teeth that meet in a "scissor bite"; oval and dark colored eyes; and v-shaped, natural forward-folding ears (when cropped, the ears point straight upward and come to a sharp point). Their tails are naturally thin and short, and may be docked (where permitted). They will also have very straight, rigid front legs, and feet that are short and round (so-called "cat feet") with thick, black pads. Docking of tails and cropping of ears has become


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: a controversial practice, especially for non-working dogs, and is now illegal or restricted in a number of countries worldwide. White is one of four color varieties of the Miniature Schnauzer currently recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. However, they are not accepted for conformation showing by the American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club. The controversy rests on the disputed origins of the white variation: whether it was contained within the genes of the originally recognized breed, or whether it was the result of subsequent modifications. Since the other two schnauzer types have never been available in a white variation,


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: and the original German standard never included white as an acceptable color, the AMSC chooses not to recognize white. The American Kennel Club breed standard describes temperament as "alert and spirited, yet obedient to command ... friendly, intelligent and willing to please... never overaggressive or timid". Usually easy to train, they tend to be excellent watchdogs with a good territorial instinct, but more inclined toward barking than biting. They are often aloof with strangers until the owners of the home welcome the guest, upon which they are typically very friendly to them. Although in North America is included in the


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: Terrier Group (due to rat-catching background), it does not have common ancestry with Terriers from Great Britain, and compared to them has different personality, being more laidback, obedient, friendly, and less aggressive to other dogs. They are highly playful dogs, and, if not given the outlet required for their energy, they can become bored and invent their own "fun". Miniature Schnauzers can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, showmanship, flyball, and tracking. Schnauzers have a high prey drive, which means they may chase other small animals hence should not be off leash when not in fenced area. Based on Stanley


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: Coren's book "The Intelligence of Dogs" (2006) ranking methodology, the Miniature ranked 12th out of 140 breeds within 79 ranks on the ability to learn and obey new commands i.e. working and obedience intelligence, being grouped among "excellent working dogs". Additionally, experts ranked the Miniature as 5th among top 15 breeds at watchdog barking ability. A UK Kennel Club survey puts the median lifespan of Miniature Schnauzers at a little over 12 years. About 20% lived to >15 years. While generally a healthy breed, Miniature Schnauzers may suffer health problems associated with high fat levels. Such problems include hyperlipidemia, which


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: may increase the possibility of pancreatitis, though either may form independently. Other issues which may affect this breed are diabetes, bladder stones and eye problems. Feeding the dog low- or non-fatty and unsweetened foods may help avoid these problems. Miniature Schnauzers are also prone to comedone syndrome, a condition that produces pus-filled bumps, usually on their backs, which can be treated with a variety of methods. Miniature Schnauzers should have their ears dried after swimming due to a risk of infection, especially those with uncropped ears; ear examinations should be part of the regular annual check up. Miniature Schnauzers are


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: also prone to von Willebrand disease (vWD). vWD in dogs is an inherited bleeding disorder that occurs due to qualitative or quantitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a multimeric protein that is required for platelet adhesion. Schnauzers have a specific groom cut that is standard among the schnauzer breeds. Schnauzers require regular grooming, either by stripping (mostly seen in show dogs), or by clipping (a short-cut usually reserved for family pets). Stripping removes the loose, dead coat; it may be done by hand, called finger stripping, or plucking, or with a stripping knife; either way, it is a laborious


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: process. Regular grooming of a Miniature Schnauzer is recommended approximately every six weeks. Clipping, using a mechanical clippers (or shaver), produces a soft, silky, skin-close trim. Whether stripped or clipped, the coat is close at the body, and falls into a fringe-like foundation on its undercarriage, called furnishings, which can be left to grow, but must be combed regularly. All schnauzers, whether they are Miniatures, Standards, or Giants, often sport a beard, created by allowing the hair around their noses to grow out. Left unclipped or unstripped, the body hair will grow two to four inches, and will often tangle


title: "Miniature Schnauzer" content: into mats and curls. Miniature Schnauzer The Miniature Schnauzer is a breed of small dog of the Schnauzer type that originated in Germany in the mid-to-late 19th century. Miniature Schnauzers may have been developed from smallest specimens of the Standard Schnauzer, or crosses between the Standard and one or more smaller breeds such as the Affenpinscher, Miniature Pinscher, and Poodles, as farmers bred a small dog that was an efficient ratting dog. They are described as "spunky" but aloof dogs, with good guarding tendencies without some guard dogs' predisposition to bite. Miniature Schnauzers are recognized in three colors internationally: solid


title: "The Genius and the Goddess" content: that she is in love with Rivers to find solace and an outlet for her emotions. Rivers' experience with the Maartens family takes an important turn when Katy has to leave for a time to care for her dying mother. The unstable, asthmatic Henry becomes an emotional wreck without his much younger wife to care for him. The children, the household, and Henry himself are cared for only by the housekeeper Beluah and Rivers. Ruth takes advantage of her mother's absence to entertain her cosmetic interests and act out her imaginary love for Rivers, who just laughs at Ruth's poems.


title: "Mumbai Suburban Railway" content: for up to 6,000 passengers. The 12 coach rake is configured as two sets of six interconnected bogies, meaning passengers can walk between coaches but only up to a maximum of 6 coaches. The train is also equipped with a new electrical system and software, automatic doors with emergency opening features, and GPS-based destination display on LED indicators. The old system of pulling a chain to halt the train was replaced by four intercoms per coach that enable commuters to communicate with the driver. Both CR and WR competed to acquire the rake, with WR even announcing a time table


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (translation: 'King Shivaji museum'), abbreviated CSMVS and formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, is the main museum in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was founded in the early years of the 20th century by prominent citizens of Mumbai, with the help of the government, to commemorate the visit of Edward VIII, who was Prince of Wales at the time. It is located in the heart of South Mumbai near the Gateway of India. The museum was renamed in the 1990s or early 2000s after Shivaji, the founder


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: of Maratha Empire. The building is built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, incorporating elements of other styles of architecture like the Mughal, Maratha and Jain. The museum building is surrounded by a garden of palm trees and formal flower beds. The museum houses approximately 50,000 exhibits of ancient Indian history as well as objects from foreign lands, categorized primarily into three sections: Art, Archaeology and Natural History. The museum houses Indus Valley Civilization artefacts, and other relics from ancient India from the time of the Guptas, Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakuta. In 1904, some leading citizens of Bombay decided to


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: provide a museum to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales, the future King George V. On 14 August 1905, the committee passed a resolution saying: "The museum building embodies the pomp and height at which the British raj was moving ahead with their ambitious plans, in building the great metropolis Bombay". "In keeping pace with the best style of local architecture, many buildings were built, among which, Bombay High Court building, and later, Gateway of India buildings were the most notable ones". The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales on 11 November 1905 and the


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: museum was formally named "Prince of Wales Museum of Western India". On 1 March 1907, the government of the Bombay Presidency granted the museum committee a piece of land called the "Crescent Site", where the museum now stands. Following an open design competition, in 1909 the architect George Wittet was commissioned to design the Museum building. Wittet had already worked on the design of the General Post Office and in 1911 would design one of Mumbai's most famous landmarks, the Gateway of India. The museum was funded by the Royal Visit (1905) Memorial Funds. Additionally, the Government and the Municipality


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: granted Rs. 300,000 and Rs. 250,000 respectively. Sir Currimbhoy Ibrahim (first Baronet) donated another Rs. 300,000 and Sir Cowasji Jehangir gave Rs. 50,000. The Museum was established under Bombay Act No. III of 1909. The museum is now maintained by annual grants from the Government and the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The latter pays for these grants from the interest accruing on the funds at the disposal of the Trust of the Museum. The museum building was completed in 1915, but was used as a Children's Welfare Centre and a Military Hospital during the First World War, before being handed over


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: to the committee in 1920. The Prince of Wales Museum was inaugurated on 10 January 1922, by Lady Lloyd, the wife of George Lloyd, Governor of Bombay. The museum building is a Grade I Heritage Building of the city and was awarded first prize ("Urban Heritage Award") by the Bombay Chapter of the Indian Heritage Society for heritage building maintenance in 1990. In 1998 the Museum was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya after the warrior king and founder of the Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The museum was renamed after the renaming of the city in 1995, when the


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: colonial name "Bombay" was replaced by the native "Mumbai". The museum building is situated in area, having a built up area of 12,142.23m sq. It is surrounded by a garden of palm trees and formal flower beds. The museum building, built of locally quarried grey Kurla basalt and buff coloured trachyte Malad stone. It is a three-storied rectangular structure, capped by a dome set upon a base, which adds an additional storey in the centre of the building. Built in the Western Indian and Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, the building accommodates a central entrance porch, above which rises a dome,


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: tilled and modified well "tiled in white and blue flecks, supported on a lotus - petal base". A cluster of pinnacles, topped with miniature domes surround the central dome. The building incorporates features like Islamic dome with a finial along with protruding balconies and inlaid floors, inspired by Mughal palace architecture. The architect, George Wittet, modeled the dome on that of Golconda Fort and the inner vaulting arches on those at the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur. The interior of the museum combines the columns, railings and balcony of an 18th-century "Wada" (a Maratha mansion) with Jain style interior columns, which


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: form the main body of the central pavilion below the Maratha balcony. In its recent modernization programme (2008), the museum created space for installation of five new galleries, a conservation studio, a visiting exhibition gallery and a seminar room, in the East Wing of the Museum. The museum also houses a library. The museum collection comprises approximately 50,000 artefacts. The collection of the museum is categorized primarily into three sections: art, archaeology and natural history. The museum also houses a forestry section, which has specimens of timbers grown in the Bombay Presidency (British India), and one exhibiting a small local


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: geological collection of rocks, minerals and fossils. The Maritime Heritage Gallery, which displays objects relating to navigation, is the "first of its kind in India". In 2008, the museum installed two new galleries, displaying the "Karl and Meherbai Khandalavala collection" and "the Coins of India". The art section displays the collections of Sir Purushottam Mavji, acquired in 1915, and the art collections of Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata, donated in 1921 and 1933 respectively. The museum's miniature collection encompasses representations of the main schools of Indian painting namely, Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari and Deccani. It features palm leaf manuscripts


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: dating to the 11th-12th centuries to the early 19th century pahari paintings, as well as paintings from the Sultanate period. Notable manuscripts housed in the museum include the Anwar-Suhayli painted in Mughal emperor Akbar’s studio and a 17th-century manuscript of the Hindu epic Ramayana from Mewar. The ivory section has artefacts dating as early as the Gupta era. The museum also has decorative artefacts such as textiles, ivories, Mughal jades, silver, gold and artistic metal ware. It also has a collection of European paintings, Chinese and Japanese porcelain, ivory and jade artefacts. The museum also has sections dedicated to arms


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: and armour and another to Nepali and Tibetan art. The arms and armour section contains a finely decorated armour of Akbar dating to 1581 CE, consisting of a steel breastplate and a shield, the former inscribed with religious verses. Sculptures and coins transferred from the Poona Museum in Pune and the collections of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society resulted in the development of an archaeological section, with precious sculptures and epigrams. The Indus Valley Culture Gallery houses fishing hooks, weapons, ornaments and weights and measures from the Indus Valley Civilization (2600–1900 BCE). Artefacts from the excavation of


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: the Buddhist stupa of Mirpurkhas, were housed in the Museum in 1919. The sculpture collection holds Gupta (280 to 550 CE) terracotta figures from Mirpurkhas in Sind of the early 5th century, artefacts dating to the Chalukyan era (6th-12th hcentury, Badami Chalukyas and Western Chalukyas), and sculptures of the Rashtrakuta period (753 – 982 CE) from Elephanta, near Mumbai. The Bombay Natural History Society aided the Museum Trust in creating the natural history section. The museum's natural history section makes use of habitat group cases and dioramas, along with diagrams and charts, to illustrate Indian wildlife, including flamingoes, great hornbills,


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: Indian bison, and tigers. An exhibition entitled "Pravaha" highlighting early phase of Sir J.J. School of Art and the Progressive Art Movement was launched on 24 July 2017. The exhibition covered a range of paintings from the 1880s to 1950s through works of Pestonji Bomanji, Rustom Siodia, Salvalaram Haldankar, Antonio Trindade, S. N. Gorakshakar, Govind Mahadev Solegaonkar, G. H. Nagarkar, J. M. Ahivasi, Raghunath Dhondopant Dhopeshwarkar, Raghuveer Govind Chimulkar, Rasiklal Parikh and Y. K. Shukla, Abalal Rahiman, Keshav Bhavanrao Chudekar, Lakshman Narayan Taskar, Syed Haider Raza, and Krishnaji Howlaji Aara. A prints gallery was launched with an exhibition entitled "Bombay


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: to Mumbai - Door of the East with its face to the West" on 29 January 2015. The gallery was inaugurated by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum in London, who also gave an illustrated lecture on 'World Cultures' at the central foyer of the museum. As part of the renovation project initiated in October 2008, the Krishna Gallery holding artworks related to the Hindu god Krishna, a Hindu deity of the preserver-god Vishnu, was opened in March 2009. A textile gallery, the first gallery in the city, was opened in April 2010. It illustrates "various techniques of textile


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: manufacturing, regional collections and traditional Indian costumes". Matrika Design Collaborative is currently designing the museum's Indian miniature painting gallery. The content developed for the gallery will be converted into Braille text and tactile labels for the blind with help from designers, fabricators and consultants from the Helen Keller Institute. CSMVS Museum has various galleries. They are related to Art, History, Natural History and Indian Culture. They are as follows: The archaeological collections were originally started by pioneering archaeologists Sir Henry Cousens and Sir John Marshall. Amongst the important sculptures are the Gupta period terracotas and bricks from Mirpurkhas excavated by


title: "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya" content: Cousens, a large number of Buddhist images from Gandhara and ceiling panels from a dilapidated temple at Aihole. The early examples are from Pauni and Pitalkhora. Mumbai itself has a rich tradition exemplified by a Shiva and a Matrika from Baijanath Temple at Sewri near Parel belonging to the same phase as Elephanta. Other noteworthy images from Maharashtra are a Vishnu and a Ganesha of the eleventh century CE. Some welknown sculptures are: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (translation: 'King Shivaji museum'), abbreviated CSMVS and formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western


title: "Amy Sherman-Palladino" content: Amy Sherman-Palladino Amy Sherman-Palladino (born January 17, 1966) is an American television writer, director, and producer. She is best known as the creator of the comedy-drama television series "Gilmore Girls" (2000–07, 2016), "Bunheads" (2012–13), and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (2017–present). Sherman-Palladino has received four Primetime Emmy Awards for her work, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Music Supervision, all for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". She is the first woman in history to win Emmys in the comedy writing and directing categories in the same year. Sherman-Palladino is the


title: "Blandings Castle" content: Blandings Castle Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth (Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth), home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tales and adventures. The stories were written between 1915 and 1975. The series of stories taking place at the castle, in its environs and involving its denizens have come to be known as the "Blandings books", or indeed, in a phrase used by Wodehouse in his preface to the 1969 reprint of the first book, "the Blandings Castle


title: "Joan Sutherland" content: 1949, she came third after the baritone Ronal Jackson in radio 3DB's Mobil Quest, which she won a year later, in 1950. In 1951, she made her stage debut in Eugene Goossens's "Judith". She then went to London to further her studies at the Opera School of the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey. She was engaged by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as a utility soprano, and made her debut there on 28 October 1952, as the First Lady in "The Magic Flute", followed in November by a few performances as Clotilde in Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Norma",


title: "History of ancient Egypt" content: a significant drop in rainfall and farming produced the vast majority of food. With increased food supplies, the populace adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger settlements grew to cities of about 5000 residents. It was in this time that the city dwellers started using adobe to build their cities. Copper instead of stone was increasingly used to make tools and weaponry. Silver, gold, lapis lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in what is now Afghanistan), and Egyptian faience were used ornamentally, and the cosmetic palettes used for eye paint since the Badari culture began to be adorned with reliefs.


title: "Immune thrombocytopenic purpura" content: some cases in order to decrease the rate at which macrophages consume antibody-tagged platelets. However, while sometimes effective, it is costly and produces improvement that generally lasts less than a month. Nevertheless, in the case of an ITP patient already scheduled for surgery who has a dangerously low platelet count and has experienced a poor response to other treatments, IVIg can rapidly increase platelet counts, and can also help reduce the risk of major bleeding by transiently increasing platelet counts. Thrombopoietin receptor agonists are pharmaceutical agents that stimulate platelet production in the bone marrow. In this, they differ from the


title: "American lobster" content: American lobster The American lobster ("Homarus americanus") is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Canadian Reds, or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of , and a mass of over , making it not only the heaviest crustacean in the world, but also the heaviest of all living arthropod species. Its closest relative is the European lobster "Homarus gammarus", which can be distinguished by its coloration and the lack of spines on the


title: "American lobster" content: underside of the rostrum. American lobsters are usually bluish green to brown with red spines, but several color variations have been observed. "Homarus americanus" is distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador in the north to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the south. South of New Jersey, the species is uncommon, and landings in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina usually make up less than 0.1% of all landings. A fossil claw assigned to "Homarus americanus" was found at Nantucket, dating from the Pleistocene. In 2013, an American lobster was caught at the Farallon Islands off the


title: "American lobster" content: coast of California. "Homarus americanus" commonly reaches long and weighs in weight, but has been known to weigh as much as , making this the heaviest crustacean in the world. Together with "Sagmariasus verreauxi", it is also the longest decapod crustacean in the world; an average adult is about long and weighs . The longest American lobsters have a body (excluding claws) long. According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest crustacean ever recorded was an American lobster caught off Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing . The closest relative of "H. americanus" is the European lobster, "Homarus gammarus". The two species are


title: "American lobster" content: very similar, and can be crossed artificially, although hybrids are unlikely to occur in the wild since their ranges do not overlap. The two species can be distinguished by several characteristics: The antennae measure about long and split into Y-shaped structures with pointed tips. Each tip exhibits a dense zone of hair tufts staggered in a zigzag arrangement. These hairs are covered with multiple nerve cells that can detect odors. Larger, thicker hairs found along the edges control the flow of water, containing odor molecules, to the inner sensory hairs. The shorter antennules provide a further sense of smell. By


title: "American lobster" content: having a pair of olfactory organs, a lobster can locate the direction a smell comes from, much the same way humans can hear the direction a sound comes from. In addition to sensing smells, the antennules can judge water speed to improve direction finding. Lobsters have two urinary bladders, located on either side of the head. Lobsters use scents to communicate what and where they are, and those scents are in the urine. They project long plumes of urine in front of them, and do so when they detect a rival or a potential mate in the area. The first


title: "American lobster" content: pair of pereiopods (legs) is armed with a large, asymmetrical pair of claws. The larger one is the "crusher", and has rounded nodules used for crushing prey; the other is the "cutter", which has sharp inner edges, and is used for holding or tearing the prey. The normal coloration of "Homarus americanus" is redder on the body and claws, and greener on the legs. This coloration is produced by mixing yellow, blue, and red pigments that occur naturally in the shell. Despite the rarity of strangely colored lobsters, many more of them are reported being caught. It is unclear as


title: "American lobster" content: to whether this is an artifact of social media making reporting and sharing more accessible, or if it is due to a drop in predator populations. Mating only takes place shortly after the female has molted, and her exoskeleton is still soft. The female releases a pheromone which causes the males to become less aggressive and to begin courtship, which involves a courtship dance with claws closed. Eventually, the male inserts spermatophores (sperm packets) into the female's seminal receptacle using his first pleopods; the female may store the sperm for up to 15 months. The female releases eggs through her


title: "American lobster" content: oviducts, and they pass the seminal receptacle and are fertilized by the stored sperm. They are then attached to the female's pleopods (swimmerets) using an adhesive, where they are cared for until they are ready to hatch. The female cleans the eggs regularly, and fans them with water to keep them oxygenated. The large telolecithal eggs may resemble the segments of a raspberry, and a female carrying eggs is said to be "in berry". Since this period lasts 10–11 months, berried females can be found at any time of year. In the waters off New England, the eggs are typically


title: "American lobster" content: laid in July or August, and hatch the following May or June. The developing embryo passes through several molts within the egg, before hatching as a metanauplius larva. When the eggs hatch, the female releases them by waving her tail in the water, setting batches of larvae free. The metanauplius of "H. americanus" is long, transparent, with large eyes and a long spine projecting from its head. It quickly molts, and the next three stages are similar, but larger. These molts take 10–20 days, during which the planktonic larvae are vulnerable to predation; only 1 in 1,000 is thought to


title: "American lobster" content: survive to the juvenile stage. To reach the fourth stage – the post-larva – the larva undergoes metamorphosis, and subsequently shows a much greater resemblance to the adult lobster, is around long, and swims with its pleopods. At this stage, the lobster's claws are still relatively small so they rely primarily on tail-flip escapes if threatened. After the next molt, the lobster sinks to the ocean floor, and adopts a benthic lifestyle. It molts more and more infrequently, from an initial rate of ten times per year to once every few years. After one year, it is around long, and


title: "American lobster" content: after six years, it may weigh . By the time it reaches the minimum landing size, an individual may have molted 25–27 times, and thereafter each molt may signal a 40%–50% increase in weight, and a 14% increase in carapace length. If threatened, adult lobsters will generally choose to fight unless they have lost their claws. The American lobster thrives in cold, shallow waters where there are many rocks and other places to hide from predators. It typically lives at a depth of , but can be found up to below the surface. The natural diet of "H. americanus" is


title: "American lobster" content: relatively consistent across different habitats. It is dominated by mollusks (especially mussels), echinoderms and polychaetes, although a wide range of other prey items may be eaten, including other crustaceans, brittle stars and cnidarians. Lobsters in Maine have been shown to gain 35-55% of their calories from herring, which is used as bait for lobster traps. Only 6% of lobsters entering lobster traps to feed are caught. Gaffkemia or red-tail is an extremely virulent infectious disease of lobsters caused by the bacterium "Aerococcus viridans". It only requires a few bacterial cells to cause death of otherwise healthy lobsters. The "red tail"


title: "American lobster" content: common name refers to a dark orange discoloration of the ventral abdomen of affected lobsters. This is, in fact, the hemolymph or blood seen through the thin ventral arthrodial membranes. The red discoloration comes from astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment exported to the blood during times of stress. The same sign is also seen in other diseases of lobsters and appears to be a nonspecific stress response, possibly relating to the antioxidant and immunostimulatory properties of the astaxanthin molecule. Epizootic shell disease is a bacterial infection which causes black lesions on the lobsters' dorsal carapaces, reducing their saleability and sometimes killing


title: "American lobster" content: the lobsters. Limp lobster disease caused by systemic infection by the bacterium "Vibrio fluvialis" (or similar species) causes lobsters to become lethargic and die. Paramoebiasis is an infectious disease of lobsters caused by infection with the sarcomastigophoran (amoeba) "Neoparamoeba pemaquidensis". This organism also causes amebic gill disease in farmed Atlantic salmon, "Salmo salar". Infection occurs throughout the tissues, causing granuloma-like lesions, especially within the ventral nerve cord, the interstices of the hepatopancreas and the antennal gland. Paramoebiasis is strongly suspected to play a prominent role in the rapid die-off of American lobsters in Long Island Sound that occurred in the


title: "American lobster" content: summer of 1999. Excretory calcinosis in American lobsters in Long Island Sound was described in 2002. The disease causes mineralized calculi to form in the antennal glands and gills. These cause a loss of surface area around the gills, and the lobster eventually asphyxiates. Several reasons have been proposed for the cause of a recent outbreak of the disease. The most generally attributed factor is an increased duration of warmer temperatures in the bottom of the Long Island Sound. The American lobster was first described by Thomas Say in 1817, with a type locality of "Long-branch, part of the coast


title: "American lobster" content: of New Jersey". The name Say chose – ""Astacus marinus"" – was invalid as a junior homonym of "Astacus marinus" Fabricius, 1775, which is in turn a junior synonym of "Homarus gammarus". The American lobster was given its current scientific name of "Homarus americanus" by Henri Milne-Edwards in his 1837 work "" (""Natural History of the Crustacea""). The common name preferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization is "American lobster", but the species is also known locally as the "northern lobster", "Maine lobster" or simply "lobster". American lobsters are a popular food. They are commonly boiled or steamed. Hard-shells (lobsters


title: "American lobster" content: that are several months past their last molt) can survive out of water for up to four or five days if kept refrigerated. Soft-shells (lobsters that have only recently molted) do not survive more than a few hours out of water. Lobsters are usually cooked alive, which may be illegal in certain areas and which some people consider inhumane. One common way of serving lobster 'tail' (actually the abdomen) is with beef, known as surf and turf. Lobsters have a greenish or brownish organ called the tomalley, which, like the liver and pancreas in a human, filters out toxins from


title: "American lobster" content: the body. Some diners consider it a delicacy, but others avoid it because they consider it a toxin source or dislike eating innards. A set of nutcrackers and a long, thin tool for pulling meat from inaccessible areas are suggested as basics, although more experienced diners can eat the animal with their bare hands or a simple tool (a fork, knife or rock). Eating a lobster can get messy, and most restaurants offer a lobster bib. Meat is generally contained in the larger claws and tails, and stays warm quite a while after being served. There is some meat in


title: "American lobster" content: the legs and in the arms that connect the large claws to the body. There is also some small amount of meat just below the carapace around the thorax and in the smaller legs. Most lobsters come from the northeastern coast of North America, with the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and the U.S. state of Maine being the largest producers. They are caught primarily using lobster traps, although lobsters are also harvested as bycatch by bottom trawlers, fishermen using gillnets, and by scuba divers in some areas. Maine completely prohibits scuba divers from catching lobsters (violations could result in up


title: "American lobster" content: to a $1000 fine). Maine also strictly prohibits the landing of lobsters caught by bottom trawlers and other "mobile gear". Massachusetts offers scuba divers lobster licenses for a fee, and they are only available to state residents. Rhode Island also requires divers to acquire a permit. Lobster traps are rectangular cages made of vinyl-coated galvanized steel mesh or wood, with woven mesh entrances. These are baited and lowered to the sea floor. They allow a lobster to enter, but make it difficult for the larger specimens to turn around and exit. This allows the creatures to be captured alive. The