Question: Who is the discoverer or inventor of this object?

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Aqua-Lung. Aqua-Lung was the first open-circuit, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (or "scuba") to achieve worldwide popularity and commercial success. This class of equipment is now commonly referred to as a twin-hose diving regulator, or demand valve. The Aqua-Lung was invented in France during the winter of 1942–1943 by two Frenchmen: the engineer Émile Gagnan and the Naval Lieutenant (French: "lieutenant de vaisseau") Jacques Cousteau. It allowed Cousteau and Gagnan to film and explore underwater more easily.The invention revolutionised autonomous underwater diving by providing a compact, reliable system capable of a greater depth range and endurance than its precursors, and was a.

Aqua-Lung. Bernard Piel"). One of their apparatuses went to Émile Gagnan, an engineer employed by the Air Liquide company. Gagnan miniaturized and adapted it to gas generators in response to a fuel shortage, which was a consequence of German requisitioning. Gagnan's boss, Henri Melchior, knew that his son-in-law Jacques-Yves Cousteau was looking for an automatic demand regulator to increase the useful endurance of the underwater breathing apparatus invented by Commander Yves le Prieur, so he introduced Cousteau to Gagnan in December 1942. On Cousteau's initiative, the Gagnan regulator was modified for use in diving. Cousteau and Gagnan were issued a patent.

Aqua-Lung. French company.Air Liquide held the patent on the original "Aqualung" (also written as "Aqua-Lung" or "Aqua Lung") until the patent expired sometime around 1960 to 1963. The term "Aqualung", as far as is known, first appeared in print on page 3 of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's first book, "The Silent World", in 1953. Public use of the word "aqualung", and public interest in Aqualungs and scuba diving, were started around 1953 in English-speaking counties by a National Geographical Society Magazine article about Cousteau's underwater archaeological expedition to Grand Congloué. In France, aqualung diving was popularized by Cousteau's movie "Épaves", while his book.


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Library of Celsus. The Library of Celsus () is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Selçuk, Turkey. The building was commissioned in the 110s A.D. by a consul, Gaius Julius Aquila, as a funerary monument for his father, former proconsul of Asia Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, and completed during the reign of Hadrian, sometime after Aquila's death. The library is considered an architectural marvel, and is one of the only remaining examples of a library from the Roman Empire. The Library of Celsus was the third-largest library in the Roman world behind only Alexandria and Pergamum, believed to have.

Library of Celsus. Honorific Portrait Statues in the Greek East in the Second Century A.D." "The Journal of Roman Studies" 88 (1998): 56-93. doi:10.2307/300805. classics.uc.edu, Architecture, classical studies, bibliography (Archived) Virtual reconstruction of the Celsus library in Ephesus, Turkey.


Question: What is the hymenium type of this plant?

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Astraeus hygrometricus. common in temperate and tropical regions. Its common names refer to the fact that it is hygroscopic (water-absorbing), and can open up its rays to expose the spore sac in response to increased humidity, and close them up again in drier conditions. The rays have an irregularly cracked surface, while the spore case is pale brown and smooth with an irregular slit or tear at the top. The gleba is white initially, but turns brown and powdery when the spores mature. The spores are reddish-brown, roughly spherical with minute warts, measuring 7.5–11 micrometers in diameter.Despite a similar overall appearance, "A.

Astraeus hygrometricus. alternate spelling of "Geastrum"). According to the American botanist Andrew P. Morgan, however, the species differed from those of "Geastrum" in not having open chambers in the young gleba, having larger and branched capillitium threads, not having a true hymenium, and having larger spores. Accordingly, Morgan set Persoon's "Geaster hygrometricum" as the type species of his new genus "Astraeus" in 1889. Despite Morgan's publication, some authorities in the following decades continued to classify the species in "Geastrum". The New-Zealand based mycologist Gordon Herriot Cunningham explicitly transferred the species back to the genus "Geastrum" in 1944, explaining: The treatment of this.

Astraeus hygrometricus. species by certain taxonomists well illustrates the pitfalls that lie in wait for those who worship at the shrine of ontogenic classification ... The only feature of those outlined in which the species differs from others of "Geastrum" is the somewhat primitive hymenium. In the developing plant the glebal cavities are separated by tramal plates so tenuous as to be overlooked by the uncritical worker. Each cavity is filled with basidia somewhat irregularly arranged in clusters (like those of "Scleroderma") and not in the definite palisade of the species which have been studied. This difference disappears as maturity is reached,.

Astraeus hygrometricus. interior of the spore case, the gleba, is white and solid when young, and divided into oval locules—a characteristic that helps to distinguish it from "Geastrum". The gleba becomes brown and powdery as the specimen matures. Small dark hairlike threads (rhizomorphs) extend from the base of the fruit body into the substrate. The rhizomorphs are fragile, and often break off after maturity.The spores are spherical or nearly so, reddish-brown, thick-walled and verrucose (covered with warts and spines). The spores' dimensions are 7–11 µm; the warts are about 1 µm long. The spores are non-amyloid, and will not stain with iodine.

Astraeus hygrometricus. published before it was known that North American and Asian versions of "A. hygrometricus" were not always the same; in some cases Asian specimens have been identified as new species, such as "A. asiaticus" and "A. odoratus".## Similar species.Although "A. hygrometricus" bears a superficial resemblance to members of the "true earthstars" "Geastrum", it may be readily differentiated from most by the hygroscopic nature of its rays. Hygroscopic earthstars include "G. arenarium", "G. corollinum", "G. floriforme", "G. recolligens", and "G. kotlabae". Unlike "Geastrum", the young fruit bodies of "A. hygrometricus" do not have a columella (sterile tissue in the gleba, at.

Astraeus hygrometricus. moist soil. The spore ornamentation of "A. odoratus" is also distinct from "A. hygrometricus", with longer and narrower spines that often joined. "A. asiaticus" has an outer peridial surface covered with small granules, and a gleba that is purplish-chestnut in color, compared to the smooth peridial surface and brownish gleba of "A. hygrometricus". The upper limit of the spore size of "A. asiaticus" is larger than that of its more common relative, ranging from 8.75 to 15.2 μm. "A. koreanus" (sometimes named as the variety "A. hygrometricus" var. "koreanus"; see Taxonomy) differs from the more common form in its smaller.


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La Recoleta Cemetery. () and a church, Our Lady of Pilar ("), built in 1732.The order was disbanded in 1822, and the garden of the convent was converted into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Inaugurated on 17 November of the same year under the name of " (Northern Cemetery), those responsible for its creation were the then-Governor Martin Rodríguez, who would be eventually buried in the cemetery, and government minister Bernardino Rivadavia.The 1822 layout was done by French civil engineer Próspero Catelin, who also designed the current facade of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. The cemetery was last remodeled in 1881,.


Question: What is the closest parent taxonomy of this insect?

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Zopherus nodulosus. Zopherus nodulosus, common name Haldeman's Ironclad beetle, is a species of ironclad beetle in the family Zopheridae. It is found in Central America and North America.The species name "nodulosus" refers to the bumps or nodes on the beetle's back.## Subspecies.## "Z. n. haldemani"."Z. n. haldemani" Horn, 1870, is sometimes treated as a separate species, and known as the Texas Ironclad Beetle. It can grow between 1.5 and 2 centimetres in length. The body is a blotchy black-and-white pattern, and the legs are fully black. The subspecies name, "haldemani", references the Haldeman brothers (Samuel Haldeman and Horace Haldeman), the former a.

Zopherus nodulosus. naturalist and philologist, the latter a soldier and one of the first people to concentrate on insect collection in Texas.They are thought to feed on lichen and dead plant material. Females have been observed laying eggs on American elms, and larvae and pupae have been found in pecan wood, which "apparently serves as the developmental site for this species". They are found in East and Central Texas.## "Z. n. nodulosus"."Z. n. nodulosus" can grow between 1.4 and 2.8 centimetres in length, and 0.5 to 1.1 cm in width.


Question: What is the source that produces this material?

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Tortoiseshell. Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its exploitation for this trade. The large size, fine color, and unusual form of the hawksbill's scutes make it especially suitable. The distinctive patterning is referred to in names such as the tortoiseshell cat, several breeds of guinea pig, and the common names of several species of the butterfly genera "Nymphalis" and "Aglais", and some other uses.## Uses.Tortoiseshell was widely used.


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La Recoleta Cemetery. La Recoleta Cemetery () is a cemetery located in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and military commanders like Julio Argentino Roca. In 2011, the BBC hailed it as one of the world's best cemeteries, and in 2013, CNN listed it among the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world.## History.Franciscan Recollect monks () arrived in this area, then the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in the early eighteenth century. The cemetery is built around the Recollect Convent.

La Recoleta Cemetery. imported from Paris and Milan. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. These mausoleums are still being used by rich families in Argentina that have their own vault and keep their deceased there.While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair. Several can be found with broken glass and littered with rubbish. Among many memorials are works by notable Argentine sculptors, Lola Mora and Luis Perlotti for instance. The tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak, due to its.


Question: What is this building named after?

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Pieterskerk, Leiden. The Pieterskerk is a late-Gothic Dutch Protestant church in Leiden dedicated to Saint Peter. It is known today as the church of the Pilgrim Fathers, where the pastor John Robinson was buried. It is also the burial place of the scientist Willebrord Snellius.## History.In around 1100 the site held the county chapel of the counts of Holland, rebuilt in 1121. The present building took approximately 180 years to build, starting in 1390. Famous Leiden dignitaries are buried there, including the painter Jan Steen and the Leiden professor Herman Boerhaave. The beautiful stained-glass windows already took a terrible blow during the.


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Alnus rubra. British Columbia and the northwestern Pacific Coast Ranges of the United States, red alder grows on cool and moist slopes; inland and at the southern end of its range (California) it grows mostly along the margins of watercourses and wetlands. It is shade intolerant.In moist forest areas, "Alnus rubra" will rapidly cover a former burn or clearcut, often preventing the establishment of conifers. It is a prolific seed producer, but the small, wind-dispersed seeds require an open area of mineral soil to germinate, and so skid trails and other areas disturbed by logging or fire are ideal seedbeds. Such areas.


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Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as "Podocarpus" "dacrydioides", and was given its current binomial name "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides" in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera "Dacrycarpus" and "Dacrydium".In traditional Māori culture, it is an important source of timber.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. for the building of waka and making of tools, of food in the form of its berries, and of dye. When Europeans discovered it in the 18th century they found large remnant stands in both the North and South Islands, despite burning of forest by early Māori. Its use for timber and its damp fertile habitat, ideal for dairy farming, have led to its decimation almost everywhere except South Westland.Kahikatea seeds have fleshy structures called receptacles attached to them, which encourage birds such as kererū and tūī to eat them and disperse the seeds. The water storage ability of this.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. structures may also be to protect seeds from drying out. It supports many smaller plants in its own branches, which are called epiphytes; 100 different species have been recorded on one tree alone.## Description.The kahikatea is a coniferous tree reaching a height of 50–65 (m), making it the tallest New Zealand tree, with a trunk 1–2 (m) through. It has a 600 year life span and gains maturity after between 250 and 450 years. Near the base of the tree, the roots are typically buttressed and grooved. The wood itself is odourless and white. The majority of the trunk is.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. branchless—in adults around three quarters—and has grey or dark grey coloured bark which falls off thickly in flakes. Young adults have no branches in a third to a half of the trunk and have a conic shape.In juveniles the leaves are 3–7 (reaching 4 mm in young adults) by 0.5–1 mm and a dark green to red colour that come to a marked point. They are narrow, arranged in almost opposite pairs spreading away from a wider base, and curved like a scythe. In adulthood the leaves change dramatically and are a brown-green colour and just 1–2 mm long, waxy,.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. and grow overlapping one another tightly.As a conifer, the kahikatea has no flowers and instead has cones. Male cones, which occur on different trees to female ones, are 1 cm long and rectangular. The pollen is a pale yellow colour and has a three-pored or trisaccate shape that is distinctive in the New Zealand flora and so can be identified easily. The fruit is highly modified with a yellow-orange fleshy receptacle that is 2.5–6.5 mm long. The purple-black seed is roughly spherical and 4–6 mm in diameter. Both the seed and the ovary are covered with a thin layer of.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. wax. The kahikatea has a diploid chromosome count of 20.## Phytochemistry.Several different glycosides have been isolated from the leaves; the tricetin 3’,5’-di-O-/β-glucopyranoside and 3’-0-β-xylopyranoside have been found only in the kahikatea. The receptacles and seeds have been found to contain anthocyanins, rare in gymnosperms, which it was suggested in one 1988 paper make the fruit as a whole more attractive to prospective animal dispersers.## Taxonomy.The kahikatea was first described in 1832 by the French botanist Achille Richard in his "Essai d'une Flore de la Nouvelle Zélande" (Essay On The Flora of New Zealand) as "Podocarpus" "dacrydioides". There is an earlier.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. record given in the 1825 issue of "Mémoires du Muséum d'histoire naturelle" as "Podocarpus thujoides", but it lacks a description. It was superfluously named "Dacrydium excelsum" by Allan Cunningham in the 1838 issue of Annals of Natural History, and transferred to the genus "Nageia" by Otto Kuntze in 1891. It was given its current binomial name, "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides," in 1969 by American botanist David de Laubenfels.## Etymology."Dacrycarpus" means tear shaped fruit, and the specific epithet "dacrydioides" is after its similarity to species in the genus "Dacrydium". Common names include kahikatea, from the Māori language, and white pine. Other Māori names.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. recorded by 19th century ethnographers include: katea, kaikatea, koroī, kōaka, kahika, and the name kāī (for the young tree).## Evolution.A 2022 study in "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution", found a phylogeny, or evolutionary tree, in which kahikatea is found to be within a "Darcydioid" clade. This group of species that share a common ancestor also gave rise to the other "Dacrycarpus" species as well as those in the genus "Darcydium". They suggested it diverged from a common ancestor around 60 million years ago, in the early paleogene. This is represented in the cladogram below.## Distribution and habitat.The kahikatea is endemic to.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. the North, South, and Stewart Islands of New Zealand. It inhabits mostly lowland forests between 0 and 600m above sea level, though may in rare cases reach montane areas. It used to dominate a swamp forest type that now exists almost only on the South Westland region of the South Island. Kahikatea prefers flooded or alluvial soils with low levels of drainage, which in Westland occur from post glaciation events.## Ecology.## Dispersal.Under optimal circumstances a mature kahikatea can produce 800 (kg) of fruit, equivalent to 4.5 million seeds, in a year. The fruit contains a special fleshy structure called a.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. receptacle which helps attract birds such as the kererū, tūī, and bellbird, who then eat the fruit and disperse the seed elsewhere. One 2008 study in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology found a mean retention time of kahikatea seeds in kererū of 44.5 minutes. It was suggested in a 1989 study that the high water content of the receptacle may also help protect the seeds, which are vulnerable to drying out, from dry conditions. It may also serve as a storage vessel for water. The bluish seeds have very strong UV reflectance, which is visible to some species of.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. birds.## Epiphytes.Kahikatea can support a vast number of non-parasitic plants that live in its branches, called epiphytes. One 2002 study identified between 90 and 100 species occurring on one mature tree. This included 49 vascular plants and over 50 non-vascular plants, which the authors identified as comparable to the number found on a "Prumnopitys exigua" in Bolivian cloud forest.## Competition.Intraspecific competition between kahikatea trees was found in a 1999 study to be an important factor in their survival and overall success, affecting both growth rates and rates of mortality. Older trees have a particularly large advantage over resources compared to.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. newer ones, and also have higher growth rates. Following flooding or other natural events, the kahikatea has been found to require an open canopy in order to re-establish. Because of the consistency of these events in South Westland however, many forested areas don't progress beyond regaining kahikatea and rimu, as other species, such as kāmahi, need the environment to improve before they can return.## Conservation.Prior to the arrival of humans in New Zealand around 75% of the country was covered in trees, and kahikatea dominated its own and once widespread kahikatea forest type. Even after the burning of many forests.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. by early Māori, there still remained large remnant forests which European settlers came upon in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prospects for use as timber were accelerated by the vast numbers of straight and tall trees, but because the wood is soft and odourless, it was made into pulp, barrels and boxes–butter boxes in particular were made mostly out of kahikatea. The kahikatea's usually flat habitat, with its damp and fertile soil, was also a prime location for dairy farming. Together this led to the felling of much of the remaining forests in the North and South Islands during the.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today they are confined mostly to the South Westland region of the South Island, though small remnants still exist in some places.Conservation efforts have focused on protecting and fencing kahikatea forests around the country. Riccarton Bush is one notable example of forest remnant protection. The near 16 (acre) reserve was held in the Deans family for 70 years before it was gifted to Christchurch by them in 1914, and subsequently formally protected in the Riccarton Bush Bill. It is the only surviving kahikatea forest remnant in the entire Canterbury Plains, and contains trees up.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. to 600 years old. Reservation of stands may not totally protect kahikatea, however, because the alluvial plains that they favour are prone to upheaval and erosion and so trees may still become damaged. Forest remnants outside of South Westland face the threat of never returning to their natural states, as a result of their small size, threats from weed species, and grazing by livestock. Despite this, the kahikatea has been classified as Least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and "Not Threatened" by the New Zealand Threat Classification System, which gives it an estimated population of above.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. 100,000.## In Māori culture.In Māori mythology the kahikatea is a child of Tāne, the god of forests and birds, and Hine-wao-riki. It served as an important source of wood for the making of tools, of dye, and of food from its berries. To collect the latter, Māori had to climb sometimes more than 100 (ft) to reach them.19th century British ethnographers Richard Taylor, Eldson Best, and William Colenso all recorded the fruit of kahikatea being eaten, and that it was given its own name: koroī. Best described berries being collected in a basket and then hoisted down using a cord.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. J. H. Kerry-Nicholls and William Colenso both recorded a blue or black dye being obtained from the soot of burning the kahikatea's resin or heart wood, called kāpara or māpara. This was described as then being used in tattooing. This resin was also used as chewing gum.The wood could be made into canoes, called waka, but Best recorded that because of the softness of the wood they were far inferior to those made from tōtara. The heartwood was far stronger and R. H. Matthews described it as being used in tools and weapons such as spears. Medicinal applications were described.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. by W. H. Goldie, who recorded the leaves being used to cure "internal complaints" as a decoction or in a steam bath. Gymnosperm Database - "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides.


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Mill Colonnade. The Mill Colonnade () is a large colonnade containing several hot springs in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The structure is one of the traditional symbols of the town. ## Design and reception.The Neo-Renaissance structure has a nave, two aisles and measures 132 (m) long by 13 (m) wide. There are 124 Corinthian columns. Twelve statues representing the twelve months of the year sit above the portico. There is a raised orchestra space for the spa orchestra which plays regular, free concerts. Architect Josef Zítek, who also designed the National Theatre and Rudolfinum in Prague, designed the.


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Walrus. Norse word ('horse'). For example, the Old Norse word means 'horse-whale' and is thought to have been passed in an inverted form to both Dutch and the dialects of northern Germany as and . An alternative theory is that it comes from the Dutch words 'shore' and 'giant'.The species name "rosmarus" is Scandinavian. The Norwegian manuscript "Konungs skuggsjá", thought to date from around AD 1240, refers to the walrus as in Iceland and in Greenland (walruses were by now extinct in Iceland and Norway, while the word evolved in Greenland). Several place names in Iceland, Greenland and Norway may originate.

Walrus. Tusks and dentition.While this was not true of all extinct walruses, the most prominent feature of the living species is its long tusks. These are elongated canines, which are present in both male and female walruses and can reach a length of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and weigh up to 5.4 kg (12 lb). Tusks are slightly longer and thicker among males, which use them for fighting, dominance and display; the strongest males with the largest tusks typically dominate social groups. Tusks are also used to form and maintain holes in the ice and aid the walrus in.

Walrus. Vibrissae (whiskers).Surrounding the tusks is a broad mat of stiff bristles ("mystacial vibrissae"), giving the walrus a characteristic whiskered appearance. There can be 400 to 700 vibrissae in 13 to 15 rows reaching 30 cm (12 in) in length, though in the wild they are often worn to much shorter lengths due to constant use in foraging. The vibrissae are attached to muscles and are supplied with blood and nerves, making them highly sensitive organs capable of differentiating shapes 3 (mm) thick and 2 (mm) wide.## Skin.Aside from the vibrissae, the walrus is sparsely covered with fur and appears bald.

Walrus. walrus numbers have again declined. Early aerial censuses of Pacific walrus conducted at five-year intervals between 1975 and 1985 estimated populations of above 220,000 in each of the three surveys.In 2006, the population of the Pacific walrus was estimated to be around 129,000 on the basis of an aerial census combined with satellite tracking. There were roughly 200,000 Pacific walruses in 1990.The much smaller population of Atlantic walruses ranges from the Canadian Arctic, across Greenland, Svalbard, and the western part of Arctic Russia. There are eight hypothetical subpopulations of Atlantic walruses, based largely on their geographical distribution and movements: five.

Walrus. A genetically distinct population existed in Iceland that was wiped out after Norse settlement around 1213–1330 AD.The isolated population of Laptev Sea walruses is confined year-round to the central and western regions of the Laptev Sea, the eastmost regions of the Kara Sea, and the westmost regions of the East Siberian Sea. The current population of these walruses has been estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000.Even though walruses can dive to depths beyond 500 meters, they spend most of their time in shallow waters (and the nearby ice floes) hunting for food.In March 2021, a single walrus, nicknamed Wally.

Walrus. while giving birth and aggregating in the reproductive period. Thinner pack ice over the Bering Sea has reduced the amount of resting habitat near optimal feeding grounds. This more widely separates lactating females from their calves, increasing nutritional stress for the young and lower reproductive rates. Reduced coastal sea ice has also been implicated in the increase of stampeding deaths crowding the shorelines of the Chukchi Sea between eastern Russia and western Alaska. Analysis of trends in ice cover published in 2012 indicate that Pacific walrus populations are likely to continue to decline for the foreseeable future, and shift further.

Walrus. the Inuit goddess Sedna. Both in Chukotka and Alaska, the aurora borealis is believed to be a special world inhabited by those who died by violence, the changing rays representing deceased souls playing ball with a walrus head.Most of the distinctive 12th-century Lewis Chessmen from northern Europe are carved from walrus ivory, though a few have been found to be made of whales' teeth.## Literature.Because of its distinctive appearance, great bulk, and immediately recognizable whiskers and tusks, the walrus also appears in the popular cultures of peoples with little direct experience with the animal, particularly in English children's literature. Perhaps.


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Gate of All Nations. The Gate of All Nations (Old Persian: "duvarthim visadahyum") also known as the Gate of Xerxes, is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis, Iran.The construction of the Stairs of All Nations and the Gate of All Nations was ordered by the Achaemenid king Xerxes I (486-465 BC), the successor of the founder of Persepolis, Darius I the Great.## Building.The structure consisted of one large room whose roof was supported by four stone columns with bell-shaped bases. Parallel to the inner walls of this room ran a stone bench, interrupted at the doorways. The outside walls, made.

Gate of All Nations. have had two-leaved doors, which were possibly made of wood and covered with sheets of ornamented metal. Gate of Xerxes The Gate of All Nations at Wikimapia The Grand Stairway and the Gate of All Nations Shiraz Persepolis Persepolis: Gate of All Nations.


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Hippopotamus. The hippopotamus ( ; Hippopotamus amphibius), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus ("Choeropsis liberiensis" or "Hexaprotodon liberiensis"). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" ().Aside from elephants and rhinos, the hippopotamus is the largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises,.

Hippopotamus. etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1500 (kg) for bulls (males) and 1300 (kg) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 (km/h) over short distances.Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool.

Hippopotamus. by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).## Etymology.The Latin word "hippopotamus" is derived from the ancient Greek , "hippopótamos", from , "híppos", 'horse', and , "potamós", 'river', meaning "horse of the river". In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses",.

Hippopotamus. but "hippopotami" is also used.## Taxonomy and origins.## Classification.The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists group hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla.Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range:Great northern hippopotamus or Nile hippopotamus "H. a. amphibius" – (the nominate subspecies) which ranged from Egypt, where they are now extinct, south up the Nile River to Tanzania and MozambiqueEast African hippopotamus "H. a.

Hippopotamus. kiboko" – was present in Kenya in the African Great Lakes region, and in Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Featured broader nasals and a more hollowed interorbital regionCape hippopotamus or South African hippopotamus "H. a. capensis" – ranged from Zambia to South Africa; had the most flattened skull of the various subspeciesWest African hippopotamus or Tchad hippopotamus "H. a. tschadensis" – ranged throughout Western Africa to Chad, as the name suggests; featured a slightly shorter and wider face, with prominent orbitsAngola hippopotamus "H. a. constrictus" – ranged from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola and Namibia; named.

Hippopotamus. for its deeper preorbital constrictionThe suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists; the described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples. Genetic analyses have tested the existence of three of these putative subspecies. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations considered genetic diversity and structure among hippo populations across the continent. The authors found low, but significant, genetic differentiation among "H. a. amphibius", "H. a. capensis", and "H. a. kiboko". Neither "H. a. tschadensis" nor "H. a. constrictus" have been.

Hippopotamus. tested.## Evolution.Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics and DNA and the fossil record, show their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.The most recent theory of the origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around . This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into.

Hippopotamus. two branches again around .One branch would evolve into cetaceans, possibly beginning about , with the protowhale "Pakicetus" and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti. This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into the completely aquatic cetaceans. The other branch became the anthracotheres, a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively small and narrow heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae, became extinct during the Pliocene without leaving any descendants.A rough evolutionary lineage of the hippo can thus be traced from.

Hippopotamus. Eocene and Oligocene species: from "Anthracotherium" and "Elomeryx" to the Miocene species "Merycopotamus" and "Libycosaurus" and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene. These groups lived in Eurasia, and the discovery of "Epirigenys" in East Africa, which was likely in a sister group to Hippopotamidae, suggests hippo ancestors entered Africa around and were the earliest large mammals to colonise the continent. An early hippopotamid is the genus "Kenyapotamus", which lived in Africa from 15 to . Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to , a possible ancestor to the modern.

Hippopotamus. hippo, "Archaeopotamus", lived in Africa and the Middle East.## Extinct species.Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar, the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism. Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans, a factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the "kilopilopitsofy", which may have been a Malagasy hippo.An extinct species, "Hippopotamus antiquus," ranged throughout Europe, extending.

Hippopotamus. as far north as Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern "H. amphibius" during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete ("Hippopotamus creutzburgi"), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus, "Hippopotamus minor"), Malta ("Hippopotamus melitensis"), and Sicily ("Hippopotamus pentlandi"). Of these, the Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction, or even encountered, by.

Hippopotamus. man. Across Eurasia, the hippopotamus became extinct between 50,000 and 16,000 years ago.## Characteristics and adaptations.The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight is around 1480 (kg) for bulls and 1365 (kg) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2660 (kg). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. Hippos measure 2.90 to 5.05 (m) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 (cm) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 (m).

Hippopotamus. tall at the shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 (m) and 1.30 to 1.45 (m) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head-body length of 3.3 – 3.45 (m) and an average standing height of 1.4 (m) at the shoulder.Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with a long muzzle. Their skeletal structures are graviportal, adapted to carrying their enormous weight, and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to.

Hippopotamus. other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees. Though they are bulky animals, hippos can gallop at 30 (km/h) on land, but they normally trot. They are incapable of jumping but do climb up steep banks.The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged. Muscular closing valves exist in the nostrils while nictitating membranes cover the eyes. Despite being semiaquatic and having.

Hippopotamus. webbed feet, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It is rarely found in deep water; when it is, the animal moves by porpoise-like leaps off the bottom. Adult hippos move at speeds of up to 8 (km/h) in water, typically resurfacing to breathe every three to five minutes. The young have to breathe every two to three minutes. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals. Despite this, it is able to sleep while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe seemingly without waking. They may be able.

Hippopotamus. to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.The hippo's jaw is powered by a large masseter and a well-developed digastric; the latter loops up behind the former to the hyoid. The jaw hinge is located far back enough to allow the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°. A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. Hippo teeth sharpen themselves as they grind together. The lower canines and lower incisors are enlarged, especially in bulls, and grow continuously. The incisors can reach 40 (cm), while the.

Hippopotamus. canines can grow to up to 50 (cm). The canines and incisors are used for combat and play no role in feeding. Hippos rely on their broad, rough lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars. The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud".Unlike most other semiaquatic animals, hippos have very little hair. The skin is 6 (cm) thick, providing the hippo with great protection against predators and other hippos. By contrast, its subcutaneous fat layer is thin. The animals' upper parts are purplish-grey.

Hippopotamus. to blue-black, while the under parts and areas around the eyes and ears can be brownish-pink. Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in the secretions; one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid), which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food.

Hippopotamus. does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine. This natural sunscreen cannot prevent the animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long.The testes of the males descend only partially and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect. The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and two large diverticula protrude from the vulval vestibule. The function of these is unknown.A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years. Donna.

Hippopotamus. the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65.## Distribution and status."Hippopotamus amphibius" was widespread in North Africa and Europe during the Eemian (130-115,000 years ago), with remains found as far north as England. Archaeological evidence exists of its.

Hippopotamus. presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the.

Hippopotamus. northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in.

Hippopotamus. Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities. As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000–30,000) possess the largest populations. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline.

Hippopotamus. is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, poorly paid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to greater enforcement and cooperation between fishermen and park authorities. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is considered a delicacy in some areas of central Africa and the.

Hippopotamus. teeth have become a valued substitute for elephant ivory.## Invasive potential.In the late 1980s, Pablo Escobar kept four hippos in a private menagerie at his residence in Hacienda Nápoles, 100 (km) east of Medellín, Colombia, after buying them in New Orleans. They were deemed too difficult to seize and move after Escobar's death in 1993, and hence were left on the untended estate. By 2007, the animals had multiplied to 16 individuals which had taken to roaming the area for food in the nearby Magdalena River. In 2009, two adults and one calf left their herd, attacking humans and killing.

Hippopotamus. cattle. One of the adults (called "Pepe") was killed by hunters under authorisation of the local authorities.When a photo of the dead hippo became public, it caused considerable controversy among animal rights groups both within the country and abroad, and plans of further culling the hippos were put on hold. Alternative methods of dealing with the hippos have been considered, but they are either unproven, too difficult, or expensive. A wild male hippo was caught, castrated, and released again, but this process cost about US$50,000. As of 2020, there were no plans by the local government for managing the population,.

Hippopotamus. but further studies of their effect on the habitat have been initiated. Because of the fast-growing population, conservationists have urged a management plan be developed quickly. Most ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment, although some have suggested that they could represent a net positive in the ecosystem, filling the large-herbivore niche left vacant in the New World when humans arrived and wiped out almost all large species in the Pleistocene extinction.In the U.S., Representative Robert F. Broussard of Louisiana introduced the "American Hippo Bill.

Hippopotamus. in 1910 to authorise the importation and release of hippopotamus into the bayous of Louisiana. Broussard argued the hippos would eat the invasive water hyacinth that was clogging the rivers and also produce meat to help solve the American meat crisis. The chief collaborators and proponents of Broussard's bill were Major Frederick Russell Burnham and Captain Fritz Duquesne. Former President Theodore Roosevelt backed the plan, as did the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "The Washington Post", and "The New York Times", which praised hippo meat as "lake cow bacon". Although the "American Hippo Bill" developed a broad base of support, it.

Hippopotamus. was never passed by the US Congress.## Behaviour and ecology.Hippos differ from all other large land mammals in being semiaquatic, spending their days in lakes and rivers. They require habitat with enough water to submerge themselves in and which has plenty of grass nearby. When bodies of water feature firm, smooth, sloping beaches, larger numbers of hippos may congregate. Male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in rapid waters in rocky gorges. Hippos mostly live in freshwater habitats; however, populations in West Africa mostly inhabit estuarine waters and may even be found out at sea.Hippos spend most.

Hippopotamus. the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to feed on land. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. A hippo will eat around 40 (kg) of grass in a night while traveling 3 – 5 (km). They typically return to the water before dawn. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even.

Hippopotamus. cannibalism and predation. The stomach anatomy of a hippo is not suited to carnivory, and meat-eating is likely caused by aberrant behaviour or nutritional stress.Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle.## Social interaction.It is challenging to study the.

Hippopotamus. interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Although hippos lie close to one another, they are generally not social animals, and they do not seem to form social bonds except between mothers and daughters. The reason they huddle close together is unknown. Hippos exhibit territorial behaviour only in water, where the dominant bull – also known as a "beachmaster" – presides over a small stretch of river, on average 250 (m) in length. The beachmaster's territory typically contains a pod of 10 cows, but pods.

Hippopotamus. can contain over 100 hippos. Younger bachelors are allowed in a beachmaster's stretch, as long as they behave submissively toward him. Hippo territories are used to establish mating access. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex. Bachelors lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the beachmaster is on his own. When hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood.

Hippopotamus. It is likely not territorial as the animals only establish territories in the water. "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines to inflict injuries. When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions. Incidents of hippo cannibalism have been documented, but this is believed to be the behaviour of distressed or sick hippos.The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can be heard over long distances. This call starts as a high-pitched.

Hippopotamus. squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call. While the purpose of these vocalisations is unknown, they appear to be used for social cohesion, and the animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react aggressively to the wheeze honks of strangers than those of animals they are more familiar with. They may be able to utilise wheeze honks for echolocation. Hippos have the unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water. They will also.

Hippopotamus. express threat and alarm with exhalations. Fighting bulls produce loud bellows.## Reproduction.Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years. A study of hippo reproductive behaviour in Uganda showed that peak conceptions occurred during the end of the wet season in the summer, and peak births occurred toward the beginning of the wet season in late winter. This is because of the female's oestrous cycle;.

Hippopotamus. as with most large mammals, male hippo spermatozoa is active year-round. Studies of hippos in Zambia and South Africa also showed evidence of births occurring at the start of the wet season. After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.Mating occurs in the water, with the cow submerged for most of the encounter, her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows isolate themselves to give birth and return to the pod within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born underwater weighing between 25 and 50 (kg) and at an average length of around.

Hippopotamus. 127 (cm). They must swim to the surface to take their first breaths. A mother typically gives birth to only one calf, though sometimes they give birth to twins. The young often rest on their mothers' backs when the water is too deep for them, and they swim under water to suckle. They will suckle on land as well when the mother leaves the water.Mother hippos are very protective of their young and may keep others at a distance. One cow was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves are occasionally left in nurseries which are guarded.

Hippopotamus. by one or a few adults. Calves in nurseries often engage in playfights. Weaning starts between six and eight months after birth, and most calves are fully weaned after a year. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as is common among small mammals such as rodents).## Interspecies interactions.Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos.

Hippopotamus. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos.

Hippopotamus. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males.Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This is an example of mutualism, in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for.

Hippopotamus. fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies.The parasitic monogenean flatworm" Oculotrema hippopotami" infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly the nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal.## Hippos and humans.The earliest evidence of human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at the Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. Later rock paintings and engravings showing hippos being hunted have been.

Hippopotamus. found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet, dated to 4,000–5,000 years ago The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as a ferocious denizen of the Nile and representations on the tombs of nobles show the animals were hunted by humans.The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus described the hippo in "The Histories" (written "" 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia "Naturalis Historia" (written "circa" 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo "erinmi", which means "elephant of the water".

Hippopotamus. Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking across a great distance in South Africa.## Attacks on humans.The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict.

Hippopotamus. with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos.## In zoos.Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history was Obaysch, who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka".Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit.

Hippopotamus. births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. The Cincinnati Zoo began building a US$73 million exhibit for three adult hippos in 2015, featuring a 250,000 (l) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing platform for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 (cm) thick and capable of withstanding water pressures of 31 (kPa). In 1987, the Toledo Zoo saw the first underwater birth by a captive hippo. The exhibit was so popular, the logo of the Toledo Zoo was updated to feature the hippos.## Cultural significance.In.

Hippopotamus. Egyptian mythology, the god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of the Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa. These rituals were performed at funerals. According to Robert Baden-Powell, Zulu warriors referred.

Hippopotamus. to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job, 40:15–24 is thought to be based on the hippo.Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales. According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature, the hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones.

Hippopotamus. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and the hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water.Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens' "The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt" (1615–1616). Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many.

Hippopotamus. consider comical. The Disney film "Fantasia" featured a ballerina hippo dancing to the opera "La Gioconda". The film "Hugo the Hippo" involves the title character escaping Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam to avoid being slaughtered, where he is cared for by local children. The "Madagascar" films feature a hippo named Gloria. Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.Among the most famous poems about the hippo is "The Hippopotamus" by T. S. Eliot, where he compares the animal to the Catholic Church. Hippos were mentioned in the novelty Christmas song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that became.

Hippopotamus. a hit for child star Gayla Peevey in 1953. They also feature in the popular "The Hippopotamous Song" by Flanders and Swann.A popular internet myth reports that hippos have pink milk. Biologist David Wynick states, "I think this is an Internet legend that is oft repeated but without any evidence for it that I can find... Like all mammals, hippos produce white or off-white milk for their young." Armley Hippo Owen and Mzee - hippo and tortoise who bonded.


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Hospital ship. imaging capabilities, such as X-ray, CT-scan and ultrasound. Italian Navy aircraft carrier – Has an on-board hospital with 2 operating rooms, 1 intensive care unit, laboratory, pharmacy and a 32-bed hospital ward. logistic ship – On-board hospital is NATO ROLE-level 2+, with operating room, intensive care unit and a laboratory. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force – These ships have 2 operating rooms, 2 ICU beds, 35 hospital beds, 1 battle dressing station and several medical imaging (i.e.:X-ray) stations. – These ships have 1 operating room, 1 ICU bed, 8 hospital beds. - These ships have 1 operating room, 2 ICU beds,.


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Pantherophis alleghaniensis. Pantherophis alleghaniensis, commonly called the eastern ratsnake, is a nonvenomous colubrid species endemic to North America.## Common names.Additional common names for the eastern rat snake include black rat snake, pilot snake, pilot black snake, chicken snake; and in Florida, yellow rat snake and Everglades rat snake.## Geographic range."Pantherophis alleghaniensis" is found in the United States east of the Apalachicola River in Florida, east of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, east of the Appalachian Mountains, north to southeastern New York and western Vermont, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, south to the Florida Keys. In the Florida Panhandle, it.

Pantherophis alleghaniensis. forests, isolated urban woodlots and backyards that support populations of prey species. Eastern rat snakes do especially well in early successional and edge habitats. An arboreal species, the snakes can get into human residences, where they may live in attics undetected. At the northern limits of their range, distribution appears to be restricted by the availability of suitable hibernating sites. In these climates, the snakes require southern exposures to receive maximal thermal benefit from the winter sun and to provide basking areas in early spring and late fall.The three U.S populations located more northerly (Illinois at 378N, Kansas at 388,Maryland.

Pantherophis alleghaniensis. juveniles.## Taxonomy."Pantherophis alleghaniensis" has sometimes been considered a subspecies of "Pantherophis obsoletus", to which it is closely related.This species has often been placed in the genus "Elaphe", but recent phylogenetic analyses have resulted in its transfer to "Pantherophis".Holbrook JE (1836). "North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. I." Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 120 pp. ("Coluber alleghaniensis", new species, pp. 111–112 + Plate XX).Jan G, (1867). "Iconographie générale des Ophidiens: Vingt-quatrième livraison." Paris: Baillière. Index + Plates I-VI. ("Elaphis alleghaniensis", Plate II, Figure 1 [adult], Figure 2 [juvenile]). (in French).


Question: What is the country of origin of this food?

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Muffin. A muffin is an individually portioned baked product, however the term can refer to one of two distinct items: a part-raised flatbread (like a crumpet) that is baked and then cooked on a griddle (typically unsweetened), or an (often sweetened) quickbread (like a cupcake) that is chemically leavened and then baked in a mold. While quickbread "American" muffins are often sweetened, there are savory varieties made with ingredients such as corn and cheese, and less sweet varieties like traditional "bran muffins". The flatbread "English" variety is of British or other European derivation, and dates from at least the early 18th.

Muffin. century, while the quickbread originated in North America during the 19th century. Both types are common worldwide today.## Etymology.One 19th century source suggests that "muffin" may be related to the Greek bread "maphula", a "cake baked on a hearth or griddle", or from Old French "mou-pain" ("soft bread"), which may have been corrupted into "mouffin". The word is first found in print in 1703, spelled "moofin"; it is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from the Low German "Muffen", the plural of "Muffe" meaning a small cake, or possibly with some connection to the Old French "moufflet" meaning soft, as.

Muffin. said of bread. The expression "muffin-man", meaning a street seller of muffins, is attested in a 1754 poem, which includes the line: "Hark! the shrill Muffin-Man his Carol plies.."## Quickbread muffins.Quickbread muffins (sometimes described in Britain as "American muffins") are baked, individual-sized, cupcake-shaped foods with a "moist, coarse-grained" texture. Muffins are available in both savoury varieties, such as cornmeal and cheese muffins, or sweet varieties such as blueberry, chocolate chip, lemon or banana flavours. Sweetened muffins range from lightly sweetened muffins to products that are "richer than many cakes in fat and sugar." They are similar to cupcakes in size.

Muffin. and cooking methods, the main difference being that cupcakes tend to be sweet desserts using cake batter and which are often topped with sugar icing (American frosting). Muffins may have solid items mixed into the batter, such as berries, chocolate chips or nuts. Fresh baked muffins are sold by bakeries, donut shops and some fast food restaurants and coffeehouses. Factory baked muffins are sold at grocery stores and convenience stores and are also served in some coffeeshops and cafeterias.## History.The use of the term to describe what are essentially cupcakes or buns did not become common usage in Britain until.

Muffin. the last decades of the 20th century on the back of the spread of coffee shops such as Starbucks. Recipes for quickbread muffins are common in 19th-century American cookbooks. Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called "common muffins" or "wheat muffins" in 19th-century American cookbooks, can be found in much older cookbooks. In Fannie Farmer's "Boston Cooking-School Cook Book", she gave recipes for both types of muffins, both those that used yeast to raise the dough and those that used a quick bread method, using muffin rings to shape the English muffins. Farmer indicated that stove top "baking", as.

Muffin. or chocolate chips.## Poppyseed muffins.Poppyseed muffins (or poppy seed muffins) contain poppy seeds. Poppy seeds were already popular in most parts of the world for their taste and texture—as well as the narcotic characteristics of the opium poppy plant they are harvested from. In modern times, growing poppy seeds is a difficult business for American farmers, due to the risk of heroin production. Other countries have fewer difficulties with permitting the growth of poppies for the seeds alone, which have very low (but still present) levels of opium alkaloids, such as morphine. As other countries began imitating the American muffin,.

Muffin. precise form, and moister muffins; however, using them will prevent a crust from forming.A variety of sizes for muffin cases are available. Slightly different sizes are considered "standard" in different countries. Miniature cases are commonly 1 to 1.25 (in) in diameter at the base and .75 (in) tall. Standard-size cases range from 1.75 to 2 (in) in diameter at the base and are 1.25 to 1.5 (in) tall. Some jumbo-size cases can hold more than twice the size of standard cases. Australian and Swedish bakers are accustomed to taller paper cases with a larger diameter at the top than American.

Muffin. and British bakers.## Flatbread muffins.Flatbread muffins (known in the United States and elsewhere as "English muffins"; or simply as "muffins" or "bakery muffins") are a flatter disk-shaped, typically unsweetened yeast-leavened bread; generally about 4 (in) round and 1.5 (in) tall. It is of English or European origin. Rather than being entirely oven-baked, they are also cooked in a griddle on the stove top and flipped from side-to-side, which results in their typical flattened shape rather than the rounded top seen in baked rolls or cake-type muffins. "Cornmeal and bran are sometimes substituted for some of the flour." These muffins are.

Muffin. popular in Commonwealth countries and the United States. Flatbread muffins are often served toasted for breakfast. They may be served with butter or margarine, and topped with sweet toppings, such as jam or honey, or savoury toppings (e.g., round sausage, cooked egg, cheese or bacon). Flatbread muffins are often eaten as a breakfast food (e.g. as an essential ingredient in Eggs Benedict and most of its variations), accompanied by coffee or tea.## History.English muffins were first mentioned in literature in the early 18th century, although the product is undoubtedly older than that. In the "Oxford Companion to Food", Alan Davidson.

Muffin. states that "[t]here has always been some confusion between muffins, crumpets, and pikelets, both in recipes and in name." The increasing popularity of flatbread muffins in the 19th century, is attested by the existence of "...muffin men [who] traversed the town streets at teatime, ringing their bells" to sell them. The bell-ringing of muffin men became so common that by the 1840s, the British Parliament passed a law to prohibit bell ringing by muffin men, but it was not adhered to by sellers."Mush muffins (called slipperdowns in New England) were a Colonial [American] muffin made with hominy on a hanging.

Muffin. griddle." Theses and other types of flatbread muffins were known to American settlers, but they declined in popularity with the advent of the quickbread muffin. The English muffin was re-introduced to the American market in 1880 as "English muffins" by English-American baker Samuel Beth Thomas (whose baked-goods company Thomas survives to this day). Thomas called the product "toaster crumpets", and intended them as a "more elegant alternative to toast' to be served in fine hotels. The English muffin has been described as a variant form of a crumpet, or a "cousin", with the difference being the location of the holes;.

Muffin. the 19th century, the term was also used to describe a silver, or silver-plated, "muffin dish", with a domed lid and a compartment below for hot water, used to keep toasted English muffins warm before serving.## In popular culture."The Muffin Man" is a traditional nursery rhyme, children's song or children's game of English origin from 1820.A well-known reference to English muffins is in Oscar Wilde's 1895 play "The Importance of Being Earnest".## As symbols.Note: these are American muffinsThe corn muffin is the official state muffin of Massachusetts. The blueberry muffin is the official state muffin of Minnesota. The apple muffin.

Muffin. is the official state muffin of New York. American cuisine Breakfast foodsCroissant CruffinCrumpet Cupcake DessertDonut Jiffy mix List of baked goods MantecadasThe Muffin ManScone.


Question: Which city or region does this building locate in?

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Náměstí Republiky, Prague. Náměstí Republiky ("Republic Square") is a city square in Prague, Czech Republic, lying at the boundary of the Old Town and New Town. On the square, or in the very near vicinity, are these significant buildings: Kotva Department Store, Municipal House, Powder Tower, Czech National Bank and Palladium shopping mall. From the square leads Na příkopě street, the most expensive street among the all states of the V4, connecting it with the Wenceslas Square.


Question: What is the closest upper taxonomy of this bird?

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Great crested flycatcher. The great crested flycatcher ("Myiarchus crinitus") is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus "Myiarchus" in North America, and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent. It dwells mostly in the treetops and rarely is found on the ground.## Description.Adult great crested flycatchers usually measure between 17 - 21 (cm) in length with a wingspan of around 34 (cm). This bird usually weighs between 27 - 40 (g).The great crested flycatcher does not display sexual dimorphism. All adults are brownish on the upperparts.

Great crested flycatcher. of vegetation and plant fibers, such as grasses, moss, leaves, but also pieces of animal fur and feathers, pieces of shed snakeskin, and artificial materials (ex: strings, tape, cloth, and plastic objects). The inner diameter ranges from 7–9 cm.Great crested flycatchers lay a single clutch of 4-8 eggs, which are incubated on average for two weeks by the female only. After hatching, nestlings will typically spend another two weeks in the nest before fledging. During this time, nestlings are fed an insect dominated diet by both parents, although females will make more frequent visits. Great crested flycatcher - "Myiarchus crinitus.


Question: What is the closest parent taxonomy of this plant?

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Arundinaria gigantea. Arundinaria gigantea is a species of bamboo known as giant cane (not to be confused with "Arundo donax") and river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas and as far north as New York. This species is divided into two subspecies. The subspecies "tecta" is sometimes treated as a species in its own right, "Arundinaria tecta", and is the taxon generally called switch cane. It is very similar to the nominate subspecies ("gigantea"), but is often smaller and tends to grow in wetter habitats.It and other species of "Arundinaria.

Arundinaria gigantea. may grow in large monotypic colonies called canebrakes. Canebrakes were once a common feature of the landscape in the southeastern United States, but today it is an endangered ecosystem.## Description.This bamboo, which is a species of cane, is a perennial grass with a rounded, hollow stem which can exceed 7 (cm) in diameter and grow to a height of 10 (m). It grows from a large network of thick rhizomes. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 30 (cm) long and 4 (cm) wide. The inflorescence is a raceme or panicle of spikelets measuring 4 to 7 (cm) in length. An.

Arundinaria gigantea. individual cane has a lifespan of about 10 years. Most reproduction is vegetative as the bamboo sprouts new stems from its rhizome. It rarely produces seeds and it flowers irregularly. Sometimes it flowers gregariously. Some types of non-native bamboos are confused with this native cane.## Habitat and ecology.This native plant is a member of several plant communities today, generally occurring as a component of the understory or midstory. It grows in pine forests dominated by loblolly, slash, longleaf, and shortleaf pine, and stands of oaks, cypress, ash, and cottonwood. Other plants in the understory include inkberry ("Ilex glabra"), creeping blueberry.

Arundinaria gigantea. ("Vaccinium crassifolium"), wax myrtle ("Morella cerifera"), blue huckleberry ("Gaylussacia frondosa"), pineland threeawn ("Aristida stricta"), cutover muhly ("Muhlenbergia expansa"), little bluestem ("Schizachyrium scoparium"), and toothache grass ("Ctenium aromaticum"). Cane communities occur on floodplains, bogs, riparian woods, pine barrens and savannas, and pocosins. It grows easily in flooded and saturated soils. It tolerates wildfire, and canebrakes are maintained by a normal fire regime. This cane is the food plant for the southern pearly eye, a butterfly. Canebrakes are an important habitat for the Swainson's, hooded, and Kentucky warblers, as well as the white-eyed vireo. The disappearance of the canebrake ecosystem may have.

Arundinaria gigantea. contributed to the rarity and possible extinction of the Bachman's warbler, which was dependent upon it for nesting sites.## Conservation.Canebrakes declined after European settlement of the American southeast. Factors involved in the decline include the introduction of livestock such as cattle, which eagerly graze on the leaves. The cane was considered a good forage for the animals until overgrazing began to eliminate canebrake habitat. Other reasons for the decline include the conversion of the land for agriculture and fire suppression.## Uses.There are many human uses for the cane. The Cherokee, particularly the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, use this species.

Arundinaria gigantea. in basketry. The Cherokee historically maintained canebrakes with cutting and periodic burning, a practice which stopped with the European settlement of the land. The elimination of cane habitat has nearly resulted in the loss of the art of basketmaking, which is important for the economy of the Cherokee today. The cane was also used by groups such as the Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw to make medicine, blowguns, bows and arrows, knives, spears, flutes, candles, walls for dwellings, fish traps, sleeping mats, and tobacco pipes.


Question: In which year did this building officially open?

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Brabo Fountain. The Brabo Fountain () is located in the Grote Markt (Main Square) of Antwerp, in front of the Town Hall of the city. The ceremonial inauguration of the sculpture took place in 1887. Jef Lambeaux realized the set of the bronze fountain.The reason is the legend of the name of the city, in which it is said that the giant Druon Antigoon cut off a hand to all the ship captains who moored in the area and refused to pay toll, then throwing it to the Scheldt. The captain of the Roman army Brabo cut off the giant's hand imitating.


Question: What is the closest parent taxonomy of this plant?

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Cascabela thevetia. Cascabela thevetia (syn: "Thevetia peruviana") is a poisonous plant native throughout Mexico and in Central America, and cultivated widely as an ornamental. It is a relative of "Nerium oleander", giving it a common name yellow oleander, and is also called lucky nut in the West Indies.## Etymology.'Cascabel', 'cascavel' or 'cascabela' is Spanish for a small bell, a snake's rattle or a rattlesnake itself. The allusion may also be to the plant's toxicity comparable to the venom of a rattlesnake. The latin specific name "thevetia" commemorates André de Thevet (1516-1590), a French Franciscan priest and explorer, who explored Brazil and Guiana.

Cascabela thevetia. (where the plant is known as chapéu-de-napoleão, ie, Napoleon's hat).## Description."Cascabela thevetia" is an evergreen tropical shrub or small tree. Its leaves are willow-like, linear-lanceolate, and glossy green in color. They are covered in waxy coating to reduce water loss (typical of oleanders). Its stem is green turning silver/gray as it ages. Flowers bloom from summer to fall. The long funnel-shaped sometimes-fragrant yellow (less commonly apricot, sometimes white) flowers are in few-flowered terminal clusters. Its fruit is deep red-black in color encasing a large seed that bears some resemblance to a 'Chinese lucky nut.'"Cascabela thevetia" is commonly known as Kaneir.

Cascabela thevetia. or Kaner (कनेर) in Hindi language in India. It is effectively drought resistant and tolerant to high temperatures, hence found in various states of India like Andhra, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh , Odisha and Assam where semi arid climate is prevalent.## Religious importance.Its bright yellow flowers are used for religious purposes in India. The tree is native to Mexico and thus direct references to Hindu culture are new.## Toxicity.All parts of the "C. thevetia" plant are toxic to most vertebrates as they contain cardiac glycosides. Many cases of intentional and accidental.

Cascabela thevetia. poisoning of humans are known.The main toxins are the cardenolides called thevetin A and thevetin B; others include peruvoside, neriifolin, thevetoxin and ruvoside. These cardenolides are not destroyed by drying or heating and they are very similar to digoxin from "Digitalis purpurea". They produce gastric and cardiotoxic effects. Antidotes for treatment include atropine and digoxin immune fabs (antibodies) and treatment may include oral administration of activated charcoal. Ovine polyclonal anti-digitoxin Fab fragment antibody (DigiTAb; Therapeutic Antibodies Inc.) can be used to treat "T. peruviana" poisoning, but for many countries the cost is prohibitive.A few bird species are however known to.

Cascabela thevetia. feed on them without any ill effects. These include the sunbirds, Asian koel, red-whiskered bulbul, white-browed bulbul, red-vented bulbul, brahminy myna, common myna and common grey hornbill.In South India and in Sri Lanka swallowing the seeds of "Thevetia peruviana" (Kaneru කණේරු (Sinhala), Manjal arali (Tamil)) is one of the preferred methods for suicides in villages where they are grown in abundance.Extracts from "C. thevetia" are reported to possess antispermatogenic activity in rats.Cultivation## Uses."Cascabela thevetia" is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and planted as large flowering shrub or small ornamental tree standards in gardens and parks in temperate climates. In frost.

Cascabela thevetia. prone areas it is container plant, in the winter season brought inside a greenhouse or as a house plant. It tolerates most soils and is drought tolerant.Biological pest controlThe plant's toxins have tested in experiments for uses in biological pest control. "T. peruviana" seed oil was used to make a 'paint' with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-termite properties.USDA Plants - "Thevetia peruviana"Inchem.org: Thevetia peruvianaKemper Center for Home Gardening.org - "Thevetia peruviana" horticultural info and photos.


Question: What is the closest upper taxonomy of this plant?

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Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as "Podocarpus" "dacrydioides", and was given its current binomial name "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides" in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera "Dacrycarpus" and "Dacrydium".In traditional Māori culture, it is an important source of timber.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. for the building of waka and making of tools, of food in the form of its berries, and of dye. When Europeans discovered it in the 18th century they found large remnant stands in both the North and South Islands, despite burning of forest by early Māori. Its use for timber and its damp fertile habitat, ideal for dairy farming, have led to its decimation almost everywhere except South Westland.Kahikatea seeds have fleshy structures called receptacles attached to them, which encourage birds such as kererū and tūī to eat them and disperse the seeds. The water storage ability of this.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. structures may also be to protect seeds from drying out. It supports many smaller plants in its own branches, which are called epiphytes; 100 different species have been recorded on one tree alone.## Description.The kahikatea is a coniferous tree reaching a height of 50–65 (m), making it the tallest New Zealand tree, with a trunk 1–2 (m) through. It has a 600 year life span and gains maturity after between 250 and 450 years. Near the base of the tree, the roots are typically buttressed and grooved. The wood itself is odourless and white. The majority of the trunk is.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. branchless—in adults around three quarters—and has grey or dark grey coloured bark which falls off thickly in flakes. Young adults have no branches in a third to a half of the trunk and have a conic shape.In juveniles the leaves are 3–7 (reaching 4 mm in young adults) by 0.5–1 mm and a dark green to red colour that come to a marked point. They are narrow, arranged in almost opposite pairs spreading away from a wider base, and curved like a scythe. In adulthood the leaves change dramatically and are a brown-green colour and just 1–2 mm long, waxy,.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. and grow overlapping one another tightly.As a conifer, the kahikatea has no flowers and instead has cones. Male cones, which occur on different trees to female ones, are 1 cm long and rectangular. The pollen is a pale yellow colour and has a three-pored or trisaccate shape that is distinctive in the New Zealand flora and so can be identified easily. The fruit is highly modified with a yellow-orange fleshy receptacle that is 2.5–6.5 mm long. The purple-black seed is roughly spherical and 4–6 mm in diameter. Both the seed and the ovary are covered with a thin layer of.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. wax. The kahikatea has a diploid chromosome count of 20.## Phytochemistry.Several different glycosides have been isolated from the leaves; the tricetin 3’,5’-di-O-/β-glucopyranoside and 3’-0-β-xylopyranoside have been found only in the kahikatea. The receptacles and seeds have been found to contain anthocyanins, rare in gymnosperms, which it was suggested in one 1988 paper make the fruit as a whole more attractive to prospective animal dispersers.## Taxonomy.The kahikatea was first described in 1832 by the French botanist Achille Richard in his "Essai d'une Flore de la Nouvelle Zélande" (Essay On The Flora of New Zealand) as "Podocarpus" "dacrydioides". There is an earlier.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. record given in the 1825 issue of "Mémoires du Muséum d'histoire naturelle" as "Podocarpus thujoides", but it lacks a description. It was superfluously named "Dacrydium excelsum" by Allan Cunningham in the 1838 issue of Annals of Natural History, and transferred to the genus "Nageia" by Otto Kuntze in 1891. It was given its current binomial name, "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides," in 1969 by American botanist David de Laubenfels.## Etymology."Dacrycarpus" means tear shaped fruit, and the specific epithet "dacrydioides" is after its similarity to species in the genus "Dacrydium". Common names include kahikatea, from the Māori language, and white pine. Other Māori names.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. recorded by 19th century ethnographers include: katea, kaikatea, koroī, kōaka, kahika, and the name kāī (for the young tree).## Evolution.A 2022 study in "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution", found a phylogeny, or evolutionary tree, in which kahikatea is found to be within a "Darcydioid" clade. This group of species that share a common ancestor also gave rise to the other "Dacrycarpus" species as well as those in the genus "Darcydium". They suggested it diverged from a common ancestor around 60 million years ago, in the early paleogene. This is represented in the cladogram below.## Distribution and habitat.The kahikatea is endemic to.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. the North, South, and Stewart Islands of New Zealand. It inhabits mostly lowland forests between 0 and 600m above sea level, though may in rare cases reach montane areas. It used to dominate a swamp forest type that now exists almost only on the South Westland region of the South Island. Kahikatea prefers flooded or alluvial soils with low levels of drainage, which in Westland occur from post glaciation events.## Ecology.## Dispersal.Under optimal circumstances a mature kahikatea can produce 800 (kg) of fruit, equivalent to 4.5 million seeds, in a year. The fruit contains a special fleshy structure called a.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. receptacle which helps attract birds such as the kererū, tūī, and bellbird, who then eat the fruit and disperse the seed elsewhere. One 2008 study in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology found a mean retention time of kahikatea seeds in kererū of 44.5 minutes. It was suggested in a 1989 study that the high water content of the receptacle may also help protect the seeds, which are vulnerable to drying out, from dry conditions. It may also serve as a storage vessel for water. The bluish seeds have very strong UV reflectance, which is visible to some species of.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. birds.## Epiphytes.Kahikatea can support a vast number of non-parasitic plants that live in its branches, called epiphytes. One 2002 study identified between 90 and 100 species occurring on one mature tree. This included 49 vascular plants and over 50 non-vascular plants, which the authors identified as comparable to the number found on a "Prumnopitys exigua" in Bolivian cloud forest.## Competition.Intraspecific competition between kahikatea trees was found in a 1999 study to be an important factor in their survival and overall success, affecting both growth rates and rates of mortality. Older trees have a particularly large advantage over resources compared to.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. newer ones, and also have higher growth rates. Following flooding or other natural events, the kahikatea has been found to require an open canopy in order to re-establish. Because of the consistency of these events in South Westland however, many forested areas don't progress beyond regaining kahikatea and rimu, as other species, such as kāmahi, need the environment to improve before they can return.## Conservation.Prior to the arrival of humans in New Zealand around 75% of the country was covered in trees, and kahikatea dominated its own and once widespread kahikatea forest type. Even after the burning of many forests.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. by early Māori, there still remained large remnant forests which European settlers came upon in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prospects for use as timber were accelerated by the vast numbers of straight and tall trees, but because the wood is soft and odourless, it was made into pulp, barrels and boxes–butter boxes in particular were made mostly out of kahikatea. The kahikatea's usually flat habitat, with its damp and fertile soil, was also a prime location for dairy farming. Together this led to the felling of much of the remaining forests in the North and South Islands during the.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today they are confined mostly to the South Westland region of the South Island, though small remnants still exist in some places.Conservation efforts have focused on protecting and fencing kahikatea forests around the country. Riccarton Bush is one notable example of forest remnant protection. The near 16 (acre) reserve was held in the Deans family for 70 years before it was gifted to Christchurch by them in 1914, and subsequently formally protected in the Riccarton Bush Bill. It is the only surviving kahikatea forest remnant in the entire Canterbury Plains, and contains trees up.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. to 600 years old. Reservation of stands may not totally protect kahikatea, however, because the alluvial plains that they favour are prone to upheaval and erosion and so trees may still become damaged. Forest remnants outside of South Westland face the threat of never returning to their natural states, as a result of their small size, threats from weed species, and grazing by livestock. Despite this, the kahikatea has been classified as Least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and "Not Threatened" by the New Zealand Threat Classification System, which gives it an estimated population of above.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. 100,000.## In Māori culture.In Māori mythology the kahikatea is a child of Tāne, the god of forests and birds, and Hine-wao-riki. It served as an important source of wood for the making of tools, of dye, and of food from its berries. To collect the latter, Māori had to climb sometimes more than 100 (ft) to reach them.19th century British ethnographers Richard Taylor, Eldson Best, and William Colenso all recorded the fruit of kahikatea being eaten, and that it was given its own name: koroī. Best described berries being collected in a basket and then hoisted down using a cord.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. J. H. Kerry-Nicholls and William Colenso both recorded a blue or black dye being obtained from the soot of burning the kahikatea's resin or heart wood, called kāpara or māpara. This was described as then being used in tattooing. This resin was also used as chewing gum.The wood could be made into canoes, called waka, but Best recorded that because of the softness of the wood they were far inferior to those made from tōtara. The heartwood was far stronger and R. H. Matthews described it as being used in tools and weapons such as spears. Medicinal applications were described.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. by W. H. Goldie, who recorded the leaves being used to cure "internal complaints" as a decoction or in a steam bath. Gymnosperm Database - "Dacrycarpus dacrydioides.


Question: What is the closest parent taxonomy of this animal?

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Muskrat. The muskrat ("Ondatra zibethicus") is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.Adult muskrats weigh 0.6 - 2 (kg), with a body length of 20 - 35 (cm). They are covered with short, thick fur of medium to dark brown color. Their long tails, covered with scales rather than hair, are their main means of.

Muskrat. propulsion. Muskrats spend most of their time in the water, and can swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes. They live in families, consisting of a male and female pair and their young. To protect themselves from the cold and from predators, they build nests that are often burrowed into the bank with an underwater entrance. Muskrats feed mostly on cattail and other aquatic vegetation, but also eat small animals."Ondatra zibethicus" is the only species in the genus "Ondatra" and tribe Ondatrini. It is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae, which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly.

Muskrat. the muskrat uses to mark its territory, and its flattened tail, the name became altered to musk-beaver; later it became "muskrat" due to its resemblance to rats.Similarly, its specific name "zibethicus" means "musky", being the adjective of "zibethus" "civet musk; civet". The genus name comes from the Huron word for the animal, "ondathra", and entered New Latin as "Ondatra" via French.## Description.An adult muskrat is about 40 - 70 (cm) long, half of that length being the tail, and weighs 0.6 - 2 (kg). That is about four times the weight of the brown rat ("Rattus norvegicus"), though an adult.