Thursday 29 September 2005
Giant squid - Japanese scientists take the first images of a living specimen
Japanese scientists discovered the giant squid by following Sperm whales, which hunt for the giant squids. It is believed to reach lengths of 60 ft (18 meters) long and has two tentacles that can stretch up to two thirds of its length. Tracking the
Sperm whales and dangling bait and their camera at 450 fathoms (800 meters) they managed to catch the attention of a 25 ft (7.62 m) long giant squid and some pictures.
A researcher from New Zealand has captured the first live images from a "giant" squid earlier, although you can leave "giant" out, they were only half an inch long larvae.
In 2003, a giant squid attacked a french boat, which was taking part in the round-the-world (talk about coincedence!) Jules Verne Trophy. (Jules Verne is the author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in which is described how giant squid attacked Capt Nemo's submarine Nautilus).
Links
news.telegraph
news.yahoo
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (public domain version)
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Saturday 17 September 2005
Day geckos (genus Phelsuma) - Beauties from Madagascar
Most members of the family Geckonidae are nocturnal animals. But there are some exceptions too. Among these are the members of the genus Phelsuma, the so called Day geckos. They inhabit the island of Madagascar, which lies off South-East Africa. But Day geckos are also distributed on some "nearby" islands like the Comores, the Seychelles, Nossi B�, Aldabra, Assumption and Sainte Marie. Some species also can be found in some coastal regions of South-East Africa.
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Friday 09 September 2005
Tiger - Largest cat killed by Chinese medicine?
The largest of all cats killed by traditional Chinese medicine? There are different opinions among scientists, whether to call the Tiger
Panthera tigris (
Panthera tigris) and leave it in the genus Panthera together with the Lion and the other so-called Great cats or to call it Neofelis tigris and have it in the genus Neofelis together with the much smaller Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). But the following is not disputed: Tigers are the largest living cats. They reach a length up to 280 cm and a weight of almost 300 kg. Remarkable are the dark stripes on orange- or ochre- coloured ground. There are various subspecies, which partly differ widely in size. The largest subspecies is the Siberian tiger.
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