View allAll Photos Tagged pigmentation
Rock-pool Blenny - Parablennius parvicornis (Valenciennes, 1836) [more of this species]
A blenny that occurs in the Eastern Atlantic African Coast from the Congo River to Cape Blanc (Mauritania/ Western Sahara border) as well as Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores which are further north than Cape Blanc. This species is replaced by P. sanguinolentus in the Mediterranean and Morroco south toe Casablanca. The two species are seperated by about 14° Latitude along the coast. This species has 1 less dorsal spine (X vs XI), some slight differences in dentition and pigmentation.
It is best identified by having 6-7 light stripes radiating outwards around the eyes. The base colour can be very dark to light olive green. The body and the dorsal fins are marbled with a darker shade. There are also lighter spots all over its body including the dorsal and pectoral fins. The front of the dorsal fin is edged with red and the rear edge and the entire length of the anal fin is bordered with a black with a white edige.
Date: July 11, 2010
Location: Los Cancajos [more at this location]
Country: Spain
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“Solenopora” jurassica Nicholson in Brown, 1894 - fossil red algae in limestone from the Jurassic of Britain. (field of view ~2.8 centimeters across)
Rhodophytes are red algae - they are the most common and widespread of marine macroalgae, but they often go unnoticed because of their frequently-dull coloration and nondescript growth forms. Over 7000 species of red algae are known in the Holocene - most of them are marine, plus some freshwater forms. Rhodophytes are also known in the fossil record. Very old fossil red algae have been reported from the upper Mesoproterozoic (~1.2 Ga) of northern Canada.
Red algae vary in color - not all are reddish. Rhodophytes can be red, pink, pale pink, lavender, purple, brownish-red, whitish, and yellowish. Fleshy red algae are usually weed-like to mossy to fuzzy in appearance. Calcareous red algae have skeletons with calcium carbonate (CaCO3 - calcite or aragonite). Calcareous red algae are important reef organisms - they include branching forms and crusts. Upon death, the hard part skeletal components of calcareous red algae become biogenic sediments in reef and peri-reef environments.
The remarkable fossil shown above is a "Solenopora" jurassica red alga with its pinkish coloration still preserved. It’s in a matrix of Middle Jurassic fossiliferous-oolitic limestone from Britain. Samples of this material have been nicknamed "beetroot stones". Biomarkers consistent with a rhodophyte affinity have been extracted from British beetroot stones (see Barden et al., 2015).
Previous studies have suggested that Jurassic fossils identified as Solenopora are not congeneric with the type species from the Ordovician of Estonia, Solenopora spongioides Dybowski, 1878. British Jurassic specimens are therefore assigned as "Solenopora" jurassica.
Classification: Rhodophyta, Rhodophyceae, “Solenoporaceae”
Stratigraphy: "Fieldbrash Deposit", Middle Jurassic (probably from the White Limestone Formation, Great Oolite Series, Bathonian Stage, upper Middle Jurassic, ~165-168 Ma)
Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed site at or near the town of Cirencester, southern Gloucestershire County, western England (southern Britain)
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Reference cited:
Barden et al. (2015) - Geochemical evidence of the seasonality, affinity and pigmentation of Solenopora jurassica. PLOS One [= Public Library of Science One] 10(9): e0138305. 21 pp. (journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal...)
Friday 23rd June 2023
Last day of the week, and if I am honest, beginning to feel a little bit better after suffering more than I'd like to admit since knacking my back before going to Svalbard.
This was the first time I have felt sure on my feet since then, happy and confident as my brain ordered them plates to climb a down, and they obeyed and I didn't feel like I was going to come tumbling back down.
But before all that, there was work. And putting out the bins.
Jools went to yoga, so was on bin duty. Made a second coffee and made ready for work.
My colleagues are travelling this weekend, both going to Taiwan, meanwhile I will have an online audit on Tuesday. My audits are loaded to the second half of the year, so for now I try to make sense of our planning "tool", and try to make sense of the chaos.
Its different chaos from the usual general chaos.
I have chosen to pick a fight with someone two corporate levels above me, mainly because I am right and they're not. And because, what the fuck?
Anyway, the morning was spent swapping messages as they were too busy for a call. And is going on holiday at the end of the day.
So I throw a few grenades over the wall before signing off, and smiled to myself.
Jools returned at half one, changes and we go out. It was a glorious afternoon, she was going to go swimming in the harbour, and I was going to meet Graham and look for orchids.
An orchid.
Jools said not to hurry back, so I wouldn't. Within reason.
Drove to Wye where I was to meet Graham, before I got in his car and we drove to another down.
Last week two people posted shots of a rare "yellow" form of a Late Spider, and after some detective work, I decided it was at the site we were about to explore. I had not been here before, and Graham had found it only a few weeks back, where he saw maybe 15 spikes.
We had to limbo under a fence, go along a track then up the down, where we saw the first Late Spiders.
In huge numbers.
And monster spikes too, one with 10 (ten) flowers, and many with unusual lip markings, colouration and one with a yellow spike.
And the spikes kept showing all up to the top of the down, but the orchid we came to find, we did not see.
Two hours passed, and I had to go to pick up Jools, so we walked back down to Graham's car, so he could run me to ours, then back along lanes to Stone Street and the short run to the motorway and to home.
Jools had met an old friend and they had talked for over an hour, so no worries on keeping her waiting.
We went back home, getting back at quarter past five, so time to feed the cats, and get ready for the quiz. Meanwhile, Jools went to collect a Chinese takeaway, so that when the quiz was done, I would be collected and we would go to Jen's for dinner and cards.
ylv is still here, and running interference. She means well, but chaos follows here. Everywhere.
We eat well, then after packing away, we play cards, taking two hours to get through a game of Meld, as Sylv is poorly organised she seems just to stare at her cards. Jools helps here twice, and she wins the hands as a result.
But not John, it was too late for a hand of Queenie. So we went home.
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Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...
Modern pigmentation often used artificial substances. The color is blended with oil, usually linseed oil but other sebum may be used as well. Flower Paintings The various sebum dry in a different way, creating various effects.Traditionally, performers combined their own shows from raw pigmentation that they often ground themselves and method. This made mobility difficult and kept most painting activities limited to the studio room. This modified in the delayed Nineteenth century, when oil colour in pipes became accessible.Performers could mix shades easily, which allowed, for the first time, relatively practical plein air (outdoor) painting (a common strategy in France Impressionism).
Leucistic Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). The bird is leucistic, not albino. It is showing a bit of pigmentation in the legs and eye. Mono Lake County Park. Near Lee Vining, Mono Co., Calif.
A extreme pigmentation problem of skin universal vitiligo. In this type of vitiligo normally a complete loss of pigment except some parts of the body.
The Science and Engineering Building is headquarters for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of the Environment. Think of it as the hub for the natural sciences--biological, molecular, and earth and environmental.
Lots of research happens here. There's a Zebrafish Pigment Cell Biology Lab studying the cell biology, developmental biology and genetics of pigmentation; the Porter Lab studies plant-microbe biology in the onsite greenhouse and in the field; and the famous Titan VanCoug corpse flower lives in the northeast stairwell.
Read more about Titan VanCoug's recent bloom here:
vancouver.wsu.edu/titan-vancoug-live-bloom
Photo: Laura Dutelle
The Common Buckeye is a permanent resident in the southern United States and north along the coasts to central California and North Carolina; south to Bermuda, Cuba, Isle of Pines, and southern Mexico. Adults from the south's first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada.
Adult butterlies favorite nectar sources are composites including aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Dogbane, peppermint, and other flowers are also visited.
The caterpillar host plants are from the snapdragon family including snapdragon (Antirrhinum) and toadflax (Linaria); the plantain family including plantains (Plantago); and the acanthus family including ruellia (Ruellia nodiflora).
Habitat includes open, sunny areas with low vegetation and some bare ground.
Male Buckeyes typically perch during the day on low plants or bare ground to watch for females, flying periodically to patrol or to chase away other flying insects. Females lay eggs singly on leaf buds or on upperside of host plant leaves. Typically two to three broods from May - October, throughout the year in the Deep South. Caterpillars are solitary and eat leaves. Caterpillars and adults overwinter, but only in the south.
Buckeyes (Junonia) are known for their distinctive bold pattern of eyespots and white bars on the upper wing surface. The eyespots likely serve to startle or distract predators, especially young birds. Common Buckeyes exhibit seasonal polyphenism, or better known as polyphenic pigmentation, which is adaptive for insect species that undergo multiple matings each year. Different pigmentation patterns provide appropriate camouflage throughout the seasons, as well as alter heat retention as temperatures change. The summer version of the Common Buckeye has light yellowish ventral wings and is called "linea". The Fall morph has pinkish ventral wings, and is called the "rosa" morph.
ISO400, aperture f/11, exposure .004 seconds (1/250) focal length 300mm
Composite scene of acrobatics over a galloping bull. The best of a series of similar scenes, the Taureador Frescos, named so by Arthur Evans:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull-Leaping_Fresco
~
Overview of rooms in the museum:
The museum, as it is now, is completely renewed. Old information about rooms and their numbers are still not updated, not even in Wikipedia. They mention twenty rooms, and their names, but there are 27 rooms, XXVII
Maybe wiki will update their page soon, as it is in October 2015, it is not updated.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraklion_Archaeological_Museum
~
This serial of photos offers an impression of details of the collection with Minoan Art, belonging to the Palace of Knossos. the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion has been completely renewed. Lots of amazing information can be read next to art objects.
It is not allowed to use flash when making photos. This, and the many visitors made it hardly possible to make really sharp photos in some seconds.
My camera is a rather cheap one and creates curved lines.
Some photos are not sharp, but I kept them anyway.
Altogether it has been a deeply impressing visit, moving, deeply moving because of the mystical, spiritual, mental and emotional depth of the Art.
The Minoans were utterly creative.
Their art is comparable with our modern art. Their use of colors makes the art characteristic: pastel colors (modest in pigmentation), terra colors, with blue, green and ochre.
Often I edited the photos in several ways. Or cropped them, to attract the attention for details.
Enjoy the collection of photos. If you want to read more about the Minoans:
www.heraklion-crete.org/archaeological-museum/
I would like to recommend a video with the music by Cretan composer Yannis Markopoulos. The photo: I have cherished it all the years I know this video now, deep in my heart. When seeing this photo in the museum, September 7, 2015, I was surprised by the colors. In reality the colors are more pastel. Lighter.
The music in the video is named:
*Concerto-Rhapsody for Cretan lyre and orchestra, ΙΙ. Allegro Moderato
*Lyre: Zacharias Spyridakis
*Conductor and orchestra: Edwig Abrath, Flanders Symphony Orchestra
Link to the video on YouTube:
[Platycnemis Burmeister 1839: 32 (IT: 2) spp]
Conspecific parapatric copula, sx lateral habitus.
REFERENCES
G. Okude & R. Futahashi 2021: Odonata pigmentation.
S.M. Bybee & al. 2021: Odonata phylogeny.
C.J. Van der Kooi & al. 2020: Insect color vision evolution.
D.R. Paulson 2019: Odonata natural history.
R. Khelifa & al. 2017: A century on from Biology of dragonflies.
H. Rajabi & al. 2016: Odonata basal wing complex & venation.
H. Rajabi & al. 2016: Multiple vein microjoints in Odonata wings.
H. Ren & al. 2013: Odonata dynamic performances.
R. Huai-Hui & al. 2012: Odonata wing biomechanics.
J. Van Kleef & al. 2008: Directional selectivity in insect ocelli.
Abuche is a 18 year old Ethiopian Man from Jinka. His eyes are blue as a result of Waardenburg syndrome, a genetic condition that affects pigmentation.
Mother Nature made this place with her ancient giantess hands. She toiled for billions of years, just so we could pop in and be more impressed in two seconds than we've ever been - as we stood noting the immensity of the time in a brief moment that rushed by us almost undetected.
I've been here three times in my life. The Caverns haven't really changed since my first trip at age 4 to my last trip at age 32. Equally astounding every time I've been.
This is a relatively inexpensive place to take road trip to (depending on where you're coming from) if you're into that kinda thing... and totally worth every second you spend there. Also, this a great place to beat the summer heatwave. The caverns are deep below the melting and singed New Mexican landscape. They harbor air chilled to a lovely 56°F (13°C) which makes the long walk deep deep down inside of time, inside of our planet's crusted blanket of indiscretions, a super cooled journey into a Martian-like alien setting.
Imaginations run amok in the caves like a genome that's lost it's need for pigmentation or eyesight, they stumble and blunder until they sense everything on a deeper level of intuition, drawing out their paths on the canvases of time - or so we imagine.
More from my garden colony of the "novel" globular springtail (Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov.). I've been photographing and measuring this species for FransJanssens@www.collembola.org and although I'm only finding a few a day, most days provide me with an interesting individual.
Here's a mature female (feeding instar). I didn't get a suitable shot to provide an accurate measurement, but reckon this is ~1.3 mm. Lots of black abdominal pigmentation (apart from terminal segment) and speckled pigmentation on head with a few, small orange patches. No orange/red patches on abdomen though.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Three images blended in PSE. Cropped a bit.
Roseate Spoonbill. They get their pink pigmentation from the oxides in the silt they process as they sift through the water filtering out food items.
Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile.
The lake contains borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae.
Laguna Colorada is one of the Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention signed in 1971.
James's Flamingos abound in the area. Also it is possible to find Andean and Chilean flamingos, but in a minor quantity.
(Wikipedia)
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We took the backward route from Tupiza northwards to the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa and further to Salar de Uyuni salt plain; snow-covered volcanoes at the horizon line, red-coloured rocks and sand, colorful lagunas, and slow 4WD journey through the land of thin air - that's Bolivia southern part of Altiplano.
Laguna Colorada is most likely the most stunning of the colorful lakes; we spent there a night and thus got a chance for slow silent walks around, admiring its unforgettable stunning beauty...
The pigmentation of the sarcophagi at Karajía was derived from this maroon color rock layer.
Karajía is a Chachapoya culture archaeological site in the Utcubamba Valley near Chachapoyas. Eight sarcophagi containing mummies were discovered on the cliff side, referred to by local residents as the “ancient wise men.” The remaining six sarcophagi or purunmachus (two of the eight are lost) stand up to 2.5 meters tall. They were constructed of clay, wooden sticks, stones and grasses and feature exaggerated jawlines--which may point to phallic symbolism. They also were partly painted. There are remnants of a Chachapoya village across the gorge. It is believed that the dead were placed here to watch over the living across the valley.
Each of these human-shaped sarcophagi contains a mummy--presumably belonging to an important person. The bodies were wrapped in the fetal position. Some of the sarcophagi are topped by skulls which perhaps belonged to warriors vanquished by the persons buried here. Their inaccessible location high above a river gorge has protected them from destruction by looters. They have been radiocarbon-dated to the 15th century--shortly before the conquest of the Chachapoya culture by the Incas.
This cliff also hosts other grave sites, including a mass grave, presumably for less prominent members of the Chachapoya civilization.
This is one of our city's famous white gators. They were found in 1987 not far from where I live. They were 2 weeks old, 18 of them. This gal (the original 18 are all female) is having a hard time due to not having pigmentation. This is not an albino alligator but leucistic alligator. I wish I could take credit for the cool lighting but I can't. They have her behind glass (yes this is an aquarium type shot) and ultra low lighting which is better for her skin pigment.
radium-aesthetics.com/program/pigmentation-removal-skin-i...
We understand your frustrations so we have designed the Skin Illumination Program to help you battle your skin pigmentation and uneven skin tone. Skin Illumination Program is effective in removing stubborn skin pigmentation issues like freckles, lentiges (sunspots), melasma and residual acne scars.
Each session of the Skin Illumination Program is power-packed with not one, but 4 gentle pigment-reducing lasers. Various functionalities of Dual Yellow Laser will be used to penetrate the deep dermal pigmentation of the skin to break down the stubborn pigments. Dual Yellow Laser has been proven to be a gentle, yet effective laser treatment for benign pigmented lesions such as age spots, sun spots, freckles, rosacea, and melasma. The Skin Brightening Laser will reduce uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation while the RuVY Touch Pigment Laser targets stubborn dark spots.
To end your intensive session, proprietary skin-brightening serums will be infused into the skin so that your program will continue to work for you even long after you leave the clinic.
This pair of Huron moccasins, found in England, were probably brought back to Great Britain as a curiosity item by one of the early settlers. The black pigmentation is typical of early 19th century Huron moccasins. Very typical also is the fine moose hair floral embroidery and use of silk ribbon which reflects trade with Europeans.
Huron, Quebec, Canada, c.1830
The word moccasin is originally an Algonquian term and means, “to be gathered”. A “moccasin” is defined as a shoe in which the soft sole and upper are continuous. There are different types of moccasins as outlined in the Museum's typology booklet. It was this type of footwear which early European explorers first commented on and collected as they encountered the indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands and Great Lakes regions. Some of the oldest moccasins in the Bata Shoe Museum's collection come from the Iroquois and Huron cultures. They were famous for their very fine porcupine quillwork and moose hair embroidery, which they used to decorate their moccasins in the 18th and early 19th century. Later they became experts in decorating their moccasins with beads. The Bata Shoe Museum is fortunate to have several pairs of extremely rare 18th century quillwork examples.
A while ago, I started work on a new story about an interstellar mining company, and their usage of a cyborg character named S.I.M.O.N.E, and her friend S.U.sie. I didn't think it worth continuing to be honest, the characters will be used elsewhere, but it seemed a shame to waste all that story, so here's a little chunk of it, along with a picture of Simone and Susie playing in the (fake) snow.
S.I.M.O.N.E
The problem, of course, with following on from a successful product, is the law of diminishing returns. Then there comes the added problem of acknowledging requests for upgrades and improvements. These can often sidetrack a successful product. The unit known as “One” has been a complete success for Simulated Incorporated, It was therefore unfortunate that, at the request of Carnivale Interstellar Mining Corporation, upgrades in the shape of an “Emotive Memory ™ chip” came to be fitted into the core processing unit of Simulated One, or Simone as she had become known.
The Carnivale management had been impressed by both stage one and stage two testing, but stage 3 was less than successful. Stage 3 tests were conducted on Veridium 3, a Lucite ore planet leased by Carnivale. Stage 3 would test how Simone interacted with Carnivale line staff, to see whether Simulated’s much talked about “Interaction” package worked. Unfortunately, it didn’t work too well. Simone attempted to use her “Interaction” package, the expected hostility from the line staff and the miners should have shifted Simone’s CPU to the “Gently” software. Instead however, Simone’s CPU shifted to the “orders and instructions”package. Simulated Incorporated were then called in.
Simone was fitted with the “Emotive Memory™ chip”. Straight away there were problems. Her internal power supply, a remnant from the old “Julia” series borg unit, began to run at a high temperature, resulting in a series of emergency shutdowns. Subsequent to this, but not caused by it, the “Emotive Memory ™ chip” began to conflict with some of the lines of code in the “analysis and documentation” package. Simone once again went into emergency shutdown, and Simulated Inc were called in once again. The conflicting package was isolated and, once again, Simone was powered up. This time, not only did Simone’s CPU detect problems with the isolated A & D package, it detected problems with the software used in the isolation process itself. Simone attempted to de-isolate the package to halt the software conflict, in doing so, she caused a power supply failure, several packages were shorted out and Simone’s CPU was destroyed.
And now here we are with a new unit. Simulated Unit Second. Susie is what they call her. This time, the conflicting software packages have been removed completely, Susie’s power supply has an improved cooling system, and the “Emotive Memory ™ chip” has received modifications, designed to scale back it’s scope slightly. On test, Susie is, at first unusual. The huge pump on the front of her chest is a compromise. In making the cooling system more efficient, some internals have been moved around on the exoskeleton, with the result that the secondary auxiliary cooling pump got moved to the outside of the body. It certainly acts as an intrusion. First of all, it’s certainly noticeable. Secondly, it ticks. Rather loudly. And constantly. If you interact with Susie about anything, it beguns to tick faster. Louder too, as the main cooling systems come online as the CPU works harder to operate the “Emotive Memory ™ chip”. There in lies another problem. The harder and faster the thing ticks and pumps, the less emotive and more machinelike Susie’s responses are. More machine-like even than Simone’s ever were.
Apart form the huge pump on the front, the two are similar visually. The only difference being the paler skin pigmentation of Susie, due to the cooling systems. Aside from the annoying pump, Susie is a pleasure to work alongside, her responses more considered and emotional than Simone’s. But the CPU is clearly still limited, when Susie is taxed too much and the pump begins to operate at a higher frequency, Susie’s skin blanches out and her responses become machine responses.
The other problem is more specific. Several parts of different packages have been removed from Susie, as either superfluous, or conflicting. It’s difficult to know exactly what has been removed, until you ask Susie to do something and she says she doesn’t know how.
So to conclude, Susie is a compromise unit. Simulated Inc have acknowledged this, and have announced their “Simulated Three”, or “Thora” to be released next year. Thora, so they say, is a revolution in Simulated life. Consisting of an entirely new CPU and “Emotive Memory ™ chip”, the brand new cooling system and power supply will mean the outside pump will not be repeated. However, many observers have noted disappointingly that the exoskeleton still seems to be based on a revised Julia version, with the patented floating ball technology. This could present a problem for Thora, as “World Robot PLC” have announced that, late next year, they will release a similar unit, but using the superior SN-SNAL chassis construction. This would be the first time World Robot have released a human like unit using the SN-SNAL system, and it is expected to be a world beater. Simulated Inc had better make sure the third unit answers the problems of it’s predecessors, or “Thora” might find herself outdated before she is even born.
Photo taken on May 23, 2007, of the fading spathe.
Addendum, 5/27/07: I'm still posting items on the Titan Arum blog - yesterday I put up some photos of the plant in some of its earlier incarnations.
Masai Giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi)
- Range: the Savannas of eastern Africa. Note: in prehistoric time this single species ranged over most open areas in Africa. The giraffe range began to shrink 1,400 years ago to its present size.
- Diet: Girraffes are browsers. plucking leaves, buds and fruits from trees such as acacia, mimosa and wild apricot.
- Fun Fact: a giraffe's 18-inch tongue helps extend its reach way up into the treetops and curls in between spiny thorns on acacia trees. It is believed that the black pigmentation prevents the tongue from getting sunburned.
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This magnificent rhyton is a characteristic example of Minoan stone carving of the early Neopalatial period. It is a libation vase, which was filled with the appropriate liquid through a hole in the neck and emptied through another hole on the muzzle.
This rhyton imitates a bull, the most important animal in Minoan religion. Its horns, which were not found, were probably of gilded wood, the inlaid eyes are of rock crystal with painted irises, the eyelashes of jasper and the muzzle of tridacna shell. The locks of the animal's mane are shown in relief and the hair represented with incisions. The lapidary rendered the strength and beauty of the animal, its anatomy and expressiveness, in a most naturalistic manner, as seen by the attention to anatomic detail. The rhyton is only partly preserved, its left side being the original.
From:
meetcrete.com/article/region/all/Museums/232/The-Archaeol...
Overview of rooms in the museum:
The museum, as it is now, is completely renewed. Old information about rooms and their numbers are still not updated, not even in Wikipedia. They mention twenty rooms, and their names, but there are 27 rooms, XXVII
Maybe wiki will update their page soon, as it is in October 2015, it is not updated.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraklion_Archaeological_Museum
~
This serial of photos offers an impression of details of the collection with Minoan Art, belonging to the Palace of Knossos. the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion has been completely renewed. Lots of amazing information can be read next to art objects.
It is not allowed to use flash when making photos. This, and the many visitors made it hardly possible to make really sharp photos in some seconds.
My camera is a rather cheap one and creates curved lines.
Some photos are not sharp, but I kept them anyway.
Altogether it has been a deeply impressing visit, moving, deeply moving because of the mystical, spiritual, mental and emotional depth of the Art.
The Minoans were utterly creative.
Their art is comparable with our modern art. Their use of colors makes the art characteristic: pastel colors (modest in pigmentation), terra colors, with blue, green and ochre.
Often I edited the photos in several ways. Or cropped them, to attract the attention for details.
Enjoy the collection of photos. If you want to read more about the Minoans:
bit.ly/ousXoF [caption id="attachment_81" align="alignleft" width="510" caption="Smart Tan – Somerville"][/caption]
Would you frequently get whitened locations on epidermis following sun tanning? Move through this information to discover what causes these white areas and how you can be dealt with.
Basking in the sun could be a calming experience, and to add to that, you can also receive the a lot desired tan look. Often, people suffering from certain pores and skin conditions may also be asked to reveal on their own to sunlight. Whether simply really like hanging out in the vibrant the sun or would like your entire body to get a small the sun vitamin, you have to keep your pores and skin does not get exposed to the dangerous ultraviolet sun light for some time. Exposure to sunshine might cause many skin troubles. You may get blotchy epidermis from sunshine. Sometimes, some individuals end up with white locations on epidermis right after tanning. I am certain you might be wondering why this sort of white-colored spots on epidermis seem right after suntanning. This is some good info on which will cause bright areas from suntanning and solutions to treat these white areas on skin.
White Locations on Skin after Tanning: Will cause
Bright sunspots on epidermis may be related to period of time levels of melanin coloring. Melanin can be a compound which accounts for imparting coloration to pores and skin, head of hair and iris of our own eye. Cells that conduct the function of generating melanin are known as melanocytes. Because melanin guards our skin in the dangerous ultraviolet sunshine, those with minimal melanin amounts are more likely to have problems with whitened locations on epidermis after sun tanning. Other places the place that the epidermis tissues will not produce enough amounts of melanin are likely to produce this kind of white places. Most of us understand the results of prolonged experience sun's rays. Constant exposure to sun's rays considering that a young grow older can also affect ale melanocytes to generate melanin.
An epidermis issue called tinea versicolor may be responsible for the appearance of bright locations on skin soon after getting brownish naturally. This is a infection that triggers white-colored, reddish or brown spots on pores and skin. If the skin color is suffering from tinea versicolor, the sun's rays can't penetrate your skin, consequently, one eventually ends up with an bumpy bronze. Prolonged experience sunlight could also trigger too much sun, which often, can result in an epidermis situation known as vitiligo. In the case of men and women suffering from vitiligo, skin tissue cannot develop enough melanin this also brings about creation of bright locations or sections on skin. Some people may additionally create sections because of sun's rays poisoning.
In addition to pigmentation ailments or candica attacks, utilization of specific medications also can make a single vulnerable. People who use a getting brownish naturally bed might also build whitened places as a result of advance of strain factors on numerous areas of the body. Tanning furniture are gadgets that emit ultraviolet rays. Lots of people use these interior sun tanning devices to get a bronzed look. With all the tanning bedrooms, certain parts of the epidermis might get hard pressed in opposition to the top tanning your bed. One particular may possibly consequently produce whitened places onto the skin from suntanning furniture due to minimal flow of blood to the telltale areas.
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Friday 23rd June 2023
Last day of the week, and if I am honest, beginning to feel a little bit better after suffering more than I'd like to admit since knacking my back before going to Svalbard.
This was the first time I have felt sure on my feet since then, happy and confident as my brain ordered them plates to climb a down, and they obeyed and I didn't feel like I was going to come tumbling back down.
But before all that, there was work. And putting out the bins.
Jools went to yoga, so was on bin duty. Made a second coffee and made ready for work.
My colleagues are travelling this weekend, both going to Taiwan, meanwhile I will have an online audit on Tuesday. My audits are loaded to the second half of the year, so for now I try to make sense of our planning "tool", and try to make sense of the chaos.
Its different chaos from the usual general chaos.
I have chosen to pick a fight with someone two corporate levels above me, mainly because I am right and they're not. And because, what the fuck?
Anyway, the morning was spent swapping messages as they were too busy for a call. And is going on holiday at the end of the day.
So I throw a few grenades over the wall before signing off, and smiled to myself.
Jools returned at half one, changes and we go out. It was a glorious afternoon, she was going to go swimming in the harbour, and I was going to meet Graham and look for orchids.
An orchid.
Jools said not to hurry back, so I wouldn't. Within reason.
Drove to Wye where I was to meet Graham, before I got in his car and we drove to another down.
Last week two people posted shots of a rare "yellow" form of a Late Spider, and after some detective work, I decided it was at the site we were about to explore. I had not been here before, and Graham had found it only a few weeks back, where he saw maybe 15 spikes.
We had to limbo under a fence, go along a track then up the down, where we saw the first Late Spiders.
In huge numbers.
And monster spikes too, one with 10 (ten) flowers, and many with unusual lip markings, colouration and one with a yellow spike.
And the spikes kept showing all up to the top of the down, but the orchid we came to find, we did not see.
Two hours passed, and I had to go to pick up Jools, so we walked back down to Graham's car, so he could run me to ours, then back along lanes to Stone Street and the short run to the motorway and to home.
Jools had met an old friend and they had talked for over an hour, so no worries on keeping her waiting.
We went back home, getting back at quarter past five, so time to feed the cats, and get ready for the quiz. Meanwhile, Jools went to collect a Chinese takeaway, so that when the quiz was done, I would be collected and we would go to Jen's for dinner and cards.
ylv is still here, and running interference. She means well, but chaos follows here. Everywhere.
We eat well, then after packing away, we play cards, taking two hours to get through a game of Meld, as Sylv is poorly organised she seems just to stare at her cards. Jools helps here twice, and she wins the hands as a result.
But not John, it was too late for a hand of Queenie. So we went home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...
Female L. fabalis.
Goodwin & Fish (1977) wrote that the colour of the female's ovipositor is “to varying degrees black pigmented” on L. obtusata, while that on L. fabalis “lacks pigmentation” in 99% of cases in Wales. Reid (1996) stated that it is not so in all areas.
This specimen has an ovipositor that is pigmentless (1) except for some black pigment at the anterior (2), so fits the description of L. obtusata, but the shell size, form and colour match those of males of L. fabalis (penes checked) found with it on Fucus serratus. No male L. obtusata were found on the shore, so this female is considered to be L. fabalis. In my (I.F.S) opinion, Reid was correct to question the reliability of ovipositor colour for differentiation of the two species.
Shell height 13.3 mm. Llŷn, North Wales. September 2016.
Full account at: flic.kr/p/RcvnFf
Sets of OTHER SPECIES:
Here are the last four Late Spider uploads from what has been a remarkable season.
------------------------------------------------
FIXMAS.
6 months to Christmas.
After the hunt was cut short on Friday due to time constraints, I arranged to meet my friend, Terry, back at the site on Sunday morning.
And as Sunday was due to be the warmest, if not hottest day of the year, we were going to be there early.
Jools and I had coffee, then packed to leave, reaching the site via quiet lanes well before eight, but the temperature was already building.
A quick search of the original site, then a walk along the down to the newly found (by us) one, where could already see Terry high above us.
Also there was a guy from Devon, another Graham, and he had come to look to.
So, the four of us began to search the down for the little green bugger.
I am pretty sure we looked at every spike, at least once, and although we found some very nice spikes, not the one we were looking for.
A short drive away is the site I saw the hybrid last year, and this really was the last throw of the dice stuff. Its a long hike up the down, and across to the steep side.
Here, the spikes were already well past their best, with just a couple worth seeing and snapping, but certainly nothing of any note.
It was half eleven, twenty six degrees, and too hot for any more.
We all bailed.
Jools and I drove home, where once inside we both had a long, cold drink before brunch of fruit and croissants.
For three hours we sweltered inside, too hot for anything. But then came the cooking.
I asked Jen what she and Sylv would like to eat on Sunday: "roast" said Jen.
So, on the hottest day of the year, I roasted leg of lamb for some two hours, steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes and baked Yorkshire puddings.
By six, it was like I had crawled in the oven, but the meal was wonderful, and most cleared their plates.
But still hot.
We sat outside in the shade of the house for an hour, just talking, by which time it was eight and time for Jen and Sylv to go home, and for Jools and I to clear away the last of the washing up, have a brew, then go to bed.
Phew rock and roll.
--------------------------------------------------
Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...
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HUMPBACK WHALES: 2015
COOL FACTS:
•Males sing complex songs on wintering grounds in Hawaii that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away!
•In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii--they can complete the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days!
•Humpback whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.
•Several hunting methods involve using air bubbles to herd, corral, or disorient fish. One highly complex variant, called "bubble netting" is unique to humpbacks. This technique is often performed in groups with defined roles for distracting, scaring, and herding before whales lunge at prey corralled near the surface.
•Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a human fingerprint.
•Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.
•Humpback whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km); seven animals, including a calf, completed this trek from Costa Rica to Antarctica.
•Also on wintering grounds, males sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away. A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but that song continually evolves over time. Humpback whale singing has been studied for decades, but scientists still understand very little about its function.
Source: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whal...
Boca-de-leão, Boca-de-lobo ou Boca-de-peixe (Antirrhinum majus).
Origem: Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre.
A boca-de-leão, boca-de-lobo[2] ou boca-de-peixe (Antirrhinum majus)[3] é uma espécie de flor.[4] Recebe este nome devido ao formato das flores.
A autoridade científica da espécie é L., tendo sido publicada em Species Plantarum 2: 617. 1753.[5]
Antirrhinum majus
Possui ciclo anual, e atinge entre 40 e 70 cm de altura. Apresenta floração em cores diversas como amarelo, branco, rosa, roxo, dentre outras. As flores surgem entre o final do inverno e o início da primavera. Aprecia mais o frio.
É uma planta de sol pleno, necessitando de pelo menos 4 horas diárias de luz direta.
Portugal
Trata-se de uma espécie presente no território português, nomeadamente no Arquipélago dos Açores e no Arquipélago da Madeira.
Em termos de naturalidade é introduzida nas duas regiões atrás referidas.
Protecção
Não se encontra protegida por legislação portuguesa ou da Comunidade Europeia.
Referências
Tank, David C. et. al. (2006). «Review of the systematics of Scrophulariaceae s.l. and their current disposition». Australian Systematic Botany. 19 (4): 289–307. doi:10.1071/SB05009
Pinto, B. (2010). Guia de campo – Dia B, 22 Maio de 2010, bioeventos.
«boca-de-leão». Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa. Consultado em 21 de outubro de 2023
Revista Pesquisa FAPESP: O magnetismo das flores
Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 7 de Outubro de 2014
Bibliografia
Antirrhinum majus - Checklist da Flora de Portugal (Continental, Açores e Madeira) - Sociedade Lusitana de Fitossociologia
Checklist da Flora do Arquipélago da Madeira (Madeira, Porto Santo, Desertas e Selvagens) - Grupo de Botânica da Madeira
Antirrhinum majus - Portal da Biodiversidade dos Açores
Antirrhinum majus - The Plant List (2010). Version 1. Published on the Internet; www.theplantlist.org/ (consultado em 27 de outubro de 2014).
Antirrhinum majus - International Plant Names Index
Castroviejo, S. (coord. gen.). 1986-2012. Flora iberica 1-8, 10-15, 17-18, 21. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
Ligações externas
Antirrhinum majus - Flora Digital de Portugal. jb.utad.pt/flora.
Antirrhinum majus - Flora-on
Antirrhinum majus - The Euro+Med PlantBase
Antirrhinum majus - Flora Vascular
Antirrhinum majus - Biodiversity Heritage Library - Bibliografia
Antirrhinum majus - JSTOR Global Plants
Antirrhinum majus - Flora Europaea
Antirrhinum majus - NCBI Taxonomy Database
Antirrhinum majus - Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Antirrhinum majus - Encyclopedia of Life
Antirrhinum majus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Snapdragon (disambiguation).
Antirrhinum majus, the common snapdragon (often - especially in horticulture - simply "snapdragon"), is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Antirrhinum. The plant was placed in the family Plantaginaceae following a revision of its prior classical family, Scrophulariaceae.[1][2][3]
The common name "snapdragon", originates from the flowers' reaction to having their throats squeezed, which causes the "mouth" of the flower to snap open like a dragon's mouth. It is widely used as an ornamental plant in borders and as a cut flower. It is perennial but usually cultivated as an annual plant. The species has been in culture since the 15th century.[4]
Description
It is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 0.5–1 m tall, rarely up to 2 m. The leaves are spirally arranged, broadly lanceolate, 1–7 cm long and 2-2.5 cm broad. The upper glandular stalk is stalk-round, sometimes woody to the middle. The opposite leaves are simple, elliptic or ovate to broad-lanceolate, sometimes linear and usually bleak. Leaflets are missing.[6]
The flowers are produced on a tall spike, each flower is 3.5-4.5 cm long, zygomorphic, with two 'lips' closing the corolla tube lobed divided into three parts and is purple red, almost 5 cm long. Wild plants have pink to purple flowers, often with yellow lips. Most 8 to 30 short stalked flowers are in an inflorescence together; the inflorescence axis is glandular hairy. The crown is 25 to 45 (rarely to 70) millimeters long and in different colors (red, pink, orange, yellow, white). The "maw" of the crown is closed by protuberance of the lower lip, one speaks here of "masked", and everted baggy at the bottom. There is a circle with four stamens. The plants are pollinated by bumblebees, who are strong enough to gently and briefly open male flowers to enter and exit them without difficulty, collecting pollen in the process. A snapdragon's calyx is up to 8 mm long, with sepals of equal length, oblong to broad.
The ovary is supreme. The fruit is an ovoid capsule 10–14 mm diameter shaped like a skull,[7] containing numerous small seeds. [8]
Taxonomy
Four former subspecies are now considered as separate species:[9]
Antirrhinum majus subsp. cirrhigerum (Ficalho) Franco: now classified as Antirrhinum cirrhigerum (Welw. ex Ficalho)
Antirrhinum majus subsp. linkianum (Boiss. & Reut.) Rothm: now classified as Antirrhinum linkianum Boiss. & Reut.
Antirrhinum majus subsp. litigiosum (Pau) Rothm.: now synonymised with Antirrhinum barrelieri Boreau
Antirrhinum majus subsp. tortuosum (Bosc) Rouy: now classified as Antirrhinum tortuosum Bosc ex Lam.
Range
It is native to from southern-central France, and the eastern Pyrenees to north-eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands. They often grow in crevices and walls.[10]
Cultivation
Antirrhinum majus can survive a certain amount of frost, as well as higher temperatures, but does best at 17–25 °C (63–77 °F). Nighttime temperatures around 15–17 °C (59–63 °F) encourage growth in both the apical meristem and stem.[1] The species is able to grow well from seeds, flowering quickly in 3 to 4 months. It can also be grown from cuttings.[11]
Though perennial, the species is often cultivated as a biennial or annual plant, particularly in colder areas where it may not survive the winter. Numerous cultivars are available, including plants with lavender, orange, pink, yellow, or white flowers, and also plants with peloric flowers, where the normal flowering spike is topped with a single large, symmetrical flower.[8][12] The cultivars ’Floral Showers Deep Bronze’[13] and ‘Montego Pink’[14] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
The trailing (creeping) variety is often referred to as A. majus pendula (syn. A. pendula, A. repens).
It often escapes from cultivation, and naturalised populations occur widely in Europe north of the native range,[8] and elsewhere in temperate regions of the world.[2]
Past common names for Antirrhinum majus include: great snapdragon, lion's-mouth, rabbit's mouth, bonny rabbits, calf-snout, toad's mouth, bulldogs, and lion's-snap.[15]
Model research organism
In the laboratory it is a model organism,[16] for example containing the gene DEFICIENS which provides the letter "D" in the acronym MADS-box for a family of genes which are important in plant development. Antirrhinum majus has been used as a model organism in biochemical and developmental genetics for nearly a century. Many of the characteristics of A. majus made it desirable as a model organism; these include its diploid inheritance, ease of cultivation (having a relatively short generation time of around 4 months), its ease of both self-pollination and cross-pollination, and A. majus's variation in morphology and flowering color. It also benefits from its divergence from Arabidopsis thaliana, with A. thaliana's use as a common eudicot model, it has been used to compare against A. majus in developmental studies.[1]
Studies in A. majus have also been used to suggest that, at high temperatures, DNA methylation is not vital in suppressing the Tam3 transposon. Previously, it was suggested that DNA methylation was important in this process, this theory coming from comparisons of the degrees of methylation when transposition is active and inactive. However, A. majus's Tam3 transposon process did not completely support this. Its permission of transposition at 15 °C and strong suppression of transposition at temperatures around 25 °C showed that suppression of the transposition state was unlikely to be caused by the methylation state.[17] It was shown that low temperature-dependent transposition was the cause of the methylation/demethylation of Tam3, not the other way around as previously believed. It was shown in a study that decreases in the methylation of Tam3 were found in tissue that was still developing at cooler temperatures, but not in tissue that was developed or grown in hotter temperatures.[18]
Antirrhinum majus has also been used to examine the relationship between pollinators and plants. With debate as to the evolutionary advantages the conical-papillate shape of flower petals, with arguments suggesting the shape either enhanced and intensified the color of the flower or aided in orienting pollinators through sight or touch. The benefit that A. majus brought was through an identification of a mutation at the MIXTA locus that prevented this conical petal shape from forming. This allowed testing of the pollination plants with and without conical petals as well as comparisons of the absorption of light between these two groups. With the MIXTA gene being necessary in the formation of conical cells, the use of the gene in breeding of Antirrhinum was crucial, and allowed for the tests which showed why many plants produced conical-papillate epidermal cells.[19]
Another role A. majus played in examining the relationship between pollinator and plant were in the studies of floral scents. Two of A. majus's enzymes, phenylpropanoids and isoprenoids, were used in the study of its floral scent production and the scent's effect on attracting pollinators.[1]
Chemistry
Antirrhinin is an anthocyanin found in A. majus.[20] It is the 3-rutinoside of cyanidin. Its active ingredients include mucilages, gallic acid, resins, pectin and bitters. It is a topical emollient, antiphlogistic, astringent, antiscorbutic, hepatic and diuretic. It is effective against inflammations, it is used for haemorrhoids. It has been used in gargles against ulcerations of the oral cavity. Internally, it can be used for colitis and heartburn. Externally, as poultices, on erythemas.
Pests and diseases
Antirrhinum majus may suffer from some pests and diseases.
Pests
Insects are the primary pests that affect A. majus.
Aphids: They target and consume the terminal growth and underside of leaves. Aphids consume the liquids in the plant and may cause a darkened or spotted appearance on the leaves.[21]
Frankliniella occidentalis: These insects affect even strong growing and healthy Antirrhinum; they are commonly seen in newly opened flowers. They will cause small lesions in the shoots and flower buds of A. majus as well as remove pollen from the anther. This case is difficult to treat, but may be kept manageable with the predatory mite Neoseiulus.[1]
Diseases
Antirrhinum majus suffers mostly from fungal infections.
Anthracnose: A disease caused by fungi of the genus Colletotrichum. This disease targets the leaves and stem causing them a yellow with a brownish border to the infected spot. It is recommended to destroy infected plants and space existing ones farther apart.[21]
Botrytis: Also known as Grey Mould, this infection occurs under the flower of A. majus. Botrytis causes wilting of the flower's spikes and causes a light browning of the stem below the cluster of flowers.[21] Botrytis causes quick and localized drying and browning in the flower, leaves, and shoots of A. majus. In warmer weather, Botrytis becomes more severe. Treatment of Botrytis involves cutting off the infected stock and clearing the surrounding area of A. majus from any of this debris.
Pythium: Wilting in the plant may be caused by a Pythium species fungal infection if the plant is receiving adequate water.[1]
Rust: Another fungal disease that A. majus is susceptible to is rust. It can first be seen on the plant as light-green circles, on the stem or underside of its leaves, that eventually turn brown and form pustules.[1] Rust may cause A. majus to bloom prematurely, sprout smaller flowers, and begin decomposition earlier.[21]
Stem rot: A fungal infection, it can be seen as a cottony growth on the stem, low, near the soil. If infected, it is suggested the plant be destroyed.[21]
References
Hudson, Andrew; Critchley, Joanna; Erasmus, Yvette (2008-10-01). "The Genus Antirrhinum (Snapdragon): A Flowering Plant Model for Evolution and Development". Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. 2008 (10): pdb.emo100. doi:10.1101/pdb.emo100. ISSN 1940-3402. PMID 21356683.
"Antirrhinum majus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
Olmstead, R. G.; dePamphilis, C. W.; Wolfe, A. D.; Young, N. D.; Elisons, W. J.; Reeves, P.A. (2001). "Disintegration of the Scrophulariaceae". American Journal of Botany. 88 (2): 348–361. doi:10.2307/2657024. JSTOR 2657024. PMID 11222255.
Siegmund Seybold: Flora of Germany and neighboring countries. A book to identify wild and frequently cultivated vascular plants . Founded by Otto Schmeil , Jost Fitschen . 93. Completely revised and expanded edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2006, ISBN 3-494-01413-2
Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece: Biologie. Spektrum-Verlag Heidelberg-Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-8274-1352-4, page 302.
Erich Oberdorfer: Plant sociology excursion flora for Germany and adjacent areas . In collaboration with Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and supplemented edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , p. 828 .
"The Dragon's Skull: The Macabre Appearance of Snapdragon Seed Pods". Kuriositas. 26 January 2019.
Blamey, M.; Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 978-0-340-40170-5.
"Antirrhinum majus L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
Flora Europaea: Antirrhinum majus
David A. Sutton: A revision of the tribe Antirrhineae. Oxford University Press, London / Oxford 1988, ISBN 0-19-858520-9 , p. 90-96.
Huxley, A, ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. ISBN 978-0-333-47494-5.
"RHS Plantfinder - Antirrhinum majus 'Floral Showers Deep Bronze'". Retrieved 12 January 2018.
"RHS Plantfinder - Antirrhinum majus ' Montego Pink'". Retrieved 13 January 2018.
Gentianaceae to Compositae; gentian to thistle. Dover Publications; 1970. ISBN 978-0-486-22644-6. p. 178.
Oyama, R. K.; Baum, D. A. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships of North American Antirrhinum (Veronicaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 91 (6): 918–25. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.6.918. PMID 21653448.
Hashida, Shin-nosuke; Kishima, Yuji; Mikami, Tetsuo (2005-11-01). "DNA methylation is not necessary for the inactivation of the Tam3 transposon at non-permissive temperature in Antirrhinum" (PDF). Journal of Plant Physiology. 162 (11): 1292–1296. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2005.03.003. hdl:2115/8374. ISSN 0176-1617. PMID 16323282. S2CID 7509877.
Hashida, Shin-Nosuke; Uchiyama, Takako; Martin, Cathie; Kishima, Yuji; Sano, Yoshio; Mikami, Tetsuo (2017-04-21). "The Temperature-Dependent Change in Methylation of the Antirrhinum Transposon Tam3 Is Controlled by the Activity of Its Transposase". The Plant Cell. 18 (1): 104–118. doi:10.1105/tpc.105.037655. ISSN 1040-4651. PMC 1323487. PMID 16326924.
Glover, Beverley J.; Martin, Cathie (1998-06-01). "The role of petal cell shape and pigmentation in pollination success in Antirrhinum majus". Heredity. 80 (6): 778–784. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2540.1998.00345.x. ISSN 0018-067X.
Scott-Moncrieff, R (1930). "Natural anthocyanin pigments: The magenta flower pigment of Antirrhinum majus". Biochemical Journal. 24 (3): 753–766. doi:10.1042/bj0240753. PMC 1254517. PMID 16744416.
Gilman, Edward F. (2015-05-18). "Antirrhinum majus Snapdragon". edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antirrhinum majus.
Wikispecies has information related to Antirrhinum majus.
Taxon identifiers
Wikidata: Q156843Wikispecies: Antirrhinum majusAPA: 5336APDB: 150224APNI: 218644BioLib: 40824Calflora: 404CoL: F2W4Ecocrop: 12381EoL: 578449EPPO: ATHMMEUNIS: 183261FoIO: ANTMAJGBIF: 3172001GRIN: 3665iNaturalist: 48969IPNI: 799180-1IRMNG: 10202815ITIS: 33471MichiganFlora: 1928MoBotPF: 287001NatureServe: 2.136986NBN: NBNSYS0000004060NCBI: 4151NZOR: abe6f652-bdc8-4bcd-9fb1-f68a33980349NZPCN: 2443Open Tree of Life: 596457PalDat: Antirrhinum_majusPFI: 4796Plant List: kew-2642724PLANTS: ANMA3POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:799180-1RHS: 69565Tropicos: 29200250VASCAN: 7206WisFlora: 2557WoI: 99WFO: wfo-0000539365
Authority control databases: National Edit this at Wikidata
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Categories: AntirrhinumPlants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Ornamental plants Flora of Syria Flora of Portugal Flora of France Flora of Morocco Flora of Turkey
When a mole starts to change in color or increase in size, chances are, it can be quite a scare to the health. Mole removal becomes a major consideration. However, the question arises whether or not to light it up or have it expurgated. This is perhaps one of the more common questions that people have whenever they are confronted with the issue of managing their moles. While moles are more of an aesthetic concern for majority of individuals who have them, medical experts agree that it does have the tendency to turn into something nastier – a precancerous growth.
The question therefore is not so much as to remove the mole or not but rather in which type of mole removal will work best. Unfortunately, many people believe that moles are the same in each person and as such the management or mole removal will also be practically the same. Many health experts believe that the aggressiveness of media marketing and promotional campaigns showing the cure-all benefits of a certain type of mole removal have certainly added to the misconception about mole removal techniques.
Moles
Moles are groups of cells that are heavily pigmented which can appear as dark small spots on the skin. Known as nevi, these spots can take on a variety of shapes, color, and size and more often than not often found in the face, the arms, and the legs; although moles on the torso are also not uncommon.
Moles can be found either on the surface of the skin or just underneath it. Acquired moles are known to be a kind of benign neoplasm. Congenital moles have been described as having the greater tendency to become malignant especially in the form of a melanoma. The dark pigmentation seen in moles is brought about by the abnormally higher concentrations of melanin on a particular area of the skin.
Many individuals want their moles to be removed basically for aesthetic purposes. Not many of them realize that there may be more than just aesthetic value to mole removal. In more serious cases, it might as well pave the way for the control of a cancerous growth.
Mole Removal
There are currently three fundamental methods to remove moles. Surgery, laser and natural treatments are readily available in the market. However, depending on the type and nature of the mole, the choice of the more appropriate method should become all the more clear. A visit to a licensed dermatologist or a medical doctor can help you decide the best kind of mole removal treatment for the kind of nevi that you have.
Surgery
The surgical removal of moles is primarily intended for moles that have been deemed to be of cancerous nature. It is also advised for moles that are abnormally large, elevated from the surface of the skin, and with irregular shape. For malignant moles it is imperative that the surrounding tissues be also removed in order to prevent the likelihood of the cancerous mole from restarting itself.
There are three fundamental techniques of surgical mole removal. These include shaving, hole-punching, and excision. Shaving as a surgical procedure will require the threading of a sharp blade parallel to the surface of the skin in order to literally shave off the mole. This is particularly effective in elevated or raised moles.
The punch technique is ideal for very small moles wherein a special device punches a small hole right into the skin just enough to take the whole mole out. For malignant moles that are flat, surgical excision is often required to include the other tissues that are surrounding the mole. The resulting incision is then carefully sutured to allow faster healing.
Laser Mole Removal
The use of beams of concentrated high intensity light on the dark pigmented mole is ideal for moles that are of benign origin. The procedure is recommended for individuals who have flat moles that are colored brown or black. However, unlike in surgery, laser treatments may require frequent trips to the doctor’s or dermatologist’s clinic. While it is generally a safer alternative to surgery, a local anesthetic will still be applied to numb the area which the laser will be directed upon. As laser is concentrated light, it can give off heat which can result to a burning sensation or even irritation to the affected area.
Which is More Preferred?
When it comes to preference, it is more a matter of understanding the type of mole that you have. For large and elevated moles with a malignant tendency, surgical mole removal is the more preferred method. However, if the mole is flat and is small enough to be removed by laser, then laser mole removal will do the trick.
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Dr. Albert Paintsil, Interplast's surgical outreach director in Accra, Ghana is busy repairing burn contractures for some of Ghana's poorest patients.
This 6-month old boy, Kweku, was burned badly on his face, torso and arm when he was just 2 weeks old. The mother says she doesn't know how it happened, she just found the baby's bed on fire when she returned from another room. Dr. Paintsil has already done a number of skin grafts on Kweku's face to restore function to the eyelids (making it possible for him to close his eyes again) and give him new skin around his eyes. The different pigmentation of the skin is due to the fact that the graft was taken from the baby's thigh, where his skin is darker. Kweku has also undergone a contracture release on his arm, also performed by Dr. Paintsil through Interplast's burn outreach program.... and the poor little guy still needs more surgery!
Dr. Paintsil plans to release a contracture to fix Kweku's lip, and will have to conduct several more surgeries as the baby grows. Dr. Paintsil is devoted to caring for Kweku as long as necessary in order to ensure that he grown up to be a healthy boy who can function in society. When talking about Kweku today, Dr. Paintsil said, "The conclusion I have come to with this patient is that he is a survivor. He is a very strong boy" I can't see how anyone could disagree with that, given what Kweku has already been through in his short life.
Yoga Narashimha, Vishnu in his Man-Lion Avatar
Artist and nationality: unknown
Title: Yoga Narashimha, Vishnu in his Man-Lion Avatar
date/date range of the artwork: 1250
period or dynasty : Late Chola Period (900-13th Century)
country of origin: Southern India
Materials: Bronze. 57 x 31 x 23 cm.
Location: 243 Indian and Southeast Asian; Cleveland Museum of Art
A beautiful bronze rendition of the Hindu god Vishnu, Yoga Narashimha, Vishnu in his Man-Lion Avatar is a statue that was created in South INdia during the late Chola Period. Due to oxidation its bronze color has started turning colors with a light malachite green pigmentation towards the bottom and on the hands, but the rest of the figure remains a dark bronze. Vishnu is depicted in his half man, half lion avatar state which is thought to be his most impressive and powerful state. He is shown sitting cross legged and bound by a band, with two of his four arms leaning on his knees, and the other two hands holding objects that represent two of his symbols. One hand holds a flaming wheel, while the other holds a small conch shell. This statue also shows a striking example of symmetry which is another holy symbol in Indian culture. With his feet crossed, two arms up, two arms down, two eyes, two tongues, and two nipples he can almost perfectly be split down the center in a mirror image.
If you would like to learn more about it, please visit the Cleveland Museum of Art in person, or virtually at www.clevelandart.org/art/1973.187
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description : Polar bears are considered the largest land carnivores in the world, matched only by very large individual Kodiak brown bears. Both sexes differ in size throughout their range; males being much larger than females and continuing to grow for a longer period of time. These bears have long, massive skulls, necks and bodies with long legs and large paws. Ears and tail are short. The nose is more prominent or “Roman†with a black rhinarium (nose pad). The tongue is black and the eyes brown. The surface of the skin is also black. Fur colour varies slightly with the season: new coats grown just prior to the winter season are very white appearing as slightly creamy white against the stark white of their icy winter environment. This pelage is thick, coarse and long with dense underfur. Guard hairs, found throughout the pelage, are shiny, almost glossy, oily and waterproof and have hollow shafts. Polar bears moult annually between the end of May and August. The coat becomes thinner and has a yellow wash or is almost a golden colour.
Male polar bears weigh between 400 – 600 kg, and have been recorded up to a maximum of 800 kg. Females are smaller than the males weighing up to 300 kg, and when pregnant up to 460 kg. Polar bears are 2.5 – 3.5 m long.
Distribution : The polar bear is circumpolar in distribution, inhabiting all Arctic seas and coastlines. It is found on the pack-ice off the Alaskan coast north of Bering Strait, off the coasts of Greenland and along the Eurasian Arctic coast from Spitsbergen to Wrangell Island. Rare stragglers reach Iceland. Individual bears have been seen on the frozen Arctic Ocean as far as latitude 88 degrees North, only 2 degrees from the North Pole. In Canada, they are found along the Arctic coasts from Alaska to Labrador and from the tip of James Bay to northern Ellesmere Island. Polar bears do roam as far as 150 kilometres inland into the coniferous forests, where they live very differently from the polar bears which belong to the high Arctic.
Habitat : They prefer areas of annual ice, which they use as a hunting platform and protective cover. This includes snow-drifted pressure ridges, refrozen cracks and areas of open water surrounded by ice. In areas where the pack ice melts by mid to late summer they come inland and live in coniferous forest areas. Here they remain until the ice re-freezes. Areas of solidly frozen sea ice and the open seas are avoided. Generally they are most common along coastal areas. Some do enter the permanent pack ice.
Food : The ringed seal is by far the most common prey. They also eat bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal. Young walrus are sometimes taken. During the summer months they feed upon the shoreline carrion, fish, mussels, crabs, starfish, lemmings and the eggs and nestling young of waterfowl and cliff-dwelling birds. They will also graze on kelp, grasses and eat mushrooms and crowberries.
Reproduction and Development : Normally they are solitary animals outside the breeding season, the exception being a mother with cubs. Polar bears mate in mid-summer. Females first start to breed at 3 to 5 years of age. In April and May adult females are in oestrus and ready to accept a mate. They are polyandrous, meaning one female will mate with more than one male in one breeding season. Males fight among themselves for the female’s attention and a couple will pair off for a period of a few days to two weeks. With females, delayed implantation occurs, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus until mid-September to mid-October. Embryonic development begins at this time. Gestation periods, therefore, vary a great deal when including this period of delay. Females choose suitable locations to build their maternity dens in mid-October and retreat to them for the winter season. They give birth to one to four cubs somewhere between late November and early January. Twins are most common. The newborns are small; 25 to 30 cm long and weigh less than 1 kg. They are covered with very fine hair, appearing almost naked and their eyes are closed. Their eyes open at 6 weeks. Growth is very quick; at two months their fur has thickened; they weigh about 5 kg and move about the den. By mid-March to early April, when the den is opened, the cubs weigh about 10 kg and are surprisingly strong. The cubs suckle for nine months, occasionally one year. They are very dependent on their mother and stay with her for two years. At that time they weigh 90 - 180 kg and are half grown.
Adaptations : Polar bears are wonderfully adapted to their Arctic surroundings.
Locomotion. On land a shuffling walk may be increased to a rolling gallop of 40 km/h and can outrun caribou over a short distance. Bears are often seen standing high on their hind legs, necks stretched to scan the landscape. On thin ice, legs are spread to distribute body mass. Thickly padded and furred soles allow the bear to move quietly as well as providing good traction. Small bumps and cavities on the soles act like suction cups keeping bears from slipping on the ice. The claws are used to dig into icy slopes and to grip prey. They are strong swimmers, paddling with their forefeet only and trailing their hind feet which act as a rudder. They can stay submerged for over one minute, keeping their eyes open. They swim at a speed of approximately 6.4 km/h, often covering long distances.
Insulation. Polar bears have a thick layer of sub-cutaneous fat and very dense underfur with several layers of glossy guard hair on the outside. Their pelt is much thicker in winter and provides excellent insulation. The fat layer also adds to buoyancy in the water. Water is shed easily from the oily waterproof fur. Small, furry ears have a heavy network of blood vessels, keeping them warm and conserving heat. The tail is short and rounded also conserving heat. Fur is very dense around the soles of the feet.
Pelage. The creamy white appearance of the coat allows the bear to be inconspicuous when hunting seal. Each hair is similar to an optical fibre; colourless and hollow. Being translucent, it reflects the heat from the sun down to the base of the hair, where it is absorbed by the black skin. Whiteness comes from reflection of light rather than pigmentation.
Hunting. Bears use their keen sense of smell to detect seal breathing holes. These can be up to a kilometer away and covered by a layer of snow and ice. They will stand or lie by the seal’s blowhole in the ice for hours; they may swim towards seals resting on the ice flows with only their nose showing above the water. They will dive quietly, then swim up to the ice edge and jump out on the seal, and will also crawl towards a sunbathing seal using every piece of raised ice to conceal the approach.
Denning. Both sexes occupy dens for shelter. Topographic factors influence the den sites. In Canadian core areas, dens frequently occur on south-facing slopes where northerly prevailing winds create the best drifts, where the wind-chill is least and insulation from received solar radiation is greatest. One of the three largest denning areas worldwide is in Canada. There are three main types of winter refuges: maternity dens, temporary dens and winter shelters. During the winter any bear may dig a temporary den and use it for a few days during a storm, or take shelter in a natural cavity. Winter shelters are used for longer periods of time as resting places. This type of shelter is usually roomier with additional features such as alcoves, porches and ventilation holes. Bears do not hibernate in the strict sense of the word; they have the ability to slow down their metabolism to conserve energy at any time of year. The state of self-induced lethargy while in the shelter allows them to preserve their vital fat reserves. During this time, the body temperature of the polar bear decreases by a few degrees from normal and the respiration rates are markedly reduced. Maternity dens are built and occupied by pregnant females and can vary in size. The denning chamber is at the upper end of an entrance tunnel 1 to 2 m long. It averages 1.5 m in diameter with a height of 90 to 100cm in the middle. Drifting snow seals the entrance. The chamber is higher than the tunnel, trapping bear body heat inside. Dens not only provide a safe place to give birth to her cubs, but are also a place of protection for the cubs during their first few months. During this time she does not leave the den, remaining with her cubs and living on her reserves of fat. In the spring, with her fat severely depleted she must leave to find food to sustain herself and her cubs. After they leave the maternity den she will build temporary refuges in which to nurse, rest and shelter her young cubs and warms them as they all sleep together. She heads with her cubs towards the nearest supply of food, usually towards pack ice.
Sight and sounds. Polar bears have good eyesight. Their eyes have inner eyelids that keep the glare of the sun on snow and ice from blinding them. When defending a food source from other bears they use a deep growl. They hiss and snort to show aggression. Angry bears use loud roars and growls. Mothers scold cubs with a low growl.
Threats to Survival : Polar bears are one of the animals most threatened by global warming. They depend entirely on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals. Reduction of the total ice cover in the Arctic is a serious concern globally. When the ice does not form or forms too late in the season many polar bears starve. In Hudson Bay, scientists have found the main cause of death for cubs to be either lack of food or lack of fat on nursing mothers. Exploitation of minerals and fossil fuels in the Arctic pose a continuous threat. Of the oil and natural gas deposits globally, 20% are located in the Arctic. As the ice cap recedes these become more accessible. Countries are competing which each other in claiming ownership of Arctic and its resources. This can only result in further and more drastic impact on polar bear habitat.
Status : IUCN: Vulnerable; CITES: Appendix II; COSEWIC: Special Concern
Zoo Diet : Toronto Zoo carnivore diet, dog chow, jumbo smelt and herring, carrots, bean sprouts, Vitamin E and Thiamine supplements.
Toronto Zoo Website
Oscar is Depigmenting. I have been editing it out for over a year but it has become to widespread to hide anymore. It started as a small whitish patch on his snout and has spread to cover it about 70%. He also has patches on his ears, over his eye, on his back and legs. Our Veterinarian said Oscar basically has Canine Vitiligo. Vitiligo is the skin condition that Micheal Jackson had that caused his skin to lose pigmentation.
Leucistic (reduced pigmentation) individual.
Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA.
The use of any of my photos, of any file size, for any purpose, is subject to approval by me. Contact me for permission. Image files are available upon request. My email address is available at my Flickr profile page. Or send me a FlickrMail.
Rock-pool Blenny - Parablennius parvicornis (Valenciennes, 1836) [more of this species]
A blenny that occurs in the Eastern Atlantic African Coast from the Congo River to Cape Blanc (Mauritania/ Western Sahara border) as well as Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores which are further north than Cape Blanc. This species is replaced by P. sanguinolentus in the Mediterranean and Morroco south toe Casablanca. The two species are seperated by about 14° Latitude along the coast. This species has 1 less dorsal spine (X vs XI), some slight differences in dentition and pigmentation.
It is best identified by having 6-7 light stripes radiating outwards around the eyes. The base colour can be very dark to light olive green. The body and the dorsal fins are marbled with a darker shade. There are also lighter spots all over its body including the dorsal and pectoral fins. The front of the dorsal fin is edged with red and the rear edge and the entire length of the anal fin is bordered with a black with a white edige.
Date: July 21, 2015
Location: Playa Blanca [more at this location]
Country: Spain
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Inspired by my earlier usage of gold toned eye shadows I wanted to explore this further and make the look more dramatic to contrast the natural themed make-up looks that I was previously applying to myself and the models. I was also encouraged by the seasonal make-up that I have witnessed, both in fashion and in every day life, that is a smokey eye, paired with a dark lip stick, and a very contoured face. A perfect intense look for the fall and winter seasons as it coincides well with the dark clothing often trending during the colder months.
Steps
To begin this make-up look I applied a pore refining primer as I would be using a full coverage foundation and concealer and they tend to blend easier when applied after a primer.
I then went onto apply a medium/full coverage foundation to my face with a buffing brush using stippling motions to give the foundation an airbrush finish because when it is pushed into the face is fills the pore giving the appearance of extremely smooth skin, but I ensured that I did not applied too much product where I have a small facial scar as this area is extremely quick to appear caked on. I also avoided the under eye area as I would be using dark eye shadows which would most likely cause a lot of fall out which would prove applying any foundation or concealer in that area futile as it would just be rubbed away when the eye shadow is corrected.
I then applied an eye shadow primer to my eyelids as this would intensify the colours I would later be applying and it would make them last longer.
While the eye shadow primer was sinking into my skin I moved onto filling in my brows, arguably one of the most important steps considering just how on trend fuller eye brows have become as apposed to the thin highly arched brows that were seen as ideal in the previous years. I used a mixture of brow powder and brow wax to sculpt and fill in my eyebrows but ensuring that I brushed through them regularly to keep them from looking too drawn on, as although I was going for a bold look I didn't want it to become fake and cheap looking. Keeping this idea in mind I went back in with a fine detail brush to fill in any areas that I felt that I missed with the larger brush.
I then moved back to the eyes where I applied a wash of gold/bronze eye shadow over my lids, really packing the colour onto there to get the maximum pigmentation as I wanted the gold/bronze colour to really show through this look as I feel that the colour greatly complements my eye colour.
With another brush I loaded it up with a dark chocolate brown which I though went perfectly with the gold tones of the base colour and began to contour my crease using wind wiper motions, keeping the majority of the colour on the outer v of my eye lid to achieve a smokier look.
I then applied more of the base colour to the centre of my eye lid to intensify the gold tones as I felt that the chocolate brown of the contour shade had taken away from it.
Using a small pointed brush I swiped the chocolate brown contour shade underneath my lower lash line to balance out the eyes and to stop them from looking too top heavy, using the same brush I applied a light shimmery gold to the inner corners of my eyes to bring some light to this area to highlight my eyes.
Then using a clean blending brush I began to blend out the eye shadow to give a softer, more Smokey look to the eyes.
Using a ashy black pencil eyeliner I lined my lower and upper lash line to darken my eyes some more and make my eye lashes appear thicker. I also tight lined my upper lash line to really intensify the darkness of the look and to make my eye lashes look bolder at the base.
After curling my eye lashes I applied several coats of a thickening mascara to my upper and lower eye lashes to define them.
When I felt that I was finished with my eyes I used a fluffy brush to sweep away any fall out from underneath my eyes and applied two thins layers of a high coverage to conceal my under eye circles, I ensured that I used a shade of concealer that was slightly lighter than my foundation shade to give my face a highlighted look, which is very on trend currently.
Finally I moved onto the dark lip. I firstly outlined my lips with a lip pencil to prevent the dark lip that I would be applying later from bleeding or smudging.
Using a dark cherry shade of lip stick I carefully applied it to my lips with a detail brush towards the end to get a precise shape.
To finish of the look I contoured my face using a powder contour shade, applied with a small fluffy face brush and blended out with the buffing brush I used earlier to give a softer less drawn on look to the contour.
I also filmed a time lapse of myself creating this make-up look on myself and uploaded it to my personal YouTube channel : www.youtube.com/watch?v=75ijegNFrUg
A northern red oak leaf shows red anthocyanin pigmentation as well as green chlorophyll at Green Ridge State Forest in Allegany County, Md., on Oct. 14, 2017. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
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Modern pigmentation often used artificial substances. The color is blended with oil, usually linseed oil but other sebum may be used as well. Flower Paintings The various sebum dry in a different way, creating various effects.Traditionally, performers combined their own shows from raw pigmentation that they often ground themselves and method. This made mobility difficult and kept most painting activities limited to the studio room. This modified in the delayed Nineteenth century, when oil colour in pipes became accessible.Performers could mix shades easily, which allowed, for the first time, relatively practical plein air (outdoor) painting (a common strategy in France Impressionism).
Here are the last four Late Spider uploads from what has been a remarkable season.
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FIXMAS.
6 months to Christmas.
After the hunt was cut short on Friday due to time constraints, I arranged to meet my friend, Terry, back at the site on Sunday morning.
And as Sunday was due to be the warmest, if not hottest day of the year, we were going to be there early.
Jools and I had coffee, then packed to leave, reaching the site via quiet lanes well before eight, but the temperature was already building.
A quick search of the original site, then a walk along the down to the newly found (by us) one, where could already see Terry high above us.
Also there was a guy from Devon, another Graham, and he had come to look to.
So, the four of us began to search the down for the little green bugger.
I am pretty sure we looked at every spike, at least once, and although we found some very nice spikes, not the one we were looking for.
A short drive away is the site I saw the hybrid last year, and this really was the last throw of the dice stuff. Its a long hike up the down, and across to the steep side.
Here, the spikes were already well past their best, with just a couple worth seeing and snapping, but certainly nothing of any note.
It was half eleven, twenty six degrees, and too hot for any more.
We all bailed.
Jools and I drove home, where once inside we both had a long, cold drink before brunch of fruit and croissants.
For three hours we sweltered inside, too hot for anything. But then came the cooking.
I asked Jen what she and Sylv would like to eat on Sunday: "roast" said Jen.
So, on the hottest day of the year, I roasted leg of lamb for some two hours, steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes and baked Yorkshire puddings.
By six, it was like I had crawled in the oven, but the meal was wonderful, and most cleared their plates.
But still hot.
We sat outside in the shade of the house for an hour, just talking, by which time it was eight and time for Jen and Sylv to go home, and for Jools and I to clear away the last of the washing up, have a brew, then go to bed.
Phew rock and roll.
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Classed as Vulnerable in the Red List of threatened orchids, the Late Spider-orchid is one of Britain's rarest orchids. It is now restricted to a few sites in Kent, where many of the plants are protected by cages to prevent damage by grazing animals and other predators. Like its close relative the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, Ophrys fuciflora has evolved to mimic the form of a pollinating insect, and this facilitates pollination. Interestingly, the particular species of bees that pollinate Late Spider-orchids on mainland Europe do not occur in the UK, and so what little pollination takes place here must be facilitated by other insects, possibly small beetles. Seed-set is very low, and the likely factor which saves the small populations of Late Spider-orchids in Kent is that fully developed plants live for a long time and therefore only a small number of new plants are required annually in order to keep the population stable. The Late Spider-orchid flowers from late May to late July. Ophrys fuciflora is widespread in other parts of Europe from France eastwards to Romania and south to Italy.
Plant: 5-30cm.
Leaves: 3-5 lanceolate leaves form a basal rosette of which the lower leaves lie flat on the ground. They are greenish-grey and prominantly veined. There are 2-3 smaller, more pointed leaves higher up and loosely sheathing the stem.
Bracts: lanceolate and grey-green.
Flowers: the sepals vary in colour from pale- to dark pink with a prominent green 'rib' on their outer surfaces, and they are green-veined on the inner surface. The triangular petals are much smaller than the sepals and sometimes have dark reddish swellings (auricles) towards the base. The lip is a rich velvety dark brown and its shape is noticeably square. Square 'shoulders' at the base of the lip vary in size and are often hairy. The speculum (mirror), which is extremely variable in colour and patterning, radiates from a semi-circular 'necklace' that surrounds the column.
The Late Spider-orchid belongs to the Ophrys genus. Its Latin name derives from the words 'focus' and 'flos' meaning 'bee-flowered'.
There are no subspecies, but there is such considerable range of colour and patterning of the lip as to invite numerous suggested variations, notably Ophrys fuciflora var. flavescens which lacks colour pigmentation and has white sepals and petals, a greenish lip with very faint markings. Two hybrids are recorded, Ophrys x albertiana is a hybrid with the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, while Ophrys x obscura is a hybrid with the Early Spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/oph...