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LES SOURCES OCCULTES 014/999
L'Oracle
Réalisation : Laurent Courau
Scénario : Thierry Ehrmann
Prises de vue : Laurent Courau et Sydney Ehrmann
Lumières : Marquis
A film by Laurent Courau, based on a scenario by Thierry Ehrmann.
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offre aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
As borboletas são insectos da ordem Lepidoptera classificados nas super-famílias Hesperioidea e Papilionoidea, que constituem o grupo informal Rhopalocera.
As borboletas têm dois pares de asas membranosas cobertas de escamas e peças bucais adaptadas a sucção. Distinguem-se das traças (mariposas) pelas antenas rectilíneas que terminam numa bola, pelos hábitos de vida diurnos, pela metamorfose que decorre dentro de uma crisálida rígida e pelo abdómen fino e alongado. Quando em repouso, as borboletas dobram as suas asas para cima.
As borboletas são importantes polinizadores de diversas espécies de plantas.
O ciclo de vida das borboletas engloba as seguintes etapas:
1) ovo→ fase pré-larval
2) larva→ chamada também de lagarta ou taturana,
3) pupa→ que se desenvolve dentro da crisálida (ou casulo)
4) imago→ fase adulta
_______________________
A butterfly is any of several groups of mainly day-flying insects of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, butterflies' life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are important economically as agents of pollination. The caterpillars of some butterflies eat harmful insects. A few species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
Diamonds from Zaire ("D.R. Congo"). (crystals are ~1 to 1.5 millimeters in size)
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are about 5900 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
Elements are fundamental substances of matter - matter that is composed of the same types of atoms. At present, 118 elements are known. Of these, 98 occur naturally on Earth (hydrogen to californium). Most of these occur in rocks & minerals, although some occur in very small, trace amounts. Only some elements occur in their native elemental state as minerals.
To find a native element in nature, it must be relatively non-reactive and there must be some concentration process. Metallic, semimetallic (metalloid), and nonmetallic elements are known in their native state.
The element carbon occurs principally in its native state as graphite (C) and diamond (C). Graphite is the common & far less valuable polymorph of carbon. A scarce polymorph of carbon is diamond. The physical properties of diamond and graphite couldn’t be more different, considering they have the same chemistry. Diamond has a nonmetallic, adamantine luster, typically occurs in cubic or octahedral (double-pyramid) crystals, or subspherical to irregularly-shaped masses, and is extremely hard (H≡10). Diamonds can be almost any color, but are typically clearish, grayish, or yellowish. Many diamonds are noticeably fluorescent under black light (ultraviolet light), but the color and intensity of fluorescence varies. Some diamonds are phosphorescent - under certain conditions, they glow for a short interval on their own.
Very rarely, diamond is a rock-forming mineral (see diamondite - www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/14618393527).
The African diamonds seen here are yellowish under white light. The following pictures in this photostream were taken under ultraviolet (UV) light - "black light".
This was on the night walk we did with the guide the first night we arrived at Tambopata Lodge.
From wikipedia
Paraponera is a genus of ant consisting of a single species, the so-called bullet ant (P. clavata), named on account of its powerful and potent sting, which is said to be as painful as being shot with a bullet. It is called by the locals "Hormiga Veinticuatro" or "24 (hour) ant", from the 24 hours of pain that follow a stinging.[1] The bullet ant inhabits humid lowland rainforests from Nicaragua south to Paraguay. Workers are 18-25 mm long and look like stout, reddish-black, wingless wasps.
The pain caused by this insect's sting is purported to be greater than that of any other Hymenopteran, and is ranked as the most painful according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It is described as causing "waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours". In some indigenous communities, to enter manhood a boy has to endure being stung by the ant 20 times without screaming.[1] A paralyzing neurotoxic peptide isolated from the venom is poneratoxin.
Paraponera is predaceous and, like all primitive poneromorphs, does not display polymorphism in the worker caste. Colonies consist of several hundred individuals and are usually situated at the bases of trees, workers foraging arboreally in the area directly above the nest for insect prey and nectaries, often as far as the upper canopy.
The Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use intentional bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior.[3] The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural chloroform, and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, a boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the ant venom, and he may shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months or even years.
Les Sources Occultes 004/999
Un film de Laurent Courau, d'après un scénario de Thierry Ehrmann.
Comédiens : Anne-Sophie Farcy et Sydney Ehrmann
Prises de vue : Laurent Courau
Maquillage : Alisha Henry
Montage et post-production : Laurent Courau
Musique : La Science des Fous / Urgence Disk
© Les Amis de l'Esprit de la Salamandre 1999
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offrent aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Black squirrels are a melanistic subgroup of squirrels with black coloration on their fur. The phenomenon occurs with several species of squirrels, although it is most frequent with the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger). Black morphs of the eastern gray and fox squirrels are the result of a variant pigment gene. Several theories have surfaced as to why the black morph occurs, with some suggesting that the black morph is a selective advantage for squirrels inhabiting the northern ranges of the species, with the black fur providing a thermal advantage over its non-melanistic counterpart.
Black squirrels share the same natural range as their non-melanistic counterparts. Black morphs of eastern gray squirrels occur most frequently in the northern portion of its range around the Great Lakes Basin. Conversely, black morphs of fox squirrels typically occur most frequently in the southeastern portions of the species' natural range, the southeastern United States. Although they are found more frequently in those regions, the coloration remains uncommon in most areas that these species inhabit. However, black morphs of eastern gray squirrels form the majority of the species' population in the Canadian province of Ontario, and the U.S. state of Michigan. In addition to their natural range, black morphs of eastern gray squirrels were also introduced into other areas of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Several municipalities and post-secondary schools in the United States have adopted a black squirrel for branding purposes, using it as a symbol and/or mascot. Some municipalities that have adopted the black squirrels as a symbol for their community have also passed ordinances that discourage attempts to threaten them.
Description
The black coloration in both eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels is believed to stem from a variant pigment gene.[1] A study published by FEBS Letters in 2014 demonstrated how a pigment gene missing a piece of DNA, can be a determinant of an eastern gray squirrel's coat. The emergence of black fur in the eastern gray squirrel is believed to be the result of the 24 bp deletion from their melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene; with the specific allele referred to as MC1R∆24 A study published by BMC Evolutionary Biology pointed to evidence that the variant pigment gene originated from the black fox squirrel, and was later passed on to eastern gray squirrels as a result of interspecies mating; given that the variant gene in both species were identical. Black coat color is caused by a 24 base pair deletion in MC1R in the western population of fox squirrels and by a point mutation in the agouti-signaling protein gene in the southeastern population.
Black morphs may also occur with Columbian ground squirrels, Eurasian red squirrels, Richardson's ground squirrels, and western gray squirrels, although it is far more unusual for the latter to display color polymorphism. No association between melanism and variations in their MC1R was found in Eurasian red squirrels; with researchers suggesting that the different color variations (including black morphs) in Eurasian red squirrels, and fox squirrels being a polygenic result. Melanism with Richardson's ground squirrels is due to recessive genes.
Benefits of black fur
With regard to black squirrels and melanism, two major theories dominate the literature, that its frequency is the result of crypsis, and/or the result of thermoregulation.
Concealment
It has been theorized that non-melanistic gray squirrels have a concealment advantage in forests dominated by deciduous trees, while black squirrels hold a concealment advantage in forested areas in the northern portions of its range, where conifer trees are more prevalent. The theory is based on the idea that forests where coniferous trees are predominant block more sunlight from reaching the forest below, providing a dimly-lit habitat in which a darker-coated squirrel could better conceal itself compared to its lighter counterpart. It is also suggested that non-melanistic squirrels have a concealment advantage over their melanistic counterparts in deciduous forests because deciduous trees shed their leaves on a seasonal basis, illuminating the forested area below it during the winter season. A study conducted in 1989 on melanistic fox squirrels found the non-melanistic coloration better for concealment while the squirrel was still, but a melanistic coloration provided better concealment for when it was in motion.
The frequency of black morph eastern gray squirrels is thought to have been once relatively common throughout the eastern gray squirrel range, although their frequency and population have dwindled since the 1700s. It has been suggested that their population declined due to extensive deforestation and the hunting of squirrels for their meat and pelts; with the newly changed environment providing non-melanistic gray-colored squirrels an advantage in concealment. However, the theory that the black morphs squirrels were more prevalent prior to the 1700s, and that deforestation led to their decline has been challenged by some researchers. One study found a high frequency of black eastern gray squirrels lived in rural southern Ontario, an area primarily made up of farmland.
Melanism in fox squirrels in the southeast portion of its natural range has also been associated with crypsis, as it inhabits forests that go through periodic burnings. It has been suggested that black squirrels would be harder to detect in forests already burned, due to the blackened substrate.
Thermoregulation
It has also been suggested that black morph squirrels have a considerably higher cold tolerance than gray squirrels given the color of their coat. Black-coated animals were found to have 18 percent lower heat loss in temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F), a 20 percent lower metabolic rate, and a non-shivering thermogenesis capacity that is higher than a gray morph. Additionally, researchers of the color morph have noted a strong negative correlation with the frequency of black squirrels and areas with high air temperature.
The black coat has been suggested as a selective advantage for squirrels inhabiting the northern ranges of the species, as it helps them inhabit colder regions. The apparent thermal advantage has contributed to the expansion of the eastern gray squirrel's range northward following the end of the last glacial period. Black morph eastern gray squirrels have been reported as far north as Sudbury, Ontario, past the traditional range of the eastern gray squirrels.
A study published by the European Journal of Ecology in 2019 on eastern fox squirrels found that the melanistic morphs of the species saw a noticeable increase in their surface temperature (fur and skin) in both sunny and cloudy weather; whereas the non-melanistic fox squirrels only saw their surface temperature increase when it was sunny with no cloud cover. Its ability to gain heat in sunny and cloudy conditions is believed to be the reason why melanistic squirrels are more active during winter mornings. However, the same study noted that there was no difference in metabolic heat production between the color morphs.
Reproduction
Among eastern squirrels, gray mating pairs cannot produce black offspring. Gray squirrels have two copies of a gray pigment gene and black squirrels have either one or two copies of a black pigment gene. If a black squirrel has two copies of the black gene it will be jet black. If it has one copy of a black gene and one gray gene it will be brown-black. Approximately nine percent of melanistic eastern gray squirrels are believed to be jet black. In areas with high concentrations of black squirrels, litters of mixed-color individuals are common.
Differences with non-melanistic squirrels
A study conducted in 1990 of black and gray morphs of the eastern gray squirrel concluded that there was no major difference in behavior between the morphs. The same study also found no difference between the morphs when reacting to either a human or canid predator. However, another study in 2010 also found that gray morphs of the eastern gray squirrel were more prone to initiate flight than black morphs after hearing a red-tailed hawk; although the fact that black morphs were less likely to initiate flight after hearing a red-tailed hawk may not be an effect of pigmentation, rather the environment they inhabit. Given the higher frequency of black morphs in an urban setting, it has been suggested that black morphs have a higher tolerance for human/urban stimuli. It has also been suggested that behavioral differences with regard to mating may exist between the urban and rural populations of eastern gray squirrels.
A 2019 study on fox squirrels found that there was no noticeable difference in metabolism between the different color morphs of that species. However, the same study on fox squirrels found that melanistic fox squirrels were more active than their non-melanistic counterparts during the winter and spring months, with melanistic fox squirrels found to be 30 percent more active during the mornings than their non-melanistic counterparts. Conversely the non-melanistic fox squirrels were more active during the autumn season. It has been suggested that the black squirrel's higher heat gain for its surface temperature is the reason why they are able to be active earlier in the day and remain active longer.
Distribution
Natural populations of black morph eastern gray and fox squirrels can be found in the natural ranges of both species in North America, although their frequency varies depending on the area. Black fur for both species of squirrels is rare and occurs at rates of less than one percent. It has been suggested that one in 10,000 eastern gray squirrels are a black morph.
It has been suggested that the frequency of the black color morph in the eastern gray squirrel populations has declined since the late 1700s, especially south of the Great Lakes. There is a higher frequency of the black morph in the northern portions of the eastern gray squirrel's range; which includes the southern portions of central Canada and northern United States. In particular, large populations of black squirrels are found within the Great Lakes Basin, with a notable increase in their frequency between the 41st parallel north and the 45th parallel north.
Black squirrels occur with the highest frequency in Ontario and Michigan, and are the predominant color morph found in those areas; with the black morph accounting for 66 percent of squirrels documented on iNaturalist in Ontario, and 56 percent in Michigan. Significant populations of black morphs are also present in the other provinces/states that surround the Great Lakes; with approximately 15 percent of the eastern grey squirrels in those regions reported to be melanistic. Black squirrel populations south of the Great Lakes remain largely localized, with the frequency of black squirrels varying from one region to another. Black squirrels were found to be more common in urban areas as opposed to rural areas and forests. Among exurban populations of eastern gray squirrels, the black morph only occurs in high frequencies in Ontario, and northern Michigan.
Conversely, black morphs of fox squirrels occur with the highest frequency in the southeastern portion of its natural range, the southeastern United States. Like the eastern gray squirrels, the frequency of black fox squirrels is dependent on the area, reaching a maximum frequency of 13 percent. Although they occur more frequently in the southeastern United States, large populations of black morph fox squirrels may be found in other areas of the species' natural range; including Council Bluffs, Iowa, around the Missouri River. Approximately half of the fox squirrels found in Council Bluffs are melanistic. Melanistic fox squirrels in Council Bluffs have since expanded across the Missouri River to other areas in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area; with melanistic fox squirrels now accounting for 4.6 to 7.6 percent of fox squirrels in Omaha.
Introduced populations
Reintroduction programs
Several populations of black morph squirrels were the result of reintroduction/re-population programs intended to reintroduce the species and/or the black morph to areas they once inhabited, but had been wiped out by human hunting and predators in previous centuries.
Black squirrels in Washington, D.C. originated from eighteen black morphs captured at Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario and released in the parks around the National Mall in 1902 and in 1906 by Teddy Roosevelt. There remains a level of uncertainty as to why the black morphs were introduced into the National Mall; although representatives from the Smithsonian Museum suggest their introduction may have been part of a larger effort to revitalize the local eastern gray squirrel population whittled down by human hunting. By the 1960s, the black morphs had spread beyond the parks that surround the National Mall, although were largely contained by the Capital Beltway. In 2005, it was estimated that black morphs comprised between 5 and 25 percent of all eastern gray squirrels in that area.
The present population of black eastern gray squirrels in Battle Creek, Michigan was reportedly introduced in 1915 by John Harvey Kellogg, who wanted to repopulate the area with the species after their populations were devastated in the previous centuries by predators and human hunters. He reportedly received 400 eastern gray squirrels from Kent County, Michigan, including some black morphs, and released them into the community. Researchers north of Battle Creek, at the Kellogg Biological Station, later trapped some black morph eastern gray squirrels in 1958 and 1962, and released them on the East Lansing campus of Michigan State University at the behest of the university's president.
Black morphs were once present in Ohio, although the color morph was extirpated from the state by 1930. However, an initiative to reintroduce the black morphs into the squirrel population was undertaken in 1961 by Kent State University, based in Portage County. The university, in coordination from the Canadian and U.S. governments, released ten black squirrels from London, Ontario onto its campus grounds in an effort to reintroduce the black morphs into the area. By 1964, the Record-Courier reported the number of black squirrel increased to 150. Black morphs of the eastern gray squirrels have since expanded through northeastern Ohio.
Introduced/non-native populations
Several populations of black morph squirrels were introduced into the area by accident. Some of these black morph populations have been embraced by their communities, although others are viewed as an invasive species to the local ecosystem.
The introduction of black squirrels in the Quad Cities occurred in the 19th century. According to one story, recounted in the book The Palmers, they were first introduced on the Rock Island Arsenal by either the Palmer family or the base commander. According to the story, some of the black morphs later escaped the arsenal by jumping across ice floes on the Mississippi River when it was frozen, and populated the other areas on Rock Island.
Eastern gray squirrels, including their black morphs, were introduced into British Columbia during the early 1900s. The species was also later introduced into other areas of Canada to which it was not native, such as Calgary, Alberta. The majority of the eastern gray squirrels in Calgary originated as pets, or zoo animals that escaped captivity during the 1930s. As in Ontario, black eastern gray squirrels are now the predominant morph of the species found in Calgary.
The black morph population in Marysville, Kansas were supposedly released into the area by accident. Reportedly the black morphs were brought to Marysville during the 1920s as a part of an exhibit for a circus, but were accidentally released after a child opened the cage holding the black morphs. Attempts to replicate Marysville city branding success with the black squirrels was also attempted by residents of Hobbs, New Mexico; who reportedly took some black morphs from Marysville to populate Hobbs. However, they were unsuccessful in introducing the black morphs into Hobbs, with the local squirrel population reportedly killing the black squirrels that were released there.
The population of black squirrels in Massachusetts's Pioneer Valley originated from two shipments of Michigan black squirrels sent to Frank Stanley Beveridge, the founder of Stanley Park in Westfield. Beveridge reportedly released the black squirrels into the park he established during the late 1940s. The population of black squirrels has since spread throughout the Pioneer Valley, with large populations existing in Amherst and Westfield. During this same period, black squirrels from Canada were also released at parks in Princeton, New Jersey.
Black morphs of eastern gray squirrels are also present in the United Kingdom. The black squirrel population in the UK originates from black morphs brought over from North America, as opposed to a mutation that occurred with the existing population of non-melanistic eastern gray squirrels. However, how the species was introduced into the country's ecosystem remains undetermined. Some suggest the black morph population originated from squirrels released into the wild in the 19th century, while others assert the population originated from black morphs in zoos that escaped captivity. The first black squirrel to be recorded in the wild in the United Kingdom was in 1912, in Woburn, Bedfordshire. By 2009, the black morph accounted for nearly half of all squirrels in Cambridgeshire and in other areas of England, including Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. There are an estimated 25,000 black morphs squirrels in the East of England in 2009. However, as eastern gray squirrels (both non-melanistic and black morphs) threaten the local Eurasian red squirrel population, local authorities have begun to regulate and control the spread of the species in parts of England.
In culture
Black squirrels have been adopted by several cities and post-secondary institutions in the United States for the purposes of public relations branding, often making the black morphs a mascot.
The city of Marysville, Kansas, adopted the black morph squirrels as an official mascot of the city in 1972, and the "Black Squirrel Song" becoming the town's official anthem in 1987. The same legislation that made it an official mascot provided the "mascots" the freedom to trespass on all city property, "immunity" from all traffic regulations, and the "first pick of all black walnuts growing within the city". Marysville is one of several communities in the United States that have enacted specific legislation to protect the black morph populations, given their low frequency south of the Great Lakes. Other cities that provide legal protection for black squirrels include Council Bluffs, Iowa; which enacted an ordinance that discourages attempts to threaten them.
Several universities also use a black squirrel as an "unofficial" mascot or symbol for their institutions for public relations purposes. Post-secondary institutions typically adopt the black squirrel as an informal mascot for branding purposes, in an effort to further their recognition and visibility and to present an image of a "fun college campus". The black squirrel has been used as an "unofficial" mascot of Kent State University, and the county it resides in since the late 20th century. Kent State University hosts an annual "Black Squirrel Festival," a festival that commemorates the introduction of the species on the university campus in 1961. In 2009, a statue of a black squirrel was unveiled on the campus. The Kent State University Press named a trade imprint Black Squirrel Books, after the black morph eastern gray squirrels that inhabit its campus. Other post-secondary that have also attracted print and digital publicity for its relationship with black squirrels includes Augustana College, the College of Wooster, and Sarah Lawrence College. The athletics program for Haverford College, the Haverford Fords, also adopted the black squirrel as an official mascot.
Literature
Black squirrels are major characters in British author Robin Jarvis's fantasy trilogies The Deptford Mice and The Deptford Histories, which feature anthropomorphic animals. They are portrayed as being of royal blood and are regarded as the wisest and noblest type of squirrel.
In Celtic folklore, black squirrels were associated with magic, occult knowledge, and the otherworld.
Black squirrels inhabit the forest of Mirkwood in the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien
Récolté par Jules Cimon
Date de récolte: 2015.04.30
Habitat: forêt mixte
Substrat : bois d’érable, non décomposé et décortiqué
Apothécie jusqu’à 0,84 mm de diam, en partie sessile, brun olivâtre foncé
Asques fortement gélatinisés, difficiles à préciser, cylindriques, à 8 spores, avec crochet à la base (?) et appareil apical inamyloïde, hyalins, 32,4 -40,3 x 3-4,1 µm environ
Paraphyses cylindriques, légèrement élargies et souvent doublement ramifiées vers la base, septées, progressivement brun olivâtre foncé vers la base, hyalines à l’apex, 52,2-57,9 x 2,2 µm à l’apex et 2,6 µm à la base
Spores cylindriques-fusiformes, obtuses, avec septa médian fugace et parfois à 2 minuscules guttules polaires, à paroi mince, à contenu difficile à préciser, très finement granuleuses (?), 4 ,9- 5,7 x 1,2-1,5 µm
Medulla mince, formée d’hyphes et cellules polymorphes, gélatinisées, difficiles à préciser, hyalines
Excipulum ectal en textura ± globulosa-angularis, formé de cellules subglobuleuses à ellipsoïdes, à paroi jusqu’à 1,3 µm de diam., parfois avec une guttule, brun foncé, 10-15 x 9,2-13 µm
Revêtement externe formé de cellules clavées hyalines gélatinisées à l’apex (cellules terminales), multiseptées, progressivement teintées de brun olivâtre, plus foncé à la base, 4,7-7,1 x 3,7-5,4 µm, à paroi jusqu’à 0,76 µm de diam.
Cellules marginales en palissade, étroitement clavées à cylindriques, hyalines et gélatinisées à l’apex, septées, progressivement brunes vers la base, 6,6-10 x 2,3-4,3 µm.
www.flickr.com/photos/19369983@N06/32302157603/in/datepos...
Plantaginacée de 3-20 cm à feuilles strictement en rosette. Limbes juvéniles entiers (linéaires pour les individus chétifs) mais le plus souvent profondément dentés ou divisés. Hampes partant de la rosette, terminées par un épi longuement cylindrique (non visible ici). Fleurs tétramères aux pétales jaunâtres, membraneux et soudés en tube velu, à lobes aigus. 4 étamines à anthères très saillantes. Pyxide à 4 graines brunes non canaliculées.
Autres noms français : Pied de corbeau ou de corneille (traduction du nom scientifique d'espèce venant du latin et du grec, de coroné : corneille et pous : pied), Courtine (une espèce cultivée dans certains pays, atteignant 40-70 cm, se consomme en salade sous le nom de Barbe de capucin). Espèce psammocline à saxicline, polymorphe et très velue sur les rochers maritimes (cf. H des Abbayes et P Jauzein).
Anthodites in a cave in Virginia, USA.
"Cave formations" in caves are technically called speleothem. Most speleothem is composed of travertine, a crystalline-textured chemical sedimentary rock composed of calcite (CaCO3). Travertine forms in most caves and at some springs by precipitation of crystals from water. Travertine speleothem occurs in a wide variety of forms. The most common variety of travertine speleothem is dripstone, which forms by the action of dripping water. The second-most common type of travertine speleothem is flowstone, which forms by precipitation of crystals from relatively thin films of flowing water. Flowstone typically has the appearance of a frozen waterfalls.
Shown above are anthodites, a scarce variety of speleothem that was first described from this very cave - Skyline Caverns in Virginia. Anthodites are radiating clusters of quill-like to slightly vermiform structures. Individual anthodite quills are hollow. Mineral analysis by White (1994) has shown that they are composed of aragonite (CaCO3), which is a polymorph of calcite. Some have recrystallized to calcite. The anthodites of Skyline Caverns were originally in sealed chambers in a mostly-sediment filled cave passage. During tourist trail construction, workers dug out sediments and encountered small chambers having common anthodites. They were subsequently named and described in the literature in 1949. The anthodite-bearing chambers were unusual in having near-vacuum conditions. Upon opening one chamber, a worker's hat was sucked in by the low air pressure.
When pure calcium carbonate, anthodites are white-colored. The yellows and browns seen above are from iron oxides. The green coloration is from algae that grows in tourist trail lighting.
Skyline Caverns is developed in structurally tilted carbonates (mixed dolostones and limestones) of the Rockdale Run Formation (Beekmantown Group, Lower Ordovician).
Locality: Skyline Caverns, Front Royal, central Warren County, northern Virginia, USA
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Reference cited:
White (1994) - The anthodites from Skyline Caverns, Virginia: the type locality. National Speleological Society Bulletin (Journal of Caves and Karst Studies) 56: 23-26.
Faceted diamond, illuminated by four light sources. (5.5 mm across at its widest; 0.75 carats)
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5200 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
Elements are fundamental substances of matter - matter that is composed of the same types of atoms. At present, 118 elements are known (four of them are still unnamed). Of these, 98 occur naturally on Earth (hydrogen to californium). Most of these occur in rocks & minerals, although some occur in very small, trace amounts. Only some elements occur in their native elemental state as minerals.
To find a native element in nature, it must be relatively non-reactive and there must be some concentration process. Metallic, semimetallic (metalloid), and nonmetallic elements are known in their native state.
The element carbon occurs principally in its native state as graphite (C) and diamond (C). Graphite is the common & far less valuable polymorph of carbon. A scarce polymorph of carbon is diamond. The physical properties of diamond and graphite couldn’t be more different, considering they have the same chemistry. Diamond has a nonmetallic, adamantine luster, typically occurs in cubic or octahedral (double-pyramid) crystals, or subspherical to irregularly-shaped masses, and is extremely hard (H≡10). Diamonds can be almost any color, but are typically clearish, grayish, or yellowish. Many diamonds are noticeably fluorescent under black light (ultraviolet light), but the color and intensity of fluorescence varies. Some diamonds are phosphorescent - under certain conditions, they glow for a short interval on their own.
Very rarely, diamond is a rock-forming mineral (see diamondite - www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/14618393527).
Chairlift @ Lollapalooza 2016, Grant Park, Chicago, IL, on Saturday, July 30, 2016.
Lollapalooza 2016 Setlist:
Look Up
Polymorphing
Amanaemonesia
I Belong in Your Arms
Show U Off
Romeo
Crying In Public
Moth to the Flame
Ch-Ching
Get Real
Microscopic photo showing tumor tissue with high degree of cellularity and nuclear polymorphism with a multinucleated giant tumor cell (green arrow). Jian-Hua Qiao, MD, FCAP, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Douze sculptures énigmatiques d'Ugo Rondinone, représentant chacune un mois de l'année, intitulées Sunrise East, sont exposées au jardin des Tuileries à Paris, dans le cadre du 38ème festival d'automne.
Ugo Rondinone est un artiste né en Suisse, en 1964, auteur d'une oeuvre polymorphe composée de vidéos, photographies, sculptures, néons,..
www.festival-automne.com/fr/programme.php?programme_id=258
voir aussi les oeuvres d'Ugo Rondinone et d'Urs Fischer présentées dans l'église San Stae pour le pavillon suisse lors de la Biennale de Venise 2007.
As borboletas são insectos da ordem Lepidoptera classificados nas super-famílias Hesperioidea e Papilionoidea, que constituem o grupo informal Rhopalocera.
As borboletas têm dois pares de asas membranosas cobertas de escamas e peças bucais adaptadas a sucção. Distinguem-se das traças (mariposas) pelas antenas rectilíneas que terminam numa bola, pelos hábitos de vida diurnos, pela metamorfose que decorre dentro de uma crisálida rígida e pelo abdómen fino e alongado. Quando em repouso, as borboletas dobram as suas asas para cima.
As borboletas são importantes polinizadores de diversas espécies de plantas.
O ciclo de vida das borboletas engloba as seguintes etapas:
1) ovo→ fase pré-larval
2) larva→ chamada também de lagarta ou taturana,
3) pupa→ que se desenvolve dentro da crisálida (ou casulo)
4) imago→ fase adulta
_______________________
A butterfly is any of several groups of mainly day-flying insects of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, butterflies' life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are important economically as agents of pollination. The caterpillars of some butterflies eat harmful insects. A few species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
Chrysotile asbestos veins in serpentinized komatiite in the Precambrian of Ontario, Canada.
Komatiites are very rare, magnesium-rich, extrusive, ultramafic igneous rocks. They are named after the Komati River Valley in South Africa, the type locality. Komatiite is an exceedingly rare type of lava. No volcano on Earth erupts this material today. Komatiites are essentially restricted to the Archean (4.55 to 2.5 billion years ago). Experimental evidence has shown that komatiite lavas, when originally erupted, were considerably hotter (~1600º C) than any modern lava type on Earth. This indicates that Earth’s mantle was much hotter than now. Other geologic evidence also indicates that early Earth’s heat flux was much higher than today’s.
Komatiite lava had a very low viscosity - it could flow like an ultradense gas. This property permitted the solidification of some individual lava flows that are only 1 cm thick.
The classic texture of komatiites is spinifex texture, named after clumps of long, spiky (& painful!) grasses. Komatiites with spinifex texture have short to long blades or plates of olivine mixed with smaller-scale blades of pyroxene.
All Archean komatiites are metamorphosed - the original igneous mineralogy (olivine, pyroxene, minor chromite, etc.) is gone to mostly gone. Such rocks are best termed metakomatiites, but the prefix “meta-” is usually not specified in writing.
Komatiites have economic significance, as many are closely associated with copper-nickel minerals (chalcopyrite & pentlandite), plus minor platinum-group elements, arsenides, bismuthides, and maybe a little gold and silver. Komatiites are a world-class source of nickel in Canada and Western Australia.
The outcrop seen here is part of a komatiite "lava lake" next to the Potter Mine in Ontario, Canada. This is near the world-famous Pyke Hill locality, which has numerous, thin komatiite lava flows. The rocks in the Potter Mine-Pyke Hill area are part of the Kidd-Munro Assemblage, which consists of ultramafic and mafic volcanic rocks intruded by mafic to ultramafic dikes and sill-like bodies. Minor felsic volcanic rocks are also present. Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits occur in the Kidd-Munro Assemblage - they have been mined at the Texas Gulf Mine and the Potter Mine.
The rocks at this particular site were originally interpreted as part of a relatively thick komatiite lava lake, the last feature of a volcanic eruption. A newer interpretation says that this is a series of thick komatiite sheet flows (at least 6) in a paleo-depression. A thin lava lake may have originally capped the succession.
This is an exposure of serpentinized komatiite. The linear features running through the rock are "veins" of asbestos. There are several minerals colloquially known as "asbestos". The most common is "white asbestos", which is a mineral called chrysotile. It is one of three polymorphs of serpentine (= magnesium hydroxy-silicate, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4). Other varieties include “blue asbestos” (= crocidolite amphibole) and “brown asbestos” (= amosite amphibole). Chrysotile serpentine has a whitish to greenish color, a silky luster, and fibrous fracture.
Stratigraphy: Upper Komatiitic Unit, Kidd-Munro Assemblage, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, lower Neoarchean, 2.711-2.717 Ga
Locality: "Lava Lake" exposure outcrop near dirt road, southwest of the Potter Mine, north of Route 101, east-northeast of Matheson & south of the western end of Lake Abitibi & ~83 kilometers east of the city of Timmins, Munro Township, southern Cochrane District, eastern Ontario, southeastern Canada (~vicinity of 48° 35' 50.93" North latitude, 80° 12' 50.97" West longitude)
-------------------------
For photos of chrysotile serpentine/white asbestos, see:
www.jsjgeology.net/Serpentine.htm
and
Chairlift @ Lollapalooza 2016, Grant Park, Chicago, IL, on Saturday, July 30, 2016.
Lollapalooza 2016 Setlist:
Look Up
Polymorphing
Amanaemonesia
I Belong in Your Arms
Show U Off
Romeo
Crying In Public
Moth to the Flame
Ch-Ching
Get Real
From 10 January to the third week of February 2016, three scientists from South Asia are on a six-week research visit at the Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources (JLLFGR) in Beijing, China. This lab is jointly run by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and has been operating since 2004.
Faiz-ul-Hassan, from the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in Pakistan, is working on high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data of Pakistani goats (photo credit: ILRI/Han Jianlin).
Les Sources Occultes - Teaser /999
Réalisation Laurent Courau sur un scénario de thierry Ehrmann
blog.ehrmann.org/films2/les-sources-occultes-teaser.html
© Les Amis de l'Esprit de la Salamandre 1999
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers... Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offre aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'Esprit de la Salamandre...
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Picture: Butter Fly :-)
Location: Butterflies Garden, Mandai Zoo. SINGAPORE
A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and their erratic yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a fairly popular hobby.
Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (Superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (Superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some are known to migrate over large distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are important economically as one of the major agents of pollination. In addition, a number of species are pests, because they can damage domestic crops and trees.
Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
Source from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly
Microscopic photo showing tumor tissue with high degree of cellularity and nuclear polymorphism with scattered giant tumor cells. Jian-Hua Qiao, MD, FCAP, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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An exceptional red-colored Gulf Salt Marsh Snake from the Florida panhandle compared with an individual of the more common black phase from the same population. The red animal is either hypomelanistic or this could be a similar color polymorphism to that exhibited by the Mangrove Salt Marsh Snake from peninsular Florida.
Marchantiacée dioïque à rosette de thalles aplatis, jusqu'à 10 cm de long et 2 cm de large, au bord ondulé et aux lames vert foncé, couchées, incisées, dichotomes ou divisées. Face supérieure avec marques hexagonales et face inférieure couverte de nombreuses racines ou rhizoïdes qui fixent la plante dans le sol.
Certains thalles portent des gamétanges, à savoir les structures de reproduction : les gamétophores femelles constitués d'une tige en forme d'étoile ou de parapluie fortement lobé (archégoniophores aux capsules sporales jaunes sans pédicelle se formant à la face inférieure des ombrelles âgées) avec des rayons dans la partie supérieure contenant les archégones ou organes produisant les ovules ; les gamétophores mâles surmontées d'un disque aplati modérément lobé (anthéridiophores pédonculés à extrémité en forme d'ombrelle à 5 côtes) contenant les anthéridies enfouies dans les cavités produisant le sperme.
Les Bryophytes sont classiquement divisées en Mousses et en Hépatiques. Les Mousses (bryoflore française d'environ 900 espèces) comprennent 3 sous classes : les Eubrya ou Mousses au sens strict, les Andraeobrya et les Sphagnobrya ou Sphaignes. Les Hépatiques peuvent être démembrées en 2 classes, celle des Hépatiques au sens strict (dont la famille des Marchantiacées et ici l'une des quelques 300 espèces d'hépatiques de la bryoflore française) et celle des Anthocérotes : 5 espèces en France (cf. J Augier et HM Jahns).
''La musique que proposent Tim et Meriadeg est une embarcation vers l’inconnu, le polymorphe et la rêverie. L’issue du périple est aussi incertaine que virtuose, la mécanique des sens est réglée sur intense, les questions fusent et se défont au gré de mille réponses qui coulent de source. On est en mer, sur le dos d’une vague en transhumance ou à terre au milieu des herbes hautes, qu’importe !!!… on est bien.''
Pas besoin de balances pour ce ''tandem acoustique résolu à dénicher et composer des mélodies simples, jolies ; puis jouer, s'en amuser.'' Fort de l'attachement de ces deux musiciens ''aux musiques traditionnelles, vivantes, étonnantes et voyageuses'' il a juste fallu qu'Estelle entame les deux chants qu'elle souhaitait proposer à son public en leur compagnie pour qu'une demi-heure plus tard tout soit en place ...
Apothécies sessiles, jusqu’à 1,46 mm de diam.
Asques cylindriques, à 8 spores unisériées, avec crochets à la base et appareil apical inamyloïde, 247,6 -277,19 x 11,82-14,6 µm
Paraphyses cylindriques, élargies à l’apex, ramifiées ou non à la base ou à l’apex, septées, couvertes d’une substance gélatineuse et incrustée, à contenu huileux finement incrusté et guttulé au tiers supérieur (exsiccatum), 282,3-293,8 x 6-7,1 µm
Spores ellipsoïdes, apparaissant lisses en Bleu coton, guttulées, 19,6-20,7 x 11,9-12,6 µm, Q = 1,7
Sous-hyménium en textura prismatica, formé de cellules ascendantes ± cylindriques, 11,6-16,7 x 5,6-9,6 µm
Medulla en textura intricata, formée de cellules polymorphes à subglobuleuses, 8,2-22,3 x 6,4-13 µm
Excipulum ectal en textura globulosa-angularis, formé de cellules subglobuleuses à ellipsoïdes, 21,2-93,3 x 15,33-53,6 µm
Revêtement externe formé de cellules subglobuleuses à clavées, à paroi épaissie, 18,6-33,4 x 13,4-19,4 µm
Poils externes ± ramifiés à la base, étroitement fusoïdes à l’apex, septés, à paroi épaissie, brun roux, 424,2-641,1 x 20,4-27,5 µm
Microscopie: Jacqueline Labrecque
Étude, recherche et correspondance: Roland Labbé
Identification: Jules Cimon
Confirmation: Nicolas van Vooren (AscoFrance)
www.flickr.com/photos/23151213@N03/25708644045/in/photoli...
LES SOURCES OCCULTES 014/999
L'Oracle
Réalisation : Laurent Courau
Scénario : Thierry Ehrmann
Prises de vue : Laurent Courau et Sydney Ehrmann
Lumières : Marquis
A film by Laurent Courau, based on a scenario by Thierry Ehrmann.
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offre aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Obsidian in the Pleistocene of Wyoming, USA.
Obsidian is a glassy-textured, extrusive igneous rock. Glassy-textured rocks have no crystals at all. They form by very rapid cooling of lava or by cooling of high-viscosity lava. Most obsidians form by the latter. Obsidian can be felsic, intermediate, mafic, or alkaline in chemistry. Most are felsic to intermediate.
A famous locality in North America is Obsidian Cliff at Yellowstone, Wyoming. It is a Pleistocene-aged lava flow with the chemistry of rhyolite (= a light-colored, felsic, aphanitic, extrusive igneous rock). The cliff itself shows columnar jointing. The rocks principally range from aphyric rhyolitic obsidian to partially devitrified rhyolitic obsidian. Lithophysae are sometimes present. Extremely small, microscopic crystals are present - they can be seen in thin sections. Some samples are reported to have small olivine phenocrysts. Small clusters of crystals, composed of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, and olivine, are sometimes present.
Many of the whitish-colored spots and bands running through most Obsidian Cliff rock samples are areas of devitrification. Glass is unstable on geologic times scales and it slowly crystallizes. The light-colored spots and bands are now non-glassy. Spotted, partially devitrified obsidian is known by the rockhound term "snowflake obsidian" (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/16561606417). The spots are composed of silica (SiO2), but are not quartz. Rather, they are composed of a polymorph of quartz - cristobalite.
Stratigraphy: Roaring Mountain Member, Plateau Rhyolite, Upper Pleistocene, ~59 ka
Locality: loose boulder near the base of Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park, northwestern Wyoming, USA
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Age & some lithologic info. from:
Wooton (2010) - Age and Petrogenesis of the Roaring Mountain Rhyolites, Yellowstone Volcanic Field, Wyoming. M.S. thesis. University of Nevada at Las Vegas. 296 pp.
NIKON D7000 plus Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8
The Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina), also called the Blue Moon Butterfly or Common Eggfly, is a black-bodied butterfly with a wingspan of about 8cm, found mainly in the deciduous forests of Southeast Asia including South Pacific islands, and in parts of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
The species has a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The female is mimetic with multiple morphs, known for maternal care, with the females guarding leaves where eggs have been laid. Males are also very territorial and site fidelity increases with age.
On the Samoan Islands, a bacterium (Wolbachia) strain had been killing the male members of Hypolimnas bolina, reduced them to only 1% of the population by 2001. However, in 2007, it was reported that within a span of just 10 generations, the males had evolved to develop immunity to the bacteria, and the male population increased to nearly 40%. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypolimnas_bolina
In addition, an extremely rapid change in sex bias was reported for a Polynesian population of Hypolimnas bolina, with a switch from a male:female sex ratio of 1:100 to 1:1 in fewer than 10 generations within 1 year, which implies a very rapid spread of the suppression of male-killing in the population. Charlat S et al. Extraordinary flux in sex ratio. Science. 2007b;317:214.
Family: Nymphalidae
This picture is taken in the indoor live butterfly garden of the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition, Natural History Museum, London
Our garden seems to have a good range of phenotypes of Brown-lipped Snail - the ubiquitous polymorph, subject of classical studies in population genetics. Here I have chosen three examples.
The banded phenotype is one of the nemoralis form, the others, possibly flavovirescens and rosea, lack the dark bands and exhibit different background colours.
Strobist info: 2 x YN560-IIs, left and right, at 1/8 through white umbrellas. Triggered by RF603s.
Diamond crystal from Russia.
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5200 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
Elements are fundamental substances of matter - matter that is composed of the same types of atoms. At present, 118 elements are known (four of them are still unnamed). Of these, 98 occur naturally on Earth (hydrogen to californium). Most of these occur in rocks & minerals, although some occur in very small, trace amounts. Only some elements occur in their native elemental state as minerals.
To find a native element in nature, it must be relatively non-reactive and there must be some concentration process. Metallic, semimetallic (metalloid), and nonmetallic elements are known in their native state.
The element carbon occurs principally in its native state as graphite (C) and diamond (C). Graphite is the common & far less valuable polymorph of carbon. A scarce polymorph of carbon is diamond. The physical properties of diamond and graphite couldn’t be more different, considering they have the same chemistry. Diamond has a nonmetallic, adamantine luster, typically occurs in cubic or octahedral (double-pyramid) crystals, or subspherical to irregularly-shaped masses, and is extremely hard (H≡10). Diamonds can be almost any color, but are typically clearish, grayish, or yellowish. Many diamonds are noticeably fluorescent under black light (ultraviolet light), but the color and intensity of fluorescence varies. Some diamonds are phosphorescent - under certain conditions, they glow for a short interval on their own.
Very rarely, diamond is a rock-forming mineral (see diamondite - www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/14618393527).
The diamond shown here is a 1.29 carat octahedral crystal, modified by trigons (small triangular-shaped structures). It comes from a kimberlite body in eastern Siberia. Kimberlites are intrusive igneous rocks typically having pipe-shaped geometries. The host kimberlite is Paleozoic in age, but the diamonds date to the Precambrian, based on inclusion dating.
Geologic unit & age: Mir Kimberlite, Malo-Botuoba Kimberlite Field, erupted in the Devonian of Mississippian, 324 to 403 Ma (dates cluster around 354 to 360 Ma)
Locality: unrecorded locality in the Mir Kimberlite Pipe, town of Mirnyy, Yakutia (a.k.a. "Sakha"), eastern Siberia, Russia (~62° 31' 43.93" North latitude, ~113° 59' 38.60" East longitude)
Pseudomorphs are minerals that have replaced other minerals, while retaining the crystal shape of the original mineral.
The hexaradiate crystalline structure shown above was originally marcasite (FeS2), a brassy gold-colored iron sulfide mineral that is a polymorph of pyrite. The marcasite was replaced by black-colored iron oxide. People disagree on what the iron oxide mineral is - I've seen it referred to as hematite, limonite, or goethite.
Geologic context: eroded from the Khoman Formation, Maastrichtian Stage, upper Upper Cretaceous
Locality: unrecorded / undisclosed site in the White Desert, supposedly near Farafra Oasis, western Egypt
Les Sources Occultes 003/999
Un film de Laurent Courau, d'après un scénario de Thierry Ehrmann.
Comédienne : Yôko Higashi
Décors : Alisha Henry
Maquillage : Alisha Henry
Lumières : Marquis
Musiques : La Science des Fous - Urgence Disk
© Les Amis de l'Esprit de la Salamandre 1999
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offrent aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Chrysotile asbestos veins in serpentinized komatiite in the Precambrian of Ontario, Canada.
Komatiites are very rare, magnesium-rich, extrusive, ultramafic igneous rocks. They are named after the Komati River Valley in South Africa, the type locality. Komatiite is an exceedingly rare type of lava. No volcano on Earth erupts this material today. Komatiites are essentially restricted to the Archean (4.55 to 2.5 billion years ago). Experimental evidence has shown that komatiite lavas, when originally erupted, were considerably hotter (~1600º C) than any modern lava type on Earth. This indicates that Earth’s mantle was much hotter than now. Other geologic evidence also indicates that early Earth’s heat flux was much higher than today’s.
Komatiite lava had a very low viscosity - it could flow like an ultradense gas. This property permitted the solidification of some individual lava flows that are only 1 cm thick.
The classic texture of komatiites is spinifex texture, named after clumps of long, spiky (& painful!) grasses. Komatiites with spinifex texture have short to long blades or plates of olivine mixed with smaller-scale blades of pyroxene.
All Archean komatiites are metamorphosed - the original igneous mineralogy (olivine, pyroxene, minor chromite, etc.) is gone to mostly gone. Such rocks are best termed metakomatiites, but the prefix “meta-” is usually not specified in writing.
Komatiites have economic significance, as many are closely associated with copper-nickel minerals (chalcopyrite & pentlandite), plus minor platinum-group elements, arsenides, bismuthides, and maybe a little gold and silver. Komatiites are a world-class source of nickel in Canada and Western Australia.
The outcrop seen here is part of a komatiite "lava lake" next to the Potter Mine in Ontario, Canada. This is near the world-famous Pyke Hill locality, which has numerous, thin komatiite lava flows. The rocks in the Potter Mine-Pyke Hill area are part of the Kidd-Munro Assemblage, which consists of ultramafic and mafic volcanic rocks intruded by mafic to ultramafic dikes and sill-like bodies. Minor felsic volcanic rocks are also present. Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits occur in the Kidd-Munro Assemblage - they have been mined at the Texas Gulf Mine and the Potter Mine.
The rocks at this particular site were originally interpreted as part of a relatively thick komatiite lava lake, the last feature of a volcanic eruption. A newer interpretation says that this is a series of thick komatiite sheet flows (at least 6) in a paleo-depression. A thin lava lake may have originally capped the succession.
This is an exposure of serpentinized komatiite. The light-colored linear features running through the rock are "veins" of asbestos. There are several minerals colloquially known as "asbestos". The most common is "white asbestos", which is a mineral called chrysotile. It is one of three polymorphs of serpentine (= magnesium hydroxy-silicate, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4). Other varieties include “blue asbestos” (= crocidolite amphibole) and “brown asbestos” (= amosite amphibole). Chrysotile serpentine has a whitish to greenish color, a silky luster, and fibrous fracture.
Stratigraphy: Upper Komatiitic Unit, Kidd-Munro Assemblage, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, lower Neoarchean, 2.711-2.717 Ga
Locality: "Lava Lake" exposure outcrop near dirt road, southwest of the Potter Mine, north of Route 101, east-northeast of Matheson & south of the western end of Lake Abitibi & ~83 kilometers east of the city of Timmins, Munro Township, southern Cochrane District, eastern Ontario, southeastern Canada (~vicinity of 48° 35' 50.93" North latitude, 80° 12' 50.97" West longitude)
-------------------------
For photos of chrysotile serpentine/white asbestos, see:
www.jsjgeology.net/Serpentine.htm
and
A microarray that can be used to assay half a million or so variable positions in the human genome.
Now completely outmoded by the 6.0 array, which does over 900,000, plus another 946,000 or so non-variable parts of the genome to boot.
Also shown - the ugly pattern on the guest chairs in my office, somewhat blurred to reduce the strain on your eyes.
Licensed to Gyldendal Publishing (Norway), www.gyldendal.no/Gyldendal-Akademisk/Medisin.
Douze sculptures énigmatiques d'Ugo Rondinone, représentant chacune un mois de l'année, intitulées Sunrise East sont exposées au jardin des Tuileries à Paris, non loin du pavillon de Flore (au fond sur la photo) dans le cadre du 38ème festival d'automne.
Leur présence transforme l'ambiance du jardin et met en joie de nombreux promeneurs !
Ugo Rondinone est un artiste né en Suisse, en 1964, auteur d'une oeuvre polymorphe composée de vidéos, photographies, sculptures, néons,..
www.festival-automne.com/fr/programme.php?programme_id=258
voir aussi les oeuvres d'Ugo Rondinone et d'Urs Fischer présentées dans l'église San Stae pour le pavillon suisse lors de la Biennale de Venise 2007.
Les Sources Occultes 005/999
Un film de Laurent Courau, d'après un scénario de Thierry Ehrmann.
Comédiens : Vigi Lust, Yvan
© Les Amis de l'Esprit de la Salamandre 1999
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offrent aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Chrysotile asbestos veins in serpentinized komatiite in the Precambrian of Ontario, Canada.
Komatiites are very rare, magnesium-rich, extrusive, ultramafic igneous rocks. They are named after the Komati River Valley in South Africa, the type locality. Komatiite is an exceedingly rare type of lava. No volcano on Earth erupts this material today. Komatiites are essentially restricted to the Archean (4.55 to 2.5 billion years ago). Experimental evidence has shown that komatiite lavas, when originally erupted, were considerably hotter (~1600º C) than any modern lava type on Earth. This indicates that Earth’s mantle was much hotter than now. Other geologic evidence also indicates that early Earth’s heat flux was much higher than today’s.
Komatiite lava had a very low viscosity - it could flow like an ultradense gas. This property permitted the solidification of some individual lava flows that are only 1 cm thick.
The classic texture of komatiites is spinifex texture, named after clumps of long, spiky (& painful!) grasses. Komatiites with spinifex texture have short to long blades or plates of olivine mixed with smaller-scale blades of pyroxene.
All Archean komatiites are metamorphosed - the original igneous mineralogy (olivine, pyroxene, minor chromite, etc.) is gone to mostly gone. Such rocks are best termed metakomatiites, but the prefix “meta-” is usually not specified in writing.
Komatiites have economic significance, as many are closely associated with copper-nickel minerals (chalcopyrite & pentlandite), plus minor platinum-group elements, arsenides, bismuthides, and maybe a little gold and silver. Komatiites are a world-class source of nickel in Canada and Western Australia.
The outcrop seen here is part of a komatiite "lava lake" next to the Potter Mine in Ontario, Canada. This is near the world-famous Pyke Hill locality, which has numerous, thin komatiite lava flows. The rocks in the Potter Mine-Pyke Hill area are part of the Kidd-Munro Assemblage, which consists of ultramafic and mafic volcanic rocks intruded by mafic to ultramafic dikes and sill-like bodies. Minor felsic volcanic rocks are also present. Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits occur in the Kidd-Munro Assemblage - they have been mined at the Texas Gulf Mine and the Potter Mine.
The rocks at this particular site were originally interpreted as part of a relatively thick komatiite lava lake, the last feature of a volcanic eruption. A newer interpretation says that this is a series of thick komatiite sheet flows (at least 6) in a paleo-depression. A thin lava lake may have originally capped the succession.
This is an exposure of serpentinized komatiite. The linear features running through the rock are "veins" of asbestos. There are several minerals colloquially known as "asbestos". The most common is "white asbestos", which is a mineral called chrysotile. It is one of three polymorphs of serpentine (= magnesium hydroxy-silicate, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4). Other varieties include “blue asbestos” (= crocidolite amphibole) and “brown asbestos” (= amosite amphibole). Chrysotile serpentine has a whitish to greenish color, a silky luster, and fibrous fracture.
Stratigraphy: Upper Komatiitic Unit, Kidd-Munro Assemblage, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, lower Neoarchean, 2.711-2.717 Ga
Locality: "Lava Lake" exposure outcrop near dirt road, southwest of the Potter Mine, north of Route 101, east-northeast of Matheson & south of the western end of Lake Abitibi & ~83 kilometers east of the city of Timmins, Munro Township, southern Cochrane District, eastern Ontario, southeastern Canada (~vicinity of 48° 35' 50.93" North latitude, 80° 12' 50.97" West longitude)
-------------------------
For photos of chrysotile serpentine/white asbestos, see:
www.jsjgeology.net/Serpentine.htm
and
Chrysotile asbestos veins in serpentinized komatiite in the Precambrian of Ontario, Canada.
Komatiites are very rare, magnesium-rich, extrusive, ultramafic igneous rocks. They are named after the Komati River Valley in South Africa, the type locality. Komatiite is an exceedingly rare type of lava. No volcano on Earth erupts this material today. Komatiites are essentially restricted to the Archean (4.55 to 2.5 billion years ago). Experimental evidence has shown that komatiite lavas, when originally erupted, were considerably hotter (~1600º C) than any modern lava type on Earth. This indicates that Earth’s mantle was much hotter than now. Other geologic evidence also indicates that early Earth’s heat flux was much higher than today’s.
Komatiite lava had a very low viscosity - it could flow like an ultradense gas. This property permitted the solidification of some individual lava flows that are only 1 cm thick.
The classic texture of komatiites is spinifex texture, named after clumps of long, spiky (& painful!) grasses. Komatiites with spinifex texture have short to long blades or plates of olivine mixed with smaller-scale blades of pyroxene.
All Archean komatiites are metamorphosed - the original igneous mineralogy (olivine, pyroxene, minor chromite, etc.) is gone to mostly gone. Such rocks are best termed metakomatiites, but the prefix “meta-” is usually not specified in writing.
Komatiites have economic significance, as many are closely associated with copper-nickel minerals (chalcopyrite & pentlandite), plus minor platinum-group elements, arsenides, bismuthides, and maybe a little gold and silver. Komatiites are a world-class source of nickel in Canada and Western Australia.
The outcrop seen here is part of a komatiite "lava lake" next to the Potter Mine in Ontario, Canada. This is near the world-famous Pyke Hill locality, which has numerous, thin komatiite lava flows. The rocks in the Potter Mine-Pyke Hill area are part of the Kidd-Munro Assemblage, which consists of ultramafic and mafic volcanic rocks intruded by mafic to ultramafic dikes and sill-like bodies. Minor felsic volcanic rocks are also present. Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits occur in the Kidd-Munro Assemblage - they have been mined at the Texas Gulf Mine and the Potter Mine.
The rocks at this particular site were originally interpreted as part of a relatively thick komatiite lava lake, the last feature of a volcanic eruption. A newer interpretation says that this is a series of thick komatiite sheet flows (at least 6) in a paleo-depression. A thin lava lake may have originally capped the succession.
This is an exposure of serpentinized komatiite. The linear features running through the rock are "veins" of asbestos. There are several minerals colloquially known as "asbestos". The most common is "white asbestos", which is a mineral called chrysotile. It is one of three polymorphs of serpentine (= magnesium hydroxy-silicate, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4). Other varieties include “blue asbestos” (= crocidolite amphibole) and “brown asbestos” (= amosite amphibole). Chrysotile serpentine has a whitish to greenish color, a silky luster, and fibrous fracture.
Stratigraphy: Upper Komatiitic Unit, Kidd-Munro Assemblage, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, lower Neoarchean, 2.711-2.717 Ga
Locality: "Lava Lake" exposure outcrop near dirt road, southwest of the Potter Mine, north of Route 101, east-northeast of Matheson & south of the western end of Lake Abitibi & ~83 kilometers east of the city of Timmins, Munro Township, southern Cochrane District, eastern Ontario, southeastern Canada (~vicinity of 48° 35' 50.93" North latitude, 80° 12' 50.97" West longitude)
-------------------------
For photos of chrysotile serpentine/white asbestos, see:
www.jsjgeology.net/Serpentine.htm
and
Les Sources Occultes - Teaser /999
Réalisation Laurent Courau sur un scénario de thierry Ehrmann
blog.ehrmann.org/films2/les-sources-occultes-teaser.html
© Les Amis de l'Esprit de la Salamandre 1999
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers... Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offre aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'Esprit de la Salamandre...
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
Obsidian in the Pleistocene of Wyoming, USA.
Obsidian is a glassy-textured, extrusive igneous rock. Glassy-textured rocks have no crystals at all. They form by very rapid cooling of lava or by cooling of high-viscosity lava. Most obsidians form by the latter. Obsidian can be felsic, intermediate, mafic, or alkaline in chemistry. Most are felsic to intermediate.
A famous locality in North America is Obsidian Cliff at Yellowstone, Wyoming. It is a Pleistocene-aged lava flow with the chemistry of rhyolite (= a light-colored, felsic, aphanitic, extrusive igneous rock). The cliff itself shows columnar jointing. The rocks principally range from aphyric rhyolitic obsidian to partially devitrified rhyolitic obsidian. Lithophysae are sometimes present. Extremely small, microscopic crystals are present - they can be seen in thin sections. Some samples are reported to have small olivine phenocrysts. Small clusters of crystals, composed of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, and olivine, are sometimes present.
Many of the whitish-colored spots and bands running through most Obsidian Cliff rock samples are areas of devitrification. Glass is unstable on geologic times scales and it slowly crystallizes. The light-colored spots and bands are now non-glassy. Spotted, partially devitrified obsidian is known by the rockhound term "snowflake obsidian" (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/16561606417). The spots are composed of silica (SiO2), but are not quartz. Rather, they are composed of a polymorph of quartz - cristobalite.
Stratigraphy: Roaring Mountain Member, Plateau Rhyolite, Upper Pleistocene, ~59 ka
Locality: loose boulder near the base of Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park, northwestern Wyoming, USA
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Age & some lithologic info. from:
Wooton (2010) - Age and Petrogenesis of the Roaring Mountain Rhyolites, Yellowstone Volcanic Field, Wyoming. M.S. thesis. University of Nevada at Las Vegas. 296 pp.