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A new species of giant fish as been discovered
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The new species is member of the arapaima genus, which contains some of the world’s biggest freshwater fish that breathe air and weigh up to 200kg. Found in the central Amazon of Brazil, the new fish has been named Arapaima leptosoma and is the first new species of arapaima described since 1847.
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3942 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
House plants could one day power our computers
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Researchers have discovered a novel method to harness photosynthesis to create electricity. By attaching nanotubes to plant cells, the researchers were able to direct the electrons that plants free during photosynthesis down a wire and generate electrical current – and it was twice as powerful as electricity gathered from solar cells.
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7674 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Long-necked antelope
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The gerenuk, also known as the Waller’s gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry thorn bush scrub and desert in Eastern Africa. The word gerenuk comes from the Somali language, meaning “giraffe-necked”. Gerenuks have a relatively small head for their body, but their eyes and ears are proportionately large.
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4229 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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6573 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Overcrowded forest leads to this
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This beautiful mosaic of leaves is caused by a mysterious natural phenomenon known as 'crown shyness'. Seen here in a cluster of Kapur trees in Malaysia, scientists suspect that it occurs when young shoots become sensitive to touch, and stop growing once they graze other leaves.
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4043 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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26152 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
The Philippine eagle
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The Philippine eagle ( Pithecophaga jefferyi), also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is found exclusively in the forests of the Philippines. It has brown- and white-coloured plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures 86 to 102 cm (2.82 to 3.35 ft) in length, weighs 4.7 to 8.0 kg (10.4 to 17.6 lb), and has a 2 meter wingspan. It is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface. Among the rarest and most powerful birds in the world, it has been declared the Philippine national bird. Unfortunately, however, it is critically endangered, mainly due to massive loss of habitat resulting from deforestation in most of its range. Killing a Philippine eagle is punishable under Philippine law by 1 ...
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1204 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
Garden in a bottle
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This miniature ecosystem has been thriving in an almost completely isolated state for more than forty years. It has been watered just once in that time. The original single spiderwort plant has grown and multiplied, putting out seedlings. As it has access to light, it continues to photosynthesize. The water builds up on the inside of the bottle and then rains back down on the plants in a miniature version of the water cycle. As leaves die, they fall off and rot at the bottom producing the carbon dioxide and nutrients required for more plants to grow. ...
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6815 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A gecko that looks like a leaf
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The leaf-tailed gecko ( Uroplatus phantasticus) is amazingly camouflaged. Found only in Madagascar, they're under serious threat from the illegal pet trade.
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2820 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
The bleeding tooth fungus
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The bleeding tooth fungus grows in Europe and North America. While young, the fungus looks like it is oozing blood. The red liquid is actually an anticoagulant. It lives on the roots of conifer trees and exchanges nutrients in a mutually beneficial relationship. And, if you're wondering, they are inedible.
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2418 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Nature's kiss
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Check out this beautiful flower. At first glance, it looks like a set of lips, but in actually, these are the flowers that are produced by Psychotria elata, a plant that grows in Central and South American tropical forests.
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4064 |
savio |
10 years ago |
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3107 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A parrot with a wicked hairstyle
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This is a Palm Cockatoo, also know as the Goliath Cockatoo. Palms are distinguished by their size, huge beak (second only to the Hyacinth Macaw among psittacines and largest proportionate to size), solid black feather coloration, large open crest, bare red cheeks, and red and black tongue. You have to see their tongues to believe the coloration. It's amazing. Palm Cockatoos are severely threatened. They are CITES Appendix I birds and are protected in Australia. As a testament to their rarity, typical prices in the U.S. for Aterrimus Palms are around $8000 and Goliaths around $14,000. Perhaps contributing to their rarity is the fact that, according to both Low and Forshaw, they lay only one egg per clutch. ...
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5917 |
savio |
10 years ago |
How to withstand a piranha attack
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The arapaima ( Arapaima gigas) is one of the biggest freshwater fish on the planet and has evolved a multi-layer defence against the piranha. Its scales have an ultra-tough outer shell, which promotes tooth fracture at the point of penetration. The scales are also a corrugated shape, which deflect pressure to overlapping layers of collagen underneath.
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5041 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Bloody trees
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The dragon’s blood tree ( Dracaena draco) has a thick red resin that makes the plant appear to be bleeding when it is cut. These subtropical plants form huge umbrella-like canopies and can grow for hundreds of years, but they are currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to the trademark resin being used in traditional medicine, violin staining, and even for embalming the dead.
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5511 |
duddy |
10 years ago |