Malayan urn vine (Dischidia major)

Malayan urn vine (Dischidia major) is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae, grows vines, twines around tree branches and trunks, roots penetrate rotting wood and humus, circular succulent leaves up to 3 cm wide.

The hollow pouch is elongated and up to 12 cm long. The sac is filled with many stomata on the inner surface and has an opening at the upper end near the stalk.

Organic debris and rainwater may be supplemented with secreted fluids to accumulate in the cavity of the bag and over time provide a source of nutrients that the plant uses by growing roots indoors.

The main flower is yellow and striped with green. The fruit consists of a pair of horn-shaped follicles. The seeds have fine hairs at one end.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Marsdenieae
Genus: Dischidia
Species: Dischidia major

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Bellyache bush (Jatropha gossypiifolia)

Bellyache bush ( Jatropha gossypiifolia ) is a species of plant in the Euphorbiaceae. It is a shrub, growing 2.5–4 meters tall. The leaves are three-lobed, up to 13 cm long and 13 cm wide, sticky, with spiny margins, purple when young and green as they mature. The petioles are up to 9 cm long, dark red to brown, and have yellow spikes. The flowers are small, fan-shaped, dark red with yellow centers. The fruit is ovoid; young fruits are green. Older fruits are brown, dry, and burst to release the seeds. Taxon: Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Euphorbiaceae Subfamily: Crotonoideae Tribe: Jatropheae Genus: Jatropha Species: Jatropha gossypiifolia Variety: Jatropha gossypiifolia var. elegans, Jatropha gossypiifolia var. gossypiifolia Publications: Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers. Balakrishnan, N.P. & Cha...

Javan hawk-eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi)

The Javan hawk-eagle or Javanese eagle or Elang Jawa ( Nisaetus bartelsi ) is one of the endemic eagle species on Mount Merapi , medium to large, and slim with a length of up to 70 cm. The reddish-brown head (cadre) has a crest of 2 to 4 feathers for up to 12 cm long and a yellowish brown neck. Black crested with white ends, black crown and mustache, while back and wings are dark brown. The esophagus is whitish with a long black line in the middle. The chest has black streaks spread over the brownish yellow which eventually turn into a dense line pattern and red transverse above the whitish color of the abdominal and leg feathers. Feathers cover the legs to close to the base of the finger. A brownish tail with four dark lines and a wide cross is clearly visible on the lower side, and the tip of the tail is thin white striped. Females are similar in color, but have a slightly larger size. The iris is yellow and brownish, half-black, sera yellowish, and yellowish legs. Young birds ha...

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