Spectacled caiman

The spectacled caiman ("Caiman crocodilus"), also known as the white caiman, common caiman, and speckled caiman, is a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. It is brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has a spectacle-like ridge between its eyes, which is where its common name come from. It grows to a length of and a weight of , with males being both longer and heavier than females. Its diet varies seasonally, commonly consisting of crabs, fish, mammals, and snails. Breeding occurs from May to August and 14–40 eggs are laid in July and August. This crocodilian has a large range and population; it is native to much of Latin America, and has been introduced to the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
Taxonomy.
The spectacled caiman was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, originally as "Lacerta crocodilus". It has since been redescribed several times, including as "Caiman sclerops" by Schneider in 1801. Although "Caiman crocodilus" is now the scientific name of the species, some scientists still prefer using "sclerops", as having "crocodilus" as the scientific name for a caiman may cause confusion.
The spectacled caiman has four recognized subspecies:
The yacare caiman ("Caiman yacare"), while previously thought to be a subspecies of "C. crocodilus", is now usually considered a separate species.
Characteristics.
The spectacled caiman is a small to medium-sized crocodilian. Females generally grow to no more than (the lower size typical upon the onset of sexual maturity), but can rarely grow to nearly . Adult males can regularly reach while large mature ones grow to , although relatively few get to the upper size. The maximum reported size for the species is . The body mass of most adults is between , with males typically being considerably heavier than females. Some males in the Llanos have been reported to grow to up to .
The upperside of the species is mostly brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has dark brown crossbands, with a lighter underside. It has a greenish iris. and wrinkled eyelids. It changes color seasonally – during colder weather, the black pigment within its skin cells expands, making it appear darker. The species has an enlarged 4th tooth, and the teeth in its lower jaw penetrate into a socket in its upper jaw. It has a long snout that tapers moderately, with an unexpanded tip. Several ridges begin in front of its eyes and travel to the tip of its snout. Its common name comes from a bony ridge between its eyes, which gives the appearance of a pair of spectacles.
Biology and behavior.
The spectacled caiman can move rapidly when threatened, but is usually immobile, resting on shores or partly in water. In the rainy season, males become aggressive and territorial.
Hunting and diet.
Usually hunting at night, the diet of the spectacled caiman varies seasonally. During the wet season, it primarily eats snails and freshwater crabs, while it mostly eats fish in the dry season. Smaller specimens tend to eat more insects, while larger ones more frequently consume mammals and fish. Overall, the most common animals in this species' diet are crabs, fish, mammals, and snails. Other animals that have been known to be a part of its diet include amphibians, arachnids, birds, myriapods, and reptiles. It has also been known to eat plant matter; in a study of this species in Puerto Rico, about 55% of adult specimens had plants in their diet, primarily grass and seeds. About 8% of adults and 6% of juveniles in the study had gastroliths in their stomach as well. Although the species has been suggested to control piranha populations, piranhas have not been found to be a normal diet component, unlike the yacare caiman. According to the Crocodilian Species List, it is probably a generalist species, being able to adapt to a variety of prey.
Communication.
The spectacled caiman uses nine different vocalizations and 13 visual displays to communicate with individuals of its species. Both adults and young produce calls for group cohesion. Males are known to communicate by moving their tail to a certain position, such as making it vertical or arched. Juveniles vocalize when in distress and adult females emit calls to warn young of threats.
Reproduction.
The spectacled caiman reaches sexual maturity from four to seven years old, at a length of for females and for males. Usually, the more dominant individuals mature more quickly. Specimens choose mates and engage in copulation from May to August, the wet season. The females build nests as a mound of dense vegetation, in areas that are close to water but not at risk of being flooded. The nests are over in diameter and can be high, but the exact size depends on the resources available. Eggs are laid in July and August; the species very rarely nests in the winter, as the temperature is too low for the eggs. Clutch size is 22 on average, but can range from 14 to 40. Larger females have been known to lay larger eggs compared to smaller females. Females stay close to their nests during the incubation period, as several species, such as lizards in the genus "Tupinambis", have been known to destroy nests and prey on the eggs. Flooding and human egg collecting can also be a threat to the nests.
Temperature is important to the developing eggs, so females build their nests in a way that insulates them from extreme temperature changes. As the vegetation in the nests decays, the nests produce heat which can keep the eggs about 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than if they were insulated by mud alone. Heat not only incubates the eggs, but also determines the sex of the developing caimans (temperature-dependent sex determination). When the temperature inside the nest is about or higher, the caimans become female, and otherwise become male. Young hatch after 90 days, with 20–25 percent of eggs hatching successfully. They are yellow with black spots, a coloration which fades away as they grow older, with a length of . Parents raise their young in crèches, with one female taking care of her own, as well as several others' offspring. They take care of their young for 12–18 months. Young are threatened by various predators, such as raptors and wader birds, causing most to die in their first year.
Distribution and habitat.
The spectacled caiman has the largest range of any caiman, and of any New World crocodilian. It is found in various countries throughout the Americas. It lives in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, and may also be extant in Belize and Bolivia. It has been introduced to Isla de la Juventud in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Florida in the United States; in the latter, it is sometimes mislabeled as the American alligator ("Alligator mississippiensis"). Invasive populations have become established in South Florida, with isolated records further north in the state. It is intolerant to cold climates, so its range is unlikely to expand to further north than Florida. It usually lives in forests, inland bodies of fresh water (such as wetlands and rivers), grasslands, shrublands, and savannas, but is very adaptable. It prefers habitats with calm water containing floating vegetation, usually flooding and drying seasonally. It is most common in low-lying areas, but has been found at elevations of up to |800|m|1800ft. In Brazil, the species lives in the rivers Amazon, Araguaia, Araguari, Itapicuru, Rio Negro, Paranaíba, Solimões, Tapajós, Tocantins, and Xingu. It is able to live in human-inhabited areas.
The adult population of this crocodilian is estimated to be in the millions and stable. About four million spectacled caimans are found in Venezuela and surveys have shown that it is expected to increase. This is an example of how well the species is able to adapt. However, populations are not doing well in other countries, such as Peru. The population in a single area can be determined the easiest by counting individuals in the dry season at night.
Threats and conservation.
The skin of the spectacled caiman is covered with osteoderms, which previously caused it to not be a major commercial target for its skin. However, harvesting of the skins of this caiman and others became very common in the 1950s, due to the declining stocks of crocodiles. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the species was frequently traded, causing its population to decrease in some areas. Its skin was often exported from South America and utilized primarily for leather; at least 6 million skins were exported from Colombia from 1996 to 2015. However, conservation efforts since have caused a significant reduction in the number of skins exported. In most countries, hunting this species is legal. Venezuela permits hunting every fall, provided the total number of kills in the season does not exceed 150,000. Because of its adaptability and wide distribution, habitat loss does not affect the species significantly globally. It is reasonably resilient to hunting as well, as hunters usually focus on large males and the species reproduces at a small size. However, it is severely threatened in Colombia, primarily the subspecies "C. c. fuscus" and sometimes "C. c. crocodilus".
The spectacled caiman benefits from overhunting of competitive species which occupy the same home range, as this allows it to access resources normally lost to these other species. Specimens that have been introduced to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States negatively impact the native animals there. They are believed to have been the main reason for the likely extirpation of the Cuban crocodile ("Crocodylus rhombifer") from the Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. The species has a similar diet to the black caiman ("Melanosuchus niger") – both species eat mostly insects as juveniles and fish as adults. This causes interspecific competition, making it more difficult for the black caiman's population to recover. The spectacled caiman lives in parts of the Amazon rainforest that the black caiman was extirpated from.
Conservation programs for this species are used in many countries. The most common form of conservation is the use of cropping, which consists of manually reducing the numbers of several wild and abundant species. Long-term effects of cropping have yet to be discovered; more surveys have been recommended. Farming or ranching programs have also been used as conservation efforts for the species, but seem to be more expensive and possibly less effective. A conservation program in Colombia, which existed from 2004 to 2006, bred spectacled caimans in captivity and released the young into the wild at one year old. A similar program released over 15,000 juveniles into wetlands from 2005 to 2009. Previously, Colombia restricted the exportation of spectacled caiman skins to ones shorter than , but as of 2011 there are now only size limits for some individual pieces of the skin, rather than the overall size of the skin. These limits are less effective, as large skins could accord with the size limits if cut and trimmed. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), further surveys of the species would help with future conservation plans.
The spectacled caiman is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List, due to its large range and population globally, following two assessments as threatened in 1986 and 1988. The subspecies "C. c. crocodilus" is on Appendix II of CITES, "C. c. apaporiensis" Appendix I, and "C. c. fuscus" Appendix II.


Bar-tailed treecreeper

The bar-tailed treecreeper ("Certhia himalayana"), or the Himalayan treecreeper is a species of bird in the family Certhiidae. It is found primarily in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the Himalayas, as well as in adjoining regions. It is found in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Burma, Nepal, Tibet, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Its natural habitats are boreal forests and temperate forests.
Description.
The bar-tailed treecreeper has a flecked or striped feather pattern, usually in black, brown, white and red hues. This coloration allows the treecreeper to blend in with its forest surroundings quite well.


Huanchaca mouse

The Huanchaca mouse or Huanchaca akodont ("Juscelinomys huanchacae") is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. It is known from savannas in an area at an elevation of in Serrania Huanchaca, Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in eastern Bolivia.
Description.
The Huanchaca mouse is a fairly uniform olive-brown colour, the pelage being about in length along the spine. The individual hairs on the back and flanks have grey bases, dark shafts and either black or yellowish tips. The ventral pelage is grey or yellowish buff. The sides of the muzzle and the chin are pale and the ears are well clad with short, pale-tipped hairs and fringed with pale-coloured hairs. The feet are clad with dark hairs with whitish tips. The tail is well-covered with stiff, dark-coloured hairs on the upper surface and paler hairs underneath.
Distribution and habitat.
This mouse is endemic to eastern Bolivia. It has a rather small range, with between the most widely separated of the four localities from which it is known, all of which are in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. The type locality is in wet, tussocky savanna with scattered dwarf trees on the Huanchaca Plateau at . Other localities include better-drained grassland with shrubs and trees on the slopes below the plateau at .
Ecology.
The Huanchaca mouse feeds on invertebrates, such as ants and insect larvae, and on some plant material. Females are often pregnant or lactating in the late dry season or at the start of the rainy season, but it may breed over a longer period as little sampling has taken place at other times of year. Litter sizes range from one to three. This mouse is quite easy to trap in a Sherman trap, but seems very prone to shed its tail, with many specimens having short tails or stumps. There seem to be large population swings; for example, in one location, the previously-present animal apparently disappeared for three years before reappearing. Such changes in population size may lead to local extinctions.
Status.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has described the conservation status of this species as "data deficient", because there is insufficient information available to make a proper assessment. The rough grassland where it occurs is threatened by cattle grazing, and some surrounding areas are being cultivated for the production of biofuels, putting the future of this mouse at risk.


Mycocepurus goeldii

Mycocepurus goeldii is a species of ant in the genus "Mycocepurus".
The species is parasitised by a closely related species, "Mycocepurus castrator". The two diverged recently, around 37,000 years ago, and evolved in the same geographic region, making the parasite–host pair an example of sympatric speciation.
"M. castrator" is directly descended from "M. goeldii", its host. Such relationships are not uncommon among social parasites, as recognized by Emery's rule. Less common are cases like "M. castrator"'s, where two species diverge without the benefit of geographic isolation, known as sympatric speciation. Rabeling "et al." (2014) analyzed divergence of mitochondrial versus nuclear DNA, finding that the nuclear alleles bore more similarities than the mitochondrial alleles. This led them to rule out the possibility of recent interbreeding, and conclude that sympatric speciation had occurred. The two species are believed to have diverged around 37,000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene.


Abrothrix illuteus

Abrothrix illuteus, also known as the gray akodont, gray grass mouse, or gray soft-haired mouse, is a species of small rodent in the genus "Abrothrix" of family Cricetidae. It is found only in northwestern Argentina.
Description.
The dorsal surface of "Abrothrix illuteus" is a uniform olive-gray in colour with tufts of white hairs on the chin and white bases to the hairs in the inguinal area. The ventral surface is ashy-gray. The hair is soft and long and the short tail is well-covered with hair. The feet are large, have claws of the same size on fore and hind feet, and have naked soles. The skull is robust with a long muzzle.
Distribution and habitat.
"Abrothrix illuteus" is found at moderate elevations in Catamarca Province and Tucumán Province, in northwestern Argentina, on the eastern flanks of the Andes at elevations between about . Its presence at higher altitudes in the Nevados del Aconquija mountains on the border between the two provinces requires confirmation. Its typical habitat is moist forests of "Podocarpus parlatorei" and "Alnus acuminata" on steep hillsides. At higher elevations it inhabits areas with rough grasses and bushes alongside streams.
Ecology.
In a research study into the diet of the barn owl ("Tyto alba") in Tucumán Province, this mouse was the second most frequently found item.
Status.
Although the population size and abundance of this mouse is unclear, it has a large range and is present in some protected areas, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". The chief threats it faces are likely to be from logging, wildfires and cattle grazing.


Acantholycosa sterneri

Acantholycosa sterneri is a species of wolf spider found in Mongolia and southern Siberia.
The male of this spider is easily distinguished from congeners by its densely hairy first and second pair of legs.


Northern white-cheeked gibbon

The northern white-cheeked gibbon ("Nomascus leucogenys") is a species of gibbon native to South East Asia. It is closely related to the southern white-cheeked gibbon ("Nomascus siki"), with which it was previously considered conspecific. The females of the two species are virtually indistinguishable in appearance.
The genome of "N. leucogenys" was sequenced and published in 2011.
A "substantial" population of 455 critically endangered northern white-cheeked crested gibbons has been recently found living in the Pù Mát National Park in Nghệ An Province, northern Vietnam, near the border with Laos. Conservation International report they are living at high altitudes, and far from human settlements. This population, representing two-thirds of the total known in Vietnam are, apparently, the "only confirmed viable population" of this variety in the world.
Description.
Northern white-cheeked gibbons are sexually dimorphic, with males and females having different colourations and the former also being slightly larger. Males have black hair over their entire bodies, except for distinct white patches on their cheeks, as well as a prominent tuft of hair on the crown of head, and a gular sac. Females are reddish-tan in colour, lack a cranial tuft, and have a crest of black or dark brown fur running from the crown to the nape of the neck. They are reported to have an average weight of , although this is based on only a small number of wild individuals, and those in captivity appear to be larger.
Like other members of their genus, both males and females have unusually long arms, even for gibbons, with the arms being 1.2 to 1.4 times as long as the legs. They are also more muscular, with heavier thighs and shoulders that suggest a greater bodily strength. Adults have been shown to demonstrate a hand preference while swinging through the trees, with individuals being equally likely to be right or left handed.
The species closely resembles the southern white-cheeked gibbon, but has slightly longer body hair and subtly different vocalisations. The males can also be distinguished by the shape of the white patches on their cheeks; in the northern species, these reach the upper borders of the ears, and do not touch the corners of the mouth, whereas in the southern species, they reach only half way to the ears and entirely surround the lips.
Both males and females have been reported to produce reddish-brown secretions from glands around their upper chest, hips, and ankles. However, samples of sweat taken from the axillae and chest possess lower levels of steroids in white-cheeked gibbons than in many other species of ape, suggesting that olfactory signals may be less important in these animals than in their relatives.
Distribution and habitat.
Today, the northern white-cheeked gibbon is found only in northern Vietnam and northern Laos. They were formerly also known from southern China, in Yunnan province, where they were reported to be on the edge of extirpation in 2008. No subspecies are currently recognised, although the southern white-cheeked gibbon was formerly considered to be a subspecies of "N. leucogenys". The gibbon inhabits primary evergreen subtropical forest between in elevation.
Behaviour and diet.
The northern white-cheeked gibbon is arboreal in habits, and primarily herbivorous, feeding mainly on fruits, with some leaves, buds, and flowers. However, up to 10% of their diet may be composed of insects and other small animals. They are generally sociable, living in groups of up to six individuals. Individual groups do not travel far, and are believed to be territorial. They are diurnal, and spend the night sleeping in high branches, often embracing one another tightly. Behavioural studies have demonstrated that they are capable of self-recognition in mirrors.
The calls of northern white-cheeked gibbons are among the most complex of those produced by gibbons, and are significantly different between males and females. The most distinctive calls are those made as part of male-female duets. These begin with the female making a series of 15 to 30 notes with an increasing pitch, followed by the male complex call with rapid changes of frequency modulation. The cycle, which lasts less than 20 seconds, then repeats with increasing intensity for five to 17 minutes. In the closely related southern species, such duets are most common at dawn, and are apparently only made on sunny days. In captive studies, males and females that sing duets together the most frequently are the most likely to mate, indicating this may play a key role in pair-bonding.
Similar calls are sometimes made solo by both sexes, and juveniles sometimes join in, to create a full 'chorus'. In addition to the duet and solo great calls, males can also make booming sounds with their gular sacs, and short single notes.
Reproduction.
Northern white-cheeked gibbons are monogamous, with long-lasting pair bonds. The ovarian cycle has been reported to last an average of 22 days, and gestation lasts 200 to 212 days.
At birth, both sexes are covered in yellow-buff fur, and weigh an average of . Around one year of age, the fur in both sexes changes to a black colour, with pale cheek patches, with the sexually dimorphic adult coats only growing when they reach four or five years. During this period, the juveniles sing the female form of call, and regularly engage in play behaviour.
Northern white-cheeked gibbons reach sexual maturity at seven or eight years, and have lived for at least 28 years in the wild.


List of Lepidoptera of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

The Lepidoptera of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha consist of the butterflies and moths recorded from those places. According to a recent estimate, there are a total of about 120 Lepidoptera species present.


Black-crested coquette

The black-crested coquette ("Lophornis helenae") is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae.
It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.


Megalobrama pellegrini

Megalobrama pellegrini is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It grows to TL.


Calathus vuillefroyi

Calathus vuillefroyi is a species of ground beetle from the Platyninae subfamily that is endemic to Spain.


Black-faced blenny

The black-faced blenny ("Tripterygion delaisi") is a small benthic fish from the family Tripterygiidae (triplefin-blennies). It occurs at depths of and lives on the substrate under large rocks, cliffs or other overhangs.
Physical appearance.
Like all triplefin-blennies, "T. delaisi" has three dorsal fins and can hence easily be distinguished from members of the families Blenniidae (1 dorsal fin) and Gobiidae (2 dorsal fins) that have a similar live-style and general appearance. It has a peaked head and short tentacles above the eyes.
Colouration.
The common name yellow black-faced blenny derives from the colouration of territorial males during the breeding season: their body becomes yellow and their head turns black; during a territorial fight the colouration of the head changes to a grey colour as a sign of aggression. Non-territorial males, females, and juveniles are cryptically coloured and are grey-brown with five dark and broad dorso-ventral bands between the head and the tail. Outside the breading season, males and females can only be told apart with certainty by dissection.
Body dimensions.
The black-faced blenny can grow up to long. On average, territorial males () are slightly larger than non-territorial males () and females (). Individuals caught in deeper water are generally larger than those captured in shallow waters.
Distinction from "T. tripteronotus".
Territorial males are distinctive and can hardly be confounded with any other species. Non-territorial males, females, and juveniles, are very similar in "T. delaisi" and "Tripterygion tripteronotus". They can be told apart by a dark spot on the basis of the tail of "T. delaisi", which is absent in "T. tripteronotus". Additionally, the largest spine of the first dorsal fin is the first one in "T. delaisi", whereas the 2nd spine is of equal length (in some individuals even larger) in "T. tripteronotus".
Fluorescence.
The iris of "T. delaisi" produces a fluorescent red signal. This signal is effected by guanine crystals in iridophores located in the stratum argentum, a reflective silvery, cellular layer external to the iris. These guanine crystals absorb a large part of the ambient light (400-580 nm, peak at 540 nm) and re-emit it at longer wavelengths with a peak emission of 600 nm (perceived as red by humans). On the posterior side of the stratum argentum lays a layer of melanophores with finger-like extensions that reach above the iridophore layer of the stratum argentum. The fish controls the brightness of its fluorescence through aggregation (brighter) and disaggregation (duller) of pigmented melanosomes in these finger-like expansions. The transport of the melonosomes is K⁺-dependent and thus likely to be neurally controlled. When stressed or inactive the fluorescence decreases in intensity, but gets brighter when foraging.
Additional to the fast change in brightness, a long-time adaptation to the light environment has been described for the fluorescence of "T. delaisi": The fluorescence of animals caught at is significantly more efficient than in animals caught at . Experiments have shown that this long-time adaptation is controlled by the ambient brightness and not by the ambient spectrum.
"T. delaisi" has three cone types in its retina: two single cones (maximal photon absorption at 481 nm and 500 nm respectively) and a double cone (maximal photon absorption at 518 and 531 nm). The absorption rate of the double cone overlaps with the fluorescence emission; "T. delaisi" is hence physiologically capable of detecting its own fluorescence. Behavioural experiments have shown that "T. delaisi" can distinguish between grey cues and cues matching the colour of its fluorescence  and is therefore capable of perceiving its own fluorescence.
Ecology and behaviour.
Diet and feeding behaviour.
"T. delaisi" is a carnivore that mainly feeds on small crustaceans, such as Harpacticoids, Tanaidaceans, Caprellidae, and Amphipods. It cannot bite pieces out of its prey and thus cannot eat prey larger than its mouth. Defecation takes 1 to 2 s.
Prior to the capture, "T. delaisi" looks at the prey item for several seconds; meanwhile the first dorsal fin rhythmically twitches about twice per second. The capture is achieved by a sudden inhaling movement, which sucks the prey into the mouth. If the prey is attached to the substrate, it is torn loose by a sideward movement of the head.
Locomotion and resting.
Over large distances the locomotion of "T. delaisi" can be described as anguilliform: The propulsion is caused by wavy movements of tail and body. During this motion the pectoral fins are adducted and the 3rd dorsal fin and the caudal fin are spread.
Raising all dorsal fins precedes swimming over short distances. Repeated synchronous adduction of the pectoral fins thrusts the body forward and is aided by backwards- and downwards-movements of the pectoral fins. While swimming the dorsal fins are folded.
When resting, "T. delaisi" lifts up the anterior part of the body and leans on the lower edge of the pectoral and on the ventral fins. "T. delaisi" sleeps on unprotected substrate relaying entirely on its camouflage.
To scratch one of its sides, "T. delaisi" turns on that side and swims (using tailbeats for locomotion) to rub its body against the substrate. When yawning, it opens the mouth wide, spreads its operculum and lowers the floor of the buccal cavity while spreading the caudal and all dorsal fins.
Reproduction.
Overall the territorial period of the males lasts from beginning of February until beginning of September, but the average duration of the territorial period per male was 47.1 days (in Corsica ). Male "T. delaisi" show territorial behaviour for 2 consecutive years. Spawning takes place from mid of March until June.
The male territories are located on the lower side of overhanging cliffs and rocks and have a diameter of around . If two territories are visually hidden from each other their centres can be as close as . Within the territory a smaller area of is used for nesting. Male "T. delaisi" are able to find their territories from distances up to 200 m away.
Fights.
During the reproductive season territorial males will defend their territory from intruders; this behaviour is not displayed outside the breeding season. The behaviour of a challenged territorial male varies with the size of the intruder : If the intruding male is smaller than the territory holder, the holder rams it to drive it away. If the intruder is almost as large as the territory holder, the territory holder swims in front of the intruder (both fish form the letter T) and the territory holder beats the intruder with its tail until the intruder retreats. If the intruder is as large or larger than the territory holder a fight might take place. The territory holder warns the intruder by raising its first dorsal fin. This gesture is succeeded by slowly moving the anterior part of the body up and down (further called rearing up) if the intruder does not retreat. The intruding male may respond with a rearing-up-motion itself. This initialises a fight: The territory holder, tail-beating and all dorsal fins spread, swims towards the intruder, where they move into either a parallel or an antiparallel position. Now, both fish use their tails to beat each other; in later stages of the fight they may also ram and bite each other. The fight is frequently interjected by short breaks, during which the animals sit on the ground and rear-up. In most described fights, the territory holder successfully defends its territory and the intruder retreats at some point.
Fights between females are rare, interspecific fights with closely related species (such as "Tripterygion tripteronotus" or "Tripterygion melanurus") have not been described. If a spawning "T. delaisi" pair is disturbed by another territorial male, both spawning fish ram the intruder until it flees. When a female enters the territory of a male "T. delaisi", that is not ready to spawn, the male drives the female away by ramming.
Spawning.
Spawning is always initialised by females. They either move into the territory of a male and begin to spawn by themselves or react to a male performing courtship behaviour: When a male is ready to spawn but no female is close, it swims loops from the ground upwards; these loops are directed horizontally in absence of a female and towards an attracted female when the attraction behaviour is successful.
If undisturbed, a female spawns all mature eggs in one spawning session (thus, with the same male), and a male may fertilize up to 490 eggs a day. One complete spawning session lasts for 45-105 min and each egg is laid individually. Spawning consists of two phases per egg: In the first phase, the female wriggles its whole body while slowly swimming over the substrate, scanning it for suitable nesting sites with its genital papilla. Once it found a suitable place to spawn the wriggling movements increase in frequency and decrease in amplitude and the first dorsal fin is spread. The male, which has either been sitting on the substrate near the female or swimming circles around her during the first phase, then moves closer and both tremble when releasing their gametes. Once the egg is laid and fertilized, the male jumps away from the female, which repeats phase 1. To further stimulate the female, the male frequently swims in the shape of an 8 in front of the female. Spawning finishes when the female leaves the territory of the male or stops wriggling for more than 20 seconds, after which it is driven off by the male.
Parental care.
The female leaves after spawning and only the male takes care of the eggs. Fanning fresh water at the eggs for increased oxygen supply, a widely distributed behaviour in most fish families, is not displayed by "T. delaisi". Nevertheless, the male cleans the eggs by frequent plucking and defends them against predators. The main threat to "T. delaisi" eggs are blenniids, juvenile sparids, "Crenilabrus" species, crabs and sea urchins. Although some of these predators are much larger than the defending male, a nest is only rarely preyed upon when defended by a male; when removed all eggs are normally eaten within half an hour. Fish predators are bitten in their flanks and fins, crabs in their eye-stalks and successfully driven away. Although sea urchins are also attacked by "T. delaisi" males, they are the only threat a guarding male cannot defend his eggs against.
Dead eggs are removed by the male and usually eaten. If a dead egg is still attached to substrate it is carried away from the rest of the eggs and spat out. When accidentally plucking a hatching egg, the male swims upwards and spits the larva out, giving it a better chance of being carried away by the water currents.
Larval development.
Larvae of "T. delaisi" hatch after approximately 19–20 days and live as plankton for several weeks before returning to a benthic lifestyle as post-larvae; the first post-larvae can already be found in July. The entire development takes place in nearshore-environments.
Distribution and habitat.
"T. delaisi" inhabits 2 disjunct areas: 1. the western Mediterranean Sea and adjacent parts of the Atlantic Oceans from north to the British Isles and south of Casablanca and Morocco, 2. western tropical Africa north to Senegal and the Macaronesian islands.
It lives at depths between  but is most common at depths between . It prefers shaded, dark areas, such as shady rock faces, overhangs and crevices . In the Atlantic Ocean "T. delaisi" can be observed without cover even in shallow waters, but in the Mediterranean Sea it can only be seen without cover below depths of . This phenomenon can be explained through a lack of competition: In the Mediterranean Sea "T. tripteronotus" occurs in depth from  whereas in the Atlantic Ocean, where "T. tripteronotus" is absent, this niche is free to occupy.
The territorial males of "T. tripteronotus" and "T. melanurus" both have a red body with a black head, a signal that is strong in shallow waters where red light is still abundant, but becomes less and less striking with increasing depth due to the high absorption of long wavelengths in water. This might explain why "T. delaisi" only occurs below in depth, whereas "T. tripteronotus" lives between : Males with a primarily red colouration can only successfully court for females where red light is present in the environment but in these shallow waters red is a stronger signal than yellow. Yellow males however, still exhibit a relatively striking colouration even at larger depths where they can successfully court for females.
Phylogeny and evolution.
Taxonomy.
"T. delaisi" belongs in the genus Tripterygion in the family Tripterygiidae, which consists of four species: "T. delaisi" (Cadenat & Blache, 1970), "T. melanurus" (Guichenot, 1850), "T. tartessicum" (Carreras-Carbonell, Pascual & Macpherson, 2007) and "T. tripteronotum" (Risso, 1810). Besides "T. delaisi", all species are endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. The species "T. delaisi" is subdivided in two subspecies: "T. delaisi delaisi" in the Mediterranean Sea and "T. delaisi xanthosoma" in the Atlantic Ocean. The subspecies can be distinguished by their courtship behaviour: "T. delaisi delaisi" court in free water and "T. delaisi xanthosoma" stay on the ground for courtship behaviour.
Speciation.
The speciation process is still under discussion and several hypotheses have been proposed.
Etymology.
The species was described in 1970 by Jean Cadenat and Jacques Blache, from a type series collected at Gorée in Senegal by Michel Delais of Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire in Dakar, who is honoured in its specific name.


Epigomphus corniculatus

Epigomphus corniculatus is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is endemic to Costa Rica. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Black-crested finch

The black-crested finch ("Lophospingus pusillus") is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It is a fairly common bird with a very wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it to be a "least-concern species".
Description.
The adult black-crested finch is about in length. It has a yellowish-pink beak and a distinctive spiky black crest. The male has a black head and black throat, and a broad white superciliary stripe. The cheek area is also white. The upper parts of the body, the wings and tail are grey, apart from the white tips to the wing-coverts and the large white areas at the corners of the tail which are particularly obvious in flight. The underparts are largely pale grey. The female is a little more drab, the crest is retained but the head pattern is less distinct, and the back and wings are tinged with brown.
Distribution and habitat.
The black-crested finch is found in a large swathe of land in South America. Its range extends from southern Bolivia, through western Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is usually found in open woodland and chaco scrubland, at altitudes of up to . It has been introduced into Uruguay.
Ecology.
The black-crested finch is generally seen in pairs or in small groups. It forages on the ground and in the undergrowth for seeds and small invertebrates. The nest is built by the male and is cup shaped. It is composed of lichens and vegetable fibres, bound together with spiders' webs and lined with animal hairs and fine rootlets.


Tyrrhenian wall lizard

The Tyrrhenian wall lizard ("Podarcis tiliguerta") is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the islands Sardinia and Corsica.
Habitat.
The natural habitats of "P. tiliguerta" are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, rocky areas, sandy shores, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens.
Conservation status.
"P. tiliguerta" is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.
Subspecies.
Ten subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.
"Nota bene": A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than "Podarcis".
Etymology.
The subspecific name, "granchii", is in honor of Italian herpetologist Edoardo Granchi of the "Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze".


Arizona elegans


Sand lizard

The sand lizard ("Lacerta agilis") is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe including Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, southern Sweden, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Romania, Northern Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Western Russia and eastwards to Mongolia and northwest China. It does not occur in the Iberian peninsula or European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy.
Description.
The sand lizard is a sexually dimorphic legged lizard. In northwest Europe, both sexes are characterised by lateral and dorsal strips of ocellated (eye-shaped) markings, dark patches with pale centres. Colouration varies across their European and Russian range. Males have finer markings than females, and their flanks turn bright green during the spring mating season, fading again in the late summer. Male adults may reach a total body length of 19.3 cm, where female adults may reach 18.5 cm.
It has several subspecies, the westernmost of which is "L. a. agilis". In this and the other main western subspecies ("L. a. argus"), the dorsal stripe is thin and interrupted, or not present at all. This applies particularly to the latter subspecies, which also includes a plain red or brown-backed phase without any dorsal markings. In these two subspecies, only the flanks of the males turn green in the mating season, but in the eastern subspecies (predominantly "L. a. exigua"), males can be wholly green, even outside the breeding season.
Most of these lizards live in Eastern Europe. They are mostly common in Poland, Czech Republic, and countries around that area.
They bask on rocks in the day and at night they go into their holes under ground. To protect themselves, they pop off their tails and bite the predators.
Habitat.
In the UK, the sand lizard is largely restricted to lowland heathlands and sand dunes in Southern England, and to the coastal sand dunes of Northwest England and Wales. It also occupies a range of man-made habitats within these areas, including railway lines, roadsides, brownfield sites and field boundaries.
Conservation status.
It is regarded as threatened and is strictly protected under UK law – as it is throughout most of Europe (it is a European Protected Species). This is in contrast to "L. a. exigua", whose Russian name translates as the "common lizard".
The UK Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust coordinates conservation action for the sand lizard, including a successful captive-breeding and reintroduction programme.
Sand Lizard is facing multiple threats including habitat destruction, habitat degradation, habitat fragmentation, lack of habitat management, inappropriate habitat management right now. Although UK has making the protection of sand lizard as a law, there are still actions needed to be taken, including habitat protection, habitat management, species protection, species management, distribution surveys, population and conservation status monitoring, scientific research, and public awareness.
Reproduction.
Generally, males reaches sexual maturity at a smaller size compared with females. Vitellogenesis happens when females are 45 days for the whole population. Both sexes tend to lose body fat during mating period, since their main energy resources come from body fat and from the liver and proximal at the tail. After a few weeks from the hibernation, male adults become extremely aggressive towards each other, trying to mate as many as females as they can.
The female sand lizard lays eggs in loose sand in a sunny location, leaving them to be incubated by the warmth of the ground.
Predators and Competitors.
Sand Lizards are preyed by a large range of predators such as mustelids, foxes, badgers, birds, and snakes. Besides of wild predators, domestic species, such as pheasants, chickens, and cats.
Inbreeding avoidance.
When a female sand lizard mates with two or more males, sperm competition within the female's reproductive tract may occur. Active selection of sperm by females appears to occur in a manner that enhances female fitness. On the basis of this selective process, the sperm of males that are more distantly related to the female are preferentially used for fertilization, rather than the sperm of close relatives. This preference may enhance the fitness of progeny by reducing inbreeding depression.


Black-tailed tityra

The black-tailed tityra ("Tityra cayana") is a medium-sized passerine bird of tropical South America. The tityras have been placed in the cotinga or the tyrant flycatcher families (Cotingidae and Tyrannidae) by various authors. But the weight of evidence strongly suggest they and their closest relatives are better separated as Tityridae; the AOU for example advocates this separation.
Taxonomy.
In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-tailed tityra in his "Ornithologie" based on a specimen collected in Cayenne in French Guiana. He used the French name "La pie-griesche gris de Cayenne" and the Latin name "Lanius Cayanensis cinereus". Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his "Systema Naturae" for the twelfth edition in 1766, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the black-tailed tityra. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name "Lanius cayanus" and cited Brisson's work. The species is now placed in the genus "Tityra", which was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816.
Two subspecies are recognized; they are sometimes treated as distinct species but widely intergrade where their ranges meet:
Description.
This is a robust, short-tailed bird with a long, hook-tipped bill; like other tityras, it has a peculiar vestigial ninth primary feather. The adult black-tailed tityra is long and weighs . The male is dull white above and white below. The rectrices, the primary and secondary remiges and a cap extending to below the eyes are black; the tertiary remiges are silvery grey. Females have dark brown rather than black on wings and tail and some brown pattern on head, back and underside. In both sexes, there is a patch of rosy-red bare skin around the eye, extending to the bill which is red-based with a black tip. The iris and feet are dark. The juvenile plumage is unknown.
Voice.
This species has a buzzing short call rendered as "ed", "rek", "urd" or "wenk". A double "beeza-buzza" and triple "weenk, weenk, weenk" are also given. It more frequently calls in flight than when perched.
Distribution and habitat.
This bird is found as a year-round resident in forest edges, second growth and plantation shade trees in the pantanal and cerrado as well as in terra firme and várzea forest, usually below but occasionally as far up as ASL.
Behaviour.
Black-tailed tityras are most commonly seen in pairs, or, less frequently, single or in small groups; they are intolerant of other birds and will try to chase them away. They are often seen perched conspicuously as they feed on medium-sized fruits. Food is gleaned from vegetation or picked off in mid-hover. While some large insects are caught, these are mainly fed to young birds; adults are predominantly frugivores and locally important dispersers of such species as the Meliaceae "Cabralea canjerana". This species rarely attends mixed-species feeding flocks even when provisioning young, preferring to forage for insects on its own high up in the trees.
Its main breeding season appears to be from November to March across its range, but occasional nesting birds can be encountered almost year-round at least in some regions. For example, in the lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador, breeding activity has been reported in June and July also, suggesting either lack of a distinct breeding season and/or that two broods may be raised per year. The nest is several meters above ground in a tree hole, such as an old woodpecker nest or the crown of a dead palm tree. The brown-marked buff eggs are laid in a bed of dry leaves and some small twigs. Three eggs are considered likely, but exact clutch size is uncertain. Only the female incubates for almost three weeks until the young hatch, but both parents feed the chicks. Fledging is believed to take at least 3 weeks, perhaps as much as one month.
This species is one of the many hosts of the brood parasitic shiny cowbird ("Molothrus bonariensis"). It is not uncommon across its large range and occurs in many national parks and other protected areas. Therefore, it is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN.


Carabus dufouri

Carabus dufouri is a species of black-coloured beetle from family Carabidae that are endemic to Spain. It is "one of the most representative species of the "Carabus" [genus] to the south of the Iberian Peninsula".
Subspecies.
The species contain only 2 subspecies which could be found on Gibraltar and in Spain:


Brachychilus wagenknechti

Brachychilus wagenknechti is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Cerda in 1954. It is known from Chile.


Heliophanus chikangawanus

Heliophanus chikangawanus is a jumping spider species in the genus "Heliophanus". It was first described by Wanda Wesołowska in 1986 and is found in Angola and Mali.


Charadrahyla

Charadrahyla is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to tropical southern Mexico. The generic name was derived from Greek "charadra" ("ravine") and "Hyla", in reference to the habits of these frogs. Accordingly, common name ravine treefrogs has been coined for the genus.
Taxonomy and systematics.
This genus was erected in 2005 following a major revision of the Hylidae. It corresponds to the former "Hyla taeniopus" group as defined by in 1970. The genus was originally diagnosed using molecular markers; no morphological synapomorphies supporting the new genus could be identified. The sister taxon of "Charadrahyla" is "Megastomatohyla".
Five of the species in this genus were previously placed in the genus "Hyla". Two species were later described as new in this genus, and another two were transferred from "Exerodonta" in 2018 based on molecular data.
Description.
"Charadrahyla" are relatively large, stream-breeding frogs from cloud forests and humid pine-oak forests of central and southern Mexico. In the majority of species males measure and females in snout–vent length, but the former "Exerodonta" species, "Charadrahyla juanitae" and "Charadrahyla pinorum", are much smaller, with males measuring and females . Most species have a brownish dorsum with large blotches (exception is "Charadrahyla altipotens").
Species.
As of 2019, there are ten recognized species:


Cnemaspis kivulegedarai

Cnemaspis kivulegedarai, or Kivulegedaras’ day gecko, is a species of diurnal gecko endemic to island of Sri Lanka.
Etymology.
The specific name "kivulegedarai" is named in honor of Sri Lankan warrior Kivulegedara Mohottala, who is a national hero fought in the Great Rebellion of 1817–1818 occurred in Uva-Wellassa against British rule. It was the third Kandyan War led by Keppetipola Disawe.
Taxonomy.
The species is closely related to "C. latha".
Ecology.
The species was discovered from area lies between 500–750 meters above sea level of Keerthibandarapura area. Individuals are restricted to rock outcrops and granite caves in forested areas. It is sympatric with "Gehyra mutilata", "Hemidactylus depressus", "H. frenatus" and "H. parvimaculatus". Researchers identified the species is Critically Endangered due to low numbers and density only recorded from four locations.
Description.
An adult male is 28.5 mm long. Dorsum homogeneous with smooth granular scales. Chin with smooth granules whereas gular, pectoral and abdominal scales are smooth. There are 19 belly scales across mid body. Tubercles on posterior flank are weakly developed. Para vertebral granules linearly arranged. Body short and slender. Head large and depressed. Snout relatively long. Pupil round. Head, body and limbs are orange-brown dorsally. There are five faded, irregular brown on trunk with seven to eight cream vertebral blotches. There is an oblique black line between eye and nostrils. Tail grey-brown with 9–11 irregular ‘W’-shaped faded brown cross-bands.
Media controversy.
Several Sri Lankan media as well many parliamentarians criticized the usage of popular people's name for specific name. The argument was largely due to unknowing about binomial nomenclature in zoological taxonomy among people. They indicated that the usage of heroes' names gives by equating the national heroes to geckos. However, researchers neglect that sentence and explained that the name is given only to honor the personality.


Black-throated prinia

The black-throated prinia ("Prinia atrogularis") is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae.
It is found from eastern Nepal, through Bangladesh to Eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh). It was formerly considered conspecific with the hill prinia.


Eutropis resetarii

Eutropis resetarii is a species of skink found in Sri Lanka.


Spotted bush warbler

The spotted bush warbler ("Locustella thoracica") is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae.
It is found in the northern Himalayas, Yunnan and central China, in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. Its natural habitat is arboreal forests.


Amphisbaena kraoh

Amphisbaena kraoh is a species of worm lizards found in Brazil.


Antennohyllisia

Antennohyllisia rondoni is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae, and the only species in the genus Antennohyllisia. It was described by Breuning in 1963. The species is long and is endemic to Paksane District, Laos.


Alcidion sannio

Alcidion sannio is a species of longhorn beetle of the subfamily Lamiinae. It was described by Ernst Friedrich Germar in 1824 and is known from Brazil.


Dasyophthalma geraensis

Dasyophthalma geraensis is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Brazil (Minas Gerais: the Mantiqueira mountain range). The habitat consists of high elevation
forests (about 1,200 meters).
The larvae feed on "Bactris tormentosa".


Little auk

The little auk or dovekie ("Alle alle") is a small auk, the only member of the genus "Alle". "Alle" is the Sami name of the long-tailed duck; it is onomatopoeic and imitates the call of the drake duck. Linnaeus was not particularly familiar with the winter plumages of either the auk or the duck, and appears to have confused the two species. Other common names include rotch, rotche, and sea dove, although this last sometimes refers to a different auk, the Black Guillemot, instead.
It breeds on islands in the high Arctic. There are two subspecies: "A. a. alle" breeds in Greenland, Novaya Zemlya and Svalbard, and "A. a. polaris" on Franz Josef Land. A small number of individuals breed on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait with additional breeding individuals thought to occur on King Island, St. Lawrence Island, St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
Morphology and behaviour.
This is the only Atlantic auk of its size, half the size of the Atlantic puffin at 19–21 cm in length, with a 34–38 cm wingspan. The dovekie's weight ranges from 4.7 to 7.2 oz (134-204 g). Adult birds are black on the head, neck, back and wings, with white underparts. The bill is very short and stubby. They have a small rounded black tail. The lower face and fore neck become white in winter.
The flight is direct, with fast whirring wing beats due to the short wings. These birds forage for food like other auks by swimming underwater. They mainly eat crustaceans, especially copepods, of which a 150 g bird require ~60,000 individuals per day (equivalent to 30 g of dry food weight), but they can also eat small invertebrates and fish. Recent evidence suggests that the little auk feeds not by filter-feeding, but by visually guided suction-feeding. They feed closer to the shoreline during nesting season, but when not nesting they scavenge for food in the open-ocean.
Little auks produce a variety of twitters and cackling calls at the breeding colonies, but are silent at sea.
Ecology.
Little auks breed in large colonies on marine cliffsides. They nest in crevices or beneath large rocks, usually laying just a single egg. They move south in winter into northern areas of the north Atlantic. Late autumn storms may carry them south of their normal wintering areas, or into the North Sea. The species is also commonly found in the Norwegian Sea.
The glaucous gull and the Arctic fox are the main predators on little auks. In some cases, the polar bear has also been reported to feed on little auk eggs.
Conservation.
Although populations appear to be decreasing, this is not currently thought to be rapid enough to be of concern for the species in the medium term, especially as global little auk numbers are generally rather fluid. Little auks have been shown to be able to buffer fluctuations in prey availability, caused by climate change, via plasticity in their foraging behavior, which is likely to make accurate conservation assessments more difficult.
As human food.
Kiviaq is an Inuit dish from Greenland. It is made by stuffing a seal skin with 300 to 500 little auks. Once full and airtight, the skin is sealed with seal fat and the little auks are left to ferment for 3 to 18 months under a pile of rocks. Caught in spring, little auks are a human food resource in winter.
Knud Rasmussen's death is attributed to food poisoning by kiviaq.


Nebria lyubechanskii

Nebria lyubechanskii is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that can be found in southwest Tuva and Tsagan-Shibetu regions of Russia.


Cochylimorpha kohibabae

Cochylimorpha kohibabae is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Afghanistan.


Mussurana bicolor

Mussurana bicolor is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southern South America.
Geographic range.
"M. bicolor" is found in Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru.
Habitat.
The preferred natural habitats of "M. bicolor" are grassland, savanna, and forest.
Description.
"M. bicolor" may attain a maximum total length (including tail) of . Adults are gray or brown dorsally, and ivory ventrally. Juveniles are brick red dorsally, with a black vertebral stripe.
Reproduction.
"M. bicolor" is oviparous.


Orangespotted filefish

The orangespotted filefish ("Cantherhines pullus") is a species of filefish described by Ranzani in 1842. and it is native to shallow waters in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Description.
The orangespotted filefish grows to a length of about . The head has a number of wavy yellowish lines which run down onto the snout; near the eyes these alternate with bluish lines. The body has a number of broad brown bands separated by narrow whitish-yellow bands which converge at the caudal peduncle and continue onto the tailfin. On the caudal peduncle there is a moderate-sized white spot, often with a smaller white spot below it. The body is speckled with small orange spots, some of which have brown centres, and similar sized white spots. The first spine of the dorsal fin is located above the eye. It is very large and is separate from the rest of the fin. Immediately behind its base is a groove into which it can be folded when not needed.
Distribution and habitat.
The orangespotted filefish occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the northern half of the Gulf of Mexico and the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In the western Atlantic, its range extends from Massachusetts to southeastern Brazil, while in the eastern Atlantic, it is known from São Tomé and the Gulf of Guinea. It is usually found on reefs at depths between about , but usually no deeper than .
Ecology.
The orangespotted filefish tends to swim near the seabed over rocky and coral reefs, hiding among the taller corals and gorgonians. It feeds mainly on sponges and algae, but also consumes tunicates, bryozoans and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Juveniles are found in the water column away from reefs and are preyed on by tuna, billfishes, and other large predatory fishes. This fish is held in low esteem by humans and seldom eaten by them.


Peruvian diving petrel

The Peruvian diving petrel ("Pelecanoides garnotii") (local name in Peru: potoyunco) is a small seabird that feeds in offshore waters in the Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile. Like the rest of the diving petrels it is a nondescript bird, with a dark back and pale belly, and blue feet, and can be separated from the rest of its family only by differences in its beak and nostrils. Unlike the common diving petrel and the South Georgia diving petrel it feeds in cold, offshore, often pelagic water, obtaining small fish larvae and planktonic crustaceans by pursuit diving. The main part of his food is made up by plankton organisms (85.3-91.1%). The remaining percentage of the Peruvian diving petrel's food is fish, mainly anchovies. Peruvian diving petrels can dive up to deep but the average depth was recorded at around . It was long thought that the Peruvian diving petrel was rather bad in flying. However, great numbers of birds have been observed fishing regularly in the area between Asia Island and Pachacamac Island at a distance of 150-200 kilometres north of their Peruvian breeding grounds.
The Peruvian diving petrel has become locally extinct on many of its former colonies and now nests only on a few offshore islands. A total population of 12,216 breeding pairs was estimated for San Gallán and La Vieja Islands in Peru, with some small additional breeding colonies reported for Corcovado Island in Peru, as well as Pan de Azucar Island, Choros islands, Grande and Pajaros islands in Chile. They breed year round, laying a single egg in a burrow dug into guano.
Peruvian diving petrels are considered Near Threatened. They formerly numbered in the millions, but the pressures of guano extraction (which destroyed nests, eggs and chicks), and being directly taken for food by guano workers and introduced species (particularly foxes and feral cats), have caused the number to crash. Although all of the Peruvian breeding sites are located in protected areas (Paracas National Reserve and Guano Islands National Reserve) some guano extraction still continues and the reserves are ineffectively policed.
The binomial of this species commemorates the French naturalist Prosper Garnot.


Barren-ground caribou

The barren-ground caribou ("Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus") is a subspecies of the reindeer (or the caribou in North America) that is found mainly in the Canadian territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, as well as in Kitaa, Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar-looking Porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou is also found in Alaska. The barren-ground caribou is a medium-sized caribou, smaller and lighter-coloured than the boreal woodland caribou, with the females weighing around and the males around . However, on some of the smaller islands, the average weight may be less. The large migratory herds of barren-ground caribou take their names from the traditional calving grounds, such as the Ahiak herd, the Baffin Island herds, the Bathurst herd, the Beverly herd (Beverly Lake in western Nunavut), the Bluenose East herd (southwest of Kugluktuk), the Bluenose West herd, the Porcupine herd and the Qamanirjuaq herd.
Range and population.
In Canada about fifty percent of all caribou are barren-ground caribou.
Like the Peary caribou, both the males and females have antlers. In general, during the summer, the coat of the caribou is brown, and much lighter in the winter. The neck and rump tend towards a creamy-white colour. However, the general colouration may differ depending on the region.
The barren-ground caribou usually breeds in the fall and calves in June but may not drop their single calf until July. Usually the female gives birth away from the herd and if possible on a patch of snow. After birth, the female licks the calf clean and eats the tissues and the placenta. This may serve two purposes, to replace nutrients lost from birthing and to help remove the scent that would attract predators.
The main food source is lichen, but they also feed on Cyperaceae (sedges) and grasses along with twigs and mushrooms. Caribou have also been observed eating antlers and seaweed and licking salt deposits. There is some evidence to suggest that, on occasion, they also feed on small rodents such as lemmings, fish such as Arctic char and bird eggs.
On the mainland of Canada, the animals may travel in herds of several thousand, but they move in smaller groups (no more than 50) on the islands. They are migratory animals and may travel in a season. Some groups, such as those living on Victoria Island during the summer, migrate to the mainland in the fall after the sea ice has formed. At this time, the smaller groups may form into a larger herd and several hundred animals may be seen. Mainland barren-ground caribou herds move to coastal areas for part of each year, with the exception of the Beverly herd.
The Beverly herd (located primarily in Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, with portions in Nunavut, Manitoba and Alberta) and the Qamanirjuaq herd (located primarily in Manitoba and Nunavut, with portions in the southeastern NWT and northeastern Saskatchewan) fall under the auspices of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board. The range of the Beverly herd spans the tundra from northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and well into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In 1994 survey there were 276,000 caribou, an all-time record. According to a 2011 survey based on data collected using cutting-edge digital tools and fly-over visual surveillance, there were approximately 124,000 caribou in the Beverly herd and 83,300 in the Ahiak herd. The calving grounds of the Beverly herd are located around Queen Maud Gulf, but the herd shifted its traditional birthing area. Ross Thompson, executive director of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, explains the low calving rate mainly on habitat deterioration and disturbance with other factors contributing to the low growth rate – parasites, predation and poor weather.
John Nagy, University of Alberta's wildlife biologist and researcher, argued that the Beverly herd was robust, not declining. He claimed the herd had moved their calving grounds "near the western Queen Maud Gulf coast to the north of the herd's "traditional" calving ground in the Gary Lakes area north of Baker Lake." He based his findings on data collected from 510 barren-ground caribou tracked with satellite collars in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut from 1993 to 2009.
The barren-ground caribou, one of several subspecies called "tuktu" in Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut, and written as "ᓇᐹᕐᑐᕐᑲᓐᖏᑦᑐᒥ ᑐᒃᑐ" in Inuktitut syllabics, is a major food source for the Inuit, especially the Caribou Inuit bands living in the Kivalliq Region ("Barren Lands") of present-day Nunavut.
The major predator of barren-ground caribou is the Arctic wolf ("Canis lupus arctos"). Wolves may follow the herd for many miles. The caribou has poor eyesight and hearing, but is capable of outrunning the wolf.
Dolphin-Union caribou herd.
The Dolphin-Union caribou herd, locally known as the island caribou, are a migratory population of barren-ground caribou ("Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus") that occupy Victoria Island in Canada's High Arctic and the nearby mainland. They are endemic to Canada. They migrate across the Dolphin and Union Strait from their summer grazing on Victoria Island to their winter grazing area on the Nunavut-NWT mainland in Canada. It is unusual for North American caribou to cross sea ice seasonally and the only other caribou subspecies to do so is the Peary caribou ("R. t. pearyi"), who are smaller in size and population.
Environmental threats.
Climate change.
In 2004 the Canadian Government's Species at Risk (SARA) registry placed barren-ground caribou under the status of "special concern". Their status was a result of climate change having a negative impact on the population. Changing climate conditions in the Arctic are predicted to threaten barren-ground caribou in the immediate future. The risks associated with climate change can impact feeding habits, access to food and quality of food, birthing rates and calf rearing, greater distance of migration, thinning ice during migration and insect disturbances.
Food sources.
Climate change negatively impacts barren-ground caribou's access to food. Extreme weather conditions can cause increased amounts of rain and freezing rain during winter months. This results in an ice layer which blocks access to lichen, the caribou's main food source. Frozen feeding grounds during winter months results in greater energy expenditure as the caribou attempt to access the lichen locked beneath the ice. This can result in malnutrition, starvation and death. Research has shown that changes in climate can alter the quality of lichen in the Arctic, making it less nutritious. A changing climate also introduces the threat of foreign plant species to the region, creating competition.
Calving season.
Barren-ground caribou have evolved to match their calving period with the period in which lichen has traditionally bloomed. The phenological process and timing between birthing and easily accessible lichen is critical to the survival rate of the subspecies. The trophic mismatch, due to abnormal temperature variations linked to climate change, have resulted in malnutrition in their young, as well as reduced reproductive rates contributing to population decline.
Effects on migration.
The timing of migration periods is closely linked to seasonal changes and as unpredictable climate conditions increase, barren-ground caribou must migrate over larger distances. Migration is dictated by the access to easily available lichen. An increased distance of migration places further stress and energy expense on the caribou. Warming weather conditions reduce ice thickness over rivers and lakes, making it difficult for caribou to cross. The reduced ice cover creates a natural barrier, which fragments the migration habitat and creates obstacles, preventing caribou from accessing annual feeding and breeding grounds. Unpredictable migration patterns also have negative impacts on Indigenous communities who depend on caribou as a source of income and food.
Insect harassment.
An additional stressor on barren-ground caribou is the irritation from insect behaviour, which can dictate the movement and health of caribou during the summer months. Increased warming temperatures and early springs result in greater insect numbers. Insect harassment force caribou to migrate to areas which may still be covered in snow or ice, thereby reducing access to food. Caribou give birth in early spring when insect populations are low, to enable sufficient rearing of healthy and strong calves. Early onset of spring temperatures in the Arctic further effect the phenology of the pregnancy time periods of barren-ground caribou. Insect avoidance forces caribou to expend large amounts of energy through migrational avoidance of insects. Changes in the climate can increase parasitic occurrences, thereby providing an additional threat to the subspecies.


Pratapa icetas

Pratapa icetas, the dark blue royal, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Pakistan and India.


Megalomys luciae

Megalomys luciae, also known as the Saint Lucia pilorie or Saint Lucia giant rice-rat, as well as several variant spellings, is an extinct rodent that lived on the island of Saint Lucia in the eastern Caribbean. It was the size of a small cat, and it had a darker belly than "Megalomys desmarestii", a closely related species from Martinique, and slender claws. The last known specimen died in the London Zoo in 1852, after three years of captivity. It probably became extinct in the latter half of the 19th century, with the last record dating from 1881. There is a stuffed specimen in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London.


Pristimantis lindae

Pristimantis lindae is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae. It is endemic to Peru and only known from Kosñipata Valley (also spelled Cosñipata) on the northeastern slopes of the Cadena de Paucartambo, a frontal range of the Cordillera Oriental in Cusco Region. The specific name "lindae" honors , an American herpetologist and wife of , the species describer. Nevertheless, common name Santa Isabel robber frog has been coined for this species.
Description.
The holotype is an adult female measuring in snout–vent length. The body is robust. The head is wider than it is long; the snout is long and rounded. The tympanum is prominent. The forearms are slender whereas the hind limbs are moderately short and robust. The fingers and the toes have lateral fringes and bear expanded discs; the fingers also have basal webbing. The dorsum is shagreened and tan in color, with dark brown markings. The throat is pinkish cream and has black flecks. The flanks and the belly are cream with black reticulations. The iris is bronze and has a median horizontal reddish brown streak.
Habitat and conservation.
"Pristimantis lindae" occurs in montane tropical cloud forest at elevations of above sea level. Specimens have often been found perched about above the ground, although the holotype was on a bush. Development is presumably direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage).
It is an uncommon species but the population appears to be stable. Specimens infected with "Ranavirus" and "Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis" have been found, but craugastorid frogs do not seem to be adversely affected by such infections. "Pristimantis lindae" occurs in the buffer zone of the Manu National Park.


Stigmella aurella

Stigmella aurella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is found in Europe from Ireland to the Ukraine, the Near East, and the eastern part of the Palearctic realm.
Description.
The wingspan is . The head is ferruginous to orange. Antennal eyecaps ochreous-whitish. Forewings shining copper gold ; a shining pale golden fascia beyond middle, preceded by a purplish or dark purple-fuscous fascia, apical area beyond this dark purple to fuscous. Hindwings rather dark grey. Adults are on wing in May and later in the summer.
The larvae feed on "Agrimonia eupatoria", "Agrimonia procera", "Aremonia agrimonoides", "Fragaria moschata", "Fragaria vesca", "Fragaria viridis", "Geum rivale", "Geum urbanum", "Rubus caesius", "Rubus dumetorum", "Rubus fruticosus", "Rubus idaeus", "Rubus plicatus", "Rubus sanguineus", "Rubus saxatilis" and "Rubus ulmifolius". They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of corridor which does not widened at the end.


Agyneta transversa

Agyneta transversa is a species of sheet weaver found in Mexico. It was described by Banks in 1898.


Daphnia sinevi

Daphnia sinevi is a species of water fleas from the Russian Far East.
Description.
"Daphnia sinevi" grows to a length of .
Distribution and taxonomy.
"Daphnia sinevi" is only known from a single pool, in diameter at Avangard, near Nakhodka, Primorsky Krai, Russia. It was collected there in 2004 by A. Y. Sinev, and described in 2006 in the "Journal of Plankton Research". The holotype, along with an allotype and a series of paratypes are held at the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University. The closest relatives of "D. sinevi" are other species in the species group around "D. curvirostris", especially "Daphnia morsei".


Sikkim treecreeper

The Sikkim treecreeper ("Certhia discolor") is a species of bird in the treecreeper family.
It is found in Bhutan, Nepal and Northeast India.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The form "C. d. manipurensis" of southern Manipur and southwestern Burma has a rich cinnamon throat and breast, and molecular evidence and is usually now treated as a separate species, the Hume's treecreeper, "C. manipurensis" Hume, 1850.


Grey gull

The grey gull, also known as garuma gull ("Leucophaeus modestus") is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-breeding bird along much of the Pacific coast of South America.
Description.
The sexes are similar in grey gulls. Adults grow to a length of about and weigh some . The head is white in summer but brownish-grey in winter. The body and wings are grey with the dorsal surface rather darker than the ventral region. The flight feathers are black and the inner primaries and the secondaries have white tips, visible in flight. The tail has a band of black with a white trailing edge. The legs and beak are black and the iris is brown. The call is similar to that of the laughing gull ("Leucophaeus atricilla").
Distribution.
The grey gull breeds inland in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Its non-breeding range includes Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, and it has been recorded in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is a vagrant to Panama.
Behaviour.
Breeding.
For many years, it was a mystery as to where this bird breeds because no coastal colonies had been identified. However, in 1945, it was discovered that it bred in the Atacama Desert in the interior of Chile. This hot and arid environment has few predators and may be relatively safe for the breeding gulls. The site chosen for the nest, a scrape in the sand and often near rocks, is a waterless region some from the coast. Once the eggs hatch, the parents take it in turn to make the round trip to the sea to bring food and water to their offspring.
The humidity, wind speed, air and surface temperatures vary widely on a daily basis and the gull has to use various thermo-regulatory mechanisms when nesting to maintain its body temperature and that of its eggs and chicks within acceptable limits. In the hottest part of the day the parent bird stands over its nest to prevent the eggs or chicks overheating. Its chief predator is the turkey vulture ("Cathartes aura") and when threatened, the incubating parent sometimes leaves the nest temporarily, and when this happens the eggs need to have impervious shells in order to avoid losing too much water through evaporation. In fact, the evaporative loss from the eggs is found to be about one third of that which occurs in Heermann's gull ("Larus heermanni"), another desert nesting species.
Feeding.
The typical habitat of the grey gull is sandy beaches and mudflats along the western coasts of South America where it probes with its beak in the sediment for invertebrate prey, particularly mole crabs. It also eats fish and ragworms, scavenges for offal and sometimes follows fishing boats.
Status.
The grey gull has a restricted inland breeding range and a limited wintering range along the coasts of Ecuador, Peru and Chile. The population trend is believed to be downwards. However, the total number of birds is sufficiently large to justify listing the grey gull as being of "least concern" rather than including it in a more threatened category.


Alewife (fish)

The alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus") is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus "Pomolobus" of the genus "Alosa". As an adult it is a marine species found in the northern West Atlantic Ocean, moving into estuaries before swimming upstream to breed in freshwater habitats, but some populations live entirely in fresh water. It is best known for its invasion of the Great Lakes by using the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Here, its population surged, peaking between the 1950s and 1980s to the detriment of many native species of fish. In an effort to control them biologically, Pacific salmon were introduced, only partially successfully. As a marine fish, the alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service "Species of Concern".
Description.
Alewife reach a maximum length of about 40 cm (16 in), but have an average length of about 25 cm (10 in). The front of the body is deep and larger than other fish found in the same waters, and its common name is said to come from comparison with a corpulent female tavernkeeper ("ale-wife").
Etymology and folklore.
In southwestern Nova Scotia, alewife are referred to as kiacks (or kyacks). In Atlantic Canada it is known as the gaspereau, from the Acadian French word "gasparot", first mentioned by Nicolas Denys. William Francis Ganong, New Brunswick biologist and historian, wrote:
Gaspereau, or Gasparot. Name of a common salt-water fish of Acadia
(also called alewife), first used, so far as I can find, by Denys in
1672. Nowhere can I find any clue to its origin. It seems not to be
Indian.
Acadians named two rivers after the fish, the Gaspereau River in Nova Scotia and the Gaspereau River in New Brunswick.
In eastern Massachusetts, Alewife Brook flows through Arlington, Cambridge, and Somerville to the Mystic River. The brook gives its name to the Alewife Brook Parkway and the Alewife Brook Reservation. The Red Line (MBTA) of Boston's T ends at the Alewife station, so the name of this fish adorns the front of every northbound Red Line train. An extensive habitat restoration and education project, combined with a fish ladder with monitoring cameras, is yielding increasing numbers of Alewife back in the improving Mystic River watershed.
In the Southeast US, when sold and used as bait, the fish is often referred to as "LY". Both anadromous and landlocked forms occur. The landlocked form is also called a sawbelly or mooneye (although this latter name is more commonly applied to "Hiodon" spp.).
Adult alewife are caught during their spring spawning migration upstream by being scooped out of shallow, constricted areas using large dip nets. They are the preferred bait for the spring lobster fishery in Maine, and are eaten by humans, usually smoked.
In the North American Great Lakes.
Alewife are known for their invasion of the Great Lakes by using the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Alewife colonized the Great Lakes and became abundant mostly in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. They reached their peak abundance from the 1950s through the 1980s. Alewife grew in number unchecked because the lakes lacked a top predator in (lake trout were essentially wiped out around the same time by overfishing and the invasion of the sea lamprey). For a time, alewife, which often exhibit seasonal die-offs, washed up in windrows on the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Various species of Pacific salmon (first coho, and later the Chinook salmon) were introduced as predators. Though marginally successful, this led to the development of a salmon/alewife fishery popular with many sport anglers.
In spite of such biological control methods, alewife remain implicated in the decline of many native Great Lakes species. It is also a common predator of numerous native and non-native zooplankton taxa ("Bythotrephes longimanus", "Leptodiaptomus ashlandi", "Leptodiaptomus minutus", "Leptodiaptomus sicilis", and "Leptodora kindtii").
Conservation.
Alewife populations have seen big declines throughout much of their range. Several threats have most likely contributed to their decline, including loss of habitat due to decreased access to spawning areas from the construction of dams and other impediments to migration, habitat degradation, fishing, and increased predation due to recovering striped bass populations.
In response to the declining population trend for alewives, the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia, and North Carolina have instituted moratoria on taking and possession.
The alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern, about which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the US Endangered Species Act.


American bushtit

The American bushtit ("Psaltriparus minimus") is the only species in the family Aegithalidae found in the New World, and the only member of the genus "Psaltriparus". In North America, it is referred to simply as "bushtit".
Description and behavior.
The American bushtit inhabits mixed open woodlands, often containing oaks and a scrubby chaparral understory; it also inhabits parks and gardens. It is a year-round resident of the western United States and highland parts of Mexico, ranging from Vancouver through the Great Basin and the lowlands and foothills of California to southern Mexico and Guatemala.
The American bushtit is one of the smallest passerines in North America, at in length and in weight. It is gray-brown overall, with a large head, a short neck, a long tail, and a short stubby bill. The male has dark eyes and the adult female, yellow. Coastal forms have a brown "cap" while those in the interior have brown "mask."
The American bushtit is active and gregarious, foraging for small insects and spiders in mixed-species feeding flocks containing species such as chickadees and warblers, of 10 to over 40 individuals. Members of the group constantly make contact calls to each other that can be described as a short "spit".
This species produces an elaborate pendant nest of moss and lichen assembled with spider silk and lined with feathers.
Black-eared bushtit.
The "black-eared" bushtit was formerly considered a separate species ("P. melanotis"). It can be identified by its dark ear patch (the auricular). This polymorphism does not occur in the northern part of the American bushtits' range, but is first noted near the Mexican border, primarily in Texas. Most individuals with the black ear patch in that area are juvenile males, and none are adult females – some have only one or two dark lines on the face instead of a complete patch. The black-eared form becomes more common southward in the northeastern (but not the northwestern) highlands of Mexico until from central Mexico south, all males have a complete black ear patch and even adult females have a black arc over the eye and usually a black line through the eye.
Subspecies.
"Psaltriparus minimus" includes the following subspecies:
Gallery.
The nest of the American bushtit:


List of butterflies of Bangladesh

This is a list of butterflies of Bangladesh. About 430 species are known from Bangladesh, but it is estimated that a total number of 500 to 550 species occurs.


Parnassius jacquemontii

Parnassius jacquemontii, the keeled Apollo, is a high altitude butterfly which is found in India and Pakistan. It is a member of the snow Apollo genus ("Parnassius") of the swallowtail family (Papilionidae). It is also fairly common at high altitudes from Chitral to Kumaon.
Description.
Male upperside: pale creamy white; both wings irrorated with diffuse black scales; body, base of the wings and the dorsum of hindwing clothed with long white hairs. Forewing: the irroration of black scales most dense along the costal margin and at base of cell, more sparse on the disc; the apical two thirds of the cell, a portion beyond the middle of interspace 1, and the bases of interspaces 4, 5, 8 and 9 markedly free of the diffuse black scales; a transverse short bar across the middle of cell, another along the discocellulars, and a diffuse transverse series of postdiscal lunules, black; three or four crimson spots encircled with black arranged as follows: one midway in interspace 1, two, sometimes three, beyond apex of cell in an oblique line from the costa; the terminal margin broadly hyaline, with minute black specks at the apices of the veins; cilia white. Hindwing: base and dorsal margin beneath the white hairs densely and broadly irrorated with black scales, the inner edge of this border irregular, rest of the wing with more diffuse black scaling; five or six black-encircled crimson spots as follows: two, sometimes three, obliquely above the tornus, these or one of them occasionally white-centred; one in the middle of interspaces 5 and 7 respectively, these are generally centred with white; and one pure crimson spot at the extreme base of the wing; the postdiscal series of black lunules are as on the forewing, but the lunules are not so well defined and generally separate from one another; finally there is no distinct hyaline border to the wing, but the cream-white scaling extends to the termen; terminal black specks to the veins and white cilia as on the forewing. Underside: shining, with more or less of a glazed appearance; markings much as on the upperside, but indicated as much by those of the upperside which show through as by actual scaling; in addition on the hindwing there is a subbasal transverse series of four dull crimson spots while the crimson spots beyond are all more or less white centred. Antennae deep brownish black, rarely with a few white specks on the underside; head, thorax and abdomen beneath the covering of white hairs, black.
Female. Similar, generally darker with the irroration of black scales more dense; the crimson spots are often larger and more brilliant. Anal pouch after fertilization "ovally scoop-shaped in front, convex beneath," furnished with a sharp high carina posteriorly.
Range.
North-eastern Afghanistan, Indus Valley (Pakistan) and (Jammu & Kashmir), Tajikistan (Pamirs), Uzbekistan, South West China and Szechwan.
Status.
Not known to be in danger. The nominate subspecies is protected by law in India.
Taxonomy.
The Latin specific epithet "jacquemontii" refers to the French botanist and geologist Victor Jacquemont (1844–1912).


White-winged coot

The white-winged coot ("Fulica leucoptera") is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. At in length, it is a mid-sized coot. It is found in swamps and at lakes in southern South America, including the Falkland Islands, ranging as far north as Bolivia and southern Brazil. Despite its name, most of its wings are dark slaty, though in flight a white trailing edge is visible on the secondaries.


Scinax squalirostris

Scinax squalirostris is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found in southeastern, southern and central Brazil, Uruguay, northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and Bolivia. The nominal species might actually represent more than one species. Common names striped snouted treefrog and long-snouted treefrog have been coined for it.
Description.
"Scinax squalirostris" is a small species measuring in snout–vent length. The overall appearance is slender; the limbs are slender and the hind limbs are fairly long. The head is long and wider than the body. The snout is very elongated. The tympanum is distinct. The dorsal ground color is brownish. There is a narrow, black mid-dorsal line and black canthal lines bordered with white. Two black stripes start from the eye and enclose a white or flesh-colored area. The belly is greenish yellow. The vocal sac is large and lemon-colored.
Habitat and conservation.
"Scinax squalirostris" occurs in open areas of grasslands, rushes, and "Eryngium" spp., but also in forests, at elevations below . Breeding takes place in small permanent and temporary waterbodies, including cattle ponds.
"Scinax squalirostris" is a common species that adapts well to anthropogenic disturbance. Pollution might be a localized threat. It is known from several protected areas in Brazil and Argentina.


Latticed butterflyfish

The Latticed Butterflyfish ("Chaetodon rafflesii"), also known as Raffles’ coralfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Description.
The latticed butterflyfish is mainly yellow butterflyfish which has dark edges to its scales which create a dark lattice pattern on the flanks. Theresa a vertical black bar running through the eye and it has a blue parch on the forehead. The soft rayed part of the dorsal fin has a dark submarginal band while there is a wide black bar through the centre of the caudal fin. Sometimes there is a black spot underneath the spiny section of the dorsal fin and juveniles have a dark spot on the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin contains 12-13 spines and 21-23 soft rays while the anal fins has 3 spines and 18-20 soft rays. This species can reach a maximum total length of , although is a more common total length.
Distribution.
The latticed butterflyfish is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans where occurs from Sri Lanka to the Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef, and from Palau (Belau) to the eastern Caroline Islands in Micronesia.
Habitat and biology.
The latticed butterflyfish is an uncommon species found in areas of rich coral growth of lagoons and protected reef flats and seaward reefs from depth. It feeds on sea anemones, polychaetes, and octocorallian and scleractinian coral polyps. It is normally observed in pairs.
Systematics.
The latticed butterfly fish was first formally described in an anonymous description which was appended to the biography of the British statesman and colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles, who was first president of the Zoological Society of London, written by his widow, Sophia Hull. Raffles employed botanists and zoologists to collect specimens and it is thought that the description was written by Edward Turner Bennett (1797-1836) and the type locality was Sumatra. The specific name honours Raffles.
The peculiarly-patterned "C. rafflesii" belongs to the large subgenus "Rabdophorus" which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it seems to represent a rather unusual lineage, with perhaps just the White-faced butterflyfish ("C. mesoleucos") being less distantly related.


Leptolalax tengchongensis

Leptolalax tengchongensis is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae from the Gaoligong Mountains of Tengchong County, Yunnan, China. It is sympatric with "Leptobrachium tengchongense".


Centropyge narcosis

Centropyge narcosis, the narc angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is native to Cook Islands. It is found at a depth range of 100m - 128m. This species is more expensive than the well known peppermint angelfish in the aquarium trade.
Description.
"Centropyge narcosis" is vivid yellow over the whole of its body and fins broken only by a large black blotch in the middle of the upper flank. This is a small species which attains a maximum total length of .
Distribution.
"Centropyge narcosis" is endemic to the Cook Islands where it has been only recorded from the waters around Rarotonga.
Habitat and biology.
"Centropyge narcosis" is found at depths between . It is normally found in pairs or small groups in caves and in cracks on steep drop offs. It is a little known species and its natural diet is a mystery but in captivity it will eat a variety of foods. This species usually swims “upside down”, swimming with its head down and its underside very close to the substrate. When it perceives a threat, it will adopt a head down position, erect the spines in its dorsal fin and use the spots on its flanks to impersonate a large predatory fish.
Systematics.
"Centropyge narcosis" was first formally described in 1993 by Richard Pyle and John Ernest Randall (1924-2020). The specific name, "narcosis", refers to the extreme effects of nitrogen narcosis that the Richard Pyle and Charles “Chip” Boyle suffered when they collected the holotype at a depth greater than while using conventional SCUBA equipment. Some authorities place this species in the subgenus "Centropyge".
Utlisation.
Centropyge narcosis is very rare in the aquarium trade and commands high prices when it does come up for sale.


Purple-crowned fairy

The purple-crowned fairy ("Heliothryx barroti") is a large hummingbird that breeds in the lowlands and hills from southeastern Mexico south to southwestern Ecuador.
The scientific name commemorates Adolphe Barrot (1801–1870), a French diplomat who served in Colombia from 1831 to 1835.
Its breeding habitat is forest canopy and edges at altitudes of up to , and this bird can also be found in tall second growth and shady gardens. The female lays two white eggs in a small conical cup nest, which is made of plant down and sited near the tip of a thin branch.
The purple-crowned fairy is around long and weighs about . It is slender and has bright white underparts, a green back, and a long pointed tail which has black central and white outer feathers. There is a dark patch through the eye, and the bill is sharply pointed. The male has a purple crown and a purple spot at the end of the eyepatch, which is bordered below with a glittering green malar stripe. The song is a vigorous repetition of the high thin "tsit" call.
The female lacks the purple and glittering green colours on the head, and the immature bird has rufous fringes to its upperpart plumage and a dusky throat.
The purple-crowned fairy has a very light and graceful flight. It eats insects, picked off the foliage or caught in flight, and takes nectar from flowers, piercing the bases of larger blooms such as " Heliconia". Although not particularly territorial, this species is quite aggressive, and will resist the attacks of territorial species.


Hellinsia spermatias

Hellinsia spermatias is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay.
The wingspan is 16–17 mm. The head is ochreous-brown, but whitish between the antennae. These are whitish, towards base with a dark line above. The thorax is ochreous-whitish, tinged or sprinkled with brownish. The abdomen is ochreous-whitish, with dorsal series of blackish dots on the segmental margins. The hindwings are grey. Adults are on wing from December to June.


Archon bostanchii

Archon bostanchii is a species of false Apollo butterfly (genus "Archon") belonging to the Parnassiinae or snow Apollo subfamily. This recently described papilionid is endemic to Iran.