Palladium Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired by her when she slew Pallas. Palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs). These have similar chemical properties, but palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of them. More than half the supply of palladium
Silvery mole-rat Silvery mole-rat The silvery mole-rat, silvery blesmol, or silky mole-rat ("Heliophobius argenteocinereus") is a species of mole-rat of East Africa which occurs in southern Kenya, Tanzania, southeastern Zaire, Mozambique and Malawi. Solitary and aggressive, little is known about its ecology or behavior. It is monotypic in the genus Heliophobius. A common species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being of "least concern". This is a medium-sized mole-rat with soft, silky silvery-grey fur. The head is paler around the eyes, the sides of the face and the snout, and some individuals have a small white patch