|
Savalia Savaglia
''Savalia savaglia'', commonly known as gold coral, is a species of colonial false black coral in the family Parazoanthidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it often grows in association with a gorgonian. It is extremely long-lived, with a lifespan of 2,700 years, and develops into a large tree-like colony. Description ''Savalia savaglia'' forms a large, tree-like colony. The polyps secrete a horny brown or black skeleton from which they project. They are yellow and about tall. Each polyp has an oral disc at the top surrounded by about thirty tentacles. These are arranged in two whorls and are not pinnate, making it easy to recognise that this species is a zoanthid rather than an octocoral or a member of another order of Hexacorallia. Distribution ''Savalia savaglia'' is found in the western Mediterranean Sea between the Straits of Gibraltar and Sardinia. It is also found in the Atlantic Ocean, its range including the Canary Isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Bertoloni
Antonio Bertoloni (February 8, 1775 in Sarzana – April 17, 1869 in Bologna) was an Italian physician and botanist who made extensive studies of Italian plants. He also collected notable samples of Central American flora. Biography He studied medicine and botany at the University of Pavia, afterwards (1796) continuing his medical education in Genoa. For a period of time he practiced medicine in his home town of Sarzana. In 1811 he returned to Genoa, where he served as a professor of physics at the Imperial Lyceum. In 1815 he was appointed professor of botany at the University of Bologna. His son Giuseppe (1804-1874) was a botanist and entomologist in Bologna. Tributes * ''Bertolonia'', botanical genus from the family Melastomataceae. * Plants with the specific epithet of ''bertolonii'', an example being '' Ophrys bertolonii'' (Bertoloni's bee orchid). Selected works His major work, "Flora Italica; sistens plantas in Italia et in insulis circumstantibus sponte nascentes", wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eunicella Singularis
''Eunicella singularis'', the white gorgonian, is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is found in the western Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea. It was first described in 1791 by the German naturalist Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper. Description ''Eunicella singularis'' can grow to a height of about and a width of . It has a branching structure, growing from a thickened base with a small number of nearly-vertical branches and a few side branches. The surface of the branches is smooth, with the calyces from which the polyps protrude being indistinct. The general colour is white and the polyps are translucent and yellowish-brown or olive. Distribution and habitat ''Eunicella singularis'' is found in the western Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea at depths of . It mainly occurs on shallowly sloping rock surfaces which are often partially covered with sediment, but also on pebbles, shells or other objects surrounded by sedim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animals Described In 1819
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a bilaterally symmetric body plan. The Bilateria include the protostomes, containing animals such as nematodes, arthropods, flatworms, annelids and molluscs, and the deuterostomes, containing the echinoderms and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invertebrates Of Europe
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate subphylum Vertebrata. Familiar examples of invertebrates include arthropods, mollusks, annelids, echinoderms and cnidarians. The majority of animal species are invertebrates; one estimate puts the figure at 97%. Many invertebrate taxa have a greater number and variety of species than the entire subphylum of Vertebrata. Invertebrates vary widely in size, from 50 μm (0.002 in) rotifers to the 9–10 m (30–33 ft) colossal squid. Some so-called invertebrates, such as the Tunicata and Cephalochordata, are more closely related to vertebrates than to other invertebrates. This makes the invertebrates paraphyletic, so the term has little meaning in taxonomy. Etymology The word "invertebrate" comes from the Latin word ''vertebra'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the full set of genes of their single parent and thus the newly created individual is genetically and physically similar to the parent or an exact clone of the parent. Asexual reproduction is the primary form of reproduction for single-celled organisms such as archaea and eubacteria, bacteria. Many Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms including plants, animals, and Fungus, fungi can also reproduce asexually. In vertebrates, the most common form of asexual reproduction is parthenogenesis, which is typically used as an alternative to sexual reproduction in times when reproductive opportunities are limited. Komodo dragons and some monitor lizards can also reproduce asexually. While all prokaryotes reproduce without the formation and fusion of gametes, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers. Plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, but there are also airborne versions, the aeroplankton, that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere. These include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds, as well as microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species. Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, but will be likely to slow in the future as a primary result of deforestation. It encompasses the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon-14
Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz N. D. Kurie, Franz Kurie in 1934. There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth: carbon-12 (), which makes up 99% of all carbon on Earth; carbon-13 (), which makes up 1%; and carbon-14 (), which occurs in trace amounts, making up about 1 or 1.5 atoms per 1012 atoms of carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon-12 and carbon-13 are both stable, while carbon-14 is unstable and has a half-life of 5,730 ± 40 years. Carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 () through bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecdysterone
20-Hydroxyecdysone (ecdysterone or 20E) is a naturally occurring ecdysteroid hormone which controls the ecdysis (moulting) and metamorphosis of arthropods. It is therefore one of the most common moulting hormones in insects, crabs, etc. It is also a phytoecdysteroid produced by various plants, including ''Cyanotis vaga'', ''Ajuga turkestanica'' and ''Rhaponticum carthamoides'' where its purpose is presumably to disrupt the development and reproduction of insect pests. In arthropods, 20-hydroxyecdysone acts through the ecdysone receptor. Although mammals lack this receptor, 20-hydroxyecdysone may affect mammalian (including human) biological systems ''in vitro'', but there is uncertainty whether any ''in vivo'' or physiological effects occur. 20-Hydroxyecdysone is an ingredient of some supplements that aim to enhance physical performance. In humans, it is hypothesized to bind to the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) protein-coding gene. Sources in arthropods The primary sources of 20-h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Histidine
Histidine (symbol His or H) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated –NH3+ form under biological conditions), a carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated –COO− form under biological conditions), and an imidazole side chain (which is partially protonated), classifying it as a positively charged amino acid at physiological pH. Initially thought essential only for infants, it has now been shown in longer-term studies to be essential for adults also. It is encoded by the codons CAU and CAC. Histidine was first isolated by Albrecht Kossel and Sven Gustaf Hedin in 1896. It is also a precursor to histamine, a vital inflammatory agent in immune responses. The acyl radical is histidyl. Properties of the imidazole side chain The conjugate acid (protonated form) of the imidazole side chain in histidine has a p''K''a of approximately 6.0. Thus, below a pH of 6, the imidazole ring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramuricea Clavata
''Paramuricea clavata'', the violescent sea-whip, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Plexauridae. It is found in shallow seas of the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the north-western Mediterranean Sea as well as Ionian Sea. This species was first described by the French naturalist Antoine Risso in 1826. Description ''P. clavata'' has a branching structure forming a fan-shaped colony in a single plane. The stem and branches are stiffened by gorgonin, a complex protein that produces a horny skeleton. The coenenchyme, a thin living layer of cells, covers the skeleton and the polyps protrude from this, each with eight feeding tentacles surrounding a central mouth. The polyps are up to high and the whole colony up to one m (3 ft) high and 1 m across. The colour is usually red, but may be partly yellow. Distribution and habitat The violescent sea-whip is native to the coasts of Spain and Portugal in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, and to the western Mediterranean S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
