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Japanese Spider Crab

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Japanese Spider Crab

You may only spot a Japanese spider crab if you look up!

  • Japanese spider crabs are large crabs native to Japan’s coastal ocean habitats.
  • The scientific name of a Japanese spider crab is Macrocheira kaempferi and it is from the family Inachidae, a family of crabs.
  • The leg span of Japanese spider crabs can reach up to 3.8 metres (12.5 feet) – a length greater than any extant anthropod, and the older crabs generally have longer legs than the younger ones.
  • Japanese spider crabs are the second heaviest extant anthropod, at 19 kilograms (42 pounds) in weight, and it is believed that they can live up to 100 years.
  • Japanese spider crabs live in the caverns and rock hollows of the ocean, between 50 metres (164 feet) and up to a maximum of 600 metres (1969 feet) deep.

Japanese Spider Crab, Animal, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Arthropod, Tank, Aquariam

  • The diet of Japanese spider crabs consists primarily of aquatic flora and small marine animals, including molluscs and other invertebrates, but they also consume deceased matter.
  • Japanese folk catch and eat Japanese spider crab, however this is rare in spring months, as the catching of the crabs during breeding season is illegal, which enables the crabs to successfully reproduce.
  • Information of the Japanese spider crab was first collected by German botanist Phillip von Siebold, which was then provided to Dutch Coenradd Temminck, a zoologist, who gave a descriptive analysis in 1836.
  • Japanese spider crabs are coloured a combination of white and orange – white being its base colour, which is splattered with a pattern of orange to red.
  • A female Japanese spider crab can release eggs numbering up to 1.5 million in one breeding season, and they hatch into minuscule larvae, floating helplessly like plankton and growing over a period of 7.5 to 10.5 weeks, however most eggs or larvae will not survive.

 

Bibliography:
Giant Japanese Spider Crab, 2016, Tennessee Aquarium, http://www.tnaqua.org/our-animals/invertebrates/giant-japanese-spider-crab
Japanese Spider Crab, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_spider_crab
Macrocheira Kaempferi, 2011, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Macrocheira_kaempferi/

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Freesia

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Freesia

Fragrant freesia flowers.

  • Freesias are a small flowering corm that have long, thin leaves up to 30 cm (12 inches) long that branch out from the base, and the flowers grow on a thin, green stem up to 40 cm (15.7 inches) in height.
  • Freesias are native to Africa, mainly to South Africa, although a few species belong to areas further north.
  • There are between 16 and 20 species of freesia, with more than 300 hybrids.
  • Freesias are from the family Iridaceae, which is the family of irises.
  • Freesias are named after the German physician, Friedrick Heinrich Theodor Freese from the 1800s.

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  • Freesia flowers have a strong soapy-scented perfume, and the scent is often mimicked in lotions, soap or other scented products.
  • Freesia flowers typically have 5 to 10 funnel like flowers, although some species have flat flowers, and some have double petals.
  • Freesia flowers can be white, gold, yellow, orange, red, pink, mauve, purple and lavender in colour and can also be two toned.
  • Freesias bloom in spring and the plant usually dies back after flowering and setting seed.
  • Freesias are a popular cut flower, and easy to grow, although some species have become a weed in some parts of Australia, due to the numerous seeds and corms they produce.
Bibliography:
Freesia, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freesia>
Freesia Flowers, 2013, The Flower Expert, <http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/mostpopularflowers/morepopularflowers/freesia>

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Tennis

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Tennis

Game, set, match.

  • Tennis is generally a sport where you hit a ball over a net with a racquet, towards an opponent who aims to hit the ball back over the net.
  • Artwork from 500BC in Ancient Greece shows an early form of tennis that was played.
  • In France, during the 1400s, a type of tennis evolved and eventually included a tennis racquet and the term ‘tennis’ was used.
  • Tennis was first played as a competitive sport in the early 1870s.
  • Early tennis racquets were constructed from ash wood and modern tennis racquets are made from carbon graphite or fibreglass.

Tennis, Playing, Court, Game, Lady, singles, Flickr, Ten Random Facts, Druh Scoff

  • Tennis racquets must be less than 81.28 cm (32 inches) lengthwise and 31.75 cm (12.5 inches) but can be any shape or weight.
  • The general scoring system is 4 points (15, 30, 45, game) for a game, 6 games equals a set, and 2 sets equal a match.
  • An umpire watches the tennis game from a high chair so he/she can see the players, the ball and the court.
  • There are many tennis hitting techniques such as drives, lobs and smashes.
  • Tennis games can be played single or double, but double games require teamwork to win.
Bibliography:
Vicaro, A 2000, Tennis, oling Kindersly, Great Britian

Photinia

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Photinia

Reddy, hedgy plants.

  • Photinia are trees or shrubs that grow 3m to 15m tall.
  • Photinia are native to the warmer temperatures of Asia and there are between 40 and 60 species.
  • Photinia sometimes have thorns on their branches.
  • Photinia bloom in early summer and have white, five petalled flowers that smell like hawthorn.
  • Photinia produce numerous berries that are small and red in colour.

Photinia, Red leaves, Green, Sun, Hedge, Tall, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • The berries of Photonia are eaten by birds which spread the seeds of the plant in their droppings.
  • Firethorns, cotoneasters and hawthorns are related to Photinias.
  • Photinia are commonly used for decorative purposes in the garden ands some species are a popular hedge plant.
  • Throughout spring and summer, the new leaves on many Photinia cultivars are a beautiful red, which turn green when the foliage ages.
  • Some Photinia cultivars are poisonous, especially for mammals that chew the cud.
Bibliography:
Photinia 26 February 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photinia>
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