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Laced Moray

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Laced Moray

One could say laced morays are indeed prettier than their relatives.

  • Laced morays are a species of eel, native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the west Pacific Ocean.
  • ‘Laced morays’ are also known as ‘tessellate morays’, ‘leopard morays’, ‘giraffe eels’, and ‘honeycomb morays’.
  • The scientific name of a laced moray is Gymnothorax favagineus and it is from the family Muraenidae, the family of moray eels.
  • The skin of a laced moray has a base colour of white or cream, spotted with irregular black shapes that vary, depending on its habitat as well as its age, and the spots are usually smaller in older eels.
  • Laced morays can reach a length of 1.8 metres (6 feet), although some claim specimens reaching 3 metres (9.8 feet) exist.

Laced Moray, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Eel, Fish, Animal, Honeycomb, Tessellated, Coral, SEALIFE, Melbourne, Australia, Aquarium

  • Laced morays typically live in tropical reef areas, and if the surrounding waters are of an increased clarity, they will generally feature lighter coloured spots.
  • Laced morays are active during night hours, and they generally rest in cavities and crevices during daylight.
  • The diet of laced morays consists primarily of small fish, crabs, squid-like molluscs and shrimp.
  • Laced morays have a habit of moving with their mouths open, which allows the gills to retrieve water necessary for breathing.
  • Although they rarely attacks humans, laced morays can produce a strong bite due to their teeth that are sharp.
Bibliography:
Gymnothorax favagineus  Bloch & Schneider, 1801, n.d, FishBase, http://www.fishbase.org/summary/5391
Honeycomb Moray, n.d, Melbourne Sealife Aquarium, https://www.melbourneaquarium.com.au/explore/coral-atoll/honeycomb-moray/
Laced Moray, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laced_moray

Blackberry

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Blackberry

Remember those days when you could skip out to the woods and pick some blackberries?

  • Blackberries are a fruit often considered a berry, even though technically speaking they aren’t, and various species originated in parts of America, Asia, Europe and northern Africa.
  • Blackberries grow on a variety of plant species from the Rubus genus, that comes from the family Rosaceae, the family of roses.
  • Blackberries’ are also known as ‘bramble berries’, ‘brambles’, and ‘black-caps’, although this name is technically reserved for referring to a raspberry variety coloured black.
  • Although similar to a raspberry, a blackberry can be distinguished by its stem’s habit to break at the branch when ripe, unlike its cousin, which breaks at the fruit.
  • Wild varieties of blackberry plants will typically contain sharp prickles that have have the ability to rip through thick fabric, although many commercially grown varieties have been cultivated to not feature any.
Blackberry, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Food, Culinary, Fruit, Berry, Picked, Bowl
Blackberry
Image courtesy of threelayercake/Flickr
  • Usually blackberries will contain nutritious seeds and they form in small druplets that make up the fruit.
  • In 2005, the United States was the largest producer of blackberries in the world, producing approximately 31,840 tonnes (35,100 tons).
  • Blackberries are commonly eaten raw or cooked, often in desserts, and they can be made into jam, or used to flavour wine and jelly.
  • Blackberry fruits are typically a purple or black colour, and they are usually a red colour when they are not yet ripe.
  • Blackberries are very high in vitamin K, vitamin C and manganese, as well as fibre, and they are contain many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Blackberry, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackberry
Blackberries, n.d, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, http://www.almanac.com/plant/blackberries
Worldwide Production of Blackberries, n.d, Berry Grape, http://berrygrape.org/files/newsletters/blackberryworldwide.pdf

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Fountain

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Fountain

You can watch fountains for simply ages.

  • Fountains are structures that generally pour or spurt water, often upwards, and then typically collects in a reservoir.
  • Fountains are commonly used for ornamental purposes, although they can be used as drinkable water sources or to bathe.
  • The earliest known fountains were created by Ancient Greeks in the 500s BC, and they utilised gravity to pull water from aqueducts that were situated at a higher level, to make drinking water available to residents of the cities.
  • Fountains can have water that sprays, bubbles, or overflows, and they are usually found out of doors, however the may be installed inside buildings.
  • Large public drinking water fountains were mostly discontinued by the 1900s, however small variants emerged, typically able to be activated by the user, and modern ones are commonly found in parks, schools and sports centres.

Fountain, Water, Spray, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Architecture, Contemporary, Melbourne Australia

  • In 2015, ‘King Fahd’s Fountain’, which spurts salt water in the air to heights of 260 metres (853 feet) or more, was the highest, permanent, constant fountain in the world, and it is located in the Red Sea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East, and started operating in 1985.
  • Fountains are often ornately sculptural or artistic in form, and can be stylised and decorated, however more contemporary pieces are generally sleeker and plainer.
  • Some fountains are engineered to coincide with music, and also lights, using a computer-based program for spectacular displays.
  • Some fountains are used as a method for humans to cool down during hotter days, with people being able to move under the sprays of water.
  • Modern fountains usually utilise pumps, typically powered by electricity, often to spray water in an upward direction, and those used for ornamental purposes typically reuse the same water by recirculating it.
Bibliography:
Fountain, Wikipedia, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain
Moffat C, Fountains: Sculpture of Water, Bronze & Stone, 2010, Fountains in Art History, http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/sculpture/Fountains.html

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Swamp Club-Rush

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Swamp Club-Rush

Don’t miss out on a swamp club-rush membership – all you have to do is read on!

  • Swamp club-rushes are a species of perennial, grass-like vegetation native to Australia, New Zealand, South America, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.
  • The scientific name of swamp club-rush is Isolepis inundata, previously known as Scirpus inundatus, and it is from the family Cyperaceae, the family of sedges.
  • Swamp club-rushes grow in thin blades with the plant reaching heights from 5 to 50 centimetres (2 to 20 inches) and about 40 centimetres (16 inches) in diameter.
  • The ‘flowers’ of swamp club-rushes are small and spiky in appearance, and are clustered in three to twenty spikelets.
  • Both swampy environments and gullies can house swamp club-rushes, and they prefer sunny or partly shady conditions.

Swamp Club-Rush, Vegetation, Plant, Grass, Trivia, Random Facts, Australia

  • Swamp club-rushes bloom from September to February, the spring and summer months.
  • The vegetation of swamp club-rushes is typically a vivid green colour, while the blooms are brown, to pale yellow or cream.
  • The first scientific description of swamp club-rushes was in 1810, by Robert Brown, a botanist from Scotland, who observed the plant in Australia on an expedition there.
  • Swamp club-rushes can be used for landscaping purposes, particularly those involving water, and they prefer moist soil conditions, though they are hardy and versatile.
  • Swamp club-rush plants grow from rhizomes that tend to multiply, and the plant produces tiny, triangular shaped nuts that are pale red-brown to yellow in colour.
Bibliography:
APNI – Isolepis inundata, n.d, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apniFormat/display/74358
Isolepis inundata, n.d, Prestige Plants, http://www.prestigeplants.com.au/www/content/default.aspx?cid=1860
Isolepis inundata R.Br., n.d, PlantNET, http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Isolepis~inundata
Swamp Club-Rush, 2015, Victoria Resources Online, http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/sip_swamp_club_rush

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Caño Cristales

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Caño Cristales

Rainbows are jealous of the beauty of Caño Cristales.

  • Caño Cristales is a brightly and abnormally coloured river found in Colombia’s Meta region, in South America.
  • Caño Cristales is not calm – instead the fast flowing water includes waterfalls and rapids, and the river also includes a number of pools.
  • During the peak season, Caño Cristales sports vivid colours including red, black, blue, green and yellow.
  • Caño Cristales is said to contain no fish, and it is situated in a mountainous region with nearby grasslands.
  • The total length of Caño Cristales is 100 kilometres (62 miles) and it lies in the Serrania de la Macarena National Park.
Cano Cristales, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, River, Water, South America, Colombia, Waterfall, River of 5 Colors
Part of Caño Cristales
Image courtesy of rachelcifelli/Flickr
  • The red colours of Caño Cristales are caused by the riverweed Macarenia clavigera, which changes from green to red when the water and sun conditions are at a certain level, while other colours in the river are caused by a combination of water, rocks and sand.
  • ‘Caño Cristales’ can be literally translated as ‘glass spout’ or ‘crystal spout’ from Spanish, and it is also known as ‘the River of Five Colours’ and ‘Liquid Rainbow’.
  • Some weeks, between June and December, the colours of Caño Cristales reach their peak, and this is the best time to visit.
  • Caño Cristales is in a remote area, only accessed by aircraft, then boat, and even then, a hike is required.
  • Tourists were unable to visit Caño Cristales for 20 years, from 1989 to 2008, mainly due to guerrilla warfare in the area, but also because of the potential negative effect they would have on the habitat, however, visitors have been able to tour the area since 2009 with authorised tourism companies
Bibliography:
Caño Cristales, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca%C3%B1o_Cristales
Caño Cristales, 2016, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cano-cristales
Catchpole K, Columbia’s Liquid Rainbow, 2014, BBC Travel, http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20140903-colombias-liquid-rainbow
Introducing Caño Cristales, 2016, Lonely Planet, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/colombia/cano-cristales

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Bush Stone-Curlew

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Bush Stone-Curlew

Bush stone-curlews are an evening bird… with an odd gown.

  • Bush stone-curlews, also known as ‘screaming woman birds’ and ‘bush thick-knees’, are birds that are mostly active during nocturnal hours and are native to Australia.
  • The scientific name of a bush stone-curlew is Burhinus grallarius, formerly Burhinus magnirostris, and it is from the family of stone-curlews.
  • The plumage of bush stone-curlews ranges in various patterns of grey, black, brown and white, that typically looks similar to their natural habitat, so that they are not easily noticed.
  • The diet of bush stone-curlews consists of a wide variety of foods, including insects, small mammals, molluscs, amphibians, crabs and reptiles.
  • A bush stone-curlew’s native habitat is open woody forests, or grassy or shrubby areas, often with dead branches and leaves on the ground with which they can blend in.

Bush Stone-Curlew, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Bird, Statue, Australia, Animal

  • Bush stone-curlews are proficient in both mobility on land and during flight, although they spend most of their time on the ground, where they forage for food and lay their eggs.
  • The sounds of bush stone-curlews are very noticeable, with loud screams or wails, or even screeches when frightened, that are mostly heard after dark, and if they are discovered or threatened, they will generally freeze like a statue to camouflage themselves.
  • Bush stone-curlews have long skinny legs, and the birds reach heights of 50 to 60 centimetres (20 to 24 inches), with a similar wingspan.
  • Female bush stone-curlews generally lay two eggs in a small depression in the ground, which both parents care for, and they usually partner for life and can live up to 30 years.
  • Bush stone-curlew populations have dwindled significantly in some areas, and as a result they are listed as endangered or near threatened in most states, with flocks once reaching into the hundreds now limited to tiny groups due to habitat loss and introduced predators; though in 2012, the species was listed as ‘least concern’.
Bibliography:
Birds – Bush Stone-curlew, 2016, Australia Zoo, https://www.australiazoo.com.au/our-animals/birds/stone-curlews/bush-stone-curlew
Burhinus (Burhinus) grallarius (Latham, 1801), n.d, Atlas of Living Australia, http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Burhinus+(Burhinus)+grallarius
Bush stone-curlew, 2005, Australian Government Department of Environment, https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/ceebef10-c480-4ced-a026-bb5a241b70d4/files/tsd05bush-stone-curlew.pdf
Bush stone-curlew, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_stone-curlew

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