DID YOU KNOW THAT

FISHES HAVE THEIR OWN SCHOOL ?

A group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling . In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one quarter of fishes shoal all their lives, and about one half of fishes shoal for part of their lives. Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate. It is also likely that fish benefit from shoal membership through increased hydrodynamic efficiency. Fish use many traits to choose shoalmates. Generally they prefer larger shoals, shoalmates of their own species, shoalmates similar in size and appearance to themselves, healthy fish, and kin (when recognized). The "oddity effect" posits that any shoal member that stands out in appearance will be preferentially targeted by predators. This may explain why fish prefer to shoal with individuals that resemble themselves. The oddity effect would thus tend to homogenize shoals.

DEINACRIDA HETERACANTHA IS THE LARGEST INSECT IN THE WORLD ?

Deinacrida heteracantha, also known as the Little Barrier Island giant weta, is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae that has no wings. It is endemic to New Zealand, naturally surviving now only on Little Barrier Island. It was formerly found on the mainland. It was redescribed under the synonymous name Hemideina Gigantea by Colenso (1881), based on a specimen collected in a small low wood behind Paihia, Bay of Islands, in 1838. This specimen is still preserved in the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and can be seen here. Records of this species from the North Island mainland at Mahoenui (WATT, 1963) were later recognised as a distinct species, described as new by GIBBS (1999), as Deinacrida mahoenui. One female specimen holds the record for the heaviest living adult insect ever documented. It weighed 71g (2.5oz), three times heavier than the average house mouse, and was more than 85mm (3.4in) long. However, this was a captive eggbound female that is not representative of the species. Usually female Deinacrida Hereracantha would not be more than half this weight.

JUPITER HAS A LOT OF MOONS ?

Jupiter has four large moons and dozens of smaller ones (there are about 67 known moons so far). Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto in 1610, using a 20-power telescope; these moons are known as the Galilean moons. The moons of Jupiter are (in order by their distance from Jupiter): Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede (the biggest), Callisto (the second biggest), Leda (the smallest), Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope, and many newlydiscovered moons that haven't been named yet.

THE SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS IS THE TALLEST TREE ?

The coast redwood, the world's tallest tree, is one of the three sequoia tree species, together with the giant sequoia(Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) grows in natural stands in a long, thin coastal area along the Pacific Ocean in the west and northwest of the US (mostly California). It is the tallest tree in the world. With its relatively slender silhouette this tree can grow even up to 20 m or 60 ft taller than the tallest giant sequoias, that are nevertheless the biggest trees in the world, when looking at the volume of the trunk. The tallest known living tree, named Hyperion, is 115.55 m or 379.1 ft (measured in 2006) tall! This gets close to 120 to 130 m, that, according to a 2004 biological study, is the maximum attainable height [1] of a tree.

MICROHYLA NEPENTHICOLA IS THE SMALLEST FROG ?

Male adults of the new species, named Microhyla nepenthicola, grow to approximately one centimetre in length. The researchers first discovered the diminutive red and orange amphibian on an expedition to Kubah National Park in 2004. They have now described the discovery in the journal Zootaxa. The team found the frog when it emerged from a small pitcher plant, Nepenthes ampullaria, in which it lives. The plant lives off decomposing organic matter that collects in its deep pitcher-shaped cavity. The little frog uses this as a habitat. It lays its eggs there and when the tadpoles hatch, they live in the gathered organic goo until they mature. Apart from its size, the amphibian has some unique features that set it apart from other species. The scientists believe that its miniaturisation and "reduced webbing" may be the result of it having to navigate the slippery zone of the pitcher plants on which it depends. Scientists Indraneil Das from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and Alexander Haas from the University of Hamburg in Germany, discovered and described the species, which they named after the plant.