The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night," or "ghost(s)" and likely refers to the large, reflective eyes which many of the nocturnal lemur species have.
Lemurs are found naturally only on the island of Madagascar and some smaller surrounding islands, including the Comoros (where it is likely they were introduced by humans). Fossil evidence indicates that they made their way across the ocean after Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa. While their ancestors were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys, apes, and other primates, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from the tiny 30 gram (1 oz) Pygmy Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram (22 lb) Indri. The larger species, some of which weighed up to 240 kg, have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar, and since the early 20th century the largest lemurs reach about 7 kilograms (15 lbs). Typically, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), while the larger ones are active during the day.
All lemurs are endangered species or threatened species. Many species went extinct in the last centuries, mainly due to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. Although conservation efforts are under way, options are limited because of the lemurs' limited range and because of Madagascar's economic situation. There are 85 living lemur species accounted for in current publications.
I'd heard rumours of Polar Bears in Northern Canada befriending some of the local Huskies. I didn't believe it until I saw the pictures below.
These were taken in Churchill, Manitoba.
There are different worlds beneath the surface. Some lie below our modern day cities, and some towns are almost entirely underground. The pictures below give some examples.
Underwater imaging is considered an especially challenging area of photography, since it requires very specialized equipment and techniques to be successful. Despite these challenges, it offers the possibility of many exciting and rare photographic opportunities.
The primary obstacle faced by underwater photographers is the extreme loss of colour and contrast when submerged to any significant depth. The longer wavelengths of sunlight (such as red or orange) are absorbed quickly by the surrounding water, so even to the naked eye everything appears blue-green in colour. The loss of colour not only increases vertically through the water column, but also horizontally, so subjects further away from the camera will also appear colourless and indistinct. This effect is true even in apparently clear water, such as that found around tropical coral reefs.
Underwater photographers solve this problem by combining two techniques. The first is to get the camera as close to the photographic subject as possible, minimizing the horizontal loss of colour. This is best achieved by using wide-angle lenses, which allow very close focus, or macro lenses, where the subject is often only inches away from the camera. In practical terms, serious underwater photographers consider any more than about 3 ft/1 m of water between camera and subject to be unacceptable. The second technique is the use of flash to restore any colour lost vertically through the water column. Fill-flash, used effectively, will "paint" in any missing colours by providing full-spectrum visible light to the overall exposure.
Below are some impressive high resolution photos taken underwater. More can be seen here.
The record for the smallest premature baby to survive was held for some time by Madeline Mann, who was born at 26 weeks weighing 9.9 oz (280 g) and 9.5 inches (24 cm) long. This record was broken in September 2004 by Rumaisa Rahman, who was born in the same Chicago hospital at 25 weeks gestation. The new record holder was a twin whereas the former was a single birth. At birth she was eight inches (20 cm) long and weighed 244 grams (8.6 ounces). Her twin sister was also a small baby, weighing 563 grams (1 pound 4 ounces) at birth. During pregnancy their mother had suffered from pre-eclampsia, which causes dangerously high blood pressure putting the baby into distress and leading to birth by caesarean section. The larger twin left the hospital at the end of December, while the smaller remained there until 10 February 2005 by which time her weight had increased to 1.18 kg (2 pounds 10 ounces). Generally healthy, the twins had to undergo laser eye surgery to correct visual problems, a common occurrence among premature babies.
World War II was the most widespread war in history, and countries involved mobilized more than 100 million military personnel. Total war erased the distinction between civil and military resources and saw the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort; nearly two-thirds of those killed in the war were civilians.
Below are some rare colour photographs from the Second World War, you can see many more pictures from this amazing gallery here.
A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. The term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally, burial. Below are pictures of some amazing tombs from around the world. You can see more here.
1010 bikini-clad women, posed on Australia's iconic Bondi beach on Wednesday September 26th, 2007 to set a Guinness world record for the largest swimsuit photo.
Below are some pictures of the feat, you can see more here.
The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that endangered species not living. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species; not simply the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.
An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
Below are pictures of some of the more well known critically endangered species of the planet. Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to these sorts of lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice
The Veronicas are an award winning Australian pop singer/songwriter duo composed of identical twin sisters Lisa Marie and Jessica Louise Origliasso (born Christmas Day, 1984 in Brisbane) who are of Italian (Sicilian) descent.
Their name came from Archie Comics character Veronica Lodge; when Archie Comics found out, they sued the duo for trademark infringement over their band name, but the two parties settled and have agreed on a cross-promotion deal
As selected by Wikimedia, here are some of the best photos available on Wikipedia. Considering the sheer volume of quality pictures to choose from, this is a big call! You can see a few more of the best Wikipedia photos here.
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) is the informal name of Rokuon-ji ( Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan. It was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama. It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down several times during the Onin War.
The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku, is a three-story building on the grounds of the temple. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha. On the roof is a golden fenghuang or "Chinese phoenix