1.
Conservation status
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The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Also included are species that have gone extinct since 500 AD, when discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term threatened is a grouping of three categories, critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aims to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals. Many countries require CITES permits when importing plants and animals listed on CITES, in the European Union, the Birds and Habitats Directives are the legal instruments that evaluate the conservation status within the EU of species and habitats. NatureServe conservation status focuses on Latin America, United States, Canada, and it has been developed by scientists from NatureServe, The Nature Conservancy, and the network of natural heritage programs and data centers. It is increasingly integrated with the IUCN Red List system and its categories for species include, presumed extinct, possibly extinct, critically imperiled, imperiled, vulnerable, apparently secure, and secure. The system also allows ambiguous or uncertain ranks including inexact numeric ranks, NatureServe adds a qualifier for captive or cultivated only, which has a similar meaning to the IUCN Red List extinct in the wild status. The Red Data Book of the Russian Federation is used within the Russian Federation, in Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 describes lists of threatened species, ecological communities and threatening processes. The categories resemble those of the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, prior to the EPBC Act, a simpler classification system was used by the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. Some state and territory governments also have their own systems for conservation status, in Belgium, the Flemish Research Institute for Nature and Forest publishes an online set of more than 150 nature indicators in Dutch. In Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is a group of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in danger of disappearing from Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act, it is up to the federal government, in China, the State, provinces and some counties have determined their key protected wildlife species. There is the China red data book, in Finland, a large number of species are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, and through the EU Habitats Directive and EU Birds Directive. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation publishes red lists of endangered species, india has the Wild Life Protection Act,1972, Amended 2003 and the Biological Diversity Act,2002. In Japan, the Ministry of Environment publishes a Threatened Wildlife of Japan Red Data Book, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality publishes a list of threatened species, and conservation is enforced by the Nature Conservation Act 1998. Species are also protected through the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives, in New Zealand, the Department of Conservation publishes the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists
2.
Least Concern
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A least concern species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated but not qualified for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, species cannot be assigned the Least Concern category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation LC, following the IUCN2001 Categories & Criteria. However, around 20% of least concern taxa in the IUCN database use the code LR/lc, prior to 2001 least concern was a subcategory of the Lower Risk category and assigned the code LR/lc or. While least concern is not considered a red listed category by the IUCN, the number of animal species listed in this category totals 14033. There are also 101 animal subspecies listed and 1500 plant taxa, there are also two animal subpopulations listed, the Australasian and Southern African subpopulations of spiny dogfish. No fungi or protista have the classification, though only four species in those kingdoms have been evaluated by the IUCN, humans qualify for this category, and in 2008 were formally assessed as such by the IUCN
3.
IUCN Red List
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the main authority on the conservation status of species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, the IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world, the aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List. The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five years if possible, the 1964 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants used the older pre-criteria Red List assessment system. Plants listed may not, therefore, appear in the current Red List, IUCN advise that is best to check both the online Red List and the 1997 plants Red List publication. The 2006 Red List, released on 4 May 2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, on 12 September 2007, the World Conservation Union released the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Russ Mittermeier, chief of Swiss-based IUCNs Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction,188 more than in 2006, the Red List includes the Sumatran orangutan in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean orangutan in the Endangered category. The study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction, and 836 are listed as Data Deficient. The Red List of 2012 was released 19 July 2012 at Rio+20 Earth Summit, nearly 2,000 species were added, the IUCN assessed a total of 63,837 species which revealed 19,817 are threatened with extinction. With 3,947 described as endangered and 5,766 as endangered. At threat are 41% of amphibian species, 33% of reef-building corals, 30% of conifers, 25% of mammals, the IUCN Red List has listed 132 species of plants and animals from India as Critically Endangered. Extinct – No known individuals remaining, extinct in the wild – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable – High risk of endangerment in the wild, near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category, widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category. Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction, Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria
4.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
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Animal
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Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom emerged as a clade within Apoikozoa as the group to the choanoflagellates. Animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives and their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs, they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance, most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals can be divided broadly into vertebrates and invertebrates, vertebrates have a backbone or spine, and amount to less than five percent of all described animal species. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the remaining animals are the invertebrates, which lack a backbone. These include molluscs, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, flatworms, cnidarians, ctenophores, the study of animals is called zoology. The word animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, the biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans. Aristotle divided the world between animals and plants, and this was followed by Carl Linnaeus, in the first hierarchical classification. In Linnaeuss original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, in 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms, Metazoa and Protozoa. The protozoa were later moved to the kingdom Protista, leaving only the metazoa, thus Metazoa is now considered a synonym of Animalia. Animals have several characteristics that set apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular, which separates them from bacteria and they are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals. With a few exceptions, most notably the sponges and Placozoa and these include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and nerve tissues, which send and process signals
6.
Chordate
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Chordates are deuterostomes, as during the embryo development stage the anus forms before the mouth. They are also bilaterally symmetric coelomates, in the case of vertebrate chordates, the notochord is usually replaced by a vertebral column during development, and they may have body plans organized via segmentation. There are also additional extinct taxa, the Vertebrata are sometimes considered as a subgroup of the clade Craniata, consisting of chordates with a skull, the Craniata and Tunicata compose the clade Olfactores. Of the more than 65,000 living species of chordates, the worlds largest and fastest animals, the blue whale and peregrine falcon respectively, are chordates, as are humans. Fossil chordates are known from at least as early as the Cambrian explosion, Hemichordata, which includes the acorn worms, has been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but it now is usually treated as a separate phylum. The Hemichordata, along with the Echinodermata, form the Ambulacraria, the Chordata and Ambulacraria form the superphylum Deuterostomia, composed of the deuterostomes. Attempts to work out the relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses. All of the earliest chordate fossils have found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna. Because the fossil record of early chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial and it has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce family trees shows that many of the traditional classes are paraphyletic. While this has been known since the 19th century, an insistence on only monophyletic taxa has resulted in vertebrate classification being in a state of flux. Although the name Chordata is attributed to William Bateson, it was already in prevalent use by 1880, ernst Haeckel described a taxon comprising tunicates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates in 1866. Though he used the German vernacular form, it is allowed under the ICZN code because of its subsequent latinization, among the vertebrate sub-group of chordates the notochord develops into the spine, and in wholly aquatic species this helps the animal to swim by flexing its tail. In fish and other vertebrates, this develops into the spinal cord, the pharynx is the part of the throat immediately behind the mouth. In fish, the slits are modified to form gills, a muscular tail that extends backwards behind the anus. This is a groove in the wall of the pharynx. In filter-feeding species it produces mucus to gather food particles, which helps in transporting food to the esophagus and it also stores iodine, and may be a precursor of the vertebrate thyroid gland
7.
Mammal
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Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia, a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles by the possession of a neocortex, hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. All female mammals nurse their young with milk, secreted from the mammary glands, Mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the great whales. The basic body type is a quadruped, but some mammals are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in trees. The largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta, Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm bumblebee bat to the 30-meter blue whale. With the exception of the five species of monotreme, all modern mammals give birth to live young, most mammals, including the six most species-rich orders, belong to the placental group. The largest orders are the rodents, bats and Soricomorpha, the next three biggest orders, depending on the biological classification scheme used, are the Primates, the Cetartiodactyla, and the Carnivora. Living mammals are divided into the Yinotheria and Theriiformes There are around 5450 species of mammal, in some classifications, extant mammals are divided into two subclasses, the Prototheria, that is, the order Monotremata, and the Theria, or the infraclasses Metatheria and Eutheria. The marsupials constitute the group of the Metatheria, and include all living metatherians as well as many extinct ones. Much of the changes reflect the advances of cladistic analysis and molecular genetics, findings from molecular genetics, for example, have prompted adopting new groups, such as the Afrotheria, and abandoning traditional groups, such as the Insectivora. The mammals represent the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida form the Amniota clade, the early synapsid mammalian ancestors were sphenacodont pelycosaurs, a group that produced the non-mammalian Dimetrodon. At the end of the Carboniferous period, this group diverged from the line that led to todays reptiles. Some mammals are intelligent, with some possessing large brains, self-awareness, Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several different ways, including the production of ultrasound, scent-marking, alarm signals, singing, and echolocation. Mammals can organize themselves into fission-fusion societies, harems, and hierarchies, most mammals are polygynous, but some can be monogamous or polyandrous. They provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as commodities such as meat, dairy products, wool. Mammals are hunted or raced for sport, and are used as model organisms in science, Mammals have been depicted in art since Palaeolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Defaunation of mammals is primarily driven by anthropogenic factors, such as poaching and habitat destruction, Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class. No classification system is accepted, McKenna & Bell and Wilson & Reader provide useful recent compendiums. Though field work gradually made Simpsons classification outdated, it remains the closest thing to a classification of mammals
8.
Even-toed ungulate
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The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne equally by the third and fourth toes. By contrast, odd-toed ungulates, such as horses, bear their weight primarily on their third toe, the aquatic cetaceans evolved from within even-toed ungulates, and therefore modern taxonomic classification sometimes combines Artiodactyla and Cetacea into Cetartiodactyla. The oldest fossils of even-toed ungulates date back to the early Eocene, since these findings almost simultaneously appeared in Europe, Asia, and North America, it is very difficult to accurately determine the origin of artiodactyls. The fossils are classified as belonging to the family Dichobunidae, their best-known and these were small animals, some as small as a hare, with a slim build, lanky legs, and a long tail. The hind legs were longer than the front legs. The early to middle Eocene saw the emergence of the ancestors of most of todays mammals, two formerly widespread, but now extinct, families of even-toed ungulates were Enteledontidae and Anthracotheriidae. Entelodonts existed from the middle Eocene to the early Miocene in Eurasia and they had a stocky body with short legs and a massive head, which was characterized by two humps on the lower jaw bone. Anthracotheres had a large, porcine build, with short legs and this group appeared in the middle Eocene up until the Pliocene, and spread throughout Eurasia, Africa, and North America. Anthracothereres are thought to be the ancestors of hippos, and, likewise, hippopotamuses appeared in the late Miocene and occupied Africa and Asia – they never got to the Americas. The camels were, during parts of the Cenozoic, limited to North America. Among the North American camels were groups like the stocky, short-legged Merycoidodontidae and they first appeared in the late Eocene and developed a great diversity of species in North America. Only in the late Miocene or early Pliocene did they migrate from North America into Eurasia, the North American varieties became extinct around 10,000 years ago. Suina have been around since the Eocene, in the late Eocene or the Oligocene, two families stayed in Eurasia and Africa, the peccaries, which became extinct in the Old World, exist today only in the Americas. South America was settled by even-toed ungulates only in the Pliocene, with only the peccaries, lamoids, and various species of capreoline deer, South America has comparatively fewer artiodactyl families than other continents. The classification of artiodactyls was hotly debated because the ocean-dwelling cetaceans evolved from the land-dwelling even-toed ungulates, some semiaquatic even-toed ungulates are more closely related to the ocean-dwelling cetaceans than to the other even-toed ungulates. This makes the Artiodactyla as traditionally defined an invalid paraphyletic taxon, since it includes animals descended from a common ancestor, phylogenetic classification only recognizes monophyletic taxa, that is, groups that descend from a common ancestor and include all its descendants. To address this problem, the traditional order Artiodactyla and infraorder Cetacea are sometimes subsumed into the more inclusive Cetartiodactyla taxon, an alternative approach is to include both land-land dwelling even toed ungulates and ocean-dwelling cetaceans in a revised Artiodactyla taxon. Order Artiodactyla/Clade CetartiodactylaSuborder Tylopoda Family †Anoplotheriidae, molecular biology involves sequencing an organisms DNA and RNA and comparing the sequence with that of other living beings – the more similar they are, the more closely they are related
9.
Cetacea
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Cetacea are a widely distributed and diverse clade of aquatic mammals that today consists of the whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Most species live in the sea, some in rivers, the name is derived from the Latin cetus whale and Greek ketos huge fish. The extinct ancestors of modern whales are the Archaeoceti, while cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence supports them as a relative of Artiodactyls. Cetaceans belong to the order Cetartiodactyla and their closest living relatives are hippopotamuses and other hoofed mammals, having diverged about 50 million years ago. Cetaceans range in size from the 1 m and 50 kg Mauis dolphin to the 29.9 m and 190,000 kg blue whale and they have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Dolphins are able to very tight turns while swimming at high speeds. The hindlimbs of cetaceans are internal, and are thought to be vestigial, baleen whales have short hairs on their mouth, unlike the toothed whales. Cetaceans have well-developed senses—their eyesight and hearing are adapted for both air and water, and baleen whales have a system in their vibrissae. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to maintain body heat in cold water, Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. Although cetaceans are widespread, most species prefer the waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They spend their lives in the water, having to mate, give birth, molt or escape predators, like killer whales. This has drastically affected their anatomy to be able to do so and they feed largely on fish and marine invertebrates, but a few, like the killer whale, feed on large mammals and birds, such as penguins and seals. Some baleen whales are specialised for feeding on benthic creatures, male cetaceans typically mate with more than one female, although the degree of polygyny varies with the species. Cetaceans are not shown to have pair bonds, male cetacean strategies for reproductive success vary between herding females, defending potential mates from other males, or whale song which attracts mates. Calves are typically born in the fall and winter months, cetaceans produce a number of vocalizations, notably the clicks and whistles of dolphins, the moaning songs of the humpback whale. The meat, blubber and oil of cetaceans have traditionally used by indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Cetaceans have been depicted in cultures worldwide. Dolphins are commonly kept in captivity and are sometimes trained to perform tricks and tasks
10.
Oceanic dolphin
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Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. They include several big species whose common names contain whale rather than dolphin, such as the killer whale, Delphinidae is a family within the superfamily Delphinoidea, which also includes the porpoises and the Monodontidae. River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea, oceanic dolphins range in size from the 5. 6-foot -long and 110-pound Mauis dolphin to the 31-foot and 11-short-ton killer whale, the largest known dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, the males are larger than females and they have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at 34.5 mph and they typically have between 100 and 200 teeth, although a few species have considerably fewer. Delphinids travel in pods, which may number a thousand individuals in some species. Each pod forages over a range of a few dozen to a few hundred square miles, some pods have a loose social structure, with individuals frequently joining or leaving, but others seem to be more permanent, perhaps dominated by a male and a harem of females. Individuals communicate by sound, producing low-frequency whistles, and also produce high-frequency broadband clicks of 80-220 kHz, gestation lasts from 10 to 18 months, and results in the birth of a single calf. Some species are adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water, although oceanic dolphins are widespread, most species prefer the warmer waters of the tropic zones, but some, like the right whale dolphin, prefer colder climates. Some have a distribution, like the killer whale. Oceanic dolphins feed largely on fish and squid, but a few, like the killer whale, feed on large mammals, male dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer, and females bear all the responsibility for raising them, mothers of some species fast and nurse their young for relatively long times. Dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks, oceanic dolphins are sometimes hunted in places such as Japan, in an activity known as dolphin drive hunting. Besides drive hunting, they face threats from bycatch, habitat loss. Dolphins have been depicted in cultures worldwide. They occasionally feature in literature and film, as in the Warner Bros film Free Willy, oceanic dolphins are kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks, but breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. The most common dolphins kept are the whales and bottlenose dolphins
11.
John Edward Gray
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John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray. Gray was Keeper of Zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874 and he published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups as well as descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world, Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing The Natural Arrangement of British Plants, after being blackballed by the Linnean Society he turned his interest from botany to zoology. He began his career by volunteering to collect insects for the British Museum at age 15. He officially joined the Zoological Department in 1824 to help John George Children catalog the reptile collection, in 1840 he took over from Children as Keeper of Zoology, which he continued for 35 years, publishing well over 1000 papers. He named many species, genera, subfamilies, and families. During this period he collaborated with Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, the natural history artist. Knowsley Park, near Liverpool, had been founded by Edward Stanley, Gray married Maria Emma Smith in 1826. She helped him with his work, especially with her drawings. In 1833, he was a founder of what became the Royal Entomological Society of London, during his fifty years employed at the British Museum Gray wrote nearly 500 papers, including many descriptions of species new to science. He was also active in malacology, the study of molluscs, on his death he was buried at St Marys Church, Lewisham. 1821, On the natural arrangement of Vertebrose Animals,1824, A revision of the family Equidae. 1824, On the natural arrangement of the pulmonobranchous Mollusca, annals of Philosophy, new series 8, 107–109. 1825, A list and description of species of shells not taken notice of by Lamarck. 1825, An outline of an attempt at the disposition of the Mammalia into tribes and families with a list of the genera apparently appertaining to each tribe, narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia. Performed between the years 1818 and 1822, with an Appendix, containing various subjects relating to hydrography and natural history
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Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name
13.
Georges Cuvier
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Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier, known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the father of paleontology. Cuvier is also known for establishing extinction as a fact—at the time, in his Essay on the Theory of the Earth Cuvier was interpreted to have proposed that new species were created after periodic catastrophic floods. In this way, Cuvier became the most influential proponent of catastrophism in geology in the early 19th century and his study of the strata of the Paris basin with Alexandre Brongniart established the basic principles of biostratigraphy. Cuvier is also remembered for strongly opposing theories of evolution, which at the time were mainly proposed by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, Cuvier believed there was no evidence for evolution, but rather evidence for cyclical creations and destructions of life forms by global extinction events such as deluges. Cuvier supported function and rejected Lamarcks thinking and his most famous work is Le Règne Animal. In 1819, he was created a peer for life in honor of his scientific contributions, thereafter, he was known as Baron Cuvier. He died in Paris during an epidemic of cholera, some of Cuviers most influential followers were Louis Agassiz on the continent and in the United States, and Richard Owen in Britain. His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower, Cuvier was born in Montbéliard, France, where his Protestant ancestors had lived since the time of the Reformation. His father, Jean George Cuvier, was a lieutenant in the Swiss Guards, at the time, the town, which was annexed to France on 10 October 1793, belonged to the Duchy of Württemberg. His mother, who was younger than his father, tutored him diligently throughout his early years. During his gymnasium years, he had trouble acquiring Latin and Greek, and was always at the head of his class in mathematics, history. At the age of 10, soon entering the gymnasium, he encountered a copy of Conrad Gessners Historiae Animalium. He then began frequent visits to the home of a relation, all of these he read and reread, retaining so much of the information, that by the age of 12, he was as familiar with quadrupeds and birds as a first-rate naturalist. He remained at the gymnasium for four years, Cuvier spent an additional four years at the Caroline Academy in Stuttgart, where he excelled in all of his coursework. Although he knew no German on his arrival, after nine months of study. Upon graduation, he had no money on which to live as he awaited appointment to an academic office, so in July 1788, he took a job at Fiquainville chateau in Normandy as tutor to the only son of the Comte dHéricy, a Protestant noble. There, during the early 1790s, he began his comparisons of fossils with extant forms, Cuvier regularly attended meetings held at the nearby town of Valmont for the discussion of agricultural topics. There, he acquainted with Henri Alexandre Tessier, who had assumed a false identity
14.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
15.
Melon (cetacean)
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The melon is a mass of adipose tissue found in the forehead of all toothed whales. It focuses and modulates the animals vocalizations and acts as a sound lens and it is thus a key organ involved in communication and echolocation. The melon is structurally part of the apparatus and comprises most of the mass tissue between the blowhole and the tip of the snout. The varying composition of the melon creates a sound velocity gradient that refracts sound directionally, sounds also bounce off the skull and air sacs that surround the melon. Melon size is unrelated to maximum depth in toothed whales. The particular characteristics of the melon probably have more to do with odontocete phylogeny, in some species, melons are more specialized than in others. The sperm whale has the largest nose of any animal in the world, the bulk of that nose is composed of two large, fatty structures, the spermaceti organ and the junk. The junk is structurally the same as the melon, the melon is not homologous to the spermaceti organ. The melon is a mixture of triglycerides and wax esters, the exact composition varies throughout the melon. Typically, the core of the melon has a higher wax content than the outer parts and conducts sound more slowly. This gradient refracts sound and focuses it like a lens, the lipids in the melon cannot be digested by the animal as they are metabolically toxic. A starving dolphin will have a robust melon even if the rest of its body is emaciated, the lipids in the melon tend to be of lower molecular weight and more saturated than the blubber. The melons of Delphinidae and Physeteroidea have a significant amount of wax ester, the speed of sound in the melon is lowest in the Delphinidae, Phocoenidae and Monodontidae, intermediate in the Ziphiidae, and highest in the Physeteridae and Platanistidae. The melon of pilot whales is a mixture of wax esters, the inner core of the melon is about 33% wax esters, while the outer layer is about 5% wax esters. Most of the fats are saturated, in the pygmy sperm whale, the melon consists of an outer layer and an inner core. The inner core has a larger proportion of wax esters than the outer layer. Behind the melon is an organ that many scientists refer to as the spermaceti organ. This organ is different in form and composition from the organ of the sperm whale
16.
Spinner dolphin
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The spinner dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its displays in which it spins along its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a member of the family Delphinidae of toothed whales, the species was described by John Gray in 1828. The four named subspecies are, Eastern spinner dolphin, from the tropical eastern Pacific, central American or Costa Rican spinner dolphin, also found in the tropical eastern Pacific. Grays or Hawaiian spinner dolphin, from the central Pacific Ocean around Hawaii, dwarf spinner dolphin, first found in the Gulf of Thailand. The species, though, displays greater variety than these subspecies might indicate, a hybrid form characterized by its white belly inhabits the eastern Pacific. Other less distinct groupings inhabit other oceans, the species name comes from the Latin term for long-beaked. Spinner dolphins are small cetaceans with a slim build, adults are typically 129–235 cm long and reach a body mass of 23–79 kg. This species has a rostrum and a triangular or subtriangular dorsal fin. Spinner dolphins generally have tripartite color patterns, the dorsal area is dark gray, the sides light gray, and the underside pale gray or white. Also, a dark band runs from the eye to the flipper, bordered above by a thin, however, the spinner dolphin has more geographic variation in form and coloration than other cetaceans. In the open waters of eastern Pacific, dolphins have relatively small skulls with short rostra, a dwarf form of spinner dolphin occurs around southeast Asia. In these same subspecies, a dorsal cape dims their tripartite color patterns. Further offshore, subspecies tend to have a paler and less far-reaching cape, in certain subspecies, some males may have upright fins that slant forward. Some populations of spinner dolphin found in the eastern Pacific have bizarre backwards-facing dorsal fins, the spinner dolphin lives in nearly all tropical and subtropical waters between 40°N and 40°S. The species primarily inhabits coastal waters, islands, or banks, however, in the eastern tropical Pacific, dolphins live far from shore. Spinner dolphins may use different habitats depending on the season, the spinner dolphin feeds mainly on small mesopelagic fish, squids, and sergestid shrimps, and will dive 200–300 m to feed on them. Spinner dolphins of Hawaii are nocturnal feeders and forage in deep scattering layers, the dwarf spinner dolphin may feed mostly on benthic fish in reefs and shallow water
17.
Pantropical spotted dolphin
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The pantropical spotted dolphin is a species of dolphin found in all the worlds temperate and tropical oceans. The species was beginning to come under threat due to the killing of millions of individuals in tuna purse seines. In the 1980s, the rise of dolphin-friendly tuna capture methods saved millions of the species in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the species was first described by John Gray in 1846. Grays initial analysis included the Atlantic spotted dolphin in this species and they are now regarded as separate. Both the genus and specific names come from Latin words meaning thin or thinning, three subspecies are recognised in Rices 1998 survey of cetacean taxonomy. Two of these have not been formally named, the pantropical spotted dolphin varies significantly in size and coloration throughout its range. The most significant division is between coastal and pelagic varieties, the coastal form is larger and more spotted. Spots are key defining characteristics in adults, though individuals are generally uniformly colored. Populations around the Gulf of Mexico may be relatively even in adulthood. In the Atlantic, confusion is possible with the Atlantic spotted dolphin, broadly speaking, the dolphin has a long, thin beak. The upper and lower jaws are darkly colored, but are separated by thin, the chin, throat, and belly are white to pale grey with a limited number of spots. The flanks are separated into three bands of color — the lightest at the bottom, followed by a thin, grey strip in the middle of the flank. The tall concave dorsal fin is similarly colored, the thick tail stock matches the color of the middle band. The pantropical spotted dolphin is very active and is prone to making large and it is a common breacher and will often clear the water for a second or more. Bow-riding and other play with boats is common, in the eastern Pacific, the dolphin is often found swimming with yellowfin tuna. However, they do not feed on that fish, in fact, the two species have similar diets of small epipelagic fish. In other areas, the species may feed on squid. Adults are about 2.5 m long and weigh 120 kg, sexual maturity is reached at 10 years in females and 12 years in males
18.
Bottlenose dolphin
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Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, instead of one. Research in 2011 revealed a species, the Burrunan dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide and they live in all oceans except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle area. Bottlenose dolphins live in groups typically of 10–30 members, called pods and their diets consist mainly of forage fish. Dolphins often work as a team to harvest fish schools, Dolphins search for prey primarily using echolocation, which is similar to sonar. They emit clicking sounds and listen for the echos to determine the location and shape of nearby items. Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence have been conducted, examining mimicry, use of language, object categorization. They can use tools and transmit cultural knowledge across generations, Bottlenose dolphins gained popularity from aquarium shows and television programs such as Flipper. They have also trained by militaries to locate sea mines or detect. In some areas, they cooperate with local fishermen by driving fish into their nets, some encounters with humans are harmful to the dolphins, people hunt them for food, and dolphins are killed inadvertently as a bycatch of tuna fishing and by getting caught in crab traps. The deepest dive ever recorded for a dolphin was 300 meters. This was accomplished by Tuffy, a dolphin trained by the US Navy, scientists were long aware that Tursiops dolphins might consist of more than one species. Molecular genetics allowed much greater insight into this previously intractable problem, truncatus lives in the Black Sea, The Pacific bottlenose dolphin, another subspecies of T. truncatus and T. aduncus, but is not considered a separate species by the IUCN. The two ecotypes of the bottlenose dolphin within the western North Atlantic are represented by the shallower water or coastal ecotype. Their ranges overlap, but they have shown to be genetically distinct. They are not currently described, however, as species or subspecies. In general, genetic variation between populations is significant, even nearby populations
19.
Dorsal fin
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A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fish, cetaceans, and the ichthyosaurs. Depending on the species, an animal may have one or two of them, wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of large cetaceans to identify individuals in the field. The bony or cartilaginous bones that support the base of the fin in fish are called pterygiophores. The main purpose of the fin is to stabilize the animal against rolling. Some species have adapted their dorsal fins to other uses. The sunfish uses the dorsal fin for propulsion, in anglerfish, the anterior of the dorsal fin is modified into a biological equivalent to a fishing pole and a lure known as illicium or esca. Many catfish can lock the leading ray of the fin in an extended position to discourage predation or to wedge themselves into a crevice. Some animals have developed dorsal fins with protective functions, such as spines or venom, for example, both the spiny dogfish and the Port Jackson shark have spines in their dorsal fins which are capable of secreting venom. Like tuna, mackerel and other scombroids, billfish streamline themselves by retracting their fins into a groove in their body when they swim. The shape, size, position and colour of the dorsal fin varies with the type of billfish, for example, the white marlin has a dorsal fin with a curved front edge and is covered with black spots. The huge dorsal fin, or sail, of the sailfish is kept retracted most of the time, sailfish raise them if they want to herd a school of small fish, and also after periods of high activity, presumably to cool down. Fish fin Submarine sail Vertical stabilizer
20.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
21.
Atlantic Ocean
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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometres. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earths surface and about 29 percent of its surface area. It separates the Old World from the New World, the Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean, in contrast, the term Atlantic originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word thalassa has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of years ago. The term Aethiopian Ocean, derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century, many Irish or British people refer to the United States and Canada as across the pond, and vice versa. The Black Atlantic refers to the role of ocean in shaping black peoples history. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term The Green Atlantic is used, the term Red Atlantic has been used in reference to the Marxian concept of an Atlantic working class, as well as to the Atlantic experience of indigenous Americans. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies, the Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, to the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe, the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean, the 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km compared to 135,663 km for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 or 23. 5% of the ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 or 23. 3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km2 and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3, the North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km2 and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2. The average depth is 3,646 m and the maximum depth, the bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It runs from 87°N or 300 km south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S, the MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2000 m along most of its length, the MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other
22.
Indian Ocean
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The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the worlds oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2. It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, the Indian Ocean is known as Ratnākara, the mine of gems in ancient Sanskrit literature, and as Hind Mahāsāgar, in Hindi. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf, the oceans continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres in width. An exception is found off Australias western coast, where the width exceeds 1,000 kilometres. The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m and its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m deep, Sunda Trench has a depth of 7, 258–7,725 m. North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the basin is covered by pelagic sediments. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments, glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes. The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, which is accessible via the Red Sea. All of the Indian Ocean is in the Eastern Hemisphere and the centre of the Eastern Hemisphere is in this ocean, marginal seas, gulfs, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean include, The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-east winds blow from October until April, from May until October south, in the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere, the winds are milder. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world. Long-term ocean temperature records show a rapid, continuous warming in the Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean warming is the largest among the tropical oceans, and about 3 times faster than the warming observed in the Pacific. Research indicates that human induced greenhouse warming, and changes in the frequency, among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy River. The oceans currents are controlled by the monsoon. Two large gyres, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving anticlockwise, during the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed. Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, north of 20° south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22 °C, exceeding 28 °C to the east. Southward of 40° south latitude, temperatures drop quickly, surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and south-western Australia
23.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
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Continental shelf
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The continental shelf is an underwater landmass which extends from a continent, resulting in an area of relatively shallow water known as a shelf sea. Much of the shelves were exposed during glacial periods and interglacial periods, the shelf surrounding an island is known as an insular shelf. The continental margin, between the shelf and the abyssal plain, comprises a steep continental slope followed by the flatter continental rise. Sediment from the continent above cascades down the slope and accumulates as a pile of sediment at the base of the slope, extending as far as 500 km from the slope, it consists of thick sediments deposited by turbidity currents from the shelf and slope. The continental rises gradient is intermediate between the slope and the shelf, on the order of 0. 5–1°, the largest shelf – the Siberian Shelf in the Arctic Ocean – stretches to 1,500 kilometers in width. The South China Sea lies over another extensive area of shelf, the Sunda Shelf, which joins Borneo, Sumatra. Other familiar bodies of water that overlie continental shelves are the North Sea, the average width of continental shelves is about 80 km. The depth of the shelf also varies, but is limited to water shallower than 150 m. The slope of the shelf is quite low, on the order of 0. 5°, vertical relief is also minimal. Though the continental shelf is treated as a province of the ocean, it is not part of the deep ocean basin proper. Passive continental margins such as most of the Atlantic coasts have wide and shallow shelves, active continental margins have narrow, relatively steep shelves, due to frequent earthquakes that move sediment to the deep sea. The shelf usually ends at a point of increasing slope, the sea floor below the break is the continental slope. Below the slope is the rise, which finally merges into the deep ocean floor. The continental shelf and the slope are part of the continental margin, the shelf area is commonly subdivided into the inner continental shelf, mid continental shelf, and outer continental shelf, each with their specific geomorphology and marine biology. The character of the shelf changes dramatically at the shelf break, with a few exceptions, the shelf break is located at a remarkably uniform depth of roughly 140 m, this is likely a hallmark of past ice ages, when sea level was lower than it is now. The continental slope is steeper than the shelf, the average angle is 3°. The slope is cut with submarine canyons. The physical mechanisms involved in forming these canyons were not well understood until the 1960s, the continental shelves are covered by terrigenous sediments, that is, those derived from erosion of the continents
25.
Pliocene
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The Pliocene Epoch is the epoch in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years BP. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era, the Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch.588 to 1.806 million years ago, and is now included in the Pleistocene. As with other geologic periods, the geological strata that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start. The boundaries defining the Pliocene are not set at an easily identified worldwide event, the upper boundary was set at the start of the Pleistocene glaciations. The Pliocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell, the name comes from the Greek words πλεῖον and καινός and means roughly continuation of the recent, referring to the essentially modern marine mollusc faunas. H. W. Fowler called the term a regrettable barbarism, in the official timescale of the ICS, the Pliocene is subdivided into two stages. From youngest to oldest they are, Piacenzian Zanclean The Piacenzian is sometimes referred to as the Late Pliocene, in the system of North American Land Mammal Ages include Hemphillian, and Blancan. The Blancan extends forward into the Pleistocene, South American Land Mammal Ages include Montehermosan, Chapadmalalan and Uquian. In the Paratethys area the Pliocene contains the Dacian and Romanian stages, as usual in stratigraphy, there are many other regional and local subdivisions in use. In Britain the Pliocene is divided into the stages, Gedgravian, Waltonian, Pre-Ludhamian, Ludhamian, Thurnian, Bramertonian or Antian, Pre-Pastonian or Baventian, Pastonian and Beestonian. The exact correlations between these stages and the ICS stages is still a matter of detail. The formation of an Arctic ice cap is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic. Mid-latitude glaciation was probably underway before the end of the epoch, the global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas. Continents continued to drift, moving from positions possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current locations, africas collision with Europe formed the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean. The border between the Miocene and the Pliocene is also the time of the Messinian salinity crisis, Sea level changes exposed the land-bridge between Alaska and Asia. Pliocene marine rocks are exposed in the Mediterranean, India. Elsewhere, they are exposed largely near shores, the change to a cooler, dry, seasonal climate had considerable impacts on Pliocene vegetation, reducing tropical species worldwide. Deciduous forests proliferated, coniferous forests and tundra covered much of the north, tropical forests were limited to a tight band around the equator, and in addition to dry savannahs, deserts appeared in Asia and Africa
26.
Pilot whale
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Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. The two extant species are the pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale. The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, and analysis of the skulls is the best way to distinguish between the species. Between the two species, they range nearly worldwide, with long-finned pilot whales living in colder waters, Pilot whales are among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the killer whale. They and other members of the dolphin family are also known as blackfish. Pilot whales eat squid primarily, and also fish and they are highly social, and studies suggest that both males and females remain in their mothers pod, an unusual trait among mammals, also found in certain killer whale communities. Short-finned pilot whales are one of the few species in which females go through menopause. Pilot whales are notorious for stranding themselves on beaches, and are among the most common cetacean stranders, several theories have been proposed to account for this behavior. The conservation status of species has been determined, but they are subject to both direct and indirect bycatch in fisheries. Whalers in a few countries continue to hunt pilot whales, Pilot whales are classified into two species, Long-finned pilot whale Short-finned pilot whale. The short-finned pilot whale was described, from skeletal materials only and he presumed from the skeleton that the whale had a large beak. The long-finned pilot whale was first classified by Thomas Stewart Traill in 1809 as Delphinus melas and its scientific name was eventually changed to Globicephala melaena. Since 1986, the name of the long-finned pilot whale was changed to its original form melas. Other species classifications have been proposed but only two have been accepted, there exist geographic forms of short-finned pilot whales off the east coast of Japan, which comprise genetically isolated stocks. Fossils of a relative, Globicephala baereckeii, have been found in Pleistocene deposits in Florida. Another Globicephala dolphin was discovered in Pliocene strata in Tuscany, Italy, the pilot whales were also close relatives of the extinct blunt-snouted dolphin. Close living relatives of the whales are the melon-headed whale, the pygmy killer whale, the false killer whale. Some claims that the Tappanaga, alternatively called Shiogondou, are not adapted form of short-finned pilots, today, Tappanaga and Magondou differentiate their respective distributions by the border at around the oceanic front off Chōshi, Chiba
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False killer whale
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The false killer whale is the fourth-largest dolphin, a member of Delphinidae, the oceanic dolphin family. It lives in temperate and tropical throughout the world. The false killer whale has not been studied extensively in the wild, the false killer whale was first described by the British paleontologist and biologist Richard Owen in his 1846 book A history of British fossil mammals and birds. He based this work on a fossil discovered in 1843 in the great fen at the neighourhood of Stamford, the species was thought extinct until Johannes Reinhardt confirmed it was living when he described a large pod at the Kiel Bay in 1861. One of these was captured, and others were found the following year beached on the coast of Denmark, the false killer whale appears to have a widespread, if small, presence in tropical and semitropical oceanic waters. A few have found in temperate water, but these are probably stray individuals. Their most common habitat is the ocean, though they also frequent other areas. They have been sighted in shallow waters such as the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean. Recently, a pod of killer whales was observed hunting down a small species of shark in Australia. The Hawaiian populations are the most studied groups of killer whales. The three distinct groups in the islands are a population, a northwestern Hawaiian Island group. This last group, a unique, small, insular population, is distinct from the other populations. A false killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin mated in captivity, the hybrid offspring has been called a “wholphin”. The false killer whale is black with a throat and neck. It has a body with an elongated, tapered head and 44 teeth. The dorsal fin is sickle-shaped and its flippers are narrow, short, the average size is around 4.9 m. Females can reach a maximum size of 5.1 m in length and 1,200 kg in weight, while the largest males can reach 6.1 m. False killer whales are kept in captivity and studied in the wild by scientists, for example, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan displays false killer whales in the Okichan Theater
28.
Humpback whale
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The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger species, adults range in length from 12–16 m. The humpback has a body shape, with long pectoral fins. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers, males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating, found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 km each year. Humpbacks feed in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth when they fast and their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was a target for the whaling industry, once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a 1966 moratorium. While stocks have partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, the rorquals are believed to have diverged from the other families of the suborder Mysticeti as long ago as the middle Miocene. However, it is not known when the members of these families diverged from each other, though clearly related to the giant whales of the genus Balaenoptera, the humpback is the sole member of its genus. The humpback was first identified as de la Nouvelle Angleterre by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his Regnum Animale of 1756. In 1781, Georg Heinrich Borowski described the species, converting Brissons name to its Latin equivalent, in 1804, Lacépède shifted the humpback from the family Balaenidae, renaming it B. jubartes. In 1846, John Edward Gray created the genus Megaptera, classifying the humpback as Megaptera longipinna, the common name is derived from the curving of their backs when diving. The generic name Megaptera from the Greek mega-/μεγα- giant and ptera/πτερα wing, the specific name means New Englander and was probably given by Brisson due to regular sightings of humpbacks off the coast of New England. Some biologists believe that these should be regarded as separate subspecies, humpbacks can easily be identified by their stocky body, obvious hump, black dorsal coloring and elongated pectoral fins. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, the fluked tail, which typically rises above the surface when diving, has wavy trailing edges. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths, the plates measure from 18 in in the front to about 3 ft in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the jaw to the umbilicus, about halfway along the underside of the body
29.
Animal echolocation
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Echolocation, also called bio sonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals. Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them and they use these echoes to locate and identify the objects. Echolocation is used for navigation and for foraging in various environments, the term echolocation was coined by Donald Griffin, whose work with Robert Galambos was the first to conclusively demonstrate its existence in bats in 1938. As Griffin described in his book, the 18th century Italian scientist Lazzaro Spallanzani had, by means of a series of experiments, concluded that bats navigate by hearing. In 1912, Sir Hiram Maxim had independently proposed that used sound below the human auditory range to avoid obstacles. Echolocation is the same as active sonar, using sounds made by the animal itself, ranging is done by measuring the time delay between the animals own sound emission and any echoes that return from the environment. Unlike some human-made sonars that rely on extremely narrow beams and many receivers to localize a target, animal echolocation has only one transmitter. Echolocating animals have two ears positioned slightly apart, the echoes returning to the two ears arrive at different times and at different loudness levels, depending on the position of the object generating the echoes. The time and loudness differences are used by the animals to perceive distance, with echolocation, the bat or other animal can see not only where it is going but also how big another animal is, what kind of animal it is, and other features. At the most basic level, echolocation is based on the anatomy of auditory brain circuitry. In essence, ascending brain pathways in the brain stem allow the brain to calculate the difference between the two ears to very small fractions of a second, microbats use echolocation to navigate and forage, often in total darkness. They generally emerge from their roosts in caves, attics, or trees at dusk and their use of echolocation allows them to occupy a niche where there are often many insects, less competition for food, and fewer species that may prey on the bats themselves. Microbats generate ultrasound via the larynx and emit the sound through the mouth or, much more rarely. The latter is most pronounced in the horseshoe bats, microbat calls range in frequency from 14,000 to well over 100,000 Hz, mostly beyond the range of the human ear. Bats may estimate the elevation of targets by interpreting the interference caused by the echoes reflecting from the tragus. There are two hypotheses about the evolution of echolocation in bats, the first suggests that laryngeal echolocation evolved twice in Chiroptera, once in the Yangochiroptera and once in the Horseshoe bats. Individual bat species echolocate within specific frequency ranges that suit their environment and this has sometimes been used by researchers to identify bats flying in an area simply by recording their calls with ultrasonic recorders known as bat detectors. However echolocation calls are not always species specific and some overlap in the type of calls they use so recordings of echolocation calls cannot be used to identify all bats
30.
Cetacean stranding
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Cetacean stranding, commonly known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which cetaceans strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, several explanations of the stranding have been proposed. Every year, up to 2,000 animals beach themselves, although the majority of strandings result in death, they pose no threat to any species as a whole. Only about 10 cetacean species frequently display mass beachings, with 10 more rarely doing so, all frequently involved species are toothed whales, rather than baleen whales. These species share some characteristics which may explain why they beach, body size does not normally affect the frequency, but both the animals normal habitat and social organization do appear to influence their chances of coming ashore in large numbers. Odontocetes that normally inhabit deep waters and live in large, tightly knit groups are the most susceptible and this includes the sperm whale, oceanic dolphins, usually pilot and killer whales, and a few beaked whale species. Solitary species naturally do not strand en masse, cetaceans that spend most of their time in shallow, coastal waters almost never mass strand. Strandings can be grouped into several types, the most obvious distinctions are between single and multiple strandings. The carcasses of deceased cetaceans are likely to float to the surface at some point, during this time, since thousands of cetaceans die every year, many become stranded posthumously. Most carcasses never reach the coast and are scavenged or decomposed enough to sink to the ocean bottom, single live strandings are often the result of illness or injury, which almost inevitably end in death in the absence of human intervention. Multiple strandings in one place are rare and often attract media coverage as well as rescue efforts, even multiple offshore deaths are unlikely to lead to multiple strandings due to variable winds and currents. A key factor in many of these appears to be the strong social cohesion of toothed whales. If one gets into trouble, its distress calls may prompt the rest of the pod to follow, many theories, some of them controversial, have been proposed to explain beaching, but the question remains unresolved. In some cases predators have been known to other whales. Their echolocation system can have difficulty picking up very gently-sloping coastlines and this theory accounts for mass beaching hot spots such as Ocean Beach, Tasmania and Geographe Bay, Western Australia where the slope is about half a degree. Stirred up sand as well as long-lived microbubbles formed by rain may further exacerbate the effect, some strandings may be caused by larger cetaceans following dolphins and porpoises into shallow coastal waters. The larger animals may habituate to following faster-moving dolphins, if they encounter an adverse combination of tidal flow and seabed topography, the larger species may become trapped. Sometimes following a dolphin can help a whale escape danger, in 2008, a local dolphin was followed out to open water by two Pygmy sperm whales that had become lost behind a sandbar at Mahia Beach, New Zealand
31.
Atheriniformes
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The Atheriniformes, also known as the silversides, are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the Old World silversides and several less-familiar families, including the unusual Phallostethidae. The order includes at least 354 species and they are found worldwide in tropical and temperate marine and freshwater environments. Atheriniformes are generally elongated and silvery in colour, although exceptions do exist. They are typically fish, with the largest being the jacksmelt, with a head-body length of 44 cm. Members of the order usually have two fins, the first with flexible spines, and an anal fin with one spine at the front. The lateral line is weak or absent. They scatter their eggs widely, with most species attaching them to aquatic plants, classification of the atheriniformes is uncertain, with the best evidence for monophyly in the larval characteristics mentioned below. Their closest relatives are thought to be the Cyprinodontiformes, following Nelson, the family Melanotaeniidae includes the subfamilies Bedotiinae, Melanotaeniinae, Pseudomugilinae, and Telmatherininae, to demonstrate their monophyly. However, in a 2004 study, a different classification scheme classifies the families Bedotiidae, Melanotaeniidae, thus, the number of families in Atheriniformes varies from author to author. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera, archived from the original on 2011-07-23
32.
Sauries
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Sauries are fish of the family Scomberesocidae. There are two genera, each containing two species, the name Scomberesocidae is derived from the Greek, skombros = tuna/mackerel, and esox = nursery of salmon. Sauries are marine fish which live in tropical and temperate waters. These fish often jump while swimming near the surface, skimming the water, which is similar to flying fish, the jaws of sauries are beak-like, ranging from long, slender beaks to relatively short ones with the lower jaw only slightly elongated. The mouth openings of sauries, however, are small and the jaws have weak teeth, the most distinctive feature of sauries, however, is the presence of a row of small finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins. Sauries grow to a length of about 46 centimetres, but the group also includes the smallest of all epipelagic fish, Cololabis adocetus. They are harvested commercially as a fish, Pacific saury are consumed often in Japanese. The Saury, a Sargo-class submarine, was the ship of the United States Navy to be named for this fish. Beloniformes Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds
33.
Houndfish
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The houndfish, Tylosurus crocodilus, is a gamefish of the family Belonidae. It is the largest member of its family, able to grow up to 5 feet and it is also often called the crocodile needlefish. While the houndfish has no spines, its dorsal fin has 21–25 soft rays and they are also known to have 80–86 vertebrae. A key way of distinguishing the houndfish from other members of the Tylosurus genus is that the houndfishs teeth point anteriorly when the fish is a juvenile, the teeth of other species are straight at all ages. The houndfish also has a stout, cylindrical body and a shorter head than other needlefishes. They have dark blue backs and silver-white sides and are white ventrally. A houndfish has a keel on the caudal peduncle. Juvenile houndfish possess an elevated, black lobe on the posterior of their dorsal fins, the longest recorded houndfish was 150 centimetres, and the largest recorded weight was 6.35 kilograms. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans, houndfish are found in the Red Sea and from the coast of South Africa, east to French Polynesia, and north to Japan, and south to New South Wales, Australia. Its usual subspecies, T. c. crocodilus is replaced by T. c. fodiator, also called the Mexican needlefish, the Mexican needlefish is found only in the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California south to Panama, including the area off Cocos Island. In the Atlantic Ocean, houndfish are known from New Jersey to Brazil in the west, and in the east, they are found from Fernando Poo, Cameroon, houndfish can also be found near Guinea, Senegal and Cape Verde. A pelagic animal, houndfish can be found over lagoons and seaward reefs either as individuals or small groups, houndfish lay eggs which attach themselves to objects in the water via tendrils on the surface of each egg. Considered a gamefish, houndfish can be caught by use of artificial lights, although they are considered good to eat, and usually sold fresh, the market is small because houndfish flesh has a greenish colour similar to the Flat needlefish. In April 2000, a suffered a severe injury after being stabbed in the neck by a houndfish leaping above the water while snorkeling in the Florida Keys. In October,2010 an ocean-kayaker was injured when she was struck in the back by the beak of a houndfish that jumped out of the water near her boat. Discoverlife. org zipcodezoo ITIS Fishbase on T. c. crocodilus Fisbase on T. c. fodiator WhatsThatFish. com Leaping fish spears kayaker off Florida Keys, 10/18/10
34.
Smelt (fish)
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Smelts are a family of small fish, the Osmeridae, found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are also known as freshwater smelts or typical smelts to distinguish them from the related Argentinidae, Bathylagidae, in some western parts of the United States, smelt populations have greatly declined in recent decades, leading to their protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Delta smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus, found in the Sacramento Delta of California, some species of smelts are among the few fish that sportsmen have been allowed to net, using hand-held dip nets, either along the coastline or in streams. Some sportsmen also ice fish for smelt and they are often fried and eaten whole. In size, smelts usually grow to about 20 cm long, smelts are a food source for many fish, including salmon, striped bass, and lake trout. Like salmon, many species are anadromous, living most of their lives in the sea, however, a few exceptions, such as the surf smelt, spend their entire lives at sea. The smelt are cleaned by removing the head and the entrails, fins, scales, and bones of all but the largest of smelts are cooked without removal. On the Maine coast, smelts were also a sign of spring, many of these streams were narrow enough for a person to straddle and get a good catch of smelt by dipping a bucket. Smelts are an important winter catch in the mouths of rivers in New England. Fishermen would historically go to customary locations over the ice using horses, Smelt taken out of the cold saltwater were preferred to those taken in warm water. The fish did not command a price on the market. The smelts were flash frozen simply by leaving them on the ice, in present day, smelts are fished both commercially using nets at sea, and for recreation by hand-netting them or spearing or angling them through holes in river ice. They are often the fish of small fishing shack villages that spring up along frozen rivers. Typical ways of preparing them include pan-frying in flour and butter, or deep-frying in batter, Smelt is popular in Japan, as the species Sprinchus lanceolatus, and is generally served grilled, called shishamo, especially when full of eggs. Smelt roe, specifically from capelin, called masago in Japanese, is yellow to orange in color and is used in sushi. Smelt is also served in dim sum restaurants, deep fried with the heads and tails attached, identified as duō chūn yú or duō luǎn yú, which loosely translates as fish with many eggs. Smelt is one of the fish species eaten in coastal Karnataka, especially in Mangalore and Udupi regions, usually fried with heads. They are called Bolingei in Kannada and Tulu and MotiyaLe in Konkani, in the city of Inje, South Korea, an Ice Fishing Festival is held annually from January 30 to February 2 on Soyang Lake, coinciding with the smelts yearly run into fresh water to spawn
35.
Cutlassfish
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The cutlassfishes are about 40 species of predatory fish in the family Trichiuridae found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour and they have reduced or absent pelvic and caudal fins, giving them an eel-like appearance, and large fang-like teeth. Some of the species are known as scabbardfishes or hairtails, others are called frostfishes because they appear in autumn and early winter. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera, archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Listing of Trichiuridae in English and Japanese 2003-10-27
36.
Squid
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Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 304 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs, squid are strong swimmers and certain species can fly for short distances out of the water. Squid are members of the class Cephalopoda, subclass Coleoidea, order Teuthida, Teuthida is the largest cephalopod order with around 300 species classified into 29 families. The order Teuthida is a member of the superorder Decapodiformes, two other orders of decapodiform cephalopods are also called squid, although they are taxonomically distinct from Teuthida and differ recognizably in their gross anatomical features. They are the bobtail squid of order Sepiolida and the rams horn squid of the monotypic order Spirulida, the vampire squid, however, is more closely related to the octopuses than to any squid. Class Cephalopoda Subclass Nautiloidea, nautilus Subclass Coleoidea, squid, octopus, what before may have been the foot of the ancestor is modified into a complex set of tentacles and highly developed sense organs, including advanced eyes similar to those of vertebrates. The ancestral shell has been lost, with only an internal gladius, or pen, the pen is a feather-shaped internal structure that supports the squids mantle and serves as a site for muscle attachment. It is made of a chitin-like material, the main body mass is enclosed in the mantle, which has a swimming fin along each side. These fins, unlike in other organisms, are not the main source of locomotion in most species. The skin is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings, the underside is also almost always lighter than the topside, to provide camouflage from both prey and predator. Under the body are openings to the cavity, which contains the gills and openings to the excretory. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion via precise jet propulsion, in this form of locomotion, water is sucked into the mantle cavity and expelled out of the siphon in a fast, strong jet. The direction of the siphon can be changed, to suit the direction of travel, inside the mantle cavity, beyond the siphon, lies the visceral mass, which is covered by a thin, membranous epidermis. Under this are all the internal organs. The giant axon, which may be up to 1 mm in diameter in some species, innervates the mantle. As cephalopods, squid exhibit relatively high intelligence among invertebrates, for example, groups of Humboldt squid hunt cooperatively, using active communication. In females, the ink sac is hidden from view by a pair of white nidamental glands, also, red-spotted accessory nidamental glands are present
37.
Octopus
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The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. It has two eyes and four pairs of arms and, like other cephalopods, it is bilaterally symmetric and it has a beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms. It has no internal or external skeleton, allowing it to squeeze through tight places, octopuses are among the most intelligent and behaviorally diverse of all invertebrates. Octopuses inhabit diverse regions of the ocean, including reefs, pelagic waters. They trail their eight arms behind them as they swim, all octopuses are venomous, but only one group, the blue-ringed octopuses, is known to be deadly to humans. Around 300 species are recognized, which is over one-third of the number of known cephalopod species. The term octopus may also be used to specifically to the genus Octopus. Octopuses appear in mythology as sea monsters like the Kraken of Norway and the Akkorokamui of the Ainu, a battle with an octopus appears in Victor Hugos book Toilers of the Sea, inspiring other works such as Ian Flemings Octopussy. Octopuses appear in Japanese erotic art, shunga and they are eaten in many parts of the world, especially the Mediterranean and the Asian seas. The scientific Latin term octopus was derived from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους, related to the word octopus are the terms Octopoda and the adjectival octopoid. The standard pluralized form of octopus in the English language is octopuses /ˈɒktəpʊsɪz/, the alternative plural octopi – which misguidedly assumes it is a Latin -us-word – is considered grammatically incorrect. It is nevertheless used frequently enough to make it notable, and was acknowledged by the descriptivist Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi, and octopodes, in order, labeling octopodes as rare. The underside of the arms are covered in circular, adhesive suckers, while often called tentacles, the arms of octopuses are often distinguished from the pair of feeding tentacles found in squid and cuttlefish. The bulbous and hollow mantle is fused to the back of the head, Most of the vital organs are contained in the mantle while the central brain is located in the head. The eyes of the octopus are located at the top of the head, anatomical and embryological evidence shows that the tentacles are part of the ventral side, while the abdomen is dorsal, the head forms forms the anterior and the mantle posterior. The mouth of an octopus, located underneath the tentacles, contains a hard beak on the outside and a radula. Both of these structures are made of chitin, Most of the octopus body is made of soft material allowing it to lengthen, contract, and contort itself
38.
Killer whale
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The killer whale or orca is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. Killer whales have a diet, although individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as seals and they have been known to attack baleen whale calves, and even adult whales. Killer whales are apex predators, as there is no animal that preys on them, Killer whales are considered a cosmopolitan species, and can be found in each of the worlds oceans in a variety of marine environments, from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas. Killer whales are social, some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviours, which are specific to a particular group. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to depletion, habitat loss, pollution, capture for marine mammal parks. In late 2005, the Southern Resident Killer Whales, the population that inhabits British Columbia, Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans, but there have been cases of captive orcas killing or injuring their handlers at marine theme parks. Killer whales feature strongly in the mythologies of cultures, with their reputation ranging from being the souls of humans to merciless killers. Orcinus orca is the only recognized extant species in the genus Orcinus, the killer whale is one of 35 species in the oceanic dolphin family, which first appeared about 11 million years ago. The killer whale lineage probably branched off shortly thereafter, english-speaking scientists most often use the term killer whale, although the term orca is increasingly used. Killer whale advocates point out it has a long heritage, indeed, the genus name Orcinus means of the kingdom of the dead, or belonging to Orcus. Ancient Romans originally applied orca to these animals, possibly borrowing it from the Greek ὄρυξ, since the 1960s, orca has steadily grown in popularity, both names are now used. According to some authors, the killer whale is a mistranslation of the 18th century Spanish name asesina-ballenas which means literally whale killer. Basque whalers would have given it such name after observing pods of orcas hunting baleen whales and they are sometimes referred to as blackfish, a name also used for other whale species. Grampus is a name for the species, but is now seldom used. This meaning of grampus should not be confused with the genus Grampus, the three to five types of killer whales may be distinct enough to be considered different races, subspecies, or possibly even species. Residents diets consist primarily of fish and sometimes squid, and they live in complex, female residents characteristically have rounded dorsal fin tips that terminate in a sharp corner
39.
Shark
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Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha and are the group to the rays. Under this broader definition, the earliest known sharks date back to more than 420 million years ago, acanthodians are often referred to as spiny sharks, though they are not part of Chondrichthyes proper, they are a paraphyletic assemblage leading to cartilaginous fish as a whole. Since then, sharks have diversified into over 500 species, Sharks are found in all seas and are common to depths of 2,000 metres. They generally do not live in freshwater although there are a few exceptions, such as the bull shark and the river shark. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protects their skin from damage and they have numerous sets of replaceable teeth. Well-known species such as the white shark, tiger shark, blue shark, mako shark. Many shark populations are threatened by human activities, until the 16th century, sharks were known to mariners as sea dogs. The etymology of the shark is uncertain. One theory is that it derives from the Yucatec Maya word xok, however, the Middle English Dictionary records an isolated occurrence of the word shark in a letter written by Thomas Beckington in 1442, which rules out a New World etymology. Evidence for the existence of sharks dates from the Ordovician period, 450–420 million years ago, before land vertebrates existed and before many plants had colonized the continents. Only scales have been recovered from the first sharks and not all agree that these are from true sharks. The oldest generally accepted shark scales are from about 420 million years ago, the first sharks looked very different from modern sharks. The majority of sharks can be traced back to around 100 million years ago. Most fossils are of teeth, often in large numbers, partial skeletons and even complete fossilized remains have been discovered. Estimates suggest that sharks grow tens of thousands of teeth over a lifetime, the teeth consist of easily fossilized calcium phosphate, an apatite. When a shark dies, the decomposing skeleton breaks up, scattering the apatite prisms, preservation requires rapid burial in bottom sediments. Among the most ancient and primitive sharks is Cladoselache, from about 370 million years ago, which has been found within Paleozoic strata in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee
40.
Dolphin
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Dolphins are a widely distributed and diverse group of aquatic mammals. They are a grouping within the order Cetacea, excluding whales and porpoises. The dolphins comprise the extant families Delphinidae, Platanistidae, Iniidae, and Pontoporiidae, there are 40 extant species of dolphins. Dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago. Dolphins range in size from the 1.7 m long and 50 kg Mauis dolphin to the 9.5 m and 10 t killer whale, several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers, though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at 55.5 km/h. Dolphins use their conical shaped teeth to capture fast moving prey and they have well-developed hearing which is adapted for both air and water and is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water, although dolphins are widespread, most species prefer the warmer waters of the tropic zones, but some, like the right whale dolphin, prefer colder climates. Dolphins feed largely on fish and squid, but a few, like the killer whale, feed on large mammals, male dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them, mothers of some species fast and nurse their young for a relatively long period of time. Dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks, Dolphins are sometimes hunted in places like Japan, in an activity known as dolphin drive hunting. Besides drive hunting, they face threats from bycatch, habitat loss. Dolphins have been depicted in cultures worldwide. Dolphins occasionally feature in literature and film, as in the film series Free Willy, Dolphins are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks, but breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. The most common dolphins kept are killer whales and bottlenose dolphins, the name is originally from Greek δελφίς, dolphin, which was related to the Greek δελφύς, womb. The animals name can therefore be interpreted as meaning a fish with a womb, the name was transmitted via the Latin delphinus, which in Medieval Latin became dolfinus and in Old French daulphin, which reintroduced the ph into the word. The term mereswine has also historically been used, the term dolphin can be used to refer to, under the parvorder Odontoceti, all the species in the family Delphinidae and the river dolphin families Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, Lipotidae and Platanistidae
41.
Harpoon
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A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. A harpoon can also be used as a weapon, in the 1990s Zaire, harpoon points, known as the Semliki harpoons or the Katanda harpoons, were found in the Katanda region. As the earliest known harpoons, these weapons were made and used 90,000 years ago, later, in Japan, spearfishing with poles became widespread in palaeolithic times, especially during the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods. Cosquer Cave in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, there are references to harpoons in ancient literature, though, in most cases, the descriptions do not go into detail. An early example from the Bible in Job 41,7, the Greek historian Polybius, in his Histories, describes hunting for swordfish by using a harpoon with a barbed and detachable head. Copper harpoons were known to the seafaring Harappans well into antiquity, early hunters in India include the Mincopie people, aboriginal inhabitants of Indias Andaman and Nicobar islands, who have used harpoons with long cords for fishing since early times. The two flue harpoon was the weapon used in whaling around the world, but it cut through the blubber when under stress. In the Arctic, the people used the more advanced toggling harpoon design. In the early 19th century the one flue harpoon was introduced, in the mid-19th century, the toggling harpoon was adapted by Lewis Temple, using iron. The Temple toggle was widely used, and quickly came to dominate whaling and he also describes another device that was at times a necessary addition to harpoons, All whale-boats carry certain curious contrivances, originally invented by the Nantucket Indians, called druggs. It is chiefly among gallied whales that this drugg is used, for then, more whales are close round you than you can possibly chase at one time. But sperm whales are not every day encountered, while you may, then, and if you cannot kill them all at once, you must wing them, so that they can be afterwards killed at your leisure. Hence it is that at times like these the drugg comes into requisition, the first use of explosives in the hunting of whales was made by the British South Sea Company in 1737, after some years of declining catches. A large fleet was sent, armed with cannon-fired harpoons, although the weaponry was successful in killing the whales, most of the catch sank before being retrieved. William Congreve, a British inventor who invented some of the first rockets for military use, the shell was designed to explode on contact and impale the whale with the harpoon. The weapon was in turn attached by a line to the boat, expeditions were sent out to try this new technology, many whales were killed, but most of them sank. A notable user of these early explosive harpoons was the American Thomas Welcome Roys in 1865, a slump in oil prices after the American Civil War forced their endeavor into bankruptcy in 1867. Norwegian, Svend Foyn, also studied the American method in Iceland, another early version of the explosive harpoon was designed by Jacob Nicolai Walsøe, a Norwegian painter and inventor
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Whaling
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Whaling is the hunting of whales for their usable products like meat, oil and blubber. Its earliest forms date to at least circa 3000 BC, various coastal communities have long histories of subsistence whaling and harvesting beached whales. By the late 1930s, more than 50,000 whales were killed annually In 1986, contemporary whaling is subject to intense debate. Pro-whaling countries, notably Japan, Norway, and Iceland, wish to lift the ban on certain whale stocks for hunting, anti-whaling countries and environmental groups oppose lifting the ban. Whaling began in times and was initially confined to coastal waters. Early whaling affected the development of disparate cultures – such as Norway. The Basques were the first to catch whales commercially, and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. Although prehistoric hunting and gathering is considered to have had little ecological impact. Whale oil is used today and modern commercial whaling is primarily done for food. The primary species hunted are the common minke whale and Antarctic minke whale, recent scientific surveys estimate a population of 103,000 in the northeast Atlantic. International cooperation on whaling began in 1931 and culminated in the signing of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 1946. Its aim is to, provide for the conservation of whale stocks. The International Whaling Commission was set up under the ICRW to decide hunting quotas, non-member countries are not bound by its regulations and conduct their own management programs. The IWC voted on July 23,1982, to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling beginning in the 1985–86 season. Since 1992, the IWCs Scientific Committee has requested that it be allowed to give proposals for some whale stocks. At the 2010 meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco, Japan, Norway and Iceland have urged the organisation to lift the ban. A coalition of anti-whaling nations has offered a plan that would allow these countries to continue whaling. Their plan would also completely ban whaling in the Southern Ocean, opponents of the compromise plan want to see an end to all commercial whaling, but are willing to allow subsistence-level catches by indigenous peoples
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Seine fishing
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Seine fishing is a method of fishing that employs a seine or dragnet. A seine is a net that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, boats deploying seine nets are known as seiners. There are two types of seine net deployed from seiners, purse seines and Danish seines. Seine, or Sean, according to Encyclopedia Britannica in 1926, seines have been used widely in the past, including by stone age societies. For example, with the help of large canoes, pre-European Māori deployed seine nets which could be one thousand metres long. The nets were woven from green flax, with weights and light wood or gourd floats. Native Americans on the Columbia River wove seine nets from spruce root fibers or wild grass, for floats they used sticks made of cedar which moved in a way which frightened the fish and helped keep them together. Seine nets are well documented in ancient cultures in the Mediterranean region. They appear in Egyptian tomb paintings from 3000 BC, in ancient Greek literature, Ovid makes many references to seine nets, including the use of cork floats and lead weights. A common type of seine is a purse seine, named such because along the bottom are a number of rings. A line passes through all the rings, and when pulled, draws the rings close to one another, preventing the fish from sounding and this operation is similar to a traditional style purse, which has a drawstring. Boats equipped with purse seines are called purse seiners, Purse seine fishing can be a relatively sustainable way of fishing, as it can result in smaller amounts of by-catch, especially when used to catch large species of fish that shoal tightly together. When used to fish that shoal together with other species, or when used in parallel with fish aggregating devices. Use of purse seines is regulated by many countries, in Sri Lanka, using this type of net within 7 kilometers of the shore is illegal. However, they can be used in the sea, after obtaining permission from authorities. Purse seine fishing can have impacts on fish stocks because it can involve the bycatch of non-target species. The power block is a pulley used on some seiners to haul in the nets
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Tuna
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A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a sub-grouping of the mackerel family – which together with the tunas, also includes the bonitos, mackerels, and Spanish mackerels. Thunnini comprises fifteen species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, the bluefin averages 2 m, and is believed to live for up to 50 years. Tuna and mackerel sharks are the species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water. An active and agile predator, the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, found in warm seas, it is extensively fished commercially, and is popular as a game fish. As a result of over-fishing, stocks of tuna species such as the southern bluefin tuna have been reduced dangerously close to the point of extinction. The term tuna ultimately derives from Thunnus, the Middle Latin form of the Ancient Greek, θύννος tunny-fish – which is in turn derived from θύνω, rush, the following cladogram illustrates the relationship between the tunas and other tribes of the family Scombridae. The true tunas are those that belong to the genus Thunnus, until recently, it was thought that there were seven Thunnus species, and that Atlantic bluefin tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna were subspecies of a single species. In 1999, Collette established that based on molecular and morphological considerations, they are in fact distinct species. The genus Thunnus is further classified into two subgenera, Thunnus, and Thunnus, the Thunnini tribe also includes seven additional species of tuna across four genera. They are, The tuna is a sleek and streamlined fish and it has two closely spaced dorsal fins on its back, The first is depressible – it can be laid down, flush, in a groove that runs along its back. Seven to ten yellow finlets run from the fins to the tail. The caudal peduncle, to which the tail is attached, is quite thin, the tunas dorsal side is generally a metallic dark blue, while the ventral side, or underside, is silvery or whitish, for camouflage. Thunnus are widely but sparsely distributed throughout the oceans of the world, generally in tropical, all tunas are able to maintain the temperature of certain parts of their body above the temperature of ambient seawater. For example, bluefin can maintain a body temperature of 25–33 °C. However, unlike typical endothermic creatures such as mammals and birds, tunas achieve endothermy by conserving the heat generated through normal metabolism. In all tunas, the heart operates at ambient temperature, as it receives cooled blood, also unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red myotomal muscles derive their color from myoglobin, an oxygen-binding molecule, the oxygen-rich blood further enables energy delivery to their muscles. For powerful swimming animals like dolphins and tuna, cavitation may be detrimental, even if they have the power to swim faster, dolphins may have to restrict their speed, because collapsing cavitation bubbles on their tail are too painful
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Dolphinarium
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A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are kept in a large pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea. While cetaceans have been held in captivity since the 1860s, the first commercial dolphinarium was opened only in 1938 and their popularity increased rapidly until the 1960s. Since the 1970s, increasing concern for animal welfare led to stricter regulation, despite this trend, dolphinariums are still widespread in Europe, Japan and North America. The most common species of dolphin kept in dolphinariums is the bottlenose dolphin, while trade in dolphins is internationally regulated, other aspects of keeping dolphins in captivity, such as the minimum size and characteristics of pools, vary among countries. Though animal welfare is perceived to have improved significantly over the last few decades and it was here that it was discovered that dolphins could be trained to perform tricks. Recognizing the success of Marine Studios, more dolphinariums began keeping dolphins for entertainment, in the 1960s, keeping dolphins in zoos and aquariums for entertainment purposes increased in popularity after the 1963 Flipper movie and subsequent Flipper television series. In 1966, the first dolphin was exported to Europe, in these early days, dolphinariums could grow quickly due to a lack of legislation and lack of concern for animal welfare. New legislation, most notably the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act in the United States, combined with a critical view on animal welfare. A prominent example is the United Kingdom, in the early 1970s there were at least 36 dolphinariums and traveling shows, however. The last dolphinarium in Hungary was closed in 1992, in 2005 both Chile and Costa Rica prohibited keeping cetaceans captive. However, around 60 dolphinariums currently exist across Europe, of which 34 are within the EU, Japan, Mexico and the United States are also home to a relatively large number of dolphinariums. If two of three conditions are met, and the third is not more than 10% below standard, the EAAM considers the pool size to be acceptable. Bottlenose Dolphins are the most common species of dolphin kept in dolphinariums as they are easy to train, have a long lifespan in captivity. Hundreds if not thousands of Bottlenose Dolphins live in captivity across the world, of all Orcas kept in captivity, the majority are located in the various SeaWorld parks in the United States. There are also fewer than ten Amazon River Dolphins, Rissos Dolphins, there are few to almost no Spinner Dolphins in captivity at the time. Two unusual and very rare hybrid dolphins known as Wolphins are kept at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii, also two Common/Bottlenose hybrids reside in captivity, one at Discovery Cove and the other SeaWorld San Diego. In the early days, many Bottlenose dolphins were wild-caught off the coast of Florida, in most Western countries, breeding programs have been set up to provide the dolphinariums with new animals
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ASCOBANS
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ASCOBANS covers all species of toothed whales in the Agreement Area, with the exception of the sperm whale. Numerous species of small cetaceans live in the Baltic, Irish and North Seas, the harbour porpoise is the most common small cetacean species in the North Sea and the only cetacean species native to the Baltic Sea and therefore is the flagship species of the Agreement. As migratory species, cetaceans face of a number of threats caused by human activities and these include habitat loss, marine pollution, acoustic disturbances from various sources and, most importantly, incidental catch by entanglement in fishing gear, so-called bycatch. Every year, thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises fall victim to bycatch, the Agreement has three main bodies that collaborate towards the implementation of ASCOBANS, The Meeting of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Agreement. It meets every three years to progress and develop further steps in the implementation of ASCOBANS. Each Party to the Agreement can nominate one member and a number of advisors to the Advisory Committee, the role of the Committee is to provide scientific and policy advice to the Secretariat and the Meeting of the Parties. As with the MOP, external observers may take part in AC meetings, the ASCOBANS Secretariat, located in Bonn, acts as the coordinating body of the Agreement. It gathers and disseminates information to the MOP and the AC and it plays an important role in awareness-raising and provides advice and support to the Parties, assisting them in the implementation of the agreement. It services the sessions of the Meeting of the Parties and meetings of the Advisory Committee, the ASCOBANS Secretariat along with other Regional Agreement Secretariats within the framework of the Bonn Convention is integrated into the Agreements Unit of the CMS Secretariat. The current Acting Executive Secretary is Bradnee Chambers, ASCOBANS is open for accession by all Range States and by regional economic integration organisations. Originally only covering the North and Baltic Sea, as of 3 February 2008 the ASCOBANS Area has been extended to also the Irish Sea. Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Lithuania Netherlands Poland Sweden United Kingdom The European Union signed the Agreement, estonia Ireland Latvia Norway Portugal Russia Spain Three action plans for harbour porpoises specific to the situation in different parts of the Agreement Area have been concluded to date. Attention has been drawn to ASCOBANS activities, successes and setbacks, in a more recent statement, the Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Meeressäugetiere, GSM, has called for increased attention to the work of ASCOBANS on the wider scale. Some NGOs have voiced concern about possible effects of the changed Secretariat arrangements since January 2007, the ASCOBANS Secretariat publishes a periodic newsletter, which informs about latest activities. Subscriptions are possible via the ASCOBANS website, ASCOBANS was a partner to the Year of the Dolphin. ASCOBANS Background on ASCOBANS Odontocetes, the whales, Distribution, Behaviour, Migration
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ACCOBAMS
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ACCOBAMS was concluded in the auspices of Convention on Migratory Species in 1996 and entered into force in 2001. The Meeting of the Parties is the body of the Agreement. Ordinary sessions of the Meeting of the Parties occur at intervals of not more than three years, unless the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise, the ACCOBAMS Permanent Secretariat performs the functions listed in Article IV of the Agreement. The Permanent Secretariat is hosted by the Principality of Monaco, the Bureau normally meets once per annum and provides a report on its activities for each session of the Meeting of the Parties. The Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS, composed of persons qualified as experts in conservation science, is an advisory body to the Meeting of the Parties. Its role and tasks are defined in the Article VII of the Agreement, the Scientific Committee usually meets every year. The meetings of the Committee provide an opportunity for the gathering of a large number of cetacean conservation experts from the Agreement area. As of 2013,23 countries—out of 28 Range States—are Parties to ACCOBAMS, the five non-Parties are Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, the Russian Federation, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The List of Parties with a date of accession is presented below, the year when the partnership started is shown in the brackets
