Tag: species

Tritonia Khaleesi – New Slug Named After the Mother of Dragons

By Anupum Pant

Wish you a Happy 2014

It’s the last day of the year! What am I doing?
I’m writing this blog-post while everyone in the city is partying. That might sound like a sad thing, but I like to think of celebration as something that isn’t the same for everyone.
For instance, think of the sea slugs for a moment. The last day of the year means nothing to them. Even when it is party time for everyone else, they do the thing they do every day. Although it makes sense here, sea slug is not to be confused with the first generation British surface-to-air missile.
Anyway, I wish all of my readers a very happy and a successful 2014. If you need some help with sticking to New Year resolutions, you could check this out – [Help!]

So, talking about sea slugs – A sea slug can be thought of as a type of a snail, without a shell living in the sea. But, why am I talking about sea slugs suddenly? There is a reason.

A new sea slug

Felipe de Vasconcelos Silva, Victor Manuel De Azevedo, and Helena Matthews-Cascon from the Federal University of Ceará discovered a new kind of sea slug off the coast of north-east Brazil. They decided to name it Tritonia khaleesi.
If it doesn’t ring a bell, it is probably because you do not watch Game of Thrones on TV. They named it after the mother of dragons, Khaleesi, from the Game of thrones – a fantasy drama television series which is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels.

Why did they name it that?

If I may quote the scientists themselves, their words pretty much answer this question:

The standard of the silver band on the back of the slug reminds braids Khaleesi of silver hair, especially in the last episode of the first season of the show. Besides silver color, the species is one of the smallest sea slugs, as well as Khaleesi is also described as low and new.

What did you learn?

Well, Several things! Things like:

  1. Scientific names can be after character names from TV shows or fantasy novels.
  2. The British called their first generation surface-to-air missile – Sea Slug.
  3. New species are being discovered even today. BTW, it is estimated that 86% of the species still living on earth are still waiting to get discovered.
  4. And of course, the new sea slug is named after Khaleesi.
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There Is No Lake Like The Taal Lake

By Anupum Pant

Geologically this is quite a phenomenon and might get a bit confusing to grasp if you stop paying enough attention. Here we go…

Island in a lake on an island in a lake…

Taal lake is a freshwater lake on the Luzon island of Philippines. Almost at the center of this lake, is an island called the volcano island. At the center of this island is another lake called the main crater lake. And in this lake is a small landmass called the Vulcan point. [map]

Now take a deep breath…in short, it is, Luzon island > Taal lake > Volcano island > Main crater lake > Vulcan Point.

The main crater lake: Even though the crater lake isn’t a very big lake, it is still claimed as the  world’s largest lake on an island (Volcano Island) in a lake (Taal Lake) on an island (Luzon). Of course it is, where else in the whole world would you find a lake on an island in a lake on an island?

Vulcan point: On this world’s largest lake on an island in a lake on an island, is a tiny land mass called the Vulcan Point which is the world’s largest volcano in a lake (Main Crater Lake) on a volcano (Taal Volcano). It isn’t even big enough to support a small house.

Home to Unique Species

But all that is just a part of what is interesting about the Taal lake. Ecologically it is another marvel in a way that it is home to a few species of animals that are found nowhere else on earth. In this lake you’ll find the only varieties of fresh water sardines, sharks and sea snakes.

Reason: This lake was not a lake several thousands of years back. Then, due to volcanic eruptions, it got separated from the sea. Now the only thing that connected this water mass and the sea was Pansipit river. Gradually, several hundreds of years of precipitation converted this lake from a saltwater lake to a freshwater lake. For centuries, animals living here have remained isolated and have evolved into unique species to adapt to this desalination.