The hole is circular in shape, over 300 metres (984 ft) across and 125 metres (410 ft) deep.

What is a sinkhole?

The sinkhole was formed as a limestone cave system during the last glacial period when sea levels were much lower. As the ocean began to rise again, the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed.

Believed to be the world’s largest feature of its kind, the Great Blue Hole is part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This is a popular spot amongst recreational scuba divers, who are lured by the opportunity to dive in crystal clear water and meet several species of fish, including giant groupers, nurse sharks and several types of reef sharks such as the Caribbean reef shark and the Blacktip shark.

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San Francisco State University Biology Professor Dennis Desjardin and colleagues discovered the fungi in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico.

The discoveries include four species new to science and three new reports of luminescence in known species.
Three quarters of glowing mushrooms, including the species described in the study, belong to the Mycena genus, a group of mushrooms that feed off and decompose organic matter as a source of nutrients to sustain their growth.

« What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow, » said Desjardin, lead author of the study.

He believes that some fungi glow in order to attract nocturnal animals that aid in the dispersal of the mushroom’s spores, which are similar to seeds and are capable of growing into new organisms.

« It’s pretty unusual to find this many luminescent species, typically only two to five per cent of the species we collect in the field glow, » Desjardin said. « I’m certain there are more out there, » he added.

The newly discovered fungi glow constantly, emitting a bright, yellowish-green light, and are tiny, with caps smaller than one centimeter across.

Source : NationalGeographic

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The name is derived from it’s appearance, with long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body.  These protrusions are not used for propulsion; they serve only as camouflage.

The leafy sea dragon is found only in the waters of Australia. They are mostly found around clumps of sand in waters up to 50 metres (164 feet) deep, hiding among rocks and sea grass.

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You like this post? Share it!          ]]> http://www.spectacularplanet.com/marvels-of-the-seas-the-leafy-sea-dragon/feed 0 http://www.spectacularplanet.com/marvels-of-the-seas-the-nudibranch http://www.spectacularplanet.com/marvels-of-the-seas-the-nudibranch#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:45:58 +0000 Fred http://www.spectacularplanet.com/?p=907 The word « nudibranch » comes from the Latin nudus, naked, and the Greek brankhia, gills.

Among this group can be found the most colorful creatures on earth.

Nudibranchs are often casually called « sea slugs« , a non-scientific term. This has led some people to assume that every sea slug must be a nudibranch. They live at virtually all depths of salt water, but reach their greatest size and variation in warm, shallow waters.
The body forms of nudibranchs vary enormously and most species have venomous appendages on their sides.
They vary in adult size from 20 to 600 millimetres (0.79 to 24 in).

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You like this post? Share it!          ]]> http://www.spectacularplanet.com/marvels-of-the-seas-the-nudibranch/feed 0 http://www.spectacularplanet.com/albino-birds http://www.spectacularplanet.com/albino-birds#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:45:12 +0000 Fred http://www.spectacularplanet.com/?p=878 Albino birds are rare but they do exist. This condition is the result of genetic mutation, whereby the pigment melanin is absent. And the absence of melanin means that the feathers are always white. In cases where some of the feathers are colored by a pigment other than melanin, areas of yellow or red are apparent.

Where all the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers, we have a totally albino bird. In this case the eyes, legs and bill will have a pinkish tinge as the colour of the blood shows through in the absence of the pigment in the tissues. But most albino birds we encounter are partial albino, where only some of the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers.

A totally albino bird is extremely rare in the wild. The conspicuousness of the all-white plumage and the weak eyesight make it an easy victims to predators. Also, the lack of pigments makes the feathers brittle. And such feathers often wear out before the next moult and the bird may not be able to fly well.

An albino bird may have problems of being recognised by its prospective mate and thus will not be able to mate. Or it may not be recognised by others of its own kind and thus chased off from the group.

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You like this post? Share it!          ]]> http://www.spectacularplanet.com/albino-birds/feed 0 http://www.spectacularplanet.com/the-largest-bat-the-giant-flying-fox http://www.spectacularplanet.com/the-largest-bat-the-giant-flying-fox#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:19:41 +0000 Fred http://www.spectacularplanet.com/?p=857 The largest bat species is the Giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), a rare fruit bat and endangered species that is part of the megabat family. Despite its name and superficial appearance, it is not closely related to the fox.

It is active at night and can fly long distances up to 40 kilometers while hunting for food, eating a variety of fruits. Its favorite food is the ripe fig. Called the « silent planter », it contributes greatly to forest regeneration, given its diet of fruit and seeds.

The maximum size is believed to approach 1.5 kg (3.3 lb), 55 cm (22 in) long, and the wingspan may be almost 1.8 m (6 ft).

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Pangolins were classified with various other orders, for example Xenarthra, which includes the ordinary anteaters, sloths, and the similar-looking armadillos. But newer genetic evidence, indicates that their closest living relatives are the Carnivora, with which they form a clade, the Ferae. Some paleontologists have classified the pangolins in the order Cimolesta, together with several extinct groups.

Pangolins lack teeth and the ability to chew. Instead, they tear open anthills or termite mounds with their powerful front claws and probe deep into them with their very long tongues. Pangolins have an enormous salivary gland in their chests to lubricate the tongue with sticky, ant-catching saliva.

Some species, such as the Tree Pangolin, use their strong tails to hang from tree branches and strip away bark from the trunk, exposing insect nests inside.

The physical appearance of pangolins is marked by large, hardened, plate-like scales. The scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins but harden as the animal matures, are made of keratin, the same material of which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made. The pangolin is often compared to a walking pine cone or globe artichoke. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armour and its face tucked under its tail. The scales are razor-sharp, and provide extra defense for this reason. The front claws are so long that they are unsuited for walking, and so the animal walks with its fore paws curled over to protect them. Pangolins can also emit a noxious smelling acid from glands near the anus, similar to the spray of a skunk. Pangolins have short legs, with sharp claws which they use for burrowing into termite and ant mounds, as well as climbing.

The size of pangolins varies by species, ranging from 30 cm to 100 cm (12 to 39 inches). Females are generally smaller than males.

The tongues of pangolins are extremely elongated and extend into the abdominal cavity. By convergent evolution pangolins, the giant anteater, and the tube-lipped nectar bat, all have tongues which are unattached from their hyoid bone and extend past their pharynx deep into the thorax. This extension lies between the sternum and the trachea. Large pangolins can extend their tongues as much as 40 cm (16 inches), with a diameter of only 0.5 cm (1/4 inch).

In pangolins, the section of the brain that relates to problem solving is highly developed. Although their problem solving ability is primarily used to find food in obscure locations, when kept in captivity pangolins are remarkable escape artists and thus are often referred to as the Houdini Ant-eater.

Arboreal pangolins live in hollow trees, whereas the ground dwelling species dig tunnels underground, up to a depth of 3.5 meters (11 feet). Pangolins are also good swimmers.

Pangolin are hunted and eaten in many parts of Africa and it is one of the more popular types of bush meat. Pangolins are also in great demand in China because their meat is considered a delicacy and some Chinese believe pangolin scales reduce swelling, promote blood circulation and help breast-feeding women produce milk. This, coupled with deforestation, has led to a large decrease in the numbers of Giant Pangolins.

Pangolin populations have suffered from illegal trafficking. In May 2007, for example, Guardian Unlimited reported that 31 pangolins were found aboard an abandoned vessel off the coast of China. The boat contained some 5,000 endangered animals.

The Guardian recently provided a description of the killing and eating of pangolins: « A Guangdong chef interviewed last year in the Beijing Science and Technology Daily described how to cook a pangolin: ‘We keep them alive in cages until the customer makes an order. Then we hammer them unconscious, cut their throats and drain the blood. It is a slow death. We then boil them to remove the scales. We cut the meat into small pieces and use it to make a number of dishes, including braised meat and soup. Usually the customers take the blood home with them afterwards.’

On November 10, 2007, Thai customs officers announced that they had rescued over 100 pangolins as the animals were being smuggled out of the country, en route to China, where they were to be sold for cooking.

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[Show as slideshow]

 

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The Star-nosed Mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole’s most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans

The Star-nosed Mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically 4 or 5 young in late spring or early summer.

Predators include the Red-tailed Hawk, Great Horned Owl, various skunks and mustelids, and even large fish.

The incredibly sensitive nasal tentacles are covered with almost one hundred thousand minute touch receptors known as Eimer’s organs. These were first described in the European Mole in 1871 by German zoologist Theodor Eimer. Other mole species also possess Eimer’s organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the Star-nosed Mole. Because the Star-nosed Mole is functionally blind, it had long been suspected that the snout was used to detect electrical activity in prey animals, though there is little, if any, empirical support for this contention. It appears the nasal star and dentition of this species are primarily adapted to exploit extremely small prey items. A report in the journal Nature gives this animal the title of fastest-eating mammal, taking only 120 milliseconds to identify and consume individual food items. Its brain decides in the ultra short time of 8 ms if a prey is comestible or not. This speed is at the limit of the speed of neurons. They also possess the ability to smell underwater. It is done by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry the smell back through the nose.

The star of tentacles is formed in a unique way so far not seen other places in the animal world. Instead of growing in the same way fingers grow outward on a hand, they start as swellings on the face around the nose, and some days after birth they break free and move forward in the same way a banana is peeled.

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The tusk

The most conspicuous characteristic of the male narwhal is its single 2–3 meter (7–10 ft) long tusk. It is an incisor tooth that projects from the left side of the upper jaw and forms a left-handed helix. The narwhal tusk can be up to 3 meters (9.8 ft) long (compared with a body length of 4–6 meters (13–16 ft)) and weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb). About one in 500 males has two tusks, which occurs when the right incisor, normally small, also grows out. A female narwhal may also produce a tusk, but this occurs rarely.

Population

The world population is currently estimated to be around 75,000 individuals. Most of the world’s narwhals are concentrated in the fjords and inlets of Northern Canada and western Greenland.

Narwhals are a migratory species. In summer months they move closer to coasts, usually in pods of 10-100. As the winter freeze begins, they move away from shore, and reside in densely-packed ice, surviving in leads and small holes in the ice. As spring comes, these leads open up into channels and the narwhals return to the coastal bays.

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The cave contains some of the largest natural crystals ever found: translucent gypsum beams measuring up to 36 feet (11 meters) long and weighing up to 55 tons.

« It’s a natural marvel, » said García-Ruiz, of the University of Granada in Spain.

To learn how the crystals grew to such gigantic sizes, García-Ruiz studied tiny pockets of fluid trapped inside.

The crystals, he said, thrived because they were submerged in mineral-rich water with a very narrow, stable temperature range—around 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius).

At this temperature the mineral anhydrite, which was abundant in the water, dissolved into gypsum, a soft mineral that can take the form of the crystals in the Naica cave.

The Cave of Crystals is a horseshoe-shaped cavity in limestone rock about 30 feet (10 meters) wide and 90 feet (30 meters) long.

Its floor is covered in crystalline, perfectly faceted blocks. The huge crystal beams jut out from both the blocks and the floor.

« There is no other place on the planet where the mineral world reveals itself in such beauty, » García-Ruiz said.

Volcanic activity that began about 26 million years ago created Naica mountain and filled it with high-temperature anhydrite, which is the anhydrous—lacking water—form of gypsum.

Anhydrite is stable above 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius). Below that temperature gypsum is the stable form.

When magma underneath the mountain cooled and the temperature dropped below 58 degrees Celsius, the anhydrite began to dissolve. The anhydrite slowly enriched the waters with sulfate and calcium molecules, which for millions of years have been deposited in the caves in the form of huge selenite gypsum crystals.

« There is no limit to the size a crystal can reach, » García-Ruiz said.

But, he said, for the Cave of Crystals to have grown such gigantic crystals, it must have been kept just below the anhydrite-gypsum transition temperature for many hundreds of thousands of years.

To Reflood or Not to Reflood?

While the chance of this set of conditions occurring on other places in the world is remote, García-Ruiz expects that there are other caves and caverns at Naica containing similarly large crystals.

« The caves containing larger crystals will be located in deeper levels with temperatures closer to, but no higher than, 58 degrees Celsius, » he said.

He has recommended to the mining company that the caves should be preserved.

The only reason humans can get into the caves today, however, is because the mining company’s pumping operations keep them clear of water. If the pumping is stopped, the caves will again be submerged and the crystals will start growing again, García-Ruiz said.

So what happens if—or when—the mine is closed?

« That’s an interesting question, » García-Ruiz said.

« Should we continue to pump water to keep the cave available so future generations may admire the crystals? Or should we stop pumping and return the scenario to the natural origin, allowing the crystals to regrow? »

Source : NationalGeographic