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Macroctopus maorum is known more commonly as the Maori octopus or the New Zealand octopus (wheke in Maori). It is found in the waters around New Zealand and southern Australia.[1][2] M. maorum is one of the largest and most aggressive octopus species living in the New Zealand and Australian waters. They feed mainly on crustaceans and fish. Although they have a short life span, the females lay thousands of eggs and are very protective of them.

Macroctopus maorum is a large octopus and it is regularly described as a ‘robust’ species, it is a member of the Octopus macropus species complex. The morphological traits characteristic of this complex are a high number of gill lamellae, a robust conical copulatory organ and arms of varying length with long unequal dorsal arms generally four to six times longer than the mantle. Although being unequal, their arms are said to be long and evenly tapering and Macroctopus maorum are even known to regrow arms when one has been lost.[2] Being the largest member of its complex arm span is said to exceed 3 metres (9.8 ft).[3] They have four to six suckers on the first and second arm pairs which are usually about 40 millimetres (1.6 in) in size. Suckers are arranged in two rows down the arm length. There is thought to be no correlation between sexes and size of suckers; however, there was an increase in sucker size with body mass increase.[2] Coloration of this species can vary Macroctopus maorum can be distinguished from other species by the colour, they will be either orange-brown or dark purple-grey. The octopus has numerous small iridescent white spots on the web, arms and dorsal arm crown but there are no spots present on the mantle.[2] Macroctopus maorum has 12–14 gill lamella per demibranch, the mantle is described as broadly ovoid and exhibits a skin pattern of longitudinal ridges. Along the dorsum there are five rows of unbranched papillae and two more papillae appear individually above the eyes. Octopus papillae are camouflage specialised with the ability to change shape, such as by extending in and out from the body.[4] Male M. maorum have a small ligula, the ligula is a specialised arm tip on the hectocotylized arm which grips to allow the transfer of spermatophores. Within the complex O. macropus, Macroctopus maorum is thought to be the largest member. In a study estimating M. maorum size based on a sample of 90 beaks, the largest individual found had a body length of 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in) and body mass of 12 kilograms (26 lb). Macroctopus maorum has an upper beak and lower beak, the upper beak can be used to differentiate Macroctopus maorum and Enteroctpus zealandicus as it has a lack of overlap in the ratio of upper hood length and upper chest length. Macroctopus maorum hatchlings are usually about 5.06 millimetres (0.199 in) in size, they have 7–8 suckers per arm and each dorsal arm will have 6–11 chromatophores

source: The Octopus Kingdom

Mathews Lyn

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a page from the oldest glagolitic manuscript 'kiev missal' of the 10th century

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Lesson 1 - The Viking Age and Our Sources

Starting today (25th of March, 2016), I will begin a series of posts regarding Viking History. I have noticed that I have failed to present Viking History in a more condensed and unified way, and so I hope these post will help solve that. I will do my best to post a lesson each Friday at 9 p.m. EST. (See my ‘about me’ section if you’d like to know my degree of credibility and background).

The Viking Age

The Viking Age lasted between 793-1066 CE. The definition of this period is a modern invention that historians have used to describe the heightened activities of the northmen during the Early Middle Ages. It was a very dynamic period in which the people of Scandinavia restlessly expanded their activities outward, quite to the surprise of the rest of Europe. Taking Europe by storm, the Vikings (whose origins I will further discuss next week) made a massive impact, both negative and positive. 

The Viking Age is no simple matter. It was a period of complicated interactions and new relations. Throughout the period, Christianity seeped its way into Scandinavia by means of native royal powers. Raids on monasteries define the traits of these people, yet there is far more to their story than this. They were mercenaries, merchants, innovators, and settlers. Their age altered the foundations of many nations as well as shook those of others. It is a very broad period of history and often requires a lot of background in various other European people to understand the events of this age.

Keep reading

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Horoscope from 15th century Iran, the Book of the Birth of Iskandar

Credit…via The Wellcome Collection’s Open Access Program; Museum Associates/LACMA

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Neurons making synapses

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The Black Hole of Trauma by Bessel A. Van der Kolk: and Alexander C. McFarlane

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Rare beautiful golden pyrite ammonite fossils from the world famous Jurassic Coast beach of Charmouth, Dorset UK.

Photo : 📷 Fms.fossils.

Dr Fiann Smithwick

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Nepalese “Mushroom Mask” (Date Unknown) Formed from a large, single Lingzhi fungus, these masks were worn ritually to frighten off malevolent spirits.

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the God Horus of Behdet in His form of sacred falcon spreading His wings in protection and holding the ‘Ankh’ (Life). Detail from the White Chapel of King Sesostri I at ‘Ipet-Sut’ (“Karnak”), the highly sacred Precinct of the God Amon-Ra at ‘Uaset’-Thebes

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When the first sprinkle of rain arrives in the fall, newts emerge from the ground to soak in the raindrops.

Photographs by Anton Sorokin

A close-up portrait of a newt.

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Celestial Conch Shell with Skulls, Huastec, Veracruz (Northern), Mexico, 900–1521

Courtesy Alain Truong

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Have you ever seen the magnificent rainbow scarab (Phanaeus vindex)? This colorful dung beetle can be found in parts of the eastern and central United States. While most dung beetles are dull shades of brown or gray, this species is one of a handful adorned in striking iridescent colors. Males also sport large horns on their heads! Like other dung beetles, this insect rolls dung into balls to incubate its young. It also digs dung-filled tunnels nearby to ensure that the newborn beetles will have enough to eat. 

Photo: Thomas Shahan, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

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The myology of the raven, A guide to the study of the muscular system in birds, 1890

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I think one big reason why we don't consider the stars as important as before (not even pop-astrology anymore cares about the stars or the sky on itself, just the signs deprived of context) is because of light pollution.

For most of human history the sky looked between 1-3, 4 at most. And then all of a sudden with electrification it was gone (I'm lucky if I get 6 in my small city). The first time I saw the Milky Way fully as a kid was a spiritual experience, I was almost scared on how BRIGHT it was, it felt like someone was looking back at me. You don't get that at all with modern light pollution.

When most people talk about stargazing nowadays they think about watching about a couple of bright dots. The stars are really, really not like that. The unpolluted night sky is a festival of fireworks. There is nothing like it.

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Rainbow Skipper (Phocides urania), family Hesperiidae, Gomes Farias, Tamaulipas, Mexico

photograph by Bill Berthet