The QUAGGA

The only known photo of a living quagga.
Photo F. York, London, Regent's Park ZOO, 1870 

The quagga (Equus quagga quagga) is an extinct subspecies of the Plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only. In the mid-section, the stripes faded and the dark, inter-stripe spaces became wider, and the rear parts were a plain brown. The name comes from a Khoikhoi word for zebra and is onomatopoeic, being said to resemble the quagga's call. The only quagga to have ever been photographed alive was a mare at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo in Regent's Park in 1870.

Quagga specimen on display at the
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich

Range and habitat
The Quagga lived in the drier parts of South Africa, on grassland. The northern limit seems to have been the Orange River in the west and the Vaal River in the east; the south-eastern border may have been the Great Kei River.It was hunted for its meat and fur, and is one of many victims of the modern mass extinction.


Taxonomy
The quagga was originally classified as an individual species, Equus quagga, in 1778. Over the next 50 years or so, many other zebras were described by naturalists and explorers. Because of the great variation in coat patterns (no two zebras are alike), taxonomists were left with a great number of described "species", and no easy way to tell which of these were true species, which were subspecies, and they were simply natural variants.

Long before this confusion was sorted out, the quagga had been hunted to extinction for meat, hides, and to preserve feed for domesticated stock. The last wild quagga was probably shot in the late 1870s, and the last specimen in captivity, a mare, died on August 12, 1883 at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam. Because of the confusion between different zebra species, particularly among the general public, the quagga had become extinct before it was realized that it appeared to be a separate species.

Quagga specimen on display at Cape Town, South Africa

The quagga was the first extinct creature to have its DNA studied. Recent genetic research at the Smithsonian Institution has demonstrated that the quagga was in fact not a separate species at all, but diverged from the extremely variable plains zebra, Equus burchelli, between 120,000 and 290,000 years ago, and suggests that it should be named Equus burchelli quagga. However, according to the rules of biological nomenclature, where there are two or more alternative names for a single species, the name first used takes priority. As the quagga was described about thirty years earlier than the plains zebra, it appears that the correct terms are E. quagga quagga for the quagga and E. quagga burchelli for the plains zebra, unless "Equus burchelli" is officially declared to be a nomen conservandum.

Quagga specimen on display at Tring, England

After the very close relationship between the quagga and surviving zebras was discovered, the Quagga Project was started by Reinhold Rau in South Africa to recreate the quagga by selective breeding from plains zebra stock, with the eventual aim of reintroducing them to the wild. This type of breeding is also called breeding back. In early 2006, it was reported that the third and fourth generations of the project have produced animals which look very much like the depictions and preserved specimens of the quagga, though whether looks alone are enough to declare that this project has produced a true "re-creation" of the original quagga is controversial.

DNA from mounted specimens was successfully extracted in 1984, but the technology to use recovered DNA for breeding does not yet exist. In addition to skins such as the one held by the Natural History Museum in London, there are 23 known stuffed and mounted quagga throughout the world. A twenty-fourth specimen was destroyed in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad), during World War II.

Quagga the last one died at a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on August 12, 1883.

The ELECTRIC RAY

Atlantic torpedo ( Torpedo nobiliana )
pic by SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory;
Collection of Brandi Noble,
NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC - NOAA's Fisheries Collection

The electric rays are a group of rays, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, that comprise the order Torpediniformes. They are known for being capable of producing an electric discharge, ranging from as little as 8 volts up to 220 volts depending on species, used to stun prey and for defense. There are 69 species in four families.

Perhaps the most known members are those of the genus Torpedo, also called crampfish and numbfish, after which the device called a torpedo is named. The name comes from the Latin "torpere", to be stiffened or paralyzed, referring to the effect on someone who handles or steps on a living electric ray.

Torpedo rays are excellent swimmers. Their round disk shaped bodies allow them to remain suspended in the water or roam for food with minimal swimming effort.


Description
Electric rays have a rounded pectoral disc with two moderately large rounded-angular (not pointed or hooked) dorsal fins (reduced in some narkids), and a stout, muscular tail with a well-developed caudal fin. The body is thick and flabby, with soft, loose skin devoid of dermal denticles and thorns. A pair of kidney-shaped electric organs are found at the base of the pectoral fins. The snout is broad, large in the Narcinidae but reduced in all other families. The mouth, nostrils, and five pairs of gill slits are located underneath the disc.

They are bottom dwelling fish, found from shallow coastal waters down to at least 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) depth. They are sluggish and slow moving, propelling themselves along with their tails, rather than using their disc-shaped bodies, as other rays do. They feed on invertebrates and small fish. They lie in wait for prey below the sand or other substrate, using their electricity to stun and capture it.

OAK ISLAND The Money Pit

Located off the coast of Nova Scotia, Oak Island is said to be hiding the greatest treasure in history.  Riches have been spent and lives have been lost, since the late 1700’s, but no one has ever been able to find the jackpot.  Seven people will die, it has been predicted, before the treasure is found. So far, six have perished in accidents over the years.

Oak Island, Nova Scotia

Varya Akulova - The 'STRONGEST GIRL In The World'

Varya Akulova (born 1992), is a name most never heard of yet she's the female referred to as "The Strongest Girl In The World", who holds two Guinness records and was capable of lifting over four times her own body weight in 2006.

In 2000, she weighed 40 kg and could lift 220 pounds (100 kg). She has been in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Akulova, while living with her parents, Yuriy Akulov and Larisa Akulova, in Kryvyi Rih, performed in an acrobatic act with them in a circus.

Her father Uri, who says that by the age of 12 his daughter was stronger then him, thinks his side of the family have a rare strength gene that few others have.

Varya's great-grandfather managed the astonishing feat of carrying 2,600lbs (1,200kg) on his back in 1910 and her mother Larisa is also stronger than most women.

Born in the Ukrainian mining town of Krivoy Rog,

Varya Akulova showed remarkable physical abilities from a very young age. When she was just one year old, Varya could do a handstand, at one and a half she did flips, at three years of age she started performing acrobatic routines with her parents, and by age four she was already doing power lifting exercises with massive weights. When Varya’s mother, Larisa, became pregnant, her father, Yuri, started making plans about performing in the circus with his yet-unborn strong son, but when his wife gave birth to a girl, he knew his dreams would never materialize. But as the days went by, Yuri began to realize that with the right training, his daughter could become as strong as a man.

The girl had stronger arms and legs than most babies her age, and soon he became certain Varya had inherited the Akulovs’ legendary strength. Historically, his ancestors served at the court of Catherine II and became known for their amazing abilities and toughness during the Russian – Turkish wars. And as the years passed, it became clear Varya was truly an Akulov, able to lift massive weights when other girls her age were busy playing with dolls.

Although Yuri’s training methods sparked concerns about Varya’s normal growth and bone development, the doctors who performed a series of tests when she was five years old found she was in great physical shape and had an increased immunity.

Microcephaly (+ Notable Cases)

Kokuvi, a seventeen-year-old student at the Volta School for the Mentally Challenged who has microcephaly Allison Stillwell

Microphallus is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which the circumference of the head is more than two standard deviations smaller than average for the person's age and sex. Microcephaly may be congenital or it may develop in the first few years of life. The disorder may stem from a wide variety of conditions that cause abnormal growth of the brain, or from syndromes associated with chromosomal abnormalities. Two copies of a loss-of-function mutation in one of the microcephalin genes causes primary microcephaly.

In general, life expectancy for individuals with microcephaly is reduced and the prognosis for normal brain function is poor. The prognosis varies depending on the presence of associated abnormalities.
Microcephaly is a type of cephalic disorder. This is a disorder characterized by a small head and may be caused by a disturbance in the rapid growing of nerve cells. Microcephaly may also be associated with maternal problems such as alcoholism (which can result in the fetal alcohol syndrome disability), diabetes, or rubella (German measles). After the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a large percentage of women who had been pregnant at the time gave birth to children with microcephaly.A genetic factor may play a role in causing some cases of microcephaly. Affected newborns generally have striking neurological defects and seizures. Severely impaired intellectual development is common, but disturbances in motor functions may not appear until later in life.

Infants with microcephaly are born with either a normal or reduced head size. Subsequently the head fails to grow while the face continues to develop at a normal rate, producing a child with a small head and a receding forehead, and a loose, often wrinkled scalp. As the child grows older, the smallness of the skull becomes more obvious, although the entire body also is often underweight and dwarfed. Development of motor functions and speech may be delayed. Hyperactivity and mental retardation are common occurrences, although the degree of each varies. Convulsions may also occur. Motor ability varies, ranging from clumsiness in some to spastic quadriplegia in others.

Side-view illustration of a baby with microcephaly (left) compared to a baby with a typical head size

Generally there is no specific treatment for microcephaly. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive.