Koi Carp

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Koi varieties
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Carp Origins

The common carp is widely believed to have originated from the Caspian Sea with natural habitat surrounding the North, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral Sea basins. The common carp, as a food fish with the ability to survive and adapt to many different climates and waterways, was bartered and spread to many different areas, including North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Wild populations of the common carp now exist in those four continents and South America.

tural color mutations of these carp would have occurred across all populations. Historical records indicate that carp with color mutations were found in China. However, the earliest records of carp with distinct colors kept for selective breeding, true Nishikigoi, have been found in Japan. Depictions of carp or 'koi' with different color variations have been found on 18th century Japanese drawings and paintings. The ornamental cultivation of carp originated in the Niigata region of Japan during the Japanese Edo Period.

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Koi History

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Koi breeding originated in the 18th century in the Niigata prefecture of Japan. Farmers working the rice fields would notice that some carp were more brightly colored than others, capture them, and raise them. By the 20th century, a number of color patterns had been established,

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most notably the red-and-white Kohaku. The outside world did not become aware of the degree of development until 1914, when the Niigata koi were exhibited in the annual exposition in Tokyo. At that point, interest in koi exploded throughout Japan. The hobby of keeping koi spread worldwide after plastic bags and shipping of koi became both fast and safe for the fish. These factors enabled koi to be shipped worldwide with low mortality rates. Koi are now commonly sold in most pet stores, with higher-quality fish available from specialist dealers.
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Koi varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Ghost koi, developed in the 1980s are metallic hybrids of wild carp and Ogon koi and are not considered true Nishikigoi. Butterfly koi, Longfin koi, or Dragon Carp were also developed in the 1980s and are notable for their long and flowing fins. They are actually hybrids with Asian carp and, like Ghost koi, are not considered true Nishikigoi. Koi fish are very shy, and will dart away with ease.

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Goldfish

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Carassius auratus
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The Goldfish, Carassius auratus, is one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is still one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish and water garden fish. A relatively small member of the carp family, the goldfish is a domesticated version of a dark-gray/brown carp native to East Asia. It was first domesticated in China and introduced to Europe in the late 17th century.
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During the Tang Dynasty, it was popular to dam carp in ponds. As the result of a dominant genetic mutation, some of these carp displayed gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. People began to breed the gold variety instead of the silver variety, and began to display them in small containers. The fish were not kept in the containers permanently, but would be kept in a larger body of water, such as a pond, and only for special occasions at which guests were expected would they be moved to the much smaller container.
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In 1162, the Empress of the Song Dynasty ordered the construction of a pond to collect the red and gold variety of those carp. By this time, people outside the imperial family were forbidden to keep goldfish of the gold (yellow) variety, yellow being the imperial color. This is probably the reason why there are more orange goldfish than yellow goldfish, even though the latter are genetically easier to breed.
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The occurrence of other colors was first recorded in 1276. The first occurrence of fancy tailed goldfish was recorded in the Ming dynasty. In 1502, goldfish were introduced to Japan, where the Ryukin and Tosakin varieties were developed.
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In 1611, goldfish were introduced to Portugal and from there to other parts of Europe. Goldfish were first introduced to North America around 1850 and quickly became popular in the United States.

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Data reffer :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish
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Siamese fighting fish

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Betta splendens
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The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), also known as the "betta fish" or just "betta", is one of the most popular species of freshwater aquarium fish. It is native to the rice paddies of Thailand and called pla-kad or pla-kat ("Biting Fish") in its native Thailand.
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Arowana

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Arowanas, also known as aruanas or arawanas are freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae, sometimes known as "bony tongues." In this family of fishes, the head is bony and the elongate body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and the anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small. The name 'bony tongues' is derived from a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth, the 'tongue', equipped with teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth. The fish can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into the swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue. The arapaima is an "obligatory air breather".
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Osteoglossids are basal (primitive) fish from the lower Tertiary and are placed in the actinopterygiid order Osteoglossiformes. There are ten described living species: three from South America, one from Africa, four from Asia, and the remaining two from Australia.
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Pygmy Hippopotamus

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The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa (the scientific species classification means "of Liberia", as this is where the vast majority live). The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the Hippopotamidae family, the other being its much larger cousin the common hippopotamus.
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The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like its larger cousin, it is semi-aquatic and relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is herbivorous, feeding on whatever ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits it finds in the forests.
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A rare nocturnal forest creature, the pygmy hippopotamus is a difficult animal to study in the wild. Pygmy hippos were unknown outside of West Africa until the 19th century. Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens.
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The survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild: the World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting, natural predators and war.
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Description
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Pygmy hippos share the same general form as a hippopotamus. They have a graviportal skeleton, with four short legs and four toes on each foot, supporting a portly frame. The pygmy hippo, however, is only half as tall as the hippopotamus and weighs less than 1/4 as much as its larger cousin. Adult pygmy hippos stand about 75–83 cm (30–32 inches) high at the shoulder, are 150–177 cm (59–70 inches) in length and weigh 180–275 kilograms (400–600 pounds).Their lifespan in captivity ranges from 30 to 55 years, though it is unlikely that they live this long in the wild.
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Data refer : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_hippopotamus
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Hummingbird

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Picture Of Hummingbird
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Hummingbirds are birds in the family Trochilidae, and are endemic to the Americas. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 15–80 times per second (depending on the species). They can fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so.Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their wings.
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Liger

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Liger History
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The liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress. It is the largest of all extant felines.
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Documentation of ligers dates to at least the early 19th century in Asia. A painting of two liger cubs was made by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire(1772−1844). In 1825, G.B. Whittaker made an engraving of liger cubs born in 1824. The parents and their three liger offspring are also depicted with their trainer in a 19th Century painting in the naïve style.
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Two liger cubs born in 1837, were exhibited to William IV and to his successor Victoria. On 14 December 1900 and on 31 May 1901, Carl Hagenbeck wrote to zoologist James Cossar Ewart with details and photographs of ligers born at the Hagenbeck's Tierpark in Hamburg in 1897.
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In Animal Life and the World of Nature (1902–1903), A.H. Bryden described Hagenbeck's "lion-tiger" hybrids:

• It has remained for one of the most enterprising collectors and naturalists of our time, Mr Carl Hagenbeck, not only to breed, but to bring successfully to a healthy maturity, specimens of this rare alliance between those two great and formidable felidae, the lion and tiger. The illustrations will indicate sufficiently how fortunate Mr Hagenbeck has been in his efforts to produce these hybrids. The oldest and biggest of the animals shown is a hybrid born on the 11th May, 1897. This fine beast, now more than five years old, equals and even excels in his proportions a well-grown lion, measuring as he does from nose tip to tail 10 ft 2 inches in length, and standing only three inches less than 4 ft at the shoulder. A good big lion will weigh about 400 lb [...] the hybrid in question, weighing as it does no less than 467 lb, is certainly the superior of the most well-grown lions, whether wild-bred or born in a menagerie. This animal shows faint striping and mottling, and, in its characteristics, exhibits strong traces of both its parents. It has a somewhat lion-like head, and the tail is more like that of a lion than of a tiger. On the other hand, it has no trace of mane. It is a huge and very powerful beast.
  

In 1935, four ligers from two litters were reared in the Zoological Gardens of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 750 lb. and stood a foot and a half taller than a full grown male lion at the shoulder.

Although ligers are more commonly found than tigons today, in At Home In The Zoo (1961), Gerald Iles wrote "For the record I must say that I have never seen a liger, a hybrid obtained by crossing a lion with a tigress. They seem to be even rarer than tigons."

Data refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liger

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Biggest Fruits and Vegetables.

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Biggest Pumpkin
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The largest pumpkins are Cucurbita maxima. They were cultivated from the hubbard squash genotype, crossed with kabocha-pumpkin types by enthusiast farmers through intermittent effort since the early 1800s. As such germplasm is commercially provocative, a U.S. legal right was granted for the rounder phenotypes, levying them as constituting a variety, with the appellation "Atlantic Giant." Process ually this phenotype graduated back into the public domain, except now it had the name Atlantic Giant on its record (see USDA PVP # 8500204).
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“Weigh-off” competitions for giant pumpkins are a popular festival activity. 460 pounds held the world record for the largest pumpkin until 1981 when Howard Dill(of Nova Scotia) broke the record with a pumpkin near 500 pounds. Dill patented the seeds used to grow this giant pumpkin, deeming them Dill’s Atlantic Giant seeds, and drawing growers from around the world. Howard Dill is accredited for all of the giant pumpkins today, most of which are borne from crossing and re-crossing his patented seed with other varieties. By 1994 the Giant Pumpkin crossed the 1000 pound mark. In September 2007, Joe Jutras (of Rhode Island) obtained the title of world’s largest pumpkin with a 1,689 pound, cream colored fruit. He is currently said to be working on producing a giant orange pumpkin, as orange pumpkins tend to be smaller and have thinner shells, but are more desirable in appearance.