360º Panoramic Photography

All these pictures are 360°x180° panoramas projected to look like small planets using a projection called stereographic projection. Stereographic Projection is an art-form and is technically mapping a sphere onto a plane. The execution is very difficult to get right but the outcome of such a photography style is simply astounding. One way to picture the stereographic projection is to imagine again a screen near our viewable sphere

10 Haiwan yang anda mungkin tidak pernah tahu beracun

Ada banyak makhluk di planet ini yang secara meluas diketahui beracun atau berbisa termasuk banyak spesies labah-labah, ular dan kalajengking. Di sini adalah 10 haiwan yang anda mungkin tidak pernah tahu itu beracun.

10. Biawak Komodo (Komodo Dragon)

Ok, beberapa orang mungkin mendengar tentang Biawak Komodo dan kaedah di mana ia membunuh mangsanya, tetapi adakah anda tahu, sebenarnya ia berbisa juga? Biawak Komodo adalah pembunuh yang sangat sabar, yang diperlukan hanyalah satu gigitan dari biawak besar untuk perlahan-lahan dan menyakitkan membunuhmu. Biawak Komodo menggunakan air liurnya yang sangat beracun (yang mengandungi lebih daripada 50 jenis bakteria) yang perlahan-lahan merebak dan seterusnya mematikan mangsanya. Namun penemuan terkini mendapati bahawa Biawak Komodo memiliki kelenjar racun dalam mulutnya yang sebelum ini disangkal kajiannya.

9. Gila Monster

Jangan risau Gila Monster tidak terdapat di Malaysia....tetapi cukup umum di barat daya Amerika Syarikat dan beberapa bahagian Mexico dan walaupun beracun tetapi jarang kes kematian manusia dilaporkan. Saluran racunnya melalui alur di gigi dan terus ke mangsanya, kerana itu mangsa Gila Monster akan mati serta-merta..

8. Platypus

Platypus

Untuk makluman anda, Platypus adalah satu-satunya haiwan mamalia yang bertelur..Bisanya terletak ditaji haiwan tersebut, Tajinya yang beracun itu jauh lebih kuat selama musim mengawan dan menyebabkan para penyelidik percaya bahawa taji ini digunakan ketika bersaing untuk mendapatkan pasangan, walaubagaimanapun racun itu tidak dianggap berbahaya bagi manusia - tetapi anda akan benar-benar ingin mencuba?? :D

7. Sotong Katak (Cuttlefish)

sotong katak (Cuttlefish)

Nota : hidupan air pertama di dalam senarai ini adalah Sotong katak yang sangat erat dikaitankan dengan keluarga obor-obor dan sotong. Seperti yang dapat anda lihat pada gambar di atas pada bahagian depan Sotong terdiri dari sepuluh tentakel, begitu juga obor-obor atau sotong kurita tapi ini bukan terletaknya rahsia sotong ini. Di tengah-tengah 10 tentakel di dasar kepalanya itu terdapat paruh, muncung paruh ini mempunyai kemampuan untuk menyuntikkan racun pada kelajuan cahaya dan terus melumpuhkan sistem saraf. Hati-hati buat penyelam di Pulau Sipadan kerana haiwan ini ada di sana....

6. Batu Karang (Coral)

Batu Karang Palythoa

Ada ratusan Batu Karang yang berbeza di dunia dan adakah anda percaya bahawa beberapa daripadanya berbisa? Batu Karang yang paling berbisa adalah Palythoa yang boleh membunuh manusia jika mendapat kesempatan untuk menyuntik racun yang cukup ke dalam diri penyelam. Tidak kajian yang banyak bagi batu karang beracun tetapi diketahui bahawa gejala racun Palythoa termasuk sesak nafas & dada dan denyutan nadi menjadi cepat.

5. Ulat Gonggok (Millipede)

Anda mungkin kenal dengan kaki seribu ini kerana sangat umum di lingkungan kawasan hutan seperti taman negara dan ladang. Haiwan ini boleh mengeluarkan racun dan sianida melalui liang-liang di dalam abdomennya mereka yang dapat berbahaya kepada serangga-serangga kecil.

4. Lipan (Centipede)

Meskipun kebanyakan lipan tidak berbahaya tetapi mereka mempunyai taring pada hujung depan bersebelahan dengan antena mereka yang mana mengandungi racun. Biasa racun dari lipan tidak berbahaya namun terdapat beberapa spesies lipan yang lebih besar mempunyai bisa yang sangat berbahaya bagi haiwan kecil dan kanak-kanak dan boleh menyebabkan kematian jika dibiarkan tanpa rawatan.

3. Cone Snail

Cone Snail

Siput Kon tidak berbahaya tetapi ia akan menyengat apabila terancam, dengan belalai yang unik seperti tombak yang digunakan untuk menyerang mangsanya  (biasanya ikan kecil). Racun dari siput ini cukup kuat untuk melumpuhkan mangsa dengan segera, pesanan untuk penyelam, berhati-hati apabila anda menyelam di laut, kerana Siput Kon dilaporkan bertanggung jawab untuk sejumlah kematian manusia.

2. Hooded Pitohui

Hooded Pitohui

Hooded Pitohui memang beracun. Walaubagaimanapun burung ini hanya ditemui di Papua New Guinea dan bulu dan kulitnya mengandungi racun yang sama ditemui pada anak panah kodok beracun, meskipun tidak begitu kuat. Hanya dengan menyentuh burung ini sudah cukup untuk merebakkan racun berbahayanya. namun lebih berbahaya lagi sekiranya anda makan keseluruhan burung, termasuk bulun pelepahya....haha

1. Slow Loris (dijumpai di rantau Asia, terutama Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China & India)

Slow Loris

Loris adalah antara spesis monyet@kera yang berbisa. walaupun berbisa pada taringnya yang boleh menyebabkan kematian namun dipercayai dengan memakan dagingnya dapat menyembuhkan penyakit kusta, dan tonik yang diperbuat darinya dipercayai dapat menyembuhkan luka, patah tulang dan memberi tenaga bagi ibu selepas bersalin..lebih aneh lagi.ada yang sanggup menjadikannya sebagai haiwan peliharaan , dengan membuang taring terlebih dahulu sebelum menjualnya..Amat menyedihkan apabila haiwan yang dikategorikan sebagai haiwan terancam ini didagangkan dengan jumlah yang besar secara haram terutamanya di negara Indonesia dan Kemboja.

22 Sea Creatures That Will Keep You Dry

Here’s something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself fancying a quick swim to cool down after a hot day on the beach… 22 sea creatures that are lurking below, sharing the same waters. Keep our advice… If it’s not chlorine, stay well away!

#22 The Stargazer

The stargazers are a family Uranoscopidae of perciform fish that have eyes on top of their heads (hense the name).

#21 The Lizard Fish

The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

#20 The Fimbriated Moray Eel

The fimbriated moray eel is of the family Muraenidae, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans, around reefs, harbours and small caves, at depths down to 45 meters.

#19 The Giant Isopod

Related to both shrimp and crabs, Giant Isopods are found deep in the cold Atlantic waters.

#18 The Viperfish

A viperfish is a deepwater fish in the genus Chauliodus, with long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. They grow to lengths of 30 to 60 cm (12 - 24 inches).

#17 The Giant Squid

Giant squids can grow to an incredible size; estimates put the maximum size at 13 metres for females and 10 metres for males.

#16 The Saccopharyngiformes (Gulper Eel)

Due to the gulper eel's specialised body shape, it is a poor swimmer and relies on the luminescent organ at the tip of its tail to attract prey.

#15 The Angler Fish

Anglers are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head acts as a lure; this is considered analogous to angling.

#14 The Barreleye

Barreleyes are also known as the spook fish, they are small, unusual-looking deep-sea osmeriform fish comprising the family Opisthoproctidae. Found in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans

#13 The Coffinfish

Coffinfish are bottom-dwelling fishes found on the continental slopes of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, at depths of up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).

#12 The Wolffish

"A face not even a mother could love" The Atlantic Wolffish, also known as the Seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, wolf eel, or sea cat, is a marine fish, the largest of the wolffish family Anarhichadidae.

#11 The Chimaera Fish

Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks. They may be the oldest and most enigmatic groups of fishes alive today.

#10 The Axolotl

The axolotl is the best known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate most body parts.

#9 The Lumpfish

Living up to its name, the lumpfish has scaleless skin with a bumpy ridge down its back (which is actually a modification of the first dorsal fin) and rows of knobby protuberances, called tubercles, down each side.

#8 The Vampire Squid

The Vampire Squid, or Vampyroteuthis infernalis (which literally translates as “vampire squid from hell”), is another inhabitant of the deep sea, usually found in temperate and tropical oceans and was actually incorrectly identified as an octopus when it was first spotted.

#7 The Hagfish

Hagfish have elongated, eel-like bodies (so flexible they sometimes tie themselves in knots). They have four hearts, two brains, and a paddle-like tail.

#6 The Fangtooth

Fangtooths are deep-sea, ferocious-looking beryciform fish of the family Anoplogastridae. Found in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

#5 The Lamprey

A lamprey is a parasitic marine/aquatic animal with a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated directly, their name means stone lickers.

#4 The Sperm Whale

The sperm whale is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal.

#3 The Frilled Shark

The frilled shark is one of the two extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae. This uncommon species is found over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, generally near the bottom though there is evidence of substantial upward movements.

#2 The Piglet Squid

The Piglet Squid, Helicocranchia pfefferi, is about the size of an orange, it was named because of its tuft of bristle-like arms and tentacles and rotund shape, is normally found more than 320 feet (100m) below the surface of the ocean.

#1 Great White Shark

The great white shark, also known as white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in ALL major oceans. It becomes sexually mature at around 15 years of age and has a lifespan of 30 to over 100 years. It's arguably the world's largest known predatory fish and is the only surviving species of its genus, Carcharodon.

The Strange Money Trees of England

When you were a kid, you probably often heard your mother chiding that “money doesn't grow on trees” in an attempt to curb your expensive demands. If only you knew, you could have told her that money, in fact, does grow on trees. At least in England they do.
There are places in England where you can find trees with coins hammered and bent into the bark. Nobody knows for sure why people pushed coins into the trees. Some believe it brings good luck. Others believe that the amount of coins pushed in by an individual may result in them producing the same amount of children.
Money trees can be found all over Britain. All I need is a plane ticket... and a pair of pliers.