New Birds Species Discovered in Nepal
- A new species of birds has been discovered in the high mountainous region of Nepal, brihging the total number of avian species in the Himalayan country to 866 on February 12, 2017.
- A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis), considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India, was first seen and photographed by an expedition last year near the’ Shey monastery within the Shey-Phoksundo National Park.
- Rock thrushes are medium-sized songbirds, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous and fall under the genus of chats.
Lost Continent found Submerged Deep under Indian Ocean
- An ancient continent that was once sandwiched between India and Madagascar now Iies scattered on the bottom of the Indian Ocean on February 2,2017. The first dues to the continent’s existence came when some parts of the Indian Ocean were found to have stronger gravitational fields than others, indicating thicker crusts.
- One theory was that chunks of land had sunk and become attached to the ocean crust below. Although, Mauritius Is only 8 million years old, some zircon crystals on the island’s beaches are almost 2 billion years old. Volcanic eruptions may have ejected the zircon from ancient rock below.
- Until about 85 million years ago, Mauritia was a small continent (about a quarter of the size of Madagascar) nestled between India and Madagascar, which were much closer than they are today. Then, India and Madagascar began to move apart, and Mauritia started to stretch and break up.
Nilambur Teak got GI Tag
- Nilambur teak will soon be added to the select list of Kerala produce with Geographical Indication (GI) tag on February 9,2017. The British identified the superior quality of the teak grown in the Nilambur plantations and forests and the region became the major supplier of timber in the
- Nilambur Teak Heritage Society joined hands with the Kerala Agricultural University to register Nilambur teak as a &1 product of India.
Researchers Discovered a Brand New Species of Rare Ghost Shark
- The scientists have discovered a new shark species with rabbit-like buckteeth and a bulky head, which is the 50th ‘ghost’ shark species known to science on February 5, 2017.
- Ghost sharks in general have a pretty big head and their body tapers to a thinner tail. The species name erithacus is the genus name for robin birds.
- There are already three known species in the genus Hydrolagus that live in the same region as the new find, between South Africa and Antarctica in the South-eastern Atlantic and South-western Indian Oceans.
Seven Earth-sized Planets Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star
- The astronomers have found at least seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the same star 40 light-years away on February 22,
- This discovery outside of our solar system is rare because the planets have the winning combination of being similar in size to Earth and being ail temperate, meaning they could have water on their surfaces and potentially support life.
- The seven exoplanets were all found in tight formation around an ultracool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Estimates of their mass also indicate that they are rocky planets, rather than being gaseous like Jupiter.
- Three planets are in the habitable zone of the star, known as TRAPPIST-le, f and g, and may even have oceans on the surface.
- The planets are so close to each other and the star that there are seven of them within a space live times smaller than the distance from Mercury to our Sun.
- This proximity allows the researchers to study the planets in depth as well, gaining insight about planetary systems other than our own.
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