Content Highlights - Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina)

Did you know that silverfish belongs to an ancient order of insects (Zygentoma), which appeared on the Earth in the Carboniferous period (360-300 million years ago)? Or that silverfish do not need to drink, because they absorb water from moist air through a specially adapted anus?

Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) by Miroslav Deml from EOL.

Silverfish are miniscule wingless insects, whose body is covered with silvery scales. They are mostly  nocturnal, when they seek out humid areas (bathrooms, toilets, basements), or places where there is plenty of food and shelter (bakeries, pastry-shops). Don't worry, the presence of silverfish in your home does not indicate lack of cleanliness, but more likely abundant hiding places. In small numbers they are essentially harmless, but they can cause problems when they multiply.

Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) from BHL.

Silverfish avoid light and can often be spotted trying to hide in a corner after the lights are turned on in a room. They live on substances containing protein and saccharides, like paper, books, tapestries, cotton, leather, silk, flour, sugar, cereals and glue. Silverfish also live in nature, usually dwelling under rocks, fallen leaves, bark and such. They lay up the three eggs at a time in tiny cracks and can live up to six years.

Learn more about silverfish on Nature at your Home. Stay tuned!

Hudson's expedition

Did you know that members of Henry Hudson's expedition were the first Europeans to have reached the famous Manhattan Island on September 12th, 1609? They met friendly Indian tribes Algonquin and Lenape.

In 1610, on the ship named Discovery, Henry Hudson set out on the fourth of his attempts to find the Northwest Passage. He sailed from the southern tip of Greenland to Labrador, and then turned to the north. He encountered a wide channel and assumed that this was the way to China. From that day on, the bay had been called Hudson's Bay. Then, he sailed into the bay, which he assumed to be part of the Pacific Ocean, then travelled further to the south into what is known today as James' Bay. 

Hudson Bay.

In June of 1611, he set out to continue the expedition. Several days after leaving the bay, his crew mutinied. They had had enough of exploring and wanted to go home. The captain refused to consider their demands. When the crew was unable to persuade him, they set him, his son John and seven crew members loyal to Hudson adrift in a small boat and left them to their fate in a stormy and freezing sea, with no prospects of rescue. Nothing further is known of their fate.

Henry Hudson.

Locating the Northwest Passage eluded Henry Hudson, but his enthusiastic description of the area near the mouth of the Hudson River led to Dutch to colonize the area and found New Amsterdam, later New York. At the time of these discoveries, Henry was in the service of the Dutch.

Learn more about Hudson's expedition in Biodiversity Library Exhibition. Stay tuned!

Christmas Wishes

Dear all,

one of the real joys of this Christmas season is the opportunity to say thank you for your favour and also to wish you all the very best for the New Year.

OpenUp! Team

OpenUp! questionnaire

Dear All, 
    
If you are a user of the Europeana.eu portal or would like to know about it, we would appreciate very much if you could contribute to this short survey for users and potential users of the Natural history content of Europeana.

It is a very short questionnaire, with only 5 questions (link to the questionnaire here).

Your help would be much appreciated,
    
Thank you

OpenUp! team

Content Highlights - Monoplacophorans

In 1952, Danish expedition named Galathea caused sensation among zoologists, when it discovered deepwater mollusks of class Monoplacophora near the coast of Mexico. Previously, the group was assumed as extinct for hundreds of millions years. Monoplacophoras were widespread in the Paleozoic Era, especially in the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian Periods.

Drahomira - a monoplacophorans from the Silurian Period, showing paired muscle scars. Image is under CC BY of Národní Muzeum.

These ancient organisms belong to phylum Mollusca and (similarly to snails) have a single shell composed of calcium carbonate. The shell is bilaterally symmetrical and oriented with its tip forward. This was probably the original orientation of molluskan shell. Other unusual features of monoplacophorans include for example hint of body segmentation, which is well reflected by the arrangement of paired muscle scars (see image).

Pragamira - a Silurian monoplacophorans. Image is under CC BY of Národní Muzeum.

Paleozoic monoplacophorans were probably substrate feeders at the sea bottom, just like their living relatives. Some genera such as Drahomira from the Silurian Period could have lived as filter feeders at shells of dead nautiloid cephalopods. Unlike recent monoplacophorans, the Paleozoic ones inhabited mainly shallow and well-oxygenated water. Fossils of Paleozoic monoplacophorans are known from Central Europe, Scandinavia , China, United States and Russia.

You can read interesting studies on fossil monoplacophorans here:

Horný Radvan J. (2005): Muscle scars, systematics and mode of life of the Silurian family Drahomiridae (Mollusca, Tergomya) - http://www.nm.cz/publikace/archiv.php?id=4&rok=61&kcislu=1%E2%8%932&f_=Zobrazit

Horný Radvan J. (2009): Patelliconus Horný, 1961 and Mytoconula gen. n. (Mollusca, Tergomya) from the Ordovician of Perunica. - http://www.nm.cz/publikace/archiv.php?id=4&rok=65&kcislu=1-2&f_=Zobrazit

Stay tuned!

The 5th OpenUp! Newsletter

We are pleased to inform you that the 5th OpenUp! Newsletter has been published! This issue is full of interesting articles and gives you a view into the second year of the OpenUp! project.

Traditionally, we bring you information on activities at our social networks in the article of "OpenUp! Just Became More Social", and about our "Meetings and Events". For our potential future partners we have prepared a great article "IPR Problems and Solutions for the Natural History Domain". "Opening up!, Reaching out!" gives you some examples from public relations field.

You can also find articles in the Newsletter that are focuse on our partners ("Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network" and "The Fauna Europaea Data Portal Now Linked to Europeana") or on our current content providers such as the Biology Center in Linz. For those of you who are technically oriented, there is the article of "The Graphical Query Tool".

We hope you enjoy the 5th OpenUp! newsletter. You can read the newsletter issue under this link. Stay tuned!

Content Highlights - Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

Do you have a Cat? If so, the greatest pleasure for it could be a gift that contains a plant called Catnip!

Nepeta cataria from Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is up to 60 cm high perennial plant, blooming with white to pink flowers between July and September. The plant grows in highlands, along the watercourses or paths. The genus name “Nepeta” is derived from an old Roman city of Nepete (nowadays Italian city of Nepi) around which Catnip grew. The species name “cataria” means that it is attractive for cats.

Nepeta cataria from BHL.

This plant contains a substance called nepetalactone, which has similar effects for cats as cocaine has for people. If cats smell Catnip, they literally lost their mind, rubbing the plant or rolling in the plant. Some scientists think that it is actually a special strategy of seed dispersion. The seeds of Catnip get captured in the cat’s fur and then are bandied around. It is possible to buy cat’s toys filled by dried Catnip. Dry Catnip could also be hallucinogenic for people. Stay tuned!