Sinarapan - World Most Edible fish in the World

The sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis) is a species of fish in the goby family, Gobiidae, and the only member of the monotypic genusMistichthys. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs along the Bicol River and in Lakes Buhi, Bato, Katugday, and Manapao inCamarines Sur.

The fish grows up to 2.5 centimeters long. It is transparent with a few dark spots and black eyes.

This freshwater fish lives in lakes from the shoreline to 12 meters in depth.

The sinarapan is considered a delicacy, and it is of economic importance locally. It has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "smallest food 

fish". It is harvested with nets and palm leaves.  It tends to school, making it easier to catch. It has been taken in large numbers since the 1940s, when it first became popular as food. It is fried or boiled and served with vegetables.

By the 1990s it had become clear that the sinarapan was overfished and was nearing extinction. It was also negatively affected byintroduced species of fish in its native lakes, particularly the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Conservation actions taken include the transfer of thousands of sinarapan to safer lakes where they might reproduce effectively. The transport of the fish was difficult because it is very delicate, and well over half of each load died during the process. By 2001 there was evidence of successful reproduction in the new habitat.

The Coldest Valley - McMurdo Valley

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of snow-free valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound.   The region is one of the world's most extreme deserts, and includes many interesting features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest river.

Climate

McMurdo Dry Valleys, Landsat 7 imagery acquired on December 18, 1999.

The Dry Valleys are so named because of their extremely low humidity and their lack of snow or ice cover. They are also dry because, in this location, the mountains are sufficiently high that they block seaward flowing ice from the East Antarctic ice sheet from reaching the Ross Sea. At 4,800 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi), the valleys constitute around 0.03% of the continent, and form the largest ice-free region in Antarctica. The valley floors are covered with loose gravel, in which ice wedge polygonal patterned ground may be observed

The unique conditions in the Dry Valleys are caused, in part, by katabatic winds; these occur when cold, dense air is pulled downhill by the force of gravity. The winds can reach speeds of 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph), heating as they descend, and evaporating all water, ice and snow.

Geology

ASTER image of the Dry Valleys.

The valleys cut through the Beacon Supergroup, as well as older granites and gneisses of the Ross Orogeny. Deposited directly from ice, tills dot this bedrock landscape. These are relatively thin and patchy, and differ markedly from the extensive, mud-rich tills of the Laurentide ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere. One reason for the difference is that most of the tills in the Dry Valleys were deposited from cold-based ice (ice with basal temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F)), whereas the Laurentide ice sheet was largely wet-based, with significant melting at the base and at the glacier surface.

Life

Mummified seal carcass

Endolithic photosynthetic bacteria have been found living in the Dry Valleys, sheltered from the dry air in the relatively moist interior of rocks. Summer meltwater from the glaciers provides the primary source of soil nutrients. Scientists consider the Dry Valleys perhaps the closest of any terrestrial environment to the planet Mars, and thus an important source of insights into possible extraterrestrial life.

Anaerobic bacteria whose metabolism is based on iron and sulfur live in sub-freezing temperatures under the Taylor Glacier. It was previously thought that the algae was staining red the ice emerging at Blood Falls but it is now known that the staining is caused by high levels of iron oxide.

Part of the Valleys was designated an environmentally protected area in 2004.

Sarawak Chamber - The Largest Chamber

Sarawak Chamber is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area and the second largest by volume after the Miao Room in China. It is in Gua Nasib Bagus (Good Luck Cave), which is located in Gunung Mulu National Park, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo

Discovery

The chamber was discovered by three British cavers, Andy Eavis, Dave Checkley and Tony White, in January 1981 during the Mullu 80 Expiditions. 

 The story of how it was discovered is told in the books Underground Worlds and Giant Caves of Borneo.

Later named Sarawak Chamber, it measures 600 metres (2,000 ft) long, 435 metres (1,427 ft) wide and a maximum of 115 metres (377 ft) high,

 and was estimated as three times the size of the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, then thought to be the largest underground chamber. Its volume and area were checked by laser scanning in 2011 and were found to be 9,579,205 cubic metres (338,286,400 cu ft) and 164,459 square metres (1,770,220 sq ft) respectively. 

To reach Sarawak Chamber, one must follow a river upstream from the cave entrance. This long passage has a roof up to 60 metres (200 ft) high, and may require some swimming and a traverse along a ledge. Accompanied visits can be arranged by the national Park

 Geology and formation

Sarawak Chamber is formed in Melinau Limestone, a reef complex of Upper Eocene to Lower Miocene age.^[3] It was formed by karstic solutional processes. Its exceptional area is thought to be the result of the stability provided by the structure of the rocks in which it lies, dipping strata forming an anticline flank close to a syncline axis.

Fiction

The feeling of agoraphobia experienced by one of the discoverers is referenced in the novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Deepest Octopus - Dumbo Octopus

Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic umbrella octopus that live in the deep sea. Prominent ear-like fins protrude from the mantle just above their lateral eyes. They have a U or V shaped shell in their mantle which gives them a bell shaped appearance. Some species are short, squat and yellow, while others resemble a jellyfish with one big brown walking shoe. Some have suckers, in addition to spines, on all 8 webbed arms while others look like a regular octopus with the addition of blue or other colored "ears". These octopuses are commonly nicknamed "Dumbo octopuses" or "Dumbo octopods" in reference to how the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies resemble the ears of Walt Disney's flying elephant Dumbo. There are at least 13 to 14 species recognized in the genus.^[1] each having a different aspect from all the others. These features could be larger ears or different colours. As these animals live at the bottom of the sea they have a very small food supply. Prey include crustaceans, bivalves, worms and copepods.^[2] The average life span of various Grimpoteuthis species is 3 to 5 years.

All species of Grimpoteuthis are bathyal creatures, living at extreme depths of 3,000 to 4,000 metres (9,800 to 13,100 ft) with some living up to 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) below sea level, which is the deepest of any known octopus.^[3] They are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species. They have been found worldwide in the waters of New Zealand, Australia, Monterrey Bay, Oregon,Philippines, Martha's Vineyard, Papua New Guinea and Azores. They can flush the transparent layer of their skin at will, and are pelagic animals, as with all other cirrate octopuses. The largest Dumbo octopus ever recorded was 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) in length and weighed 5.9 kilograms (13 lb).^[4] The average size for most species is 20–30 centimetres (7.9–12 in) in length. The average weight is still undetermined.