BLACK CAT FISH STALKER JIGSAW PUZZLE vintage angelfish kitten aquarium Tierney

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Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 194848364266 BLACK CAT FISH STALKER JIGSAW PUZZLE vintage angelfish kitten aquarium Tierney. Check out our other new and used items>>>>>HERE! (click me) FOR SALE: An amusing jigsaw puzzle with a unique perspective 1988 THE UNDERGROUND JIGSAW PUZZLE "ANGEL" 550 PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE DETAILS: Brand: The Underground Jigsaw Puzzle (International Polygonics, LTD.) Title: "Angel" Artist: John P. Tierney Year: 1988 Piece Count: More Than 550 Pieces Size: 18 x 24 Inches Model #: 965 Country: USA This vintage puzzle takes you inside an aquarium with a very interested black cat staring at two yellow and black long finned angelfish through the aquarium glass. The unique art for the "Angel" jigsaw puzzle was created by artist John P. Tierney in 1988. Tierney's "Angel" gives you a peculiar perspective that makes you see what it's like to be the hunted in a cat and fish scenario - an eccentric take. The reflections in the puzzle artwork along with the large puzzle size make it an enjoyable and entertaining build (or assembly) for any puzzler. Build it, frame it, and enjoy! The Underground Jigsaw Puzzle brand named their 18" x 24" size puzzles "Giant" - a bit of a misnomer because though the puzzle is poster size most wouldn't consider it "Giant". A quality International Polygonics product! The Underground Jigsaw Puzzle is a trademark and brand of International Polygonics, LTD., who also published some classic books and even made a few novel-themed puzzles (Lord Of The Rings, Don Quixote, etc.). The pieces of this jigsaw puzzle are made from thick, quality cardboard. The jigsaw pieces do not make up a rectangular based grid with knobs and holes aligned like most jigsaw puzzles. The pieces have curves and each piece has a distinct shape that fits securely as you assemble the puzzle. CONDITION: In very good, pre-owned condition and complete. The puzzle has been handled and assembled. The box has some wear. Please see photos. *To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out* THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats.[1] The Bombay breed is exclusively black. All-black fur pigmentation is slightly more prevalent in male cats than female cats. Most black cats have golden irises due to their high melanin pigment content. In popular myths, witches are believed to be associated with black cats.... Coat See also: Cat coat genetics The Bombay cat breed is typically black in color Any cat whose fur is a single color, including black, is known as a "solid" or "self". A "solid black" cat may be coal black, grayish black, or brownish black. Most solid-colored cats result from a recessive gene that suppresses the tabby pattern. Sometimes the tabby pattern is not completely suppressed; faint markings may appear in certain lights, even on a solid black cat. A cat having black fur with white roots is known as a "black smoke".[2] A black cat "rusting" (coat turning a lighter brown shade) in sunlight Black cats can also "rust" in sunlight, the coat turning a lighter brownish-red shade.[2] Eumelanin, the pigment that is required to produce the black fur, is somewhat fragile, so the rusting effect can be more pronounced in cats that frequently spend time in the sun. A rarer situation that can also cause rusting is a deficiency of the amino acid tyrosine, which is required to produce eumelanin.[3] In addition to the Bombay, the Cat Fanciers' Association allows solid black as a color option in 21 other breeds. The color description for those breeds is:     Black: dense coal black, sound from roots to tip of fur. Free from any tinge of rust on the tips. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown. The exceptions are:     Oriental – Ebony: dense coal black. Free from any tinge of rust on tips or smoke undercoat. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.     Sphynx – Black: black. One level tone from nose to tip of tail. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.     Ragamuffin – Although black is not specifically mentioned, the standard allows for "any color, with or without white", so technically speaking, an all-black Ragamuffin would be allowed under the breed standard.[4] Historical associations Globe icon.     The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this section, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new section, as appropriate. (May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) As a positive omen in Britain and Ireland A black feral cat. Some cultures are superstitious about black cats, ascribing either good or bad luck to them. The superstitions surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture, but black cats have positive associations in the Celtic nations and Japanese folklore.[5] Black cats were sacred in Celtic mythology. Scottish lore holds that a black cat's arrival at a new home signifies prosperity, while Welsh lore states that a black cat brings good health: Cath ddu, mi glywais dd’wedyd, A fedr swyno hefyd, A chadw’r teulu lle mae’n byw O afael pob rhyw glefyd.     A black cat, I’ve heard it said, Can charm all ill away, And keep the house wherein she dwells From fever’s deadly sway. —A Welsh folklore rhyme, 1896[6]     However, both the Gaels and Celtic Britons had traditions of feral and sometimes malevolent black cats. In Scottish mythology, a fairy known as the Cat sìth takes the form of a black cat, while in Welsh mythology the monstrous Cath Palug grew from a black kitten.[7] In England, as with other Germanic cultures, some areas would associate black cats with witches and bad luck. The mix of positive and negative associations in Great Britain may have given rise to the later belief that black cats were omens of both good and bad luck. One tradition states that if a black cat walks towards someone, it is said to bring good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.[8] This tradition was reversed at sea where 18th century pirates came to believe that a black cat would bring bad luck if it walks towards someone, and good luck if it walks away from someone. It was also believed that if a black cat walks onto a ship and then walks off it, the ship is doomed to sink on its next trip.[8] Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors.[9] Superstition, prejudice, bringer of good or bad luck Black cat with long hair Black cats are often a symbol of Halloween or witchcraft. In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches, or actually shape-shifting witches themselves. Most of Europe considers the black cat a symbol of bad luck, particularly if one walks across the path in front of a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death. In Germany, some believe that black cats crossing a person's path from right to left, is a bad omen, but from left to right, the cat is granting favorable times.[10] The black cat in folklore has been able to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, they brought with them a devout faith in the Bible. They also brought a deepening suspicion of anything deemed of Satan and were deeply suspicious of other Christians, including those of the Catholic, Quaker, Anglican and Baptist denominations.[11] The Pilgrims viewed the black cat as a companion, or a familiar to witches, who were said to "use black cats as an integral part of their craft".[12][unreliable source?] These superstitions led people to kill black cats. There is no evidence from England of regular large-scale massacres of "Satanic" cats, or of burning them in midsummer bonfires, as sometimes occurred elsewhere in Europe.[13] In the present day many Westerners, including Christian clergy, have black cats as pets, and very few people attach superstitions to them anymore.[14][15] In contrast, the supernatural powers ascribed to black cats were sometimes viewed positively; for example, sailors considering a "ship's cat" would want a black one because it would bring good luck.[16] Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea (see Ship's cat). In the folklore of Chiloé of southern Chile, black cats are an important element that is needed when hunting for the treasure of the carbunclo.[17][18] In the early days of television in the United States, many stations located on VHF channel 13 used a black cat as a mascot in order to make sport of being located on an "unlucky" channel number. Anarcho-syndicalism See also: Black cat (anarchist symbolism) The black cat of the Industrial Workers of the World, also adopted as a symbol by anarcho-syndicalists Since the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an anarchist symbol. More specifically, the black cat—often called the "sab cat" or "sabo-tabby"[19]—is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on labor organizing, including the use of wildcat strikes. In testimony before the court in a 1918 trial of Industrial Workers of the World leaders, Ralph Chaplin, who is generally credited with creating the IWW's black cat symbol, stated that the black cat "was commonly used by the boys as representing the idea of sabotage. The idea being to frighten the employer by the mention of the name sabotage, or by putting a black cat somewhere around. You know if you saw a black cat go across your path you would think, if you were superstitious, you are going to have a little bad luck. The idea of sabotage is to use a little black cat on the boss."[20] Space Shuttle program The other patch made for STS-41-C which would have been STS-13, and it landed on Friday the 13th.[21] When the Space Shuttle program naming system for missions was reworked to avoid a Space Transportation System (STS)-13, some sourced this to superstition and Apollo 13.[22] The crew for what would have been STS-13 (what turned out to be STS-41C) made a humorous mission patch that included a black cat and a number 13.[22] The mission was successful and even landed on Friday the 13th.[22] The other main reason for the new numbering system was to better accommodate a much higher number of launches.[22] Notable black cats Gladstone, Chief Mouser to HM Treasury The UK Government has adopted several cats from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home as mousers. Gladstone is known as Chief Mouser of HM Treasury.[23] India, also known as Willie, was a presidential cat owned by George W. Bush and Laura Bush who lived with them at the White House.[24] Trim sailed with Matthew Flinders as he mapped the coastline of Australia between 1801 and 1803. Trim now accompanies him on several statues in Australia and England.[25] Hodge (fl. c.1769) was a cat belonging to Samuel Johnson. Most of what is known about Hodge comes from James Boswell's biography and a statue of Hodge stands outside Dr Johnson's House.[26] Oscar the "bionic" cat had his back legs sliced off by a combine harvester whilst sleeping in a field in Jersey. He was flown to the UK and received prosthetic limbs in an innovative operation in 2010.[27] Adoption and Black Cat Day Black cats have been found to have lower odds of adoption in American shelters compared to other colors except brown, although black animals in general take more time to find homes.[28] Some shelters also suspend or limit adoptions of black cats around Halloween[29] for fear they will be tortured, or used as "living decorations" for the holiday and then abandoned.[30][31][32] Despite this, no one has ever documented in the history of humane work any relationship between adopting black cats and cats being killed or injured. When such killings are reported, forensic evidence has pointed to natural predators, such as coyotes, eagles, or raptors as the likely cause.[31] Limiting or suspending adoptions around Halloween also places more cats of all colors at risk of dying in shelters due to overcrowding.[33] October 27 has been designated 'Black Cat Day' by Cats Protection in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,[34] to celebrate the virtues of black cats and to encourage people to adopt an unwanted black cat. Cats Protection's own figures suggest that black cats are more difficult for them to find a new home for than other colors.[34] In 2014, the RSPCA reported that 70% of the abandoned cats in its care were black, suggesting a possible reason was that people considered black cats "un-photogenic".[35] In the United States, August 17 is "Black Cat Appreciation Day". Wayne H. Morris created the day in honor of his late sister, June, who had a black cat, Sinbad. The day was chosen in memorial of June's passing.[36][37][38] Research by the ASPCA shows that black cats are the least likely to be adopted from shelters of any type of cat.[38] This can be partly because of the superstition behind black cats such as their association with witchcraft or bad luck, or because they appear dull next to more colorful cats. In 2014 Toronto, Canada's largest city, held an event on Black Friday during which people could adopt a black cat without paying the usual $75 adoption fee, in order to encourage the adoption of black cats.[39] This trend has now spread across the United States, with many shelters offering free adoption of black cats on Black Friday. With the success of the 2018 African-themed superhero film, Black Panther, there was a fad of adopting black domestic cats as pets and naming them after various characters of the film, such as T'Challa and Shuri.[40] It has been observed that usually people were not going out of their way to follow this fad, but visited animal shelters to simply adopt a pet under normal circumstances and were inspired by the Black Panther to adopt a black cat when they see one. Regardless, to reduce the chance of such cats being abandoned when the fad fades, reputable animal shelter personnel took the usual precautions of having potential adopters fill out questionnaires to weed out potentially abusive guardians and have them read literature about the needs and responsibilities of such a pet to dissuade the less conscientious." (wikipedia.org) "The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of a small carnivorous mammal.[1][2] It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family.[4] A cat can either be a house cat, a farm cat or a feral cat; the latter ranges freely and avoids human contact.[5] Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries.[6] The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species: it has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey. Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. A predator that is most active at dawn and dusk (crepuscular), the cat is a solitary hunter but a social species. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals.[7] Cats also secrete and perceive pheromones.[8] Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens.[9] Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Population control of cats may be effected by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of entire bird, mammal, and reptile species.[10] Cats were first domesticated in the Near East around 7500 BC.[11] It was long thought that cat domestication began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC.[12][13] As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.[14][15] As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second-most popular pet in the United States, with 95 million cats owned.[16][17][18] In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020.... Etymology and naming The origin of the English word cat, Old English catt, is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century.[20] It was suggested that the word 'cattus' is derived from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ šau, "tomcat", or its feminine form suffixed with -t.[21] The Late Latin word may be derived from another Afro-Asiatic[22] or Nilo-Saharan language. The Nubian word kaddîska "wildcat" and Nobiin kadīs are possible sources or cognates.[23] The Nubian word may be a loan from Arabic قَطّ‎ qaṭṭ ~ قِطّ qiṭṭ. It is "equally likely that the forms might derive from an ancient Germanic word, imported into Latin and thence to Greek and to Syriac and Arabic".[24] The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic, cf. Northern Sami gáđfi, "female stoat", and Hungarian hölgy, "lady, female stoat"; from Proto-Uralic *käďwä, "female (of a furred animal)".[25] The English puss, extended as pussy and pussycat, is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte, related to Swedish kattepus, or Norwegian pus, pusekatt. Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puižė and Irish puisín or puiscín. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have simply arisen from a sound used to attract a cat.[26][27] A male cat is called a tom or tomcat[28] (or a gib,[29] if neutered). An unspayed female is called a queen,[30] especially in a cat-breeding context. A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten. In Early Modern English, the word kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word catling.[31] A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring.[32] Taxonomy The scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat.[1][2] Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777.[3] Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Alekseevich Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus, later identified as a domestic cat.[33][34] In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species, namely Felis catus.[35][36] In 2007, it was considered a subspecies, F. silvestris catus, of the European wildcat (F. silvestris) following results of phylogenetic research.[37][38] In 2017, the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species, Felis catus.[39] Evolution Main article: Cat evolution Skulls of a wildcat (top left), a housecat (top right), and a hybrid between the two. (bottom center) The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae, a family that had a common ancestor about 10–15 million years ago.[40] The genus Felis diverged from other Felidae around 6–7 million years ago.[41] Results of phylogenetic research confirm that the wild Felis species evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection.[42] The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes[43] and roughly 20,000 genes.[44] The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today.[45] Domestication See also: Evolution of the domesticated cat A cat eating a fish under a chair, a mural in an Egyptian tomb dating to the 15th century BC The earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat (F. lybica) was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500–7200 BC. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland.[46] Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse (Mus musculus), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats.[11][6] Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time.[47] The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC. Greek, Phoenician, Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe.[48] During the Roman Empire they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before the beginning of the 1st millennium.[49] By the 5th century BC, they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria.[50] By the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany.[47] During domestication, cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior, and they are still capable of surviving in the wild. Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play and relatively high intelligence. Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans, but were not domesticated.[51] House cats often mate with feral cats,[52] producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland.[53] Hybridisation between domestic and other Felinae species is also possible.[54] Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century.[55] An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication, as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds.[56] Most breeds are founded on random-bred domestic cats. Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions, and is lowest in purebred populations, which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders.[57] Characteristics Main article: Cat anatomy Size Diagram of the general anatomy of a male domestic cat The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat.[58] It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9–10 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females.[59] Adult domestic cats typically weigh between 4 and 5 kg (9 and 11 lb).[42] Skeleton Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx).[60]: 11  The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis.[60]: 16  Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head.[61] Skull Cat skull The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw.[62]: 35  Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death.[63] Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to the size of their jaw, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.[63] The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication.[62]: 37  Although cats tend to have better teeth than most humans, with decay generally less likely because of a thicker protective layer of enamel, a less damaging saliva, less retention of food particles between teeth, and a diet mostly devoid of sugar, they are nonetheless subject to occasional tooth loss and infection.[64] Claws Shed claw sheaths Cats have protractible and retractable claws.[65] In their normal, relaxed position, the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw's toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the fore feet are typically sharper than those on the hind feet.[66] Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, kneading, or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces.[67] Most cats have five claws on their front paws, and four on their rear paws. The dewclaw is proximal to the other claws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws, on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking, but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits (“polydactyly”).[68] Polydactylous cats occur along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain.[69] Ambulation The cat is digitigrade. It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg.[70] Unlike most mammals, it uses a "pacing" gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain. As it speeds up walking to trotting, its gait changes to a "diagonal" gait: The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously.[71] Balance File:BIOASTRONAUTICS RESEARCH Gov.archives.arc.68700.ogvPlay media Comparison of cat righting reflexes in gravity and zero gravity Most breeds of cat have a noted fondness for sitting in high places, or perching. A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch. Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. A cat falling from heights of up to 3 meters (9.8 ft) can right itself and land on its paws.[72] During a fall from a high place, a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex.[73] A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall, if it has enough time to do so, which is the case in falls of 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) or more.[74] How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as the "falling cat problem". Senses Main article: Cat senses Vision Reflection of camera flash from the tapetum lucidum Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision.[62]: 43  This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light.[75] Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light. The domestic cat has slit pupils, which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration.[76] At low light, a cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes.[77] The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited.[78] A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone. This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision.[79] Hearing The domestic cat's hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz.[80] It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79,000 Hz. It can hear a range of 10.5 octaves, while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves.[81][82] Its hearing sensitivity is enhanced by its large movable outer ears, the pinnae, which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise. It can detect ultrasound, which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey.[83][84] Recent research has shown that cats have socio-spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners' locations based on hearing owners' voices.[85] The ability to track something out of sight is called object permanence and it is found in humans, primates, and some non-primates.[86] Smell Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 square centimetres (29⁄32 square inch) in area, which is about twice that of humans.[87] Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson's organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening. It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot. Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol,[88] which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands.[89] Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone, especially catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion.[90] About 70–80% of cats are affected by nepetalactone.[91] This response is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine (Actinidia polygama) and the herb valerian; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors.[92] Taste Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans (470 or so versus more than 9,000 on the human tongue).[93] Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness.[94] Their taste buds instead respond to acids, amino acids like protein, and bitter tastes.[95] Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 38 °C (100 °F) which is similar to that of a fresh kill and routinely rejecting food presented cold or refrigerated (which would signal to the cat that the "prey" item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing).[93] Whiskers The whiskers of a cat are highly sensitive to touch To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable whiskers (vibrissae) over their body, especially their faces. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage.[62]: 47  Behavior See also: Cat behavior Cat lying on rice straw Cat lying on rice straw Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.[96] Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes, but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging from 7 to 28 hectares (17–69 acres).[97] The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means house cats may be more active in the morning and evening, as a response to greater human activity at these times.[98] Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours. The term "cat nap" for a short rest refers to the cat's tendency to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming.[99] Sociability The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females.[100][101] Within such groups, one cat is usually dominant over the others.[102] Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories. These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation.[89] Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling and, if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite this colonial organization, cats do not have a social survival strategy or a pack mentality, and always hunt alone.[103] Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, the human keeper of a cat functions as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother.[104] Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore.[105] Some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens, which include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression.[106] Domestic cats' scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding.[107] Communication Main article: Cat communication Vocalizing domestic cat Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing.[7] Their body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicates hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones.[108] Feral cats are generally silent.[109]: 208  Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.[101] Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens. Post-nursing cats often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed,[110][111] or eating. The mechanism by which cats purr is elusive; the cat has no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound.[112] Grooming The hooked papillae on a cat's tongue act like a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean.[113] The cat's tongue has backward-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. These contain keratin which makes them rigid[114] so the papillae act like a hairbrush. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.[113] Fighting A domestic cat's arched back, raised fur and an open-mouthed hiss are signs of aggression Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.[115] Among feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male.[116] Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home.[115] Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones.[117] When cats become aggressive, they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, turning sideways and hissing or spitting.[118] Often, the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward. They may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponent. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.[119] Serious damage is rare, as the fights are usually short in duration, with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears. Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus.[120] Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose.[121] Hunting and feeding See also: Cat nutrition A domestic cat with its prey, a deermouse The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Therefore, when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward.[122][123] Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past.[103][124] It is also a common misconception that cats like milk/cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea.[125] Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.[126] Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents,[127] and are often used as a form of pest control.[128][129] Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured.[130] The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.[131]: 153  Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually.[132] Certain species appear more susceptible than others; for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality is linked to the domestic cat.[133] In the recovery of ringed robins (Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (Prunella modularis), 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation.[134] In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety.[135] Perhaps the best-known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing it after capture. This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.[136] Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy, in which humans are reacted to as if they are at, or near, the top.[137] Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten".[138] This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens.[131]: 153  Play Main article: Cat play and toys File:Play fight between cats.webmhd.webmPlay media Play fight between kittens aged 14 weeks Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey.[139] Cats also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat, and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.[140] Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry.[141] Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting, cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey, such as small furry toys that move rapidly, but rapidly lose interest. They become habituated to a toy they have played with before.[142] String is often used as a toy, but if it is eaten, it can become caught at the base of the cat's tongue and then move into the intestines, a medical emergency which can cause serious illness, even death.[143] Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.[144] Reproduction When cats mate, the tomcat (male) bites the scruff of the female's neck as she assumes a position conducive to mating known as lordosis behavior. See also: Kitten Female cats, called queens, are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year, lasting usually 21 days. They are usually ready to mate between early February and August.[145] Several males, called tomcats, are attracted to a female in heat. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female rejects the male, but eventually, the female allows the male to mate. The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backward-pointing penile spines, which are about 1 mm (1⁄32 in) long; upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation, which acts to induce ovulation.[146] After mating, the female cleans her vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female attacks him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat.[147] Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate.[148] Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.[147] The morula forms 124 hours after conception. At 148 hours, early blastocysts form. At 10–12 days, implantation occurs.[149] The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days, with an average of 65 days.[145][150] Radiography of a pregnant cat. The skeletons of two fetuses are visible on the left and right of the uterus. A newborn kitten Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2,300 free-ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000. They had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens. They produced a mean of 1.4 litters per year, but a maximum of three litters in a year. Of 169 kittens, 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents.[9] The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age. Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months, and males at 5–7 months. This varies depending on breed.[147] Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9–10 months.[145] Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age, when they are ready to leave their mother.[151] They can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction.[152] This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed before puberty, at about three to six months.[153] In the United States, about 80% of household cats are neutered.... History and mythology Main articles: Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis, where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.[207] Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, which were seen as the ideal rodent-killers. The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats. The usual ancient Greek word for 'cat' was ailouros, meaning 'thing with the waving tail'. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana turns into a cat.[208][209] Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten.[210] Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.[48] Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune.[211] In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.[212] In Jewish legend, the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice. The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals. It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water, while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water.[213] Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza.[214] He is reported to have loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".[215] The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad.[216] One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.[217] The ancient Egyptians mummified dead cats out of respect in the same way that they mummified people[4] Ancient Roman mosaic of a cat killing a partridge from the House of the Faun in Pompeii A 19th-century drawing of a tabby cat Superstitions and rituals Some cultures are superstitious about black cats, ascribing either good or bad luck to them Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat ("crossing one's path") leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres, Belgium, is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade).[218] In mid-16th century France, cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized".[219] James Frazer wrote that "It was the custom to burn a basket, barrel, or sack full of live cats, which was hung from a tall mast in the midst of the bonfire; sometimes a fox was burned. The people collected the embers and ashes of the fire and took them home, believing that they brought good luck. The French kings often witnessed these spectacles and even lit the bonfire with their own hands. In 1648 Louis XIV, crowned with a wreath of roses and carrying a bunch of roses in his hand, kindled the fire, danced at it and partook of the banquet afterwards in the town hall. But this was the last occasion when a monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris. At Metz midsummer fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade, and a dozen cats, enclosed in wicker cages, were burned alive in them, to the amusement of the people. Similarly at Gap, in the department of the Hautes-Alpes, cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire."[220] According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives,[221][222] while in Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six.[223] The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations.[citation needed] Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall." (wikipedia.org) "Pterophyllum is a small genus of freshwater fish from the family Cichlidae known to most aquarists as angelfish. All Pterophyllum species originate from the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and various rivers in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. The three species of Pterophyllum are unusually shaped for cichlids being greatly laterally compressed, with round bodies and elongated triangular dorsal and anal fins. This body shape allows them to hide among roots and plants, often on a vertical surface. Naturally occurring angelfish are frequently striped transversely, colouration which provides additional camouflage. Angelfish are ambush predators and prey on small fish and macroinvertebrates. All Pterophyllum species form monogamous pairs. Eggs are generally laid on a submerged log or a flattened leaf. As is the case for other cichlids, brood care is highly developed. Pterophyllum should not be confused with marine angelfish, perciform fish found on shallow ocean reefs.... Species The currently recognized species in this genus are:[1] Image     Scientific name     Distribution Altum.jpg     Pterophyllum altum Pellegrin, 1903     Orinoco River Basin and the Upper Rio Negro watershed in Southern Venezuela, Southeastern Colombia and extreme Northern Brazil Pterophyllum leopoldi.jpg     Pterophyllum leopoldi (J. P. Gosse, 1963)     Amazon River (between Manacapuru and Santarém), Essequibo River and Rupununi River. Pterophyllum scalare adult.jpg     Pterophyllum scalare (Schultze, 1823) (freshwater angelfish)     Amazon Basin in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil History The freshwater angelfish (P. scalare) was described in 1824 by F. Schultze. Pterophyllum is derived from the Greek πτερον, pteron (fin/sail) and φυλλον, phyllon (leaf). In 1906, J. Pellegrin described P. altum. In 1963, P. leopoldi was described by J. P. Gosse. Undescribed species may still exist in the Amazon Basin. New species of fish are discovered with increasing frequency, and, like P. scalare and P. leopoldi, the differences may be subtle. Scientific notations describe the P. leopoldi as having 29–35 scales in a lateral row and straight predorsal contour, whereas, P. scalare is described as having 35–45 scales in a lateral row and a notched predorsal contour. P. leopoldi shows the same coloration as P. scalare, but a faint stripe shows between the eye stripe and the first complete body stripe and a third incomplete body stripe exists between the two main (complete) body stripes that extends three-fourths the length of the body. P. scalare's body does not show the stripe between the eye stripe and first complete body stripe at all, and the third stripe between the two main body stripes rarely extends downward more than a half inch, if even present. P. leopoldi fry develop three to eight body stripes, with all but one to five fading away as they mature, whereas P. scalare only has two in true wild form throughout life. Angelfish were bred in captivity for at least 30 years prior to P. leopoldi being described. In the aquarium     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) A group of Pterophyllum altum Angelfish are one of the most commonly kept freshwater aquarium fish, as well as the most commonly kept cichlid. They are praised for their unique shape, color, and behavior. It was not until the late 1920s to early 1930s that the angelfish was bred in captivity in the United States. Species The most commonly kept species in the aquarium is Pterophyllum scalare. Most of the individuals in the aquarium trade are captive-bred. Sometimes, captive-bred Pterophyllum altum is available. Pterophyllum leopoldi is the hardest to find in the trade. Care Angelfish are kept in a warm aquarium, ideally around 80 °F (27 °C). Though angelfish are members of the cichlid family, they are generally peaceful when not mating; however, the general rule "big fish eat little fish" applies. Suitable tank mates include Raphael catfish which have their own armour for protection. Breeding     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) A Pterophyllum couple spawning P. scalare is relatively easy to breed in the aquarium, although one of the results of generations of inbreeding is that many breeds have almost completely lost their rearing instincts, resulting in the tendency of the parents to eat their young.[citation needed] In addition, it is very difficult to accurately identify the sex of any individual until it is nearly ready to breed. Angelfish pairs form long-term relationships where each individual will protect the other from threats and potential suitors. Upon the death or removal of one of the mated pair, breeders have experienced the total refusal of the remaining mate to pair up with any other angelfish and successfully breed with subsequent mates. Depending upon aquarium conditions, P. scalare reaches sexual maturity at the age of six to 12 months or more. In situations where the eggs are removed from the aquarium immediately after spawning, the pair is capable of spawning every seven to 10 days. Around the age of three years, spawning frequency decreases and eventually ceases. When the pair is ready to spawn, they choose an appropriate medium upon which to lay the eggs, and spend one or two days picking off detritus and algae from the surface. This medium may be a broad-leaf plant in the aquarium, a flat surface such as a piece of slate placed vertically in the aquarium, a length of pipe, or even the glass sides of the aquarium. The female deposits a line of eggs on the spawning substrate, followed by the male, which fertilizes the eggs. This process is repeated until a total of 100 to more than 1,200 eggs are laid, depending on the size and health of the female fish. As both parents care for the offspring throughout development, the pair takes turns maintaining a high rate of water circulation around the eggs by swimming very close to the eggs and fanning them with their pectoral fins. In a few days, the eggs hatch and the fry remain attached to the spawning substrate. During this period, the fry survive by consuming the remnants of their yolk sacs. At one week, the fry detach and become free-swimming. Successful parents keep close watch on the eggs until then. At the free-swimming stage, the fry can be fed suitably sized live food. P. altum is notably difficult to breed in an aquarium environment. Lifespan Freshwater Angelfish with quality genetics are known to live more than 10 years (approximately 12 years) in captivity, if the ideal living conditions are provided. In the wild they are thought to live as long as 15 years if unthreatened by their numerous natural predators.[2] Compatibility with other fish In pet stores, the freshwater angelfish is typically placed in the semiaggressive category. Some tetras and barbs are compatible with angelfish, but ones small enough to fit in the mouth of the angelfish may be eaten. Generous portions of food should be available so the angelfish do not get hungry and turn on their tank mates. Aquarium varieties Most strains of angelfish available in the fishkeeping hobby are the result of many decades of selective breeding. For the most part, the original crosses of wild angelfish were not recorded and confusion between the various species of Pterophyllum, especially P. scalare and P. leopoldi, is common. This makes the origins of "domestic angelfish" unclear. Domestic strains are most likely a collection of genes resulting from more than one species of wild angelfish, combined with the selection of mutations in domesticated lines over the last 60 or more years. The result of this is a domestic angelfish that is a true hybrid, with little more than a superficial resemblance to wild Pterophyllum species. Much of the research into the known genetics of P. scalare is the result of the research of Dr. Joanne Norton, who published a series of 18 articles in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine. An adolescent silver angelfish     Silver (+/+): The silver angelfish most commonly resembles the wild form of angelfish, and is also referred to as "wild-type". It is not, however, caught in the wild and is considered domestic. The fish has a silver body with red eyes, and three vertical black stripes that can fade or darken depending on the mood of the fish.     Gold (g/g): The genetic trait for the gold angelfish is recessive, and causes a light golden body with a darker yellow or orange color on the crown of the fish. It does not have the vertical black stripes or the red eye seen in the wild angelfish.     Zebra (Z/+ or Z/Z): The zebra phenotype results in four to six vertical stripes on the fish that in other ways resembles a silver angelfish. It is a dominant mutation that exists at the same locus as the stripeless gene.     Black lace (D/+) or zebra lace (D/+ - Z/+): A silver or zebra with one copy of the dark gene results in very attractive lacing in the fins, considered by some to the most attractive of all angelfish varieties.     Smokey (Sm/+): A variety with a dark brownish grey back half and dark dorsal and anal fins     Chocolate (Sm/Sm): Homozygous for smokey with more of the dark pattern, sometimes only the head is silver Halfblack veil angelfish - P. scalare     Halfblack (h/h): Silver with a black rear portion, halfblack can express along with some other color genes, but not all. The pattern may not develop or express if the fish are in stressful conditions. Sunset blushing veil angelfish - P. scalare     Sunset blushing (g/g S/S): The sunset blushing has two genes of gold and two genes of stripeless. The upper half of the fish exhibits orange on the best specimens. The body is mostly white in color, and the fins are clear. The amount of orange showing on the fish can vary. On some, the body is a pinkish or tangerine color. The term blushing comes from the clear gill plates found on juveniles, with pinkish gills underneath. Koi angelfish - P. scalare     Koi (Gm/Gm S/S) or (Gm/g S/S): The koi has a double or single gene of gold marble with a double gene of stripeless. Their expression of orange varies with stress levels. The black marbling varies from 5%-40% coverage.     Leopard (Sm/Sm Z/Z) or (Sm/Sm Z/+): Leopards are very popular fish when young, having spots over most of their bodies. Most of these spots grow closer together as adults, so they look like chocolates with dots.     Blue blushing (S/S): This wild-type angelfish has two stripeless genes. The body is actually grey with a bluish tint under the right light spectrum. An iridescent pigment develops as they age. This iridescence usually appears blue under most lighting.     Silver gold marble (Gm/+): A silver angel with a single gold marble gene, this is a co-dominant expression.     Ghost (S/+): Heterozygous for stripeless results in a mostly silver fish with just a stripe through the eye and tail. Sometimes, portions of the body stripes will express.     Gold marble (Gm/g or Gm/Gm)     Depending on whether the Gold Marble is single or double dose, the marbling will range from 5% to 40% coverage. Marble angelfish - P. scalare     Marble (M/+ or M/M or M/g or M/Gm): Marble expresses with much more black pattern than gold marble. The marbling varies from 50% to 95%.     Black hybrid (D/g or D/Gm): A cross of black with a gold, the result is black hybrids, a very vigorous black that may look brassy when young. This cross does not breed true. Gold pearlscale angelfish - P. scalare     Pearlscale (p/p): Pearlscale is a scale mutation, also called the "diamond" angelfish in some regions due to the gem-like iridescence on its scales. The scales have a wrinkled, wavy look that reflects light to create a sparkling effect. Pearl develops slowly, starting at around 9 weeks of age. In can be inhibited by stressful conditions. It is recessive, requiring both parents to contribute the allele.     Black ghost (D/+ - S/+): Similar to a ghost, it has a darker appearance due to the dark gene, and very similar to a black lace without complete stripes. Ghosts generally have more iridescence than normal.     Albino (a/a): Albino removes dark pigments in most varieties. Some, like albino marble still have a little black remaining on a percentage of the fish. The eye pupils are pink as in all albino animals. The surrounding iris can be red or yellow depending on the variety." (wikipedia.org) "Cichlids /ˈsɪklɪdz/[1] are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses (Labridae), in the order Perciformes,[2] but molecular studies have contradicted this grouping.[3] The closest living relative of cichlids is probably the convict blenny, and both families are classified in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World as the two families in the Cichliformes, part of the subseries Ovalentaria.[4] This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,650 species have been scientifically described,[5] making it one of the largest vertebrate families. New species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unknown, with estimates varying between 2,000 and 3,000.[6] Many cichlids, particularly tilapia, are important food fishes, while others, such as the Cichla species, are valued game fish. The family also includes many popular freshwater aquarium fish kept by hobbyists, including the angelfish, oscars, and discus.[7][8] Cichlids have the largest number of endangered species among vertebrate families, most in the haplochromine group.[9] Cichlids are particularly well known for having evolved rapidly into many closely related but morphologically diverse species within large lakes, particularly Lakes Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi, and Edward.[10][11] Their diversity in the African Great Lakes is important for the study of speciation in evolution.[12] Many cichlids introduced into waters outside of their natural range have become nuisances.[13] All cichlids practice some form of parental care for their eggs and fry, usually in the form of guarding the eggs and fry or mouthbrooding. ... Anatomy and appearance Relationships within the Labrodei[2] Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as 2.5 cm (1 in) in length (e.g., female Neolamprologus multifasciatus) to much larger species approaching 1 m (3 ft) in length (Boulengerochromis and Cichla). As a group, cichlids exhibit a similar diversity of body shapes, ranging from strongly laterally compressed species (such as Altolamprologus, Pterophyllum, and Symphysodon) to species that are cylindrical and highly elongated (such as Julidochromis, Teleogramma, Teleocichla, Crenicichla, and Gobiocichla).[7] Generally, however, cichlids tend to be of medium size, ovate in shape, and slightly laterally compressed, and generally similar to the North American sunfishes in morphology, behavior, and ecology.[14] Cichlids share a single key trait - the fusion of the lower pharyngeal bones into a single tooth-bearing structure. A complex set of muscles allows the upper and lower pharyngeal bones to be used as a second set of jaws for processing food, allowing a division of labor between the "true jaws" (mandibles) and the "pharyngeal jaws". Cichlids are efficient and often highly specialized feeders that capture and process a very wide variety of food items. This is assumed to be one reason why they are so diverse.[7] The features that distinguish them from the other families in the Labroidei include:[15]     A single nostril on each side of the forehead, instead of two     No bony shelf below the orbit of the eye     Division of the lateral line organ into two sections, one on the upper half of the flank and a second along the midline of the flank from about halfway along the body to the base of the tail (except for genera Teleogramma and Gobiocichla)     A distinctively shaped otolith     The small intestine's left-side exit from the stomach instead of its right side as in other Labroidei Taxonomy Kullander (1998) recognizes eight subfamilies of cichlids: the Astronotinae, Cichlasomatinae, Cichlinae, Etroplinae, Geophaginae, Heterochromidinae, Pseudocrenilabrinae, and Retroculinae.[16] A ninth subfamily, the Ptychochrominae, was later recognized by Sparks and Smith.[17] Cichlid taxonomy is still debated, and classification of genera cannot yet be definitively given. A comprehensive system of assigning species to monophyletic genera is still lacking, and there is not complete agreement on what genera should be recognized in this family.[18] As an example of the classification problems, Kullander[19] placed the African genus Heterochromis phylogenetically within Neotropical cichlids, although later papers[citation needed] concluded otherwise. Other problems center upon the identity of the putative common ancestor for the Lake Victoria superflock (many closely related species sharing a single habitat), and the ancestral lineages of Lake Tanganyikan cichlids.[citation needed] Comparisons[20] between a morphologically based phylogeny[21] and analyses of gene loci[22] produce differences at the genus level. A consensus remains that the Cichlidae as a family are monophyletic.[23][24] In cichlid taxonomy, dentition was formerly used as a classifying characteristic, but this was complicated because in many cichlids, tooth shapes change with age, due to wear, and cannot be relied upon. Genome sequencing and other technologies transformed cichlid taxonomy.[25] Distribution and habitat Pelmatolapia mariae, caught on a hook and line, in Australia: Originally from Africa, the species established feral populations in Australia.[26] Cichlids are one of the largest vertebrate families in the world. They are most diverse in Africa and South America. Africa alone is host to at least an estimated 1,600 species.[18] Central America and Mexico have about 120 species, as far north as the Rio Grande in South Texas. Madagascar has its own distinctive species (Katria, Oxylapia, Paratilapia, Paretroplus, Ptychochromis, and Ptychochromoides), only distantly related to those on the African mainland.[15][27] Native cichlids are largely absent in Asia, except for 9 species in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria (Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, Oreochromis aureus, O. niloticus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Coptodon zillii, and Tristramella spp.), two in Iran (Iranocichla), and three in India and Sri Lanka (Etroplus and Pseudetroplus).[18] If disregarding Trinidad and Tobago (where the few native cichlids are members of genera that are widespread in the South American mainland), the three species from the genus Nandopsis are the only cichlids from the Antilles in the Caribbean, specifically Cuba and Hispaniola. Europe, Australia, Antarctica, and North America north of the Rio Grande drainage have no native cichlids, although in Florida, Hawaii, Japan, northern Australia, and elsewhere, feral populations of cichlids have become established as exotics.[26][28][29][30][31][32][33] Although most cichlids are found at relatively shallow depths, several exceptions do exist. The deepest known occurrences are Trematocara at more than 300 m (1,000 ft) below the surface in Lake Tanganyika.[34] Others found in relatively deep waters include species such as Alticorpus macrocleithrum and Pallidochromis tokolosh down to 150 m (500 ft) below the surface in Lake Malawi,[35][36] and the whitish (nonpigmented) and blind Lamprologus lethops, which is believed to live as deep as 160 m (520 ft) below the surface in the Congo River.[37] Cichlids are less commonly found in brackish and saltwater habitats, though many species tolerate brackish water for extended periods; Mayaheros urophthalmus, for example, is equally at home in freshwater marshes and mangrove swamps, and lives and breeds in saltwater environments such as the mangrove belts around barrier islands.[7] Several species of Tilapia, Sarotherodon, and Oreochromis are euryhaline and can disperse along brackish coastlines between rivers.[18] Only a few cichlids, however, inhabit primarily brackish or salt water, most notably Etroplus maculatus, Etroplus suratensis, and Sarotherodon melanotheron.[38] The perhaps most extreme habitats for cichlids are the warm hypersaline lakes where the members of the genera Alcolapia and Danakilia are found. Lake Abaeded in Eritrea encompasses the entire distribution of D. dinicolai, and its temperature ranges from 29 to 45 °C (84 to 113 °F).[39] With the exception of the species from Cuba, Hispaniola, and Madagascar, cichlids have not reached any oceanic island and have a predominantly Gondwanan distribution, showing the precise sister relationships predicted by vicariance: Africa-South America and India-Madagascar.[40] The dispersal hypothesis, in contrast, requires cichlids to have negotiated thousands of kilometers of open ocean between India and Madagascar without colonizing any other island, or for that matter, crossing the Mozambique Channel to Africa. Although the vast majority of Malagasy cichlids are entirely restricted to fresh water, Ptychochromis grandidieri and Paretroplus polyactis are commonly found in coastal brackish water and are apparently salt tolerant,[41][42] as is also the case for Etroplus maculatus and E. suratensis from India and Sri Lanka.[43][44] Ecology     This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Cichlid" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Feeding Within the cichlid family, carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, planktivores, and detritivores are known, meaning the Cichlidae encompass essentially the full range of food consumption possible in the animal kingdom. Various species have morphological adaptations for specific food sources,[45] but most cichlids consume a wider variety of foods based on availability. Carnivorous cichlids can be further divided into piscivorous and molluscivorous, since the morphology and hunting behavior differ greatly between the two categories. Piscivorous cichlids eat other fish, fry, larvae, and eggs. Some species eat the offspring of mouthbrooders by head-ramming, wherein the hunter shoves its head into the mouth of a female to expel her young and eat them.[46] Molluscivorous cichlids have several hunting strategies amongst the varieties within the group. Lake Malawi cichlids consume substrate and filter it out through their gill rakers to eat the mollusks that were in the substrate. Gill rakers are finger-like structures that line the gills of some fish to catch any food that might escape through their gills.[47] The bumblebee cichlid, Pseudotropheus crabro, is specialised in feeding on parasites from the catfish Bagrus meridionalis.[48] Many cichlids are primarily herbivores, feeding on algae (e.g. Petrochromis) and plants (e.g. Etroplus suratensis). Small animals, particularly invertebrates, are only a minor part of their diets. Other cichlids are detritivores and eat organic material, called Aufwuchs (offal); among these species are the tilapiines of the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia. Other cichlids are predatory and eat little or no plant matter. These include generalists that catch a variety of small animals, including other fishes and insect larvae (e.g. Pterophyllum), as well as variety of specialists. Trematocranus is a specialized snail-eater, while Pungu maclareni feeds on sponges. A number of cichlids feed on other fish, either entirely or in part. Crenicichla species are stealth predators that lunge from concealment at passing small fish, while Rhamphochromis species are open-water pursuit predators that chase down their prey.[49] Paedophagous cichlids such as the Caprichromis species eat other species' eggs or young, in some cases ramming the heads of mouthbrooding species to force them to disgorge their young.[50][51][52][53] Among the more unusual feeding strategies are those of Corematodus, Docimodus evelynae, Plecodus, Perissodus, and Genyochromis spp., which feed on scales and fins of other fishes, a behavior known as lepidophagy,[54][55][56] along with the death-mimicking behaviour of Nimbochromis and Parachromis species, which lay motionless, luring small fish to their side prior to ambush.[57][58] This variety of feeding styles has helped cichlids to inhabit similarly varied habitats. Its pharyngeal teeth (in the throat) afford cichlids so many "niche" feeding strategies, because the jaws pick and hold food, while the pharyngeal teeth crush the prey. Behavior Aggression Aggressive behavior in cichlids is ritualized and consists of multiple displays used to seek confrontation while being involved in evaluation of competitors,[59] coinciding with temporal proximity to mating. Displays of ritualized aggression in cichlids include a remarkably rapid change in coloration, during which a successfully dominant[59] territorial male assumes a more vivid and brighter coloration, while a subordinate or "nonterritorial" male assumes a dull-pale coloration.[60] In addition to color displays, cichlids employ their lateral lines to sense movements of water around their opponents to evaluate the competing male for physical traits/fitness.[61] Male cichlids are very territorial due to the pressure of reproduction, and establish their territory and social status by physically driving out[62] challenging males (novel intruders)[63] through lateral displays (parallel orientation, uncovering gills),[64] biting, or mouth fights (head-on collisions of open mouths, measuring jaw sizes, and biting each other's jaws). The cichlid social dichotomy is composed of a single dominant with multiple subordinates, where the physical aggression of males becomes a contest for resources[62] (mates, territory, food). Female cichlids prefer to mate with a successfully alpha male with vivid coloration, whose territory has food readily available. Mating Cichlids mate either monogamously or polygamously.[7] The mating system of a given cichlid species is not consistently associated with its brooding system. For example, although most monogamous cichlids are not mouthbrooders, Chromidotilapia, Gymnogeophagus, Spathodus, and Tanganicodus all include – or consist entirely of – monogamous mouthbrooders. In contrast, numerous open- or cave-spawning cichlids are polygamous; examples include many Apistogramma, Lamprologus, Nannacara, and Pelvicachromis species.[7][65] Most adult male cichlids, specifically in the cichlid tribe Haplochromini, exhibit a unique pattern of oval-shaped color dots on their anal fins. These phenomena, known as egg spots, aid in the mouthbrooding mechanisms of cichlids. The egg spots consist of carotenoid-based pigment cells, which indicate a high cost to the organism, when considering that fish are not able to synthesize their own carotenoids.[66] The mimicry of egg spots is used by males for the fertilization process. Mouthbrooding females lay eggs and immediately snatch them up with their mouths. Over millions of years, male cichlids have evolved egg spots to initiate the fertilization process more efficiently.[67] When the females are snatching up the eggs into their mouth, the males gyrate their anal fins, which illuminates the egg spots on his tail. Afterwards, the female, believing these are her eggs, places her mouth to the anal fin (specifically the genital papilla) of the male, which is when he discharges sperm into her mouth and fertilizes the eggs.[66] The genuine color of egg spots is a yellow, red, or orange inner circle with a colorless ring surrounding the shape. Through phylogenetic analysis, using the mitochondrial ND2 gene, the true egg spots are thought to have evolved in the common ancestor of the Astatoreochromis lineage and the modern Haplochrominis species. This ancestor was most likely riverine in origin, based on the most parsimonious representation of habitat type in the cichlid family.[68] The presence of egg spots in a turbid riverine environment would seem particularly beneficial and necessary for intraspecies communication.[68] Two pigmentation genes are found to be associated with egg-spot patterning and color arrangement. These are fhl2-a and fhl2-b, which are paralogs.[67] These genes aid in pattern formation and cell-fate determination in early embryonic development. The highest expression of these genes was temporally correlated with egg-spot formation. A short, interspersed, repetitive element was also seen to be associated with egg spots. Specifically, it was evident upstream of the transcriptional start site of fhl2 in only Haplochrominis species with egg spots[67] Brood care Pit spawning in cichlids Pit spawning, also referred to as substrate breeding, is a behavior in cichlid fish in which a fish builds a pit in the sand or ground, where a pair court and consequently spawn.[69] Many different factors go into this behavior of pit spawning, including female choice of the male and pit size, as well as the male defense of the pits once they are dug in the sand.[70] Cichlids are often divided into two main groups: mouthbrooders and substrate brooders. Different parenting investment levels and behaviors are associated with each type of reproduction.[71] As pit spawning is a reproductive behavior, many different physiological changes occur in the cichlid while this process is occurring that interfere with social interaction.[72] Different kinds of species that pit spawn, and many different morphological changes occur because of this behavioral experience.[69] Pit spawning is an evolved behavior across the cichlid group. Phylogenetic evidence from cichlids in Lake Tanganyika could be helpful in uncovering the evolution of their reproductive behaviors.[73] Several important behaviors are associated with pit spawning, including parental care, food provisioning,[74] and brood guarding.[75] Mouth brooding vs. pit spawning One of the differences studied in African cichlids is reproductive behavior. Some species pit spawn and some are known as mouth brooders. Mouthbrooding is a reproductive technique where the fish scoop up eggs and fry for protection.[71] While this behavior differs from species to species in the details, the general basis of the behavior is the same. Mouthbrooding also affects how they choose their mates and breeding grounds. In a 1995 study, Nelson found that in pit-spawning females choose males for mating based on the size of the pit that they dig, as well as some of the physical characteristics seen in the males.[70] Pit spawning also differs from mouth brooding in the size and postnatal care exhibited. Eggs that have been hatched from pit-spawning cichlids are usually smaller than those of mouthbrooders. Pit-spawners' eggs are usually around 2 mm, while mouthbrooders are typically around 7 mm. While different behaviors take place postnatally between mouthbrooders and pit spawners, some similarities exist. Females in both mouthbrooders and pit-spawning cichlids take care of their young after they are hatched. In some cases, both parents exhibit care, but the female always cares for the eggs and newly hatched fry.[76] Pit spawning process Many species of cichlids use pit spawning, but one of the less commonly studied species that exhibits this behavior is the Neotropical Cichlasoma dimerus.[69] This fish is a substrate breeder that displays biparental care after the fry have hatched from their eggs. One study[69] examined reproductive and social behaviors of this species to see how they accomplished their pit spawning, including different physiological factors such as hormone levels, color changes, and plasma cortisol levels. The entire spawning process could take about 90 minutes and 400 to 800 eggs could be laid. The female deposits about 10 eggs at a time, attaching them to the spawning surface, which may be a pit constructed on the substrate or another surface. The number of eggs laid was correlated to the space available on the substrate. Once the eggs were attached, the male swam over the eggs and fertilized them. The parents would then dig pits in the sand, 10–20 cm wide and 5–10 cm deep, where larvae were transferred after hatching. Larvae began swimming 8 days after fertilization and parenting behaviors and some of the physiological factors measured changed. Color changes In the same study, color changes were present before and after the pit spawning occurred. For example, after the larvae were transferred and the pits were beginning to be protected, their fins turned a dark grey color.[69] In another study, of the rainbow cichlid, Herotilapia multispinosa,[72] e color changes occurred throughout the spawning process. Before spawning, the rainbow cichlid was an olive color with grey bands. Once spawning behaviors started, the body and fins of the fish became a more golden color. When the eggs were finished being laid, the pelvic fin all the way back to the caudal fin turned to a darker color and blackened in both the males and the females.[72] Pit sizes Females prefer a bigger pit size when choosing where to lay eggs.[70] Differences are seen in the sizes of pits that created, as well as a change in the morphology of the pits.[77] Evolutionary differences between species of fish may cause them to either create pits or castles when spawning. The differences were changes in the way that each species fed, their macrohabitats, and the abilities of their sensory systems.[77] Evolution Cichlids are renowned for their recent, rapid evolutionary radiation, both across the entire clade and within different communities across separate habitats.[71][73][77][78][79][80] Within their phylogeny, many parallel instances are seen of lineages evolving to the same trait and multiple cases of reversion to an ancestral trait. The family Cichlidae arose between 80 and 100 million years ago within the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes).[78] Cichlidae can be split into a few groups based on their geographic location: Madagascar, Indian, African, and Neotropical (or South American). The most famous and diverse group, the African cichlids, can be further split either into Eastern and Western varieties, or into groups depending on which lake the species is from: Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria, or Lake Tanganyika.[78][79] Of these subgroups, the Madagascar and Indian cichlids are the most basal and least diverse.[citation needed] Of the African cichlids, the West African or Lake Tanganyika cichlids are the most basal.[73][78] Cichlids' common ancestor is believed to have been a spit-spawning species.[79] Both Madagascar and Indian cichlids retain this feature. However, of the African cichlids, all extant substrate brooding species originate solely from Lake Tanganyika.[71][79] The ancestor of the Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria cichlids were mouthbrooders. Similarly, only around 30% of South American cichlids are thought to retain the ancestral substrate-brooding trait. Mouthbrooding is thought to have evolved individually up to 14 times, and a return to substrate brooding as many as three separate times between both African and Neotropical species.[79] Associated behaviors Cichlids have a great variety of behaviors associated with substrate brooding, including courtship and parental care alongside the brooding and nest-building behaviors needed for pit spawning. Cichlids' behavior typically revolves around establishing and defending territories when not courting, brooding, or raising young. Encounters between males and males or females and females are agonistic, while an encounter between a male and female leads to courtship.[81] Courtship in male cichlids follows the establishment of some form of territory, sometimes coupled with building a bower to attract mates.[70][77][81] After this, males may attempt to attract female cichlids to their territories by a variety of lekking display strategies or otherwise seek out females of their species.[70] However, cichlids, at the time of spawning, undergo a behavioral change such that they become less receptive to outside interactions.[81] This is often coupled with some physiological change in appearance." (wikipedia.org) "An aquarium (plural: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles, such as turtles, and aquatic plants. The term aquarium, coined by English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, combines the Latin root aqua, meaning 'water', with the suffix -arium, meaning 'a place for relating to'.[1] The aquarium principle was fully developed in 1850 by the chemist Robert Warington, who explained that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as the numbers of animals did not grow too large.[2] The aquarium craze was launched in early Victorian England by Gosse, who created and stocked the first public aquarium at the London Zoo in 1853, and published the first manual, The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea in 1854.[2] Small aquariums are kept in the home by hobbyists. There are large public aquariums in many cities. Public aquariums keep fish and other aquatic animals in large tanks. A large aquarium may have penguins, otters, seals, hippos, turtles, crocodiles, alligators, manatees, dugongs, dolphins, sharks, and whales. Most aquarium tanks also have plants.[3] An aquarist owns fish or maintains an aquarium, typically constructed of glass or high-strength acrylic. Cuboid aquaria are also known as fish tanks or simply tanks, while bowl-shaped aquaria are also known as fish bowls. Size can range from a small glass bowl, a few liters in volume, to immense public aquaria of thousands of liters. Specialized equipment maintains appropriate water quality and other characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents. ... History and popularization Cat and fishbowl, after Isoda Koryusai. Original c. 1775. Antiquity In 1369, the Hongwu Emperor of China established a porcelain company that produced large porcelain tubs for maintaining goldfish; over time, people produced tubs that approached the shape of modern fish bowls.[4] Leonhard Baldner, who wrote Vogel-, Fisch- und Tierbuch (Bird, Fish, and Animal Book) in 1666, maintained weather loaches and newts.[5] It is sometimes held that the aquarium was invented by the Romans, who are said to have kept sea barbels in marble-and-glass tanks, but this is definitely not true.[6] Nineteenth century Goldfish in a glass: portrait of Therese Krones, 1824 An aquarium of the 1850s containing Vallisneria spiralis and coldwater fish from Shirley Hibberd's The Books of the Aquariums and Waters Cabinets. London In 1832, Jeanne Villepreux-Power, a pioneering French marine biologist, became the first person to create aquaria for experimenting with aquatic organisms. In 1836, soon after his invention of the Wardian case, Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward proposed to use his tanks for tropical animals. In 1841 he did so, though only with aquatic plants and toy fish. However, he soon housed real animals. In 1838, Félix Dujardin noted owning a saltwater aquarium, though he did not use the term.[7] In 1846, Anne Thynne maintained stony corals and seaweed for almost three years, and was credited as the creator of the first balanced marine aquarium in London.[8][9] English chemist Robert Warington experimented with a 13-gallon container, which contained goldfish, eelgrass, and snails, creating one of the first stable aquaria. The aquarium principle was fully developed by Warington, explaining that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as their numbers do not grow too large.[2] He published his findings in 1850 in the Chemical Society's journal.[10] The Jardin zoologique at the Bois de Boulogne included an aquarium that housed both fresh and saltwater animals, 1860 in Paris. The keeping of fish in an aquarium became a popular hobby and spread quickly. In the United Kingdom, it became popular after ornate aquaria in cast-iron frames were featured at the Great Exhibition of 1851. In 1853, the aquarium craze was launched in England by Philip Henry Gosse who created and stocked the first public aquarium in the London Zoo which came to be known as the Fish House.[11] Gosse coined the word "aquarium", opting for this term (instead of "aquatic vivarium" or "aqua-vivarium") in 1854 in his book The Aquariums: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Water.[2] In this book, Gosse primarily discussed saltwater aquaria.[12] In the 1850s, the aquarium became a fade in the United Kingdom.[13] Tank designs and techniques for maintaining water quality were developed by Warington, later cooperating with Gosse until his critical review of the tank water composition. Edward Edwards developed these glass-fronted aquaria in his 1858 patent for a "dark-water-chamber slope-back tank", with water slowly circulating to a reservoir beneath.[14] "What an Aquarium Should Be" – a humorous 1876 British engraving, apparently showing Thomas Huxley dreaming about sea creatures Germans soon rivaled the British in their interest. In 1854, an anonymous author had two articles published about the saltwater aquaria of the United Kingdom: Die Gartenlaube (The Garden House) entitled Der Ocean auf dem Tische (The Ocean on the Table). However, in 1856, Der See im Glase (The Lake in a Glass) was published, discussing freshwater aquaria, which were much easier to maintain in landlocked areas.[15] In 1862 William Alford Lloyd, then bankrupt because of the craze in England being over, moved to Grindel Dammthor, Hamburg, to supervise the installation of the circulating system and tanks at the Hamburg Aquarium.[citation needed] During the 1870s, some of the first aquarist societies were appearing in Germany.[16] The United States soon followed. Published in 1858, Henry D. Butler's The Family Aquarium was one of the first books written in the United States solely about the aquarium.[17] According to the July issue of The North American Review of the same year, William Stimson may have owned some of the first functional aquaria, and had as many as seven or eight.[18] The first aquarist society in the United States was founded in New York City in 1893, followed by others.[16] The New York Aquarium Journal, first published in October 1876, is considered to be the world's first aquarium magazine.[19] An antique cast-iron aquarium made by J. W. Fiske & Company in the 1880s, New York City [20][21] In the Victorian era in the United Kingdom, a common design for the home aquarium was a glass front with the other sides made of wood (made watertight with a pitch coating). The bottom would be made of slate and heated from below.[22] More advanced systems soon began to be introduced, along with tanks of glass in metal frames.[22] During the latter half of the 19th century, a variety of aquarium designs were explored, such as hanging the aquarium on a wall, mounting it as part of a window, or even combining it with a birdcage.[23] Twentieth century Ambox current red Americas.svg     This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2019) Around 1908, the first mechanical aquarium air pump was invented, powered by running water, instead of electricity.[24] The introduction of the air pump into the hobby is considered by several historians of the hobby to be a pivotal moment in its development.[25] Pike in an aquarium c. 1908, at the Belle Isle Aquarium, Belle Isle Park Aquaria became more widely popular as houses had an electricity supply after World War I. Electricity allowed artificial lighting, as well as aeration, filtration, and heating of the water.[26] Initially, amateur aquarists kept native fish (with the exception of goldfish); the availability of exotic species from overseas further increased the popularity of the aquarium.[27] Jugs made from a variety of materials were used to import fish from overseas, with a bicycle foot pump for aeration.[28] Plastic shipping bags were introduced in the 1950s, making it easier to ship fish.[29] The eventual availability of air freight allowed fish to be successfully imported from distant regions.[5] Popular publications started by Herbert R. Axelrod influenced many more hobbyists to start keeping fish.[30] In the 1960s, metal frames made marine aquaria almost impossible due to corrosion, but the development of tar and silicone sealant allowed the first all-glass aquaria made by Martin Horowitz in Los Angeles, CA. The frames remained, however, though purely for aesthetic reasons.[22] Japan played an increasingly important role in shaping aquarium design in the latter part of the twentieth century, with the aquascaping designs of Takashi Amano influencing fishkeepers to treat home aquariums as aesthetically pleasing compositions, rather than simply as a way of displaying fish specimens.[31] In the United States, as of 1996, aquarium keeping is the second-most popular hobby after stamp collecting.[32] In 1999, an estimated 9.6 million US households owned an aquarium.[33] Figures from the 2005/2006 APPMA National Pet Owners Survey report that Americans own approximately 139 million freshwater fish and 9.6 million saltwater fish.[34] Estimates of the numbers of fish kept in aquaria in Germany suggest at least 36 million.[32] The hobby has the strongest following in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States, 40% of aquarists maintain two or more tanks.[35] Over time, there has been an increasing appreciation of the usefulness of access to an aquarium to provide potential stress reduction and improvement of mood in people observing aquatic life.[36][37] According to the research of having an aquarium is many health benefits like reduce stress, blood pressure and heart rate improvement, better quality sleep, reduce anxiety and pain, therapy of excited children, Alzheimer's therapy and improve productivity. Design An 80-litre home aquarium Materials Glass The very first modern aquarium made of glass was developed in the 19th century by Robert Warrington.[38] During the Victorian age, glass aquariums commonly had slate or steel bottoms, which allowed them to be heated underneath by an open-flame heat source. These aquariums had the glass panels attached with metal frames and sealed with putty. Metal-framed aquariums were still available until the mid-1960s, when the modern, silicone-sealed style replaced them. Acrylic aquariums first became available to the public in the 1970s. Laminated glass is sometimes used, which combines the advantages of both glass and acrylic.[39] Today, most aquaria consist of glass panes bonded together by 100% silicone sealant,[40] with plastic frames attached to the upper and lower edges for decoration. The glass aquarium is standard for sizes up to about 1,000 litres (260 US gal; 220 imp gal). However, glass is brittle and has very little give before fracturing, though generally the sealant fails first.[39] Aquaria are made in a variety of shapes, such as cuboid, hexagonal, angled to fit in a corner (L-shaped), and bow-front (the front side curves outwards).[41] Fish bowls are generally either made of plastic or glass, and are either spherical or some other round configuration in shape.[citation needed] Glass aquaria have been a popular choice for many home and hobbyist aquarists for many years. Once silicone sealant became strong enough to ensure a long-term water-tight seal, it eliminated the need for a structural frame. In addition to lower cost, glass aquaria are more scratch resistant than acrylic. Although the price is one of the main considerations for aquarists when deciding which of these two types of aquaria to purchase, for very large tanks, the price difference tends to disappear.[citation needed] An aquarium in the Burj Al Arab in Dubai Acrylic Acrylic aquaria are now the primary competitor with glass. Prior to the invention of UV stabilization, early acrylic aquaria discolored over time with exposure to light; this is no longer the case. Acrylic is generally stronger than glass, weighs less, and provides a certain amount of temperature insulation. In colder climates or environments, it is easier to achieve and maintain a tropical temperature and requires less capacity from an aquarium heater.[42] Acrylic-soluble cements are used to directly fuse acrylic together.[39] Acrylic allows for the formation of unusual shapes, such as the hexagonal tank.[22] Acrylics are easier to scratch than glass, but unlike glass, scratches in acrylic can be polished out.[39] Other materials Large aquaria might instead use stronger materials such as fiberglass-reinforced plastics. However, this material is not transparent.[39] Reinforced concrete is used for aquaria where weight and space are not factors. Concrete must be coated with a waterproof layer to prevent the water from breaking down the concrete, as well as preventing contamination of the water by the concrete.[39] Plywood can also be used when building aquaria. The benefits of using plywood include: lower construction costs, less weight, and better insulation. A popular positioning choice for plywood aquaria is keeping them in a wall. Here the use of plywood is hidden by sinking the aquarium inside the wall. Putting insulation between the two helps with the insulation of a heated tank.[43] Styles A MacQuarium Objects used for aquariums include: coffee tables, sinks, gumball machines and even toilets.[44][45] Another such example is the MacQuarium, an aquarium made from the shell of an Apple Macintosh computer.[46] In recent years, elaborate custom-designed home aquariums costing hundreds of thousands of dollars have become status symbols—according to The New York Times, "among people of means, a dazzling aquarium is one of the last surefire ways to impress their peers."[44] Kreisel 3 jellyfish in water in a cylindrical tank (the wall behind the tank has a floral design) A typical kreisel tank housing several moon jellyfish A kreisel tank (kreisel being German for "spinning top" or "gyroscope") is an aquarium shaped like a horizontal cylinder that is designed to hold delicate animals such as jellyfish and newborn seahorses. These aquariums provide slow, circular water flow with a bare minimum of interior hardware to prevent the inhabitants from becoming injured by pumps or the tank itself.[47] The tank has no sharp angles around its sides and keeps the housed animals away from plumbing. Water moving into the tank gives a gentle flow that keeps the inhabitants suspended. Water leaves the tank through a screen which prevents animals from being drawn into the pump intake or overflow line.[citation needed] There are several types of kreisel tanks. In a true kreisel, a circular tank has a circular, submerged lid. Pseudokreisels are "U" or semicircle shaped, usually without a lid.[48] Stretch kreisels are a "double gyre" kreisel design, where the tank length is at least twice the height. Using two downwelling inlets on both sides of the tank lets gravity create two gyres in the tank. A single downwelling inlet may be used in the middle as well. The top of a stretch kreisel may be open or closed with a lid. There may also be screens about midway down the sides of the tank, or at the top on the sides.[49] It is possible to combine these designs; a circular shaped tank is used without a lid or cover, and the surface of the water acts as the continuation of circular flow.[50] Biotope Another popular setup is the biotope aquarium.[51] A biotope aquarium is a recreation of a specific natural environment. Some of the most popular biotopes are the freshwater habitats of the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers, the African rift lake environments of Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika, and saltwater coral reefs of Australia, the Red Sea, and the Caribbean Sea. The fish, plants, substrate, rocks, wood, coral, and any other component of the display should completely match that of the local natural environment. It can be a challenge to recreate such environments, and most "true" biotopes will only have a few (if not only one) species of fish and invertebrates.[citation needed] Finally, an emerging concept for the home is that of a wall mounted aquarium,[52] some of which are displayed at the Living Art Marine Center.[citation needed] Aquarium size and volume Photo of 50-foot-tall (15 m) yellow plants in water behind glass wall divided into sections. A 1,200,000-litre (320,000 US gal; 260,000 imp gal) aquarium at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, displaying a kelp forest ecosystem An aquarium can range from a small glass bowl containing less than 1 litre (2.1 US pt) of water to immense public aquaria that house entire ecosystems such as kelp forests. Relatively large home aquaria resist rapid fluctuations of temperature and pH, allowing for greater system stability.[41] Beginner aquarists are advised to consider larger tanks to begin with, as controlling water parameters in smaller tanks can prove difficult.[53] Small, unfiltered bowl-shaped aquaria are now widely regarded as unsuitable for most fish. Advanced alternatives are now available.[54] In order to keep water conditions at suitable levels, aquariums should contain at least two forms of filtration: biological and mechanical. Chemical filtration should also be considered under some circumstances for optimum water quality. Chemical filtration is frequently achieved via activated carbon, to filter medications, tannins, and/or other known impurities from the water.[citation needed] Reef aquaria under 100 litres (26 US gal; 22 imp gal) have a special place in the aquarium hobby; these aquaria, termed nano reefs (when used in reefkeeping), have a small water volume, under 40 litres (11 US gal; 9 imp gal).[55] Photo looking upward through 15 feet (4.6 m)-diameter glass tube into a fish-filled aquarium Tunnel at the Georgia Aquarium, USA Practical limitations, most notably the weight of water (1 kilogram per litre (8.345 lb/U.S. gal; 10.022 lb/imp gal)) and internal water pressure (requiring thick glass siding) of a large aquarium, restrict most home aquaria to a maximum of around 1 cubic metre in volume (1000 L, weighing 1,000 kg or 2,200 lb).[41] Some aquarists, however, have constructed aquaria of many thousands of litres.[56][57] Public aquariums and oceanariums designed for exhibition of large species or environments can be dramatically larger than any home aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium, for example, features an individual aquarium of 6,300,000 US gallons (24,000,000 l).[58] Nano aquariums A new trend is to have very small aquariums, termed mini aquariums (less than 150 litres or 40 gallons) or nano aquariums (less than 75 litres or 20 gallons). These can be either freshwater or saltwater, and are intended to display a tiny but self-contained ecosystem.[59][60][61] Components Drawing of transparent 3-dimensional rectangle with two boxes and one cylinder above it and one longer, thin cylinder within it. Arrows point from the rectangle long cylinder to the top box, from the top box to the lower box, from the lower box to the other cylinder, from that cylinder back to itself, and from the cylinder to the rectangle. Filtration system in a typical aquarium: (1) intake, (2) mechanical filtration, (3) chemical filtration, (4) biological filtration medium, (5) outflow to tank The typical hobbyist aquarium includes a filtration system, an artificial lighting system, an air diffuser and pump, and a heater or chiller depending on the aquarium's inhabitants. Many aquaria incorporate a hood, containing the lights, to decrease evaporation and prevent fish from leaving the aquarium (and anything else from entering the aquarium).[41] Combined biological and mechanical aquarium filtration systems are common. These either convert ammonia to nitrate (removing nitrogen at the expense of aquatic plants), or to sometimes remove phosphate. Filter media can house microbes that mediate nitrification. Filtration systems are sometimes the most complex component of home aquaria.[62] Aquarium heaters combine a heating element with a thermostat, allowing the aquarist to regulate water temperature at a level above that of the surrounding air, whereas coolers and chillers (refrigeration devices) are for use anywhere, such as cold water aquaria, where the ambient room temperature is above the desired tank temperature.[41] Thermometers used include glass alcohol thermometers, adhesive external plastic strip thermometers, and battery-powered LCD thermometers.[41] In addition, some aquarists use air pumps attached to airstones or water pumps to increase water circulation and supply adequate gas exchange at the water surface. Wave-making devices have also been constructed to provide wave action.[39] An aquarium's physical characteristics form another aspect of aquarium design. Size, lighting conditions, density of floating and rooted plants, placement of bog-wood, creation of caves or overhangs, type of substrate, and other factors (including an aquarium's positioning within a room) can all affect the behavior and survival of tank inhabitants.[citation needed] An aquarium can be placed on an aquarium stand. Because of the weight of the aquarium, a stand must be strong as well as level. A tank that is not level may distort, leak, or crack.[41] These are often built with cabinets to allow storage, available in many styles to match room decor. Simple metal tank stands are also available.[41] Most aquaria should be placed on polystyrene to cushion any irregularities on the underlying surface or the bottom of the tank itself that may cause cracks.[41] However, some tanks have an underframe making this unnecessary.[citation needed] Another important consideration for aquariums is their electrical usage. Water is expensive to keep heated,[63] along with the lights that many aquariums, especially those with live plants have. New aquarists should also pay close attention to their electrical setup for their aquarium, taking care to setup power connections with drip loops to prevent water from getting to outlets.[64] Aquarium maintenance     This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Large volumes of water enable more stability in a tank by diluting effects from death or contamination events that push an aquarium away from equilibrium. The bigger the tank, the easier such a systemic shock is to absorb, because the effects of that event are diluted. For example, the death of the only fish in an 11-litre (3 US gal; 2 imp gal) tank causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 400-litre (110 US gal; 88 imp gal) tank with many other fish in it represents only a minor change. For this reason, hobbyists often favor larger tanks, as they require less attention. Several nutrient cycles are important in the aquarium. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface. Similarly, carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as waste. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequately balanced food supply and considered biological loading, is enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in approximate equilibrium. An aquarium must be maintained regularly to ensure that the fish are kept healthy. Daily maintenance consists of checking the fish for signs of stress and disease.[65] Also, aquarists must make sure that the water has a good quality and it is not cloudy or foamy and the temperature of the water is appropriate for the particular species of fish that live in the aquarium. Typical weekly maintenance includes changing around 10–30% or more of the water while cleaning the gravel, or other substrate if the aquarium has one; however some manage to avoid this entirely by keeping it somewhat self-sufficient. A good habit is to remove the water being replaced by "vacuuming" the gravel with suitable implements, as this will eliminate uneaten foods and other residues that settle on the substrate.[66] In many areas tap water is not considered to be safe for fish to live in because it contains chemicals that harm the fish. Tap water from those areas must be treated with a suitable water conditioner, such as a product which removes chlorine and chloramine and neutralizes any heavy metals present. The water conditions must be checked both in the tank and in the replacement water, to make sure they are suitable for the species. Water conditions The solute content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as total dissolved solids and other constituents dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms interact with their environment. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic measure of water conditions. An aquarium may have freshwater (salinity below 500 parts per million), simulating a lake or river environment; brackish water (a salt level of 500 to 30,000 PPM), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries; and salt water or seawater (a salt level of 30,000 to 40,000 PPM), simulating an ocean environment. Rarely, higher salt concentrations are maintained in specialized tanks for raising brine organisms. Saltwater is usually alkaline, while the pH (alkalinity or acidicity) of fresh water varies more. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; hard or soft water may be preferred. Hard water is usually alkaline, while soft water is usually neutral to acidic.[67] Dissolved organic content and dissolved gases content are also important factors. Home aquarists typically use tap water supplied through their local water supply network to fill their tanks. Straight tap water cannot be used in localities that pipe chlorinated water. In the past, it was possible to "condition" the water by simply letting the water stand for a day or two, which allows the chlorine time to dissipate.[67] However, chloramine is now used more often and does not leave the water as readily. Water conditioners formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine are often all that is needed to make the water ready for aquarium use. Brackish or saltwater aquaria require the addition of a commercially available mixture of salts and other minerals. This aquarium features a heated tank and a glass-enclosed top for warmth during winter. Some aquarists modify water's alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gases, before adding it to their aquaria. This can be accomplished by additives, such as sodium bicarbonate, to raise pH.[67] Some aquarists filter or purify their water through deionization or reverse osmosis prior to using it. In contrast, public aquaria with large water needs often locate themselves near a natural water source (such as a river, lake, or ocean) to reduce the level of treatment. Some hobbyists use an algae scrubber to filter the water naturally.[68] Water temperature determines the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical versus cold water. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited temperature range; tropical aquaria, with an average temperature of about 25 °C (77 °F), are much more common. Temperate or coldwater aquaria are for fish that are better suited to a cooler environment. Temperature consistency is more important than range. Most organisms are not accustomed to sudden changes in temperatures, which can cause shock and lead to disease.[67] Water temperature can be regulated with a thermostat and heater (or cooler). Water movement can also be important in simulating a natural ecosystem. Aquarists may prefer anything from still water up to swift currents, depending on the aquarium's inhabitants. Water movement can be controlled via aeration from air pumps, powerheads, and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow). Nitrogen cycle Main article: Nitrogen cycle Drawing showing cross-section of the ocean. The bottom is labeled "Decomposing plant & animal matter". An arrow points from seaweed to the bottom. Another arrow points to a rectangle labeled Ammonium (NH+ 4). A two-headed arrow is labeled Nitrosomonas and points back to the seaweed and also to another rectangle labeled Nitrites (NO− 2). Another arrow labeled Nitrospira points to another rectangle labeled Nitrates (NO− 3). Another arrow points back to the seaweed. Another arrow points to the air above the ocean surface and is labeled Water change. Another arrow, labeled Food points from the air to a fish below the surface. A final arrow points to the rectangle labeled Ammonium (NH+ 4). The nitrogen cycle in an aquarium Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which converts to ammonium, in water) and must then either pass through the nitrogen cycle or be removed by passing through zeolite.[69] Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations.[67][page needed] In the wild, the vast amount of water surrounding the fish dilutes ammonia and other waste materials. When fish are put into an aquarium, waste can quickly reach toxic concentrations in the enclosed environment unless the tank is cycled to remove waste.[67][page needed][70] The process A well-balanced tank contains organisms that are able to metabolize the waste products of other aquarium residents, recreating a portion of the nitrogen cycle. Bacteria known as nitrifiers (genus Nitrosomonas) metabolize nitrogen waste. Nitrifying bacteria capture ammonia from the water and metabolize it to produce nitrite.[citation needed] Nitrite is toxic to fish in high concentrations. Another type of bacteria (genus Nitrospira) converts nitrite into nitrate, a less toxic substance. (Nitrobacter bacteria were previously believed to fill this role. While biologically they could theoretically fill the same niche as Nitrospira, it has recently been found that Nitrobacter are not present in detectable levels in established aquaria, while Nitrospira are plentiful.)[citation needed] However, commercial products sold as kits to "jump start" the nitrogen cycle often still contain Nitrobacter.[citation needed] Aquatic plants also eliminate nitrogen waste by metabolizing ammonia and nitrate. When plants metabolize nitrogen compounds, they remove nitrogen from the water by using it to build biomass that decays more slowly than ammonia-driven plankton already dissolved in the water. Some hobbyists also use "anoxic filtration," which relies on bacteria that live in low-oxygen environments.[71] Maintaining the nitrogen cycle Live plants in an aquarium utilize the final product in the nitrogen cycle of nitrate as fertilizer, helping the nitrate levels stay minimal. This 60-litre aquarium contains Anubias barteri and Echinodorus bleheri. A heater and small filter are in the background. The nitrogen cycle in an aquarium is only a portion of the complete cycle: nitrogen must be added to the system (usually through food provided to the tank inhabitants), and nitrates accumulate in the water at the end of the process, or become bound in the biomass of plants. The aquarium keeper must remove water once nitrate concentrations grow, or remove plants which have grown from the nitrates. Hobbyist aquaria often do not have sufficient bacteria populations to adequately denitrify waste. This problem is most often addressed through two filtration solutions: Activated carbon filters absorb nitrogen compounds and other toxins, while biological filters provide a medium designed to enhance bacterial colonization. Activated carbon and other substances, such as ammonia absorbing resins, stop working when their pores fill, so these components have to be replaced regularly. New aquaria often have problems associated with the nitrogen cycle due to insufficient beneficial bacteria.[72] Therefore, fresh water has to be matured before stocking them with fish. There are three basic approaches to this: the "fishless cycle", the "silent cycle" and "slow growth". In a fishless cycle, small amounts of ammonia are added to an unpopulated tank to feed the bacteria. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The "silent" cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen, allowing the necessary bacterial populations time to develop. According to anecdotal reports, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that ammonia and nitrite level spikes seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced or disappear. "Slow growth" entails slowly increasing the population of fish over a period of 6 to 8 weeks, giving bacteria colonies time to grow and stabilize with the increase in fish waste. This method is usually done with a small starter population of hardier fish which can survive the ammonia and nitrite spikes, whether they are intended to be permanent residents or to be traded out later for the desired occupants. The largest bacterial populations are found in the filter, where there is high water flow and plentiful surface available for their growth, so effective and efficient filtration is vital. Sometimes, a vigorous cleaning of the filter is enough to seriously disturb the biological balance of an aquarium. Therefore, it is recommended to rinse mechanical filters in an outside bucket of aquarium water to dislodge organic materials that contribute to nitrate problems, while preserving bacteria populations. Another safe practice consists of cleaning only half of the filter media during each service, or using two filters, only one of which is cleaned at a time. Biological load Photo displaying plants, small fish, and tipped-over clay pots A very heavily stocked 19-liter aquarium containing Paracheirodon innesi, Trigonostigma heteromorpha, and Hemigrammus erythrozonus The biological load, or bioload, is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its inhabitants. High biological loading presents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to upset. Several fundamental constraints on biological loading depend on aquarium size. The water's surface area limits oxygen intake. The bacteria population depends on the physical space they have available to colonize. Physically, only a limited size and number of plants and animals can fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement. Biologically, biological loading refers to the rate of biological decay in proportion to tank volume. Adding plants to an aquarium will sometimes help greatly with taking up fish waste as plant nutrients. Although an aquarium can be overloaded with fish, an excess of plants is unlikely to cause harm. Decaying plant material, such as decaying plant leaves, can add these nutrients back into the aquarium if not promptly removed. The bioload is processed by the aquarium's biofilter filtration system. Calculating capacity Limiting factors include the oxygen availability and filtration processing. Aquarists have rules of thumb to estimate the number of fish that can be kept in an aquarium. The examples below are for small freshwater fish; larger freshwater fishes and most marine fishes need much more generous allowances.     3 cm of adult fish length per 4 litres of water (i.e., a 6 cm-long fish would need about 8 litres of water).[73]     1 cm of adult fish length per 30 square centimetres of surface area.[74]     1 inch of adult fish length per US gallon of water.[73]     1 inch of adult fish length per 12 square inches of surface area.[74] Experienced aquarists warn against applying these rules too strictly because they do not consider other important issues such as growth rate, activity level, social behaviour, filtration capacity, total biomass of plant life, and so on.[75] It is better to apply the overall mass and size of a fish per gallon of water, than simply the length. This is because fish of different sizes produce quite differing amounts of waste. Establishing maximum capacity is often a matter of slowly adding fish and monitoring water quality over time, following a trial and error approach. Other factors affecting capacity An academic aquarium at a university, using a variety of tank sizes and styles to care for different fish. One variable is differences between fish. Smaller fish consume more oxygen per gram of body weight than larger fish. Labyrinth fish can breathe atmospheric oxygen and do not need as much surface area (however, some of these fish are territorial, and do not appreciate crowding). Barbs also require more surface area than tetras of comparable size.[67] Oxygen exchange at the surface is an important constraint, and thus the surface area of the aquarium matters. Some aquarists claim that a deeper aquarium holds no more fish than a shallower aquarium with the same surface area. The capacity can be improved by surface movement and water circulation such as through aeration, which not only improves oxygen exchange, but also waste decomposition rates.[67] Waste density is another variable. Decomposition in solution consumes oxygen. Oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water; this is a double-edged sword since warmer temperatures make fish more active, so they consume more oxygen.[67] In addition to bioload/chemical considerations, aquarists also consider the mutual compatibility of the fish. For instance, predatory fish are usually not kept with small, passive species, and territorial fish are often unsuitable tankmates for shoaling species. Furthermore, fish tend to fare better if given tanks conducive to their size. That is, large fish need large tanks and small fish can do well in smaller tanks. Lastly, the tank can become overcrowded without being overstocked. In other words, the aquarium can be suitable with regard to filtration capacity, oxygen load, and water, yet still be so crowded that the inhabitants are uncomfortable.[76] For planted freshwater aquariums, it is also important to maintain a balance between the duration and quality of light, the amount of plants, CO2 levels and nutrients. The amount of fish on the tank can also affect the nutrients levels. For a given amount of light, if there is insufficient number of plants or insufficient CO2 to support the growth of those plants, so as to consume all the nutrients in the tank, the result would be algae growth. While there are fishes and invertebrates that could be introduced in the tank to clean up this algae, the ideal solution would be to find the optimal balance between the above-mentioned factors. Supplemental CO2 can be provided,[77] whose quantity has to be carefully regulated, as too much CO2 may harm the fishes.[original research?] Aquarium classifications Photo showing a tank filled with water and multiple aquatic plants. An aquascaped freshwater aquarium From the outdoor ponds and glass jars of antiquity, modern aquaria have evolved into a wide range of specialized systems. Individual aquaria can vary in size from a small bowl large enough for only a single small fish, to the huge public aquaria that can simulate entire marine ecosystems.[citation needed] One way to classify aquaria is by salinity. Freshwater aquaria are the most popular due to their lower cost.[78] More expensive and complex equipment is required to set up and maintain marine aquaria. Marine aquaria frequently feature a diverse range of invertebrates in addition to species of fish.[62][78] Brackish water aquaria combine elements of both marine and freshwater fishkeeping.[78] Fish kept in brackish water aquaria generally come from habitats with varying salinity, such as mangrove swamps and estuaries. Subtypes exist within these types, such as the reef aquarium, a typically smaller marine aquarium that houses coral.[78] Another classification is by temperature range. Many aquarists choose a tropical aquarium because tropical fish tend to be more colorful.[78] However, the coldwater aquarium is also popular, which includes fish from temperate areas worldwide.[78] Photo of water, coral, and fish behind a glass wall. A saltwater aquarium Aquaria may be grouped by their species selection. In a community tank, several non-aggressive species live peacefully. In these aquaria, the fish, invertebrates, and plants probably do not originate from the same geographic region, but tolerate similar water conditions. Aggressive tanks, by contrast, house a limited number of species that can be aggressive toward other fish, or are able to withstand aggression well. Most aquarists maintaining marine tanks and tanks housing cichlids have to take species aggressiveness into account when stocking. Specimen tanks usually only house one fish species, along with plants—sometimes those found in the fish species' natural environment—and decorations simulating a natural ecosystem. This type is useful for fish that cannot coexist with other fish, such as the electric eel, as an extreme example. Some tanks of this sort are used simply to house adults for breeding.[citation needed] Biotope aquaria is another type based on species selection. In it, an aquarist attempts to simulate a specific natural ecosystem, assembling fish, invertebrate species, plants, decorations and water conditions all found in that ecosystem. Public aquaria often use this approach. Biotope aquaria simulates the experience of observing in the wild. It typically serves as the healthiest possible artificial environment for the tank's occupants.[citation needed] Public aquaria Photo – silhouettes of people in foreground. One large fish with many smaller fish in background. The 80-meter (260 ft) underwater tunnel in Aquarium Barcelona Lisbon Oceanarium designed by architect Peter Chermayeff The Baltic Sea Aquarium at the Maretarium in Kotka, Finland Main article: Public aquarium Most public aquarium facilities feature a number of smaller aquaria, as well those too large for home aquarists. The largest tanks hold millions of gallons of water and can house large species, including sharks or beluga whales, which typically couldn't be housed properly in the home aquarium. Dolphinaria are specifically for dolphins. Aquatic and semiaquatic animals, including otters and penguins, may also be kept by public aquaria. Public aquaria may also be included in larger establishments such as a marine mammal park or a marine park. These are very popular around the world, especially with a new emergence in the Middle East. Virtual aquariums     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) A virtual aquarium is a computer program which uses 3D graphics to reproduce an aquarium on a personal computer. The swimming fish are rendered in real time, while the background of the tank is usually static. Objects on the floor of the tank may be mapped in simple planes so that the fish may appear to swim both in front and behind them, but a relatively simple 3D map of the general shape of such objects may be used to allow the light and ripples on the surface of the water to cast realistic shadows. Bubbles and water noises are common for virtual aquariums, which are often used as screensavers. The number of each type of fish can usually be selected, often including other animals like starfish, jellyfish, seahorses, and even sea turtles. Most companies that produce virtual aquarium software also offer other types of fish for sale via Internet download. Other objects found in an aquarium can also be added and rearranged on some software, like treasure chests and giant clams that open and close with air bubbles, or a bobbing diver. There are also usually features that allow the user to tap on the glass or put food in the top, both of which the fish will react to. Some also have the ability to allow the user to edit fish and other objects to create new varieties. " (wikipedia.org) "A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often oddly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture; when assembled, they produce a complete picture. In the 18th century, jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, then cut into small pieces. Despite the name, a jigsaw was never used. John Spilsbury, a London cartographer and engraver, is credited with commercialising jigsaw puzzles around 1760.[1] They have since come to be made primarily of cardboard. Typical images on jigsaw puzzles include scenes from nature, buildings, and repetitive designs—castles and mountains are common, as well as other traditional subjects. However, any picture can be used. Artisan puzzle-makers and companies using technologies for one-off and small print-run puzzles utilize a wide range of subject matter, including optical illusions, unusual art, and personal photographs. In addition to traditional flat, two-dimensional puzzles, three-dimensional puzzles have entered large-scale production, including spherical puzzles and architectural recreations. A range of jigsaw puzzle accessories including boards, cases, frames, and roll-up mats has become available to assist jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts. While most assembled puzzles are disassembled for reuse, they can also be attached to a backing with adhesive and displayed as art. ... History John Spilsbury's "Europe divided into its kingdoms, etc." (1766). He created the jigsaw puzzle for educational purposes, and called them "Dissected Maps".[2][3] John Spilsbury is believed to have produced the first jigsaw puzzle around 1760, using a marquetry saw.[1] Early puzzles, known as dissections, were produced by mounting maps on sheets of hardwood and cutting along national boundaries, creating a puzzle useful for teaching geography.[1] Royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch used such "dissected maps" to teach the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte[4][5] Cardboard jigsaw puzzles appeared in the late 1800s, but were slow to replace wooden ones because manufacturers felt that cardboard puzzles would be perceived as low-quality, and because profit margins on wooden jigsaws were larger.[1] British printed puzzle from 1874. The name "jigsaw" came to be associated with the puzzle around 1880 when fretsaws became the tool of choice for cutting the shapes. Since fretsaws are distinct from jigsaws, the name appears to be a misnomer.[1] Wooden jigsaw pieces, cut by hand Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the Great Depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.[1][6] It was around this time that jigsaws evolved to become more complex and appealing to adults.[1] They were also given away in product promotions and used in advertising, with customers completing an image of the promoted product.[1][6] Sales of wooden puzzles fell after World War II as improved wages led to price increases, while improvements in manufacturing processes made paperboard jigsaws more attractive.[6] Demand for jigsaw puzzles saw a surge, comparable to that of the Great Depression, during the stay-at-home orders.[7][8] Modern construction Paperboard jigsaw pieces Most modern jigsaw puzzles are made of paperboard as they are easier and cheaper to mass-produce. An enlarged photograph or printed reproduction of a painting or other two-dimensional artwork is glued to cardboard, which is then fed into a press. The press forces a set of hardened steel blades of the desired pattern, called a puzzle die, through the board until fully cut. The puzzle die is a flat board, often made from plywood, with slots cut or burned in the same shape as the knives that are used. The knives are set into the slots and covered in a compressible material, typically foam rubber, which ejects the cut puzzle pieces. The cutting process is similar to making shaped cookies with a cookie cutter. However, the forces involved are tremendously greater: A typical 1000-piece puzzle requires upwards of 700 tons of force to push the die through the board. Beginning in the 1930s, jigsaw puzzles were cut using large hydraulic presses that now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The precise cuts gave a snug fit, but the cost limited jigsaw puzzle production to large corporations. Recent roller-press methods achieve the same results at a lower cost.[citation needed] New technology has also enabled laser-cutting of wooden or acrylic jigsaw puzzles. The advantage is that the puzzle can be custom-cut to any size or shape, with any number or average size of pieces. Many museums have laser-cut acrylic puzzles made of some of their art so visiting children can assemble puzzles of the images on display. Acrylic pieces are very durable, waterproof, and can withstand continued use without the image degrading. Also, because the print and cut patterns are computer-based, missing pieces can easily be remade. By the early 1960s, Tower Press was the world's largest jigsaw puzzle maker; it was acquired by Waddingtons in 1969.[9] Numerous smaller-scale puzzle makers work in artisanal styles, handcrafting and handcutting their creations.[10][11][12][13] Variations Jigsaw puzzle software allowing rotation of pieces A three-dimensional puzzle composed of several two-dimensional puzzles stacked on top of one another A puzzle without a picture Jigsaw puzzles come in a variety of sizes. Among those marketed to adults, 300-, 500- and 750-piece puzzles are considered "smaller". More sophisticated, but still common, puzzles come in sizes of 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000, 7,500, 8,000, 9,000, 13,200, 18,000, 24,000, 32,000 and 40,000 pieces. Jigsaw puzzles geared towards children typically have many fewer pieces and are typically much larger. For very young children, puzzles with as few as 4 to 9 large pieces (so as not to be a choking hazard) are standard. They are usually made of wood or plastic for durability and can be cleaned without damage. The most common layout for a thousand-piece puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for an actual total of 1,026 pieces. Most 500-piece puzzles are 27 pieces by 19 pieces. A few puzzles are double-sided so they can be solved from either side—adding complexity, as the enthusiast must determine if they are looking at the right side of each piece. "Family puzzles" of 100–550 pieces use an assortment of small, medium and large pieces, with each size going in one direction or towards the middle of the puzzle. This allows a family of different skill levels and hand sizes to work on the puzzle together. Companies like Springbok, Cobble Hill, Ravensburger and Suns Out make this type of specialty puzzle. There are also three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. Many are made of wood or styrofoam and require the puzzle to be solved in a particular order, as some pieces will not fit if others are already in place. One type of 3-D jigsaw puzzle is a puzzle globe, often made of plastic. Like 2-D puzzles, the assembled pieces form a single layer, but the final form is three-dimensional. Most globe puzzles have designs representing spherical shapes such as the Earth, the Moon, and historical globes of the Earth. Also common are puzzle boxes, simple three-dimensional puzzles with a small drawer or box in the center for storage. Jigsaw puzzles can vary significantly in price depending on their complexity, number of pieces, and brand. In the US, children's puzzles can start around $5, while larger ones can be closer to $50. The most expensive puzzle to date was sold for $US27,000 in 2005 at a charity auction for The Golden Retriever Foundation.[14] Several word-puzzle games use pieces similar to those in jigsaw puzzles. Examples include Alfa-Lek, Jigsaw Words, Nab-It!, Puzzlage, Typ-Dom, Word Jigsaw, and Yottsugo.[15][citation needed] Puzzle pieces A "whimsy" piece in a wooden jigsaw puzzle A 3D jigsaw puzzle Many puzzles are termed "fully interlocking", which means that adjacent pieces are connected so that they stay attached when one is turned. Sometimes the connection is tight enough to pick up a solved part by holding one piece. Some fully interlocking puzzles have pieces of a similar shape, with rounded tabs (interjambs) on opposite ends and corresponding indentations—called blanks—on the other two sides to receive the tabs. Other fully interlocking puzzles may have tabs and blanks variously arranged on each piece; but they usually have four sides, and the numbers of tabs and blanks thus add up to four. Uniformly shaped fully interlocking puzzles, sometimes called "Japanese Style", are the most difficult because the differences in the pieces' shapes are most subtle.[citation needed] Most jigsaw puzzles are square, rectangular or round, with edge pieces with one straight or smoothly curved side, plus four corner pieces (if the puzzle is square or rectangular). However, some puzzles have edge, and corner pieces cut like the rest, with no straight sides, making it more challenging to identify them. Other puzzles utilize more complex edge pieces to form unique shapes when assembled, such as profiles of animals. The pieces of spherical jigsaw, like immersive panorama jigsaw, can be triangular-shaped, according to the rules of tessellation of the geoid primitive. Designer Yuu Asaka created "Jigsaw Puzzle 29". Instead of four corner pieces, it has five. The puzzle is made from pale blue acrylic without a picture.[16] It was awarded the Jury Honorable Mention of 2018 Puzzle Design Competition.[17] Because many puzzlers had solved it easily, he created "Jigsaw Puzzle 19" which composed only with corner pieces as revenge.[18] It was made with transparent green acrylic pieces without a picture.[19] Calculating the number of edge pieces Jigsaw puzzlers often want to know in advance how many border pieces they are looking for to verify they have found all of them. Puzzle sizes are typically listed on commercially distributed puzzles but usually include the total number of pieces in the puzzle and do not list the count of edge or interior pieces. Puzzlers, therefore, calculate the number of border pieces. To calculate B (border pieces) from P (the total piece count), follow this method:     List the prime factors of P.         For a 513-piece jigsaw, the prime factorization tree is 3×3×3×19=513     Take the square root of P and round off.         √513 ≈ 22.6         round to 23     Look for numbers in the prime factor list within ±20% of the square root of P.         Calculate 20% of the rounded square root of P.             1⁄5 × 23 = 4.6         Develop the range, ±20%, from the rounded square root of P.             23 ±4.6 = 18.4 to 27.6         Compare the range with the factor list. Define this as E1.             The factor list shows 19 in the range.     Determine the horizontal / vertical dimensions.         Divide P (the total number of pieces) by E1 to determine the horizontal / vertical dimensions, E1xE2.             513 / 19 = 27             This is probably a 19×27 puzzle.         Alternative method: take the remaining numbers from the prime factorization tree.             3x3x3 = 27     Add the four sides and subtract 4 to correct for the corner pieces, which would otherwise be counted in both the horizontal and vertical.         27 × 2 + 19 × 2 - 4 = 88 These 88 border pieces include 4 corners, 17 pieces between corners on the short sides, and 25 between corners on the long sides. Common puzzle dimensions:     1000 piece puzzle: 1026 pieces, 126 border pieces (38x27)[20] World records Largest commercially available jigsaw puzzles Pieces     Name of puzzle     Company     Year     Size [cm]     Area [m2] 54,000     Travel by Art     Grafika     2020     864 × 204     17.65 52,110     (No title: collage of animals)     MartinPuzzle     2018     696 × 202     14.06 51,300     27 Wonders from Around the World     Kodak     2019     869 × 191     16.60 48,000     Around the World     Grafika     2017     768 × 204     15.67 42,000     La vuelta al Mundo     Educa Borras     2017     749 × 157     11.76 40,320     Making Mickey Magic     Ravensburger     2018     680 × 192     13.06 40,320     Memorable Disney Moments     Ravensburger     2016     680 × 192     13.06 33,600     Wild Life     Educa Borras     2014     570 × 157     8.95 32,000     New York City Window     Ravensburger     2014     544 × 192     10.45 32,000     Double Retrospect     Ravensburger     2010     544 × 192     10.45 24,000     Life, The greatest puzzle     Educa Borras     2007     428 × 157     6.72 Largest-sized jigsaw puzzles The world's largest-sized jigsaw puzzle measured 5,428.8 m2 (58,435 sq ft) with 21,600 pieces, each measuring a Guinness World Records maximum size of 50 cm by 50 cm. It was assembled on 3 November 2002 by 777 people at the former Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.[21] Largest jigsaw puzzle – most pieces The Guinness record of CYM Group in 2011 with 551,232 pieces The jigsaw with the greatest number of pieces had 551,232 pieces and measured 14.85 × 23.20 m (48 ft 8.64 in × 76 ft 1.38 in). It was assembled on 25 September 2011 at Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by students of the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City. It is listed by the Guinness World Records for the "Largest Jigsaw Puzzle – most pieces", but as the intact jigsaw had been divided into 3,132 sections, each containing 176 pieces, which were reassembled and then connected, the claim is controversial.[22][23] Society The logo of Wikipedia is a globe made out of jigsaw pieces. The incomplete sphere symbolizes the room to add new knowledge.[citation needed] In the logo of the Colombian Office of the Attorney General appears a jigsaw puzzle piece in the foreground. They named it "The Key Piece": "The piece of a puzzle is the proper symbol to visually represent the Office of the Attorney General because it includes the concepts of search, solution and answers that the entity pursues through the investigative activity."[24] Art and entertainment The central antagonist in the Saw film franchise is named Jigsaw.[25] In the 1933 Laurel and Hardy short Me and My Pal, several characters attempt to complete a large jigsaw puzzle.[26] Lost in Translation is a poem about a child putting together a jigsaw puzzle, as well as an interpretive puzzle itself. Life: A User's Manual, Georges Perec's most famous novel, tells as pieces of a puzzle a story about a jigsaw puzzle maker. Jigsaw Puzzle (song), sometimes spelled "Jig-Saw Puzzle" is a song by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. In ‘‘Citizen Kane‘’ Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore) is reduced to spending her days completing jigsaws after the failure of her operatic career. After Kane’s death when ‘’Xanadu’’ is emptied, hundreds of jigsaw puzzles are discovered in the cellar. Mental health According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, doing jigsaw puzzles is one of many activities that can help keep the brain active and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.[27] An "autism awareness" ribbon, featuring red, blue, and yellow jigsaw pieces Jigsaw puzzle pieces were first used as a symbol for autism in 1963 by the United Kingdom's National Autistic Society.[28] The organization chose jigsaw pieces for their logo to represent the "puzzling" nature of autism and the inability to "fit in" due to social differences, and also because jigsaw pieces were recognizable and otherwise unused[29]. Puzzle pieces have since been incorporated into the logos and promotional materials of many organizations, including the Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks. Proponents of the autism rights movement oppose the jigsaw puzzle iconography, stating that metaphors such as "puzzling" and "incomplete" are harmful to autistic people. Critics of the puzzle piece symbol instead advocate for a rainbow-colored infinity symbol representing diversity.[30] In 2017, the journal Autism concluded that the use of the jigsaw puzzle evoked negative public perception towards autistic individuals. They removed the puzzle piece from their cover in February 2018." (wikipedia.org) "Jigsaw puzzle accessories are the different accessories used by jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts in pursuit of their hobby. Jigsaw puzzle accessories for making, displaying and storing jigsaw puzzles. Contents     1 History     2 Modern jigsaw puzzle accessories         2.1 Stand-alone construction tray         2.2 Roll-up mat         2.3 Portfolio case         2.4 Portfolio case with separate construction tray         2.5 Nesting boxes for unassembled pieces         2.6 Jigsaw puzzle frames         2.7 Storage cases     3 References History Jigsaw puzzles were made commercially available in England by John Spilsbury, around 1760[1] and have been widely accepted home entertainment in the UK ever since. Jigsaws enjoy similar popularity throughout Europe, and in the American Great Depression jigsaw puzzles sold at the rate of 10 million per week.[2] It is perhaps therefore surprising that companies who produce games and puzzles have been slow to exploit the commercial opportunities afforded by so many enthusiasts who require something on which to construct their jigsaws along with methods of storing and displaying them. The first references to any kind of jigsaw puzzle accessory can be found around 1900 when a "Frame" was first included in Dutch jigsaw puzzle boxes[3] so that a completed puzzle could be permanently saved. The idea was not successful and was soon discontinued. A similar fate befell the mahogany and walnut "Puzzle Trays" that were advertised in Viking's Picture Puzzle Weekly in America during the 1930s[4] In the late 1980s, Falcon Games in England decided to tackle the intellectual property issue by route of applying for a trademark and on 4 August 1989 their self-explanatory Jigroll name was registered (UK Patent Office Reference 1318441). Although many companies have since copied the functionality of the Jigroll, none have been able to give their products the same name and in jigsaw puzzle parlance "Jigroll" has almost become a generic term for all jigsaw mats and rolls. Falcon enjoyed similar success with the "Porta Puzzle" mark registered on 9 March 1993 (UK Patent Office Reference 1528876) for "Folders and cases made of plastics and/or card for holding and carrying jigsaw puzzles". Since the registration of this mark there have been a number of innovations and improvements to the original design, both by the current owners of the mark [5] and other companies, but collectively carrying cases for jigsaw puzzles are still most often referred to as "Porta Puzzles". Jigsaw puzzle frames in which a completed puzzle can be displayed have never been very popular in either Europe or the US, but this is not the case in Japan where the customary use of jigsaws is for wall decoration. From the time that jigsaws first became available in Japan, in the 1970s,[6] jigsaw frames have been available to fit the jigsaw sizes of all the leading manufacturers. Modern jigsaw puzzle accessories Illustrated below are the most widely used modern products. Most of the accessories come in a range of sizes to cater for jigsaw puzzles between 500 and 2,000 pieces with the 1,000-piece size being the most popular. Stand-alone construction tray Construction trays are the most basic of all jigsaw puzzle accessories and they come in many different materials. Sizes required for different piece counts are as follows: 500 pieces: 520 mm x 395 mm (20.4" x 15.5") 1000 pieces: Approximately 750 mm x 520 mm (29.5" x 20.4") 1500 pieces: Approximately 915 mm x 660 mm (36.0" x 26.0") 2000 pieces: Approximately 1016 mm x 711 mm (40" x 28") The major problem with stand alone construction trays is that they cannot be packed away and stored with a part-assembled jigsaw. However, they can very easily be moved around from place to place in a home - the only functionality required by many people. Roll-up mat Jigroll The first accessory to obtain a trademark. Launched in 1989, the Jigroll was the forerunner of modern jigsaw puzzle accessories. The jigsaw puzzle is constructed on a green cloth that has a coarse texture to which cardboard jigsaw pieces adhere. The non assembled pieces are also kept on the cloth. When the puzzle needs to be cleared away the entire cloth is rolled around a drum thus keeping both the assembled and non-assembled pieces trapped in position until the cloth is unrolled again. Portfolio case Portapuzzle obtained a registered trade mark for Falcon Games approximately four years after their successful launch of Jigroll (see above). A portfolio case opens out to reveal a foam-backed lining. The puzzle is constructed on one side of the case and the unassembled pieces are kept either on the other side of the case or on "Panels" provided. When closed up the foam-backed lining on either side of the case exerts enough pressure to keep the jigsaw pieces in place. This invention is generally considered to be a safer way of keeping pieces in place but it involves more material and more assembly labour than a Jigroll and is consequently more expensive. Portfolio case with separate construction tray Jigsort Puzzles are made on a separate "Construction Tray". The outer carrying case holds a separate "Construction Tray" on which the jigsaw is made and "Sort Trays" on which the unassembled pieces are kept. The sort trays come complete with tightly fitting lids. To pack away the jigsaw the sort trays (with their lids in place) are fitted inside the construction tray and the whole is then zipped up inside the carrying case. The separate construction tray is very light and can easily be moved around and an additional benefit is the raised edge around the outside of the tray that ensures pieces do not drop off and get lost. On the downside, the extra component parts add to the retail price. Nesting boxes for unassembled pieces Jigsafe Up to 1,000 jigsaw puzzle pieces are neatly displayed. The loose pieces of a jigsaw take up approximately twice the space of a completed puzzle and these nesting boxes aim to solve the problem of how best to store 1,000 loose pieces in a small area. The boxes can be used for sorting different shapes or colours of piece. Each box has a removable insert so that sections of the puzzle can be constructed in the box and then easily moved to the developing jigsaw. Jigsaw puzzle frames Jigframe Enables puzzles to be hung on a wall. Traditionally (especially in Japan) jigsaw puzzles that are hung on a wall are glued onto a backing board. Once glued, it is a simple process to fit a puzzle into a frame in much the same way as a picture is fitted in a picture frame. However, gluing a puzzle to a board renders it unusable in the future as a puzzle. Products like the Jigframe resolve this issue with a shallow drawer incorporated into the frame that allows jigsaws to be framed without the use of glue. Storage cases Jigstore Puzzles can be stored in their completed state. The product comes with 10 cardboard sheets on which completed puzzles are stored. The puzzles along with their cardboard sheets are stacked on top of each other in the manner of a multi-tiered sandwich. Ultimately the entire sandwich is held together with straps that are provided and then the whole is stored in an outer cardboard case. This accessory is most suitable for dedicated enthusiasts, schools and clubs where there is a requirement to keep and display completed puzzles." (wikipedia.org) "Cat lover culture describes the culture that surrounds cat lovers. For some it can become an obsession and some people advertise the fact that they are cat lovers. Some use special phrases which are understood best by "cat people". Contents     1 Description     2 In action     3 See also     4 References Description One aspect of cat culture is to wear clothing that identifies the wearer as a cat person.[1] Some of them have a type of language. Some of the "cat puns" they use are meowvalous which means "marvelous", Caturday which means Saturday and pawsome which means awesome.[2] Cat terms such as "Purrfect" have been used in article titles such as CBS Sacramento's article about two cats living alone in a Silicon Valley studio, "Purrfect Tenants: 2 Cats Live Alone In A Silicon Valley Studio For $1,500/Mo."[3] The culture has transferred to the internet, where it now flourishes.[4] According to a 2013 article by Psychology Today, self-identified cat people have more unusual and distinctive personality traits than dog people. The article also speculates that due to the nature of cats and their sensitive nature, some people of a similar nature would feel an affinity with cats: thus, cat people would be more sensitive than dog people.[5] In Morocco, cats are so much a part of everyday life that they are found everywhere. An article by Morocco World News said that people visiting there could think that the Moroccan person to cat ratio is pretty close to 1:1. Many Moroccans are said to love cats, and around the city there are piles of food and water trays left for the cats.[6] A film by Tim Delmastro about what has been described as "Japan's Crazy Cat Culture" features Chris Broad, a British YouTube personality. Broad made his way across the country where he documented the numerous strange and interesting cat-centric activities, including cat bars, cat temples, cat islands and cat cafes.[7] In action Countries around the world celebrate cat festivals. Singapore is full of cat lovers and cat cafes and a cat museum. It had its first cat festival in 2018.[8] In Pasadena, California, there is a cat festival called CatCon Worldwide.[9] In 2018, the POP Cats Convention in Austin, Texas was held.[10] Websites for cat lovers include The Catnip Times and The Purrington Post.[11][12] According to the article "'Mysterious power over humanity': How cats affect health" by Alice Robb, there is a cat culture that flourishes online.[13] There is a cat-themed cruise where cat lovers can meet people of the same type and have cat parties.[14] There is a game called Cat-Opoly which is based on the board game Monopoly. With this game, cat lovers can buy cats instead of properties." (wikipedia.org) "The cultural depiction of cats and their relationship to humans is old and stretches back over 9,500 years. Cats are featured in the history of many nations, are the subject of legend, and are a favorite subject of artists and writers.... Earliest history See also: Evolution of the domesticated cat Question book-new.svg     This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) It is thought that cats were originally domesticated because they hunted mice that would eat stored grains, but a recent study found that cats domesticated themselves. They were never specifically sought out for domestication like dogs were but their coexistence with humans naturally developed from the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship, with their hunting protecting the food stores. It was a beneficial situation for both species:[1] cats got a reliable source of prey, and humans got effortless pest control. This mutually beneficial arrangement began the relationship between cats and humans which continues to this day. While the exact history of human interaction with cats is still somewhat vague, a shallow grave site discovered in 1983 in Cyprus, dating to 7500 BCE, during the Neolithic period, contains the skeleton of a human, buried ceremonially with stone tools, a lump of iron oxide, and a handful of seashells. In its own tiny grave 40 centimeters (18 inches) from the human grave was an eight-month-old cat, its body oriented in the same westward direction as the human skeleton. Cats are not native to Cyprus. This is evidence that cats were being tamed just as humankind was establishing the first settlements in the part of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent.[2] The lineage of today's cats stems from about 4500 BC and came from Europe and Southeast Asia according to a recent study. Modern cats stem from two major lines of lineage.[1] Africa Ancient Egypt The ancient Egyptians mummified dead cats out of respect in the same way that they mummified people.[3] Main article: Cats in ancient Egypt Cats, known in ancient Egypt as the mau, played a large role in ancient Egyptian society. They were associated with the goddesses Isis and Bastet.[4] Cats were sacred animals and the goddess Bastet was often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness.[5]: 220  Killing a cat was absolutely forbidden[3] and the Greek historian Herodotus reports that, whenever a household cat died, the entire family would mourn and shave their eyebrows.[3] Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis,[3] where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Europe The kingdom of Cat was a legendary Pictish kingdom[6] during the Early Middle Ages, centred in what is now Caithness in northern Scotland.[7] The place name Caithness derives from Cait, which is also preserved in the Gaelic name for Sutherland (Cataibh), in several specific names within that county and in the earliest recorded name for Shetland (Inse Catt, meaning "islands of the Cat people").[8] In Norse mythology, the goddess Freyja was associated with cats. Farmers sought protection for their crops by leaving pans of milk in their fields for Freya's special feline companions, the two grey cats who fought with her and pulled her chariot.[9] Folklore dating back to as early as 1607 tells that a cat will suffocate a newborn infant by putting its nose to the child's mouth, sucking the breath out of the infant.[10] Black cats are generally held to be unlucky in the United States and Western Europe, and to portend good luck in the United Kingdom.[10] In the latter country, a black cat entering a house or ship is a good omen, and a sailor's wife should have a black cat for her husband's safety on the sea.[10][11] Elsewhere, it is considered unlucky if a black cat crosses one's path; black cats have been associated with death and darkness.[4] White cats, bearing the colour of ghosts, are conversely held to be unlucky in the United Kingdom, while tortoiseshell cats are lucky.[10] It is common lore that cats have nine lives.[10] It is a tribute to their perceived durability, their occasional apparent lack of instinct for self-preservation, and their seeming ability to survive falls that would be fatal to other animals. Cats were seen as good luck charms by actors, and the cats often helped cure the actors' stage fright.[12] Ancient Greece and Rome Ancient Roman mosaic of a cat killing a partridge from the House of the Faun in Pompeii Domestic cats were probably first introduced to Greece and southern Italy in the fifth century BC by the Phoenicians.[13] The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats.[14]: 57–58 [15] Housecats seem to have been extremely rare among the ancient Greeks and Romans;[15] the Greek historian Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.[15] Even during later times, weasels were far more commonly kept as pets[15] and weasels, not cats, were seen as the ideal rodent-killers.[15] The usual ancient Greek word for "cat" was ailouros, meaning "thing with the waving tail",[14]: 57 [15] but this word could also be applied to any of the "various long-tailed carnivores kept for catching mice".[15] Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature,[15] but Aristotle does remark in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous."[14]: 74 [15] The Greek essayist Plutarch linked cats with cleanliness, noting that unnatural odours could make them mad.[16] Pliny linked them with lust,[17] and Aesop with deviousness and cunning.[10] The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis.[14]: 77–79  In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the gods flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana (the Roman equivalent of Artemis) turns into a cat.[14]: 79  Cats eventually displaced ferrets as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice.[18] Middle Ages Main article: Cat-burning During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis' associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary.[18] Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family[18] and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten.[18] Vikings used cats as rat catchers and companions. An old Irish poem about an author (a monk) and his cat, Pangur Bán, was found in a 9th century manuscript. Pangur Bán, 'White Pangur', is the cat's name, Pangur meaning 'a fuller'. In eight verses of four lines each, the author compares the cat's happy hunting with his own scholarly pursuits.     I and Pangur Ban my cat,     'Tis a like task we are at:     Hunting mice is his delight,     Hunting words I sit all night. A medieval King of Wales, Hywel Dda (the Good) passed legislation making it illegal to kill or harm a cat.[19] In Medieval Ypres, cats were used in the winter months to control the vermin infesting the wool stored in the upper floors of the Cloth Hall (Lakenhall). At the start of the spring warm-up, after the wool had been sold, the cats were thrown out of the belfry tower to the town square below, which supposedly symbolised "the killing of evil academics". In today's Kattenstoet (Cat Parade), this was commuted to the throwing of woolen cats from the top of out houses and also the people from the Middle Ages often used to suck on the wool as a sign of good luck. Renaissance and Victorian Depictions In the Renaissance, cats were often thought to be witches' familiars in England (for example, Greymalkin, the first witch's familiar in Macbeth's famous opening scene), and during festivities were sometimes burnt alive or thrown off buildings. Richard Whittington and his Cat (1808) Cats became popular and sympathetic characters in folk tales such as Puss in Boots.[20] One English folk tale in which a cat is given a role of a friend who was betrayed is Dick Whittington and His Cat, which has been adapted for many stage works, including plays, musical comedies and pantomimes. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century, based on the real-life Richard Whittington, who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat. There is no historical evidence that Whittington had a cat,[20] In the tale, Dick Whittington, a poor orphan finds work at the great house of Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant. His little room infested with rats, Dick acquires a cat, who drives off the rats. One day, Mr. Fitzwarren asked his servants if they wished to send something in his ship, leaving on a journey to a far off port, to trade for gold. Dick decided to sell his only close friend, his cat. In the far-off court, Dick's cat had become a hero by driving very troublesome vermin from the royal court. When Fitzwarren's ship returned, it was loaded with riches. Dick was a rich man. He joined Mr. Fitzwarren in his business and married his daughter Alice, and in time became the Lord Mayor of London. This story reflects the mentality of Western man and society in the capitalist era reflecting Dick Whittington as a positive character.[21] Russia Eighteenth century folk art, Cat of Kazan Unlike Western countries, cats have been considered good luck in Russia for centuries. Owning a cat, and especially letting one into a new house before the humans move in, is said to bring good fortune.[22] Cats in Orthodox Christianity are the only animals that are allowed to enter the temples. Also, cats an integral attribute of Russian Orthodox monasteries. According to Russian law, a huge fine was imposed for killing a cat, the same as for a horse or ox. Many cats have guarded the Hermitage Museum/Winter Palace continually, since Empress Elizabeth's reign, when she was presented by the city of Kazan in Tatarstan five of their best mousers to control the palace's rodent problem.[23] They lived pampered lives and even had special servants until the October Revolution, after which they were cared for by volunteers. Now, they are again looked after by employees. In modern-day Russia there is a group of cats at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. They have their own press secretary, with about 74 cats of both genders roaming the museum. Asia China A Chinese Cat-Market (1846)[24] Cats in the Garden, by Mao Yi, 12th century Cats that were favored pets during the Chinese Song Dynasty were long-haired cats for catching rats, and cats with yellow-and-white fur called 'lion-cats', who were valued simply as cute pets.[25][26] Cats could be pampered with items bought from the market such as "cat-nests", and were often fed fish that were advertised in the market specifically for cats.[25][26] Japan Main article: Kaibyō A typical maneki-neko. Crystal Clear app kedit.svg     This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as section. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (July 2021) In Japanese folklore, cats are often depicted as supernatural entities, or kaibyō (かいびょう, "strange cat").[27][28] The maneki-neko of Japan is a figurine often believed to bring good luck to the owner. Literally the beckoning cat, it is often referred to in English as the "good fortune" or "good luck" cat. It is usually a sitting cat with one of its paws raised and bent, its left paw be. Legend in Japan has it that a cat waved a paw at a Japanese landlord, who was intrigued by this gesture and went towards it. A few seconds later a lightning bolt struck where the landlord had been previously standing.[29] The landlord attributed his good fortune to the cat's fortuitous action. A symbol of good luck hence, it is most often seen in businesses to draw in money. In Japan, the flapping of the hand is a "come here" gesture, so the cat is beckoning customers. There is also a small cat shrine (neko jinja (猫神社)) built in the middle of the Tashirojima island. In the past, the islanders raised silkworms for silk, and cats were kept in order to keep the mouse population down (because mice are a natural predator of silkworms). Fixed-net fishing was popular on the island after the Edo Period and fishermen from other areas would come and stay on the island overnight. The cats would go to the inns where the fishermen were staying and beg for scraps. Over time, the fishermen developed a fondness for the cats and would observe the cats closely, interpreting their actions as predictions of the weather and fish patterns. One day, when the fishermen were collecting rocks to use with the fixed-nets, a stray rock fell and killed one of the cats. The fishermen, feeling sorry for the loss of the cat, buried it and enshrined it at this location on the island. This is not the only cat shrine in Japan, however. Others include Nambujinja in the Niigata Prefecture and one at the entrance of Kyotango City, Kyoto.[30] Another Japanese legend of cats is the nekomata: when a cat lives to a certain age, it grows another tail and can stand up and speak in a human language. Hello Kitty, created by Yuko Yamaguchi, is a contemporary cat icon. The character made its debut in 1974 and has since become a global staple of Japanese culture; the merchandise is available all over the world. According to Sanrio, the official licenser, designer, and producer of Hello Kitty merchandise, the character is a cartoon version of a little girl. In her fictional life, she is from the outskirts of London and a part of the Sanrio universe.[31] Islam Further information: Islam and cats Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza.[32] He is reported to have loved cats so much that, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".[33] The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad.[34] Modern culture Pictures of Grumpy Cat are frequently found in the form of memes, due to Grumpy Cat's deformed features giving a permanently unhappy appearance. Cats have also featured prominently in modern culture. For example, a cat named Mimsey was used by MTM Enterprises as their mascot and features in their logo as a spoof of the MGM lion.[12] By 1990, the New York Times said that cats had become the most popular subject depicted on gift items (such as coasters, napkins, jewelry, and bookends), and that an estimated 1,000 stores in the United States sold nothing but cat-related items.[35] On the Internet, cats frequently appear often as memes and other humor; and on social media people frequently post pictures of their own cats. Other     A legend states that when Jesus Christ was born, he would not stop crying no matter what anyone did, and what finally calmed him was when a tabby cat jumped into the manger, and its purring lulled him to sleep. The Virgin Mary petted the cat in gratitude, and the "M" on the forehead of the tabby cat is for her name.     In Celtic Mythology, a Cat Sith is a fairy cat, sith or sidhe (both pronounced shee) meaning fairy.     In Catholicism, the patron saint of cats is Saint Gertrude of Nivelles.     The Cat Duet (Duetto buffo di due gatti), attributed to Rossini, is a popular performance piece for two sopranos, whose "lyrics" consist entirely of the repeated word "miau" ("meow")." (wikipedia.org) "Images and videos of domestic cats make up some of the most viewed content on the web, particularly image macros in the form of lolcats. ThoughtCatalog has described cats as the "unofficial mascot of the Internet".[1] The subject has attracted the attention of various scholars and critics, who have analysed why this form of low art has reached iconic status. Although it may be considered frivolous, cat-related Internet content contributes to how people interact with media and culture.[2] Some argue that there is a depth and complexity to this seemingly simple content, with a suggestion that the positive psychological effects that pets have on their owners also holds true for cat images viewed online.[3] Research has suggested that viewing online cat media is related to positive emotions, and that it even may work as a form of digital therapy or stress relief for some users. Some elements of research also shows, that feelings of guilt when postponing tasks can be reduced by viewing cat content.[4] Some individual cats, such as Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub, have achieved popularity online because of their unusual appearances and funny cat videos. ... History Humans have always had a close relationship with cats, and the animals have long been a subject of short films, including the early silent movies Boxing Cats (1894) and The Sick Kitten (1903).[5] Harry Pointer (1822–1889) has been cited as the "progenitor of the shameless cat picture".[6] Cats have been shared via email since the Internet's rise to prominence in the 1990s.[7] The first cat video on YouTube was uploaded in 2005 by YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, who posted a video of his cat called "Pajamas and Nick Drake".[7] The following year, "Puppy vs Cat" became the first viral cat video; uploaded by a user called Sanchey (a.k.a. Michael Wienzek);[8] as of 2015 it had over 16 million views on YouTube.[7] In a Mashable article that explored the history of cat media on the Internet, the oldest entry was an ASCII art cat that originated on 2channel, and was a pictorial representation of the phrase "Please go away."[9] The oldest continuously operating cat website is sophie.net, which launched in October of 1999 and is still operating.[10] The New York Times described cat images as "that essential building block of the Internet".[11] In addition, 2,594,329 cat images had been manually annotated in flickr.com by users.[12] An interesting phenomenon is that many photograph owners tag their house cats as "tiger".[13] Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami started the website I Can Haz Cheezburger in 2007, where they shared funny pictures of cats. This site allowed users to create LOLcat memes by placing writing on top of pictures of their cats. This site now has more than 100 million views per month and has "created a whole new form of internet speak".[7] In 2009, the humour site Urlesque deemed September 9 "A Day Without Cats Online", and had over 40 blogs and websites agree to "[ban] cats from their pages for at least 24 hours".[14] As of 2015, there are over 2 million cat videos on YouTube alone, and cats are one of the most searched keywords on the Internet.[7] CNN estimated that in 2015 there could be around 6.5 billion cat pictures on the Internet.[15] The Internet has been described as a "virtual cat park, a social space for cat lovers in the same way that dog lovers congregate at a dog park".[16] The Daily Telegraph deemed Nyan Cat the most popular Internet cat,[17] while NPR gave this title to Grumpy Cat.[18] The Daily Telegraph also deemed the best cat video on YouTube as "Surprised Kitty (Original)", which currently has over 75 million views.[19] Buzzfeed deemed Cattycake the most important cat of 2010.[20] In 2015, an exhibition called "How Cats Took Over The Internet" opened at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.[21] The exhibition "looks at the history of how they rose to internet fame, and why people like them so much".[7] There is even a book entitled How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: A Guide to Financial Freedom.[22] The annual Internet Cat Video Festival celebrated and awards the Golden Kitty to cat videos.[23] According to Star Tribune, the festival's success is because "people realized that the cat video they'd chuckled over in the privacy of their homes was suddenly a thousand times funnier when there are thousands of other people around".[24] The Daily Telegraph had an entire article devoted to International Cat Day.[25] EMGN wrote an article entitled "21 Reasons Why Cats And The Internet Are A Match Made in Heaven".[26] In 2015, there were more than 2 million cat videos on YouTube, with an average of 12,000 views each – a higher average than any other category of YouTube content.[27] Cats made up 16% of views in YouTube's "Pets & Animals" category, compared to dogs' 23%.[28] The YouTube video Cats vs. Zombies merged the two Internet phenomena of cats and zombies.[29] Data from BuzzFeed and Tumblr has shown that dog videos have more views than those of cats, and less than 1% of posts on Reddit mention cats.[30] While dogs are searched for much more than cats, there is less content on the Internet.[31] The Facebook page "Cats" has over 2 million likes while Dogs has over 6.5 million.[32] In an Internet tradition, The New York Times Archives Twitter account posts cat reporting throughout the history of the NYT.[33][34] The Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima launched an online Cat Street View, which showed the region from the perspective of a cat.[35][36] Abigail Tucker, author of The Lion in the Living Room, a history of domestic cats, has suggested that cats appeal particularly because they "remind us of our own faces, and especially of our babies ... [they're] strikingly human but also perpetually deadpan".[37][38] Psychology Jason Eppink, curator of the Museum of the Moving Image's show How Cats Took Over the Internet, has noted the "outsized role" of cats on the Internet.[39] Wired magazine felt that the cuteness of cats was "too simplistic" an explanation of their popularity online.[30] A scientific survey done found that the participants were more happy after watching cat videos.[7][40] The researcher behind the survey explained "If we want to better understand the effects the Internet may have on us as individuals and on society, then researchers can't ignore Internet cats anymore"[41] and "consumption of online cat-related media deserves empirical attention".[42] The Huffington Post suggested that the videos were a form of procrastination, with most being watched while at work or ostensibly studying,[43] while IU Bloomington commented "[it] does more than simply entertain; it boosts viewers' energy and positive emotions and decreases negative feelings".[44] Business Insider argues "This falls in line with a body of research regarding the effects that animals have on people."[45] A 2015 study by Jessica Gall Myrick found that people were more than twice as likely to post a picture or video of a cat to the Internet than they were to post a selfie.[27] Maria Bustillos considers cat videos to be "the crystallisation of all that human beings love about cats", with their "natural beauty and majesty" being "just one tiny slip away from total humiliation", which Bustillos sees as a mirror of the human condition.[46] When the creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, was asked for an example of a popular use of the Internet that he would never have predicted, he answered, "Kittens".[47] A 2014 paper argues that cats' "unselfconsciousness" is rare in an age of hyper-surveillance, and cat photos appeal to people as it lets them imagine "the possibility of freedom from surveillance", while presenting the power of controlling that surveillance as unproblematic.[48] Time magazine felt that cat images tap into viewers nature as "secret voyeurs".[28] The Cheezburger Network considers cats to be the "perfect canvas" for human emotion, as they have expressive facial and body aspects.[49] Mashable offered "cats' cuteness, non-cuteness, popularity among geeks, blank canvas qualities, personality issues, and the fact that dogs just don't have 'it'" as possible explanations to cats' popularity on the Internet.[50] A paper entitled ""I Can Haz Emoshuns?" – Understanding Anthropomorphosis of Cats among Internet Users" found that Tagpuss, an app that showed users cat images and asked them to choose their emotion "can be used to identify cat behaviours that lay-people find difficult to distinguish".[relevant?][51] Jason Eppink, curator of the "How Cats Took Over the Internet" exhibition, explained: "People on the web are more likely to post a cat than another animal, because it sort of perpetuates itself. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. [sic]"[34][52] Jason Kottke considers cats to be "easier to objectify" and therefore "easier to make fun of".[53] Journalist Jack Shepherd suggested that cats were more popular than dogs because dogs were "trying too hard", and humorous behavior in a dog would be seen as a bid for validation. Shepherd sees cats' behavior as being "cool, and effortless, and devoid of any concern about what you might think about it. It is art for art's sake".[54] Cats have historically been associated with magic, and have been revered by various human cultures, the ancient Egyptians worshipping them as gods and the creatures being feared as demons in ancient Japan,[15] such as the bakeneko. Vogue magazine has suggested that the popularity of cats on the Internet is culturally-specific, being popular in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. Other nations favor different animals online, Ugandans sharing images of goats and chickens, Mexicans preferring llamas, and Chinese Internet users sharing images of the river crab and grass-mud horse due to double-meanings of their names allowing them to "subvert government Internet censors".[55] Cute cat theory of digital activism Main article: Cute cat theory of digital activism A picture of a striped cat in an apparent seated position with its legs spread, looking at the camera. In the upper left corner is the text "Why U Wanna Censor Me?" in white capital letters Lolcat images are often shared through the same networks used by online activists The cute cat theory of digital activism is a theory concerning Internet activism, Internet censorship, and "cute cats" (a term used for any low-value, but popular online activity) developed by Ethan Zuckerman in 2008.[56][57] It posits that most people are not interested in activism; instead, they want to use the web for mundane activities, including surfing for pornography and lolcats ("cute cats").[58] The tools that they develop for that (such as Facebook, Flickr, Blogger, Twitter, and similar platforms) are very useful to social movement activists, who may lack resources to develop dedicated tools themselves.[58] This, in turn, makes the activists more immune to reprisals by governments than if they were using a dedicated activism platform, because shutting down a popular public platform provokes a larger public outcry than shutting down an obscure one.[58] Celebrities Because of the relative newness of this industry, most owners of famous cats found themselves stumbling into Internet stardom without intentionally planning it.[59] Grumpy Cat Main article: Grumpy Cat Tardar Sauce (born April 4, 2012 - May 15, 2019),[60] better known by her Internet name "Grumpy Cat", was a cat and Internet celebrity known for her grumpy facial expression.[61][62][63] Her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, says that her permanently grumpy-looking face was due to an underbite and feline dwarfism.[61][64][65] Grumpy Cat's popularity originated from a picture posted to the social news website Reddit by Bundesen's brother Bryan on September 22, 2012.[61][66][67] It was made into an image macro with grumpy captions. As of December 10, 2014, "The Official Grumpy Cat" page on Facebook has over 7 million "likes".[68] Grumpy Cat was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal on May 30, 2013, and on the cover of New York magazine on October 7, 2013.[63][69][70] In August 2015 it was announced that Grumpy Cat would get her own animatronic waxwork at Madame Tussauds in San Francisco.[71] The Huffington Post wrote an article exploring America's fascination with cats.[72] Lil Bub Main article: Lil Bub Lil Bub (Lillian Bubbles) (June 21, 2011 - December 1, 2019)[73] was an American celebrity cat known for her unique appearance. She was the runt of her litter. Her owner, Mike Bridavsky, adopted her when his friends called to ask him to give her a home. Her photos were first posted to Tumblr in November 2011 then taken off after being featured on the social news website reddit.[74] "Lil Bub" on Facebook has over two million Likes.[75] Lil Bub stars in Lil Bub & Friendz, a documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013 that won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.[76][77][78] Maru Main article: Maru (cat) Maru (まる, Japanese: circle or round; born May 24, 2007[79]) is a male Scottish Fold (straight variety[80]) cat in Japan who has become popular on YouTube. As of April 2013, videos with Maru have been viewed over 200 million times.[81] Videos featuring Maru have an average of 800,000 views each and he is mentioned often in print and televised media discussing Internet celebrities.[82] Maru is the "most famous cat on the internet."[83] Maru's owner posts videos under the account name 'mugumogu'. His owner is almost never seen in the videos, although the video titled "Maru's ear cleaning". YouTube. is an exception. The videos include title cards in English and Japanese setting up and describing the events, and often show Maru playing in cardboard boxes, indicated by "I love a box!" in his first video. Colonel Meow Main article: Colonel Meow Colonel Meow (adopted October 11, 2011[Note 1] – January 29, 2014)[84] was a male Himalayan–Persian crossbreed cat, who holds the 2014 Guinness world record for the longest fur on a cat (nine inches or about 23 cm).[85] He became an Internet celebrity when his owners posted pictures of his scowling face to Facebook and Instagram.[86][87] He was known by his hundreds of thousands of followers as an "adorable fearsome dictator", a "prodigious Scotch drinker" and "the angriest cat in the world".[87] Oskar and Klaus Oskar was born on May 5, 2011, and was an outdoor cat living on a small farm in the Loess Hills of western Iowa before being adopted by Mick and Bethany Szydlowski on July 11 of that year. They later moved to Nebraska, finally settling in Seattle, Washington. Oskar had a condition called microphthalmia, which means his eyes never fully developed because of genetic abnormalities. Even though he could not see, Oskar could function perfectly well using his other senses, and was happy and healthy. Many who met him for the first time never even realized he was completely blind. Oskar's best friend, "The Klaus", is a former stray that was adopted in 2006 by the same couple. He lives in Seattle with Mick, and Bethany, and formerly with Oskar. In 2014, they published a book about the cats' adventures titled Oskar and Klaus Present: The Search for Bigfoot.[88] On February 5, 2018, Oskar died, likely due to heart failure.[89] Oh Long Johnson This unnamed cat, first seen in a video shown on America's Funniest Home Videos, became famous for its growling resembling human speech. In the video, one cat makes aggressive noises at another, its vocalizations resembling "human-like gibberish".[90] The video first appeared on the Internet in 2006[90] during a compilation video on YouTube featuring cats producing human-like sounds, and other standalone videos were later uploaded. The full clip shows a second, younger-looking cat in the room.[91] Screening By 2012, the video of the cat had been viewed 6.5 million times.[92] For a while it was a craze.[93] The clip was included in the 2019 Cat Video Fest which was held at the Vancity Theatre in Vancouver on the 20th of April. There were to be five consecutive screenings of the videos.[94] Related The video was referenced in the South Park episode "Faith Hilling", where Johnson's speech pattern ended up causing several deaths related to "Oh Long Johnsoning".[95] Venus the Two-Faced Cat Main article: Venus (cat) Venus, rescued as a stray in 2009 in North Carolina, United States, has black and ginger sides to her face and one blue and one green eye. She became a viral sensation after being featured on Reddit.[96] Geneticists have discussed whether or not she is a chimera.[97] Hamilton the Hipster Cat Hamilton is a popular Internet cat. He is mostly gray with white fur on his face that represents a mustache.[98] As of March 8, 2020, he has 810 thousand followers on Instagram.[99] He is known as the hipster cat because of the apparent mustache, which is associated with the hipster subculture.[100] Grandpa Mason Mason was an elderly feral male found in the cat colony near the Langley, BC, Canada home of the TinyKittens Society rescue group. Described as "battle-scarred" and as the oldest feral cat the group had ever encountered, he was diagnosed with terminal kidney disease. The group decided to make him as comfortable as possible, believing he would only live a few weeks. To their surprise, when little kittens were allowed into his area of the shelter, he was gentle and relaxed with them. Founder Shelly Roche said later she realized he had been craving "affectionate contact" not from humans but from other cats.[101] Mason lived for almost three years, helping to raise several litters of kittens as their "grandpa". TinyKittens' YouTube channel showed many video clips of Mason with his kittens, and his obituary in September 2019 went viral.[102][103] Jorts Main article: Jorts (cat) Jorts is an office cat that was the centre of a December 2021 dispute between staff. Self-reporting of the dispute on a subreddit of Reddit attracted significant attention.[104] Internet memes Lolcat Main article: Lolcat A lolcat (pronounced /ˈlɒlkæt/ LOL-kat) is an image macro of one or more cats. The image's text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect. Its use in this way is known as "lolspeak" or "kitty pidgin". "Lolcat" is a compound word of the acronymic abbreviation for "laugh out loud" (LOL) and the word "cat".[105][106] A synonym for "lolcat" is cat macro, since the images are a type of image macro.[107] Lolcats are commonly designed for photo sharing imageboards and other Internet forums. Nyan Cat Main article: Nyan Cat Nyan Cat is the name of a YouTube video, uploaded in April 2011, which became an Internet meme. The video merged a Japanese pop song with an animated cartoon cat with the body of a Pop-Tart, flying through space, and leaving a rainbow trail behind it. The video ranked at number 5 on the list of most viewed YouTube videos in 2011.[108] Keyboard cat Main article: Keyboard Cat Keyboard Cat is another Internet phenomenon. It consists of a video from 1984 of a cat called "Fatso" wearing a blue shirt and "playing" an upbeat rhythm on an electronic keyboard. The video was posted to YouTube under the title "charlie schmidt's cool cats" in June 2007. Schmidt later changed the title to "Charlie Schmidt's Keyboard Cat (The Original)".[109] Fatso (who died in 1987)[110] was owned (and manipulated in the video) by Charlie Schmidt of Spokane, Washington, United States and the blue shirt still belonged to Schmidt's cat Fatso. Later, Brad O'Farrell, who was the syndication manager of the video website My Damn Channel, obtained Schmidt's permission to reuse the footage, appending it to the end of a blooper video to "play" that person offstage after the mistake or gaffe in a similar manner as getting the hook in the days of vaudeville.[111] The appending of Schmidt's video to other blooper and other viral videos became popular, with such videos usually accompanied with the title Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat or a variant. "Keyboard Cat" was ranked No. 2 on Current TV's list of 50 Greatest Viral Videos.[112] In 2009 Schmidt became owner of Bento, another cat that resembled Fatso, and which he used to create new Keyboard Cat videos, until Bento's death in March 2018.[113] Schmidt has adopted a new cat "Skinny" or "Keyboard Cat 3.0", which has yet to become popular. Cats that Look Like Hitler Main article: Cats That Look Like Hitler Cats That Look Like Hitler is a satirical website featuring photographs of cats that bear an alleged resemblance to Adolf Hitler.[114] Most of the cats have a large black splotch underneath their nose, much like the dictator's stumpy toothbrush moustache. The site was founded by Koos Plegt and Paul Neve in 2006,[115] and became widely known after being featured on several television programmes across Europe[115][116][117] and Australia.[118] The site is now only run by Neve. As of February 2013, the site contained photographs of over 8,000 cats, submitted by owners with digital cameras and Internet access and then approved by Neve as content.[119] Everytime you masturbate... God kills a kitten Main article: Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten "Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten" is the caption of an image created by a member of the website Fark.com in 2002.[120][121] The image features a kitten (subsequently referred to as "Cliché Kitty") being chased by two Domos, and has the tagline "Please, think of the kittens". I Can Has Cheezburger Main article: I Can Has Cheezburger? It was created in 2007 by Eric Nakagawa (Cheezburger), a blogger from Hawaii, and his friend Kari Unebasami (Tofuburger).[citation needed] The website is one of the most popular Internet sites of its kind. It received as many as 1,500,000 hits per day at its peak in May 2007.[122][123] ICHC was instrumental in bringing animal-based image macros and lolspeak into mainstream usage and making Internet memes profitable.[124] Brussels Lockdown In 2015, the atmosphere among the community of Brussels, Belgium was tense when the city was put under the highest level state of emergency immediately following the Paris attacks; however, Internet cats were able to cut the tension by taking over the Twitter feed #BrusselsLockdown.[125] The feed was designed to discuss operational details of terrorist raids, but when police asked for a social media blackout the hashtag was overwhelmed by Internet users posting pictures of cats to drown out serious discussion and prevent terrorists from gaining any useful information.[126] The use of cat images is a reference to the Level 4 state of emergency: the French word for the number 4, quatre, is pronounced similarly to the word cat in English.[127][128] Pusheen Main article: Pusheen Pusheen is another Internet phenomenon about a cartoon cat. Created in 2010 by Claire Belton, the popularity of using emoji and Facebook stickers led to a rise in Pusheen's popularity. She now has 9 million followers. Bongo Cat Main article: Bongo Cat Bongo Cat is yet another Internet meme about a cartoon cat. It originated on May 7, 2018 when an animated cat gif made by Twitter user "@StrayRogue"[129] was edited by Twitter user "@DitzyFlama",[130] in which he'd edited the GIF to include bongos and added the music "Athletic" from the Super Mario World soundtrack. This cat has since been edited to many other songs, and many different instruments. Peepee the Cat Peepee the cat was the star of a copypasta popularized on Twitter. The post, "i Amn just........... a litle creacher. Thatse It . I Canot change this" was posted on September 18, 2018, and has garnered over 38,000 likes. Over the years, he has become known on the site as a lolcat, and was popular for his seemingly random, but positive posts until his untimely and unfortunate death in April 2019 due to kidney complications related to Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.[131] Vibing Cat In April 2020, a video of a white cat bobbing its head as if dancing went viral.[132] In addition to its popularity on social media sites like Youtube and TikTok, the cat was widely shared on livestreaming platform Twitch.tv, where it was enabled as a emote through third-party service BetterTTV on over 200,000 channels.[133] In December 2020, the official YouTube Channel of the International Cricket Council posted a video named "Vibing cricketers, vibing cat" showing edited footage of the cat alongside various cricketers dancing to music.[134] Zoom Cat Lawyer/I'm Not a Cat Main article: Zoom Cat Lawyer It refers to a viral video taken from a live stream of a civil forfeiture hearing, and being held on the video conferencing application Zoom in Texas' 394th Judicial District Court. The video features attorney Rod Ponton, who is struggling to disable a cat filter that shows a white kitten mask over his face, resulting in it appearing as a cat is speaking.[135] Spoofs Bonsai Kitten was a satirical website launched in 2000 that claims to provide instructions on how to grow a kitten in a jar, so as to mold the bones of the kitten into the shape of the jar as the cat grows, much like how a bonsai plant is shaped. It was made by an MIT university student going by the alias of Dr. Michael Wong Chang.[136] The website generated furor after members of the public complained to animal rights organizations, who stated that "while the site's content may be faked, the issue it is campaigning for may create violence towards animals", according to the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Although the website in its most recent form was shut down, it still generates (primarily spam) petitions to shut the site down or complain to its ISP. The website has been thoroughly debunked by Snopes.com and The Humane Society of the United States, among other prominent organizations. Cat media and news websites The Catnip Times Founded by Laura Mieli in 2012, it has been running full time since 2017.[137] It now has more than a million followers in over 100 countries.[138][139] It contributes articles to American Kennel Club affiliate, AKC Reunite.[140][141][142] In July 2018, it sponsored the first ever "Meow Meetup" at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The event which took place over July 21 to the 22nd,[143] was estimated to attract around 3000 people. It was the largest cat conference in the Midwest.[144][145] News by Cats Founded by Lithuanian born Justinas Butkus who lives in Wellington, New Zealand, the site adds a cat element to news stories. Reporting on actual events, it changes the wording to a type of cat talk such as " kidney opurration" instead of kidney operation and " prepurr for major eruption" instead of prepare for major eruption. There were mixed reactions within the first week of the site's operation.[146] The Purrington Post The Purrington Post publishes a news letter. The first, Volume 1, Issue 1 came out on November 1, 2013.[147] According to Natural Pet Science, The Purrington Post averages half a million page views per trimester.[148] It was referred to in September 2018 as an award winning cat blog by the Dow Jones & Company owned financial information service MarketWatch.[149] Also that year it was rated #3 by KittyCoaching.com in a list of the 12 best cat blogs for that year.[150] It was also highly rated by We're All About Cats website in their Top 35 Cat Blogs You Should Know About list for 2018.[151] The opinion of the Post on cat behavior has been valued enough to be quoted in articles such as "Do Cats Smile? Here's How To Tell Your Cat Is Happy, At Least On The Inside" by Romper.[152] News website Eva.ro has used the Post's own article to reference in Daniel Dumitrescu's article about Thor a Bengali, "Tigrișorul de casă: Thor, pisica bengaleză care face senzație pe Instagram"." (wikipedia.org)
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