Irung bracket (Ganoderma orbiforme)

Irung bracket (Ganoderma orbiforme) is a species of fungus in the Polyporaceae, basidiocarps which are broad, perennial, fan-like or hoof-like on living and dead tree trunks, double-walled spores, cut with an ornate inner layer that is yellow to brown.

G. orbiforme grows in colonies on a dead wood or tree. The beginning of life starts from a whitish yellow patch on the surface of the wood, then forms a cylindrical stalk, curves downward or horizontally and widens to form a horizontal fan.

Solid body, fan-shaped, semicircular, uneven top surface, dark brown with white margins degradation. The lower surface is flat, all white in color with small pores spreading all over.

The cell wall is made up of chitin, but cells do not have chlorophyll. Heterotrophic food and organic materials will be converted into simple molecules and absorbed directly by the hyphae. This fungus has saprophytic and parasitic properties of plants.

Irung bracket causes root and stem rot in tropical perennials in plantations resulting in economic losses. Ganoderma has also long been used as a medicinal ingredient for human health.

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Ganoderma
Subgenus: Ganoderma
Species: Ganoderma orbiforme

Giant golden spider (Nephila pilipes)

Kemlanding or giant golden orbweaver ( Nephila pilipes ) is an animal species in the Araneidae, a web spider with a vertical and asymmetrical mesh, sexually dimorphic with elongated females up to 20 cm in size and has a large investment in egg production and web construction, whereas males only a few millimeters. N. pilipes displays female gigantism and male dwarfism. Females usually have a body size of 30-50 mm, the cephalothorax is 15 mm long and 10 mm wide. The stomach is 30 mm long, 15 mm wide and is mostly tawny with yellow stripes. The female has black or brown, covered in thick hairs. The two rows of eyes stick out towards the back. Plastron is mostly black and brown. The legs are very long, stick-shaped with several joints, black and yellow, lacking of hairs. Males are 5-6.5 mm in size, cephalothorax is 2.5 mm long and 2 mm wide. The stomach is 4 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. The front eye is bigger than the back eye. The legs are light brown with some hair. Yellow carapace with ...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Dry Valleys on Antarctic continent is the driest place in the world

The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world, rainfall is very low, only stretches of sand and rocks without rivers and plants further strengthen the view of drought. However, it turns out that the place is not the driest place in the world. Dry Valleys in Antarctica, although the continent is covered in ice, but has one part that is completely dry. Although the average rainfall in most of the Sahara Desert is less than 20 millimeters per year, there are still drier places. Dry Valleys in Antarctica is much drier where the average rainfall is 0 millimeters per year and gets the title of the driest place in the world. The valleys have so low humidity that there is almost no ice. This is the largest ice free place on the Antarctic continent. The area is surrounded by mountains that block ice from flowing into the valley. Drought is also caused by strong katabalic gusts from mountain peaks where cold air blows down the hill due to gravity. The wind has speeds of up to 322 k...

Dlium