Showing posts with label reptile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reptile. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2011

What's the difference between turtle, tortoise and terrapin? WWF maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards about Venezuela: The Red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria), and The Arrau turtle, also known as the Arrau River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa)


UL [upper-left] and LL: "The Red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria) is a tortoise native to South America. 
It has also been introduced to many islands in the Caribbean. 
It draws its name from the red or orange scales visible on its limbs, as well as its head and tail. 
It is popular as a pet, though it is protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that this species may not be exported from its home country without a permit.[1] 
The Red-foot has a larger cousin, the Yellow-footed Tortoise (Geochelone denticulata), also known as the Brazilian Giant Tortoise. 
Note: Many newer references will use the Genus name Chelonoidis in place of the older term Geochelone for all four South American tortoises. [2]
It is locally known as the Savanna Tortoise, in Brazil as Jabuti, and in Venezuela as Morrocoy[2], among other names.[2]"

  UR and LR: "The Arrau turtle, also known as the Arrau River Turtle, is Podocnemis expansa, the largest of the side-neck turtles (Pleurodira). 
It is found in the Amazon rainforest."

What's the difference between turtle, tortoise and terrapin?

"Turtle, tortoise, or terrapin

Although the word turtle is widely used to describe all members of the order Testudines, it is also common to see certain members described as terrapins, tortoises or sea turtles, as well. Precisely how these alternative names are used, if at all, depends on the type of English being used.
  • British English normally describes these reptiles as turtles if they live in the sea; terrapins if they live in fresh or brackish water; or tortoises if they live on land. However, there are exceptions to this where American or Australian common names are in wide use, as with the Fly River turtle.
  • American English tends to use the word turtle as a general term for all species. "Tortoise" is used for most land-dwelling species, including the family Testudinidae and box tortoises. Oceanic species are usually referred to as sea turtles. The name "terrapin" is typically reserved only for the brackish water diamondback terrapinMalaclemys terrapin; the word terrapin being derived from theAlgonquian word for this animal.[17]
  • Australian English uses turtle for both the marine and freshwater species, but tortoise for the terrestrial species.
To avoid confusion, the word "chelonian" [pronounced KELONIAN] is popular among veterinarians, scientists, and conservationists working with these animals as a catch-all name for any member of the superorder Chelonia, which includes all turtles, tortoises and terrapins living and extinct, as well as their immediate ancestors. It is based on the Ancient Greek word χελώνη, chelōnēModern Greek χελώνα, chelōna; meaning turtle/tortoise."

"Venezuela (pronounced /ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ ( listen)Spanish: [beneˈswela]), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (SpanishRepública Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America."
Legitimate question for "whoever invented the Spanish language" [ :D :D] :
since you already have the letter B to describe the sound B, then...
...would you also need the letter V, for the sound B?
Also, since you have S, why would you use Z instead?
If you want everybody [who has a modicum of foreign language skills, I might specify] to pronounce 
then write: Benesuela, not Venezuela.
How hard is that?
:)
Don't worry, no language is perfect, not even Esperanto, Interlingua or Lingua Franca.
However, a phonetic language, "what you see is what you pronounce" would make more sense, now wouldn't it?
:)

" [Christopher Columbus's] certainty of having attained Paradise made him name this region Land of Grace, a phrase which has become the country's nickname.
Nevertheless, the following year of 1499, an expedition led by Alonso de Ojeda visited the Venezuelan coast. The stilt houses in the area ofLake Maracaibo reminded the navigator Amerigo Vespucci of the city of Venice, (ItalianVenezia), so he named the region "Venezuela,"[10]meaning "little Venice" in Italian. The word has the same meaning in Spanish, where the suffix -uela is used as a diminutive term (e.g., plaza / plazuelacazo / cazuela); thus, the term's original sense would have been that of a "little Venice".[11]
Nonetheless, although the Vespucci story remains the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country's name, a different reason for the name comes up in the account of Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew. In his work Summa de Geografía, he states that they found an indigenous population who called themselves the "Veneciuela," which suggests that the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from the native word.[12]"

So, Columbus was certain that this was Paradise.
Venezuela, a land of beauty. Something that oil money can't buy.
"Venezuela is well-known for its successes in beauty pageants. 
Miss Venezuela is a big event in the country, and Venezuela has received 5 Miss World, 6 Miss Universe, 6 Miss International and 1 Miss Earth titles."
I suspect that Miss Earth was the most "down-to-earth" of them all.
When you want to see...stellar images, you can look at the...Milky Way.
How about the...Milka Way?


==============
Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).



Friday, February 4, 2011

Happy Postcard Friday (meme)! Read from BBC: 'Day of departure' rally in Egypt. Also, a visual metaphor for Day of Departure: philatelic souvenir (dorincard) about a "Frog" clinging to power, or so he thinks, ob(li)viously...

Read the whole article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12362826

Once upon the time, there was a Dictator clinging to power, or so he thought, ob(li)viously...

...but the power shifted recently to a greater force...


The moral: you better figure out in due time when your Day of Departure has come - then let go!  Or else...



==================
Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!





Monday, February 8, 2010

"Now you see him, now you don't!" "Before, and after".





The title is a joke, of course. :)
I could further joke that the guy is an avid researcher, member of several herpetological societies. He wrestles with his python once a month, so that's his Mont(hl)y Python. 
The lower image shows his Full...Python. Full of food.

Joking aside, the upper image shows a young boa, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snake,_Jersey_Zoo.jpg and the bottom shows an 8 meter-long sucuri from Pantanal, Brazil. That's a special boa, called anaconda - green anaconda, in this case. 
In the belly of the beast is a capybara, the world's largest rodent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara.

"Eunectes murinus (derived from the Greek "Ευνήκτης" meaning "good swimmer" and the Latin "murinus" translated into "he who predates on mice") is a non-venomous boa species found in South America. It is the most massive of all known snake species".
"Primarily aquatic, they eat a wide variety of prey, almost anything they can manage to overpower, including fishbirds, a variety of mammals, and other reptiles. Particularly large anacondas may even consume large prey such as tapirdeercapybarajaguarsblack caiman, and crocodiles, but such large meals are not regularly consumed"

I especially like that lower image, an actual postcard from Brazil. Someday, I'll create a maximum card, with a matching stamp.
Here are a few anaconda stamps:


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #13, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL






- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is comprised of 2 large pages from a book, still separated.

- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated October 4, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).
This close-up portrait image shows stunning details,  impossible to see on a regular postcard.

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #12, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, WASHINGTON, D.C.










- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is an irregular-shaped commercial postcard that I bought from Myrtle Beach, SC.
The postmark was applied over a transparent mailing address label. This way, the ink did not smear onto the glossy postcard surface. 

- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated May 27, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE in this exact configuration!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Wonders of America series.



AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #11, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, WASHINGTON, D.C.



[Test: large font]
- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is an irregular-shaped commercial postcard that I bought from Myrtle Beach, SC.
The postmark was applied over a white mailing address label. This way, the ink did not smear onto the glossy postcard surface.

- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated May 27, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE in this exact configuration!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Wonders of America series.
 

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #10, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL





- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is a  page cut-out from a book.

- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated October 4, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE in this exact configuration!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #9, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL




Probably it's not hungry anymore - it doesn't need to keep a low profile, like this:

Monday, November 30, 2009

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #8, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL



"- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is a  page cut-out from a book.  [OMG! :) ]

- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated October 4, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE in this exact configuration!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS)."

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #2, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL








"- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is made from 2 large pages from a book, still separate.  This rare image of an alligator underwater is much more visible this way, than if it were on a tiny, regular 4x6 inches postcard.
Besides, I have never seen such an image on a commercial, mass-produced postcard. Or any other postcard.
- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated October 4, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS)."

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #3, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL


Again, nobody HAS to buy anything, but I'm just sharing some information, if you want to take a look.

This is my listing at delcampe for this item; all the other items are usually available for viewing by clicking the title of the posts on this blog.

"- Condition: uncirculated freestyle/ non-traditional/ non-FIP Maximum Card; the postcard is a large page from a book.  To me, this kind of page is  the ULTIMATE EDUCATIONAL POSTCARD, and it is much more visible this way, than if it were on a tiny, regular 4x6 inches postcard.
Besides, I have never seen such an educational image on a commercial, mass-produced postcard. Or any other postcard.
All you need to know about American alligator, complete with image comparison with the American crocodile, so you do not confuse them.


- Year:  the beautiful First Day of Issue pictorial postmark is dated October 4, 2006.
- Catalog value: I created only ONE!  Most probably, it is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).


BONUS: on the back, you have the educational page about  a bird - the White-Fronted Bee-Eater (Merops bullockoides).  Now you see why I did not cover the back? :) "

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #4, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL



Not all youngsters live on (off?) the back of their parents.
Baby alligator rides on mom's nose.

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #5, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL



Again, the term of comparison for this large page made into a postcard is the Everglades 4x6 inches postcard.

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #6, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FLORIDA




A different position of the stamp and postmark. Without the white mailing address label, maybe you would have stared in frustration, trying to decipher the pictorial postmark.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #7, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FL




The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).
This close-up portrait image shows stunning details,  impossible to see on a regular postcard.


This is a large page made into a postcard.

Friday, November 27, 2009

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR MAXIMUM CARD #8, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK, NAPLES, FLORIDA


The reptile is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The stamp is part of the Southern Florida Wetland series. Most of that area is in the Everglades National Park, Florida, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). To put things into perspective, this image also shows the natural habitat, impossible to see in such great detail on a regular postcard. BONUS: The backside has a great photo of wolves. For comparison only, I uploaded a second image with a 4x6 inches postcard overlapped.

Golf ball in mouth of American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)


Come get it, Tiger Woods!
If you come, I'll say...oh, snap!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Non-traditional (non-FIP) maximum card: American alligator



This is a great photo of an alligator's nest!








WOA/ The LARGEST REPTILE in USA = ALLIGATOR. NON-AUTOGRAPHED MAXIMUM CARD





See you later, wally-gator? No, see you now!
"American Alligators have the strongest bite of any living animal, measured at up to 9,452 newtons (2,125 lbf) in laboratory conditions.[7]"


"Alligators depend on the wetlands, and in some ways the wetlands depend on them. As apex predators, they help control the population of rodents and other animals that might overtax the marshland vegetation."
"The American AlligatorAlligator mississippiensis, (known colloquially as simply gator) is one of the two living species of Alligator, a genus within the family Alligatoridae. The American Alligator is native only to the Southeastern United States, where it inhabits wetlands that frequently overlap with human-populated areas. It is larger than the other extant alligator species, the Chinese Alligator."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator
Maybe a Chinese friend (but isn't blogger.com banned in China?) or another friend, or future friend, or just plain stranger could send me a Chinese alligator maximum card?
Or, if I get a simple postcard, I'll make it into a maximum card, with a matching Chinese stamp.
How can I check IF THERE IS such a stamp?
I go to my website http://dorinco.webs.com (this is the updated version of http://www.freewebs.com/dorinco - still valid) and I click on this useful link:





Great website for reptiles on stamps


So I find that there are at least 3 stamp designs from China (PRC) and one from Eesti, which my general culture :D tells me it's Estonia.
Yeah, why don't I set that as a cool, although non-high-priority project for me: maximum card(s) with the Chinese alligator.


http://www.reptile-stamps.de/html/alligator.html

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Top 30 Stamp Collecting Blogs, by guidetoartschools.com

#2:
"Dorincard: Blogger Dorin C is a stamp and postcard fanatic, and luckily he's more than pleased to write prolifically and charmingly about his obsession. He has a particular bent for stamps with wild mammals on them, but his blog demonstrates an affinity for stamps of all forms and backgrounds, as long as they offer a special narrative that's worth sharing with his readers.


  • Source: http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-stamp-collecting-blogs#ixzz1KirbuA4p
    "

    Some feedback received about me and my blog here

    [DORIN'S NOTE: There are over 100 million websites.]

    From alexa.com traffic rank site

    "There are 1,699,250 sites with a better three-month global Alexa traffic rank than Dorincard.blogspot.com.
    About 43% of visitors to the site come from France, where it has attained a traffic rank of 152,077.
    About 80% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces).
    Dorincard.blogspot.com's visitors view an average of 1.5 unique pages per day.
    Visitors to the site spend roughly two minutes on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit."



    inkling (Enthusiast)

    The best use of this site is Other.

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    Comments:
    Postcards and stamps, mainly featuring mammals and birds but Dorincard also has other creations
    and interests he likes to share.
    His enthusiasm for Maximum cards (a postcard and a similar themed stamps sent through the
    postal system) shines through.
    He shows how he gets the right card, stamp and postmark together.
    Visiting his site you will also learn things about the natural world told with a dry sense of humour,
    possibly with a play on words, and a unique style of headings.
    Topical and informative both for the enthusiast and casual visitor.
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