Poecilia vandepolli is a poeciliid fish native to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. It is one of the most common fish in its range, inhabiting fresh, brackish, salt, and hypersaline waters. It is variable in size and color, with males ranging from 2.6 to 5.3 cm (1.0 to 2.1 in) and females from 3.2 to 9.6 cm (1.3 to 3.8 in), and coloration varying from grayish-brown to yellow or orange. Marine fish are generally larger, stronger, and more colorful than freshwater specimens. Males' ability to develop an intense orange coloration makes the species attractive to aquarists. Forming shoals near the surface, it feeds on algae, detritus, and aquatic invertebrates, and is preyed on by other fish and birds. Females produce live fry; successful reproduction depends on shelter availability for fry. The species is drawn to freshwater habitats, which disappear each dry season, killing freshwater populations; these habitats are recolonized from the sea when the rains return. ( Full article... )
October 12 : Thanksgiving in Canada (2026); Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day in the United States (2026)
| | The assassination of Inejirō Asanuma took place at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on 12 October 1960. Asanuma, the chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, was delivering a televised election speech when the 17-year-old ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi rushed onto the stage and stabbed him with a wakizashi , a traditional Japanese short sword. Asanuma suffered a punctured aorta and died en route to hospital. Yamaguchi was arrested at the scene, but hanged himself in detention three weeks later. The assassination sparked widespread protests and weakened the Socialist Party. This photograph, capturing Yamaguchi attempting to make a second stab of Asanuma, was taken by Yasushi Nagao of the Mainichi Shimbun and won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. Photograph credit: Yasushi Nagao Recently featured: |