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Clownfishes are saltwater fishes found in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. They mainly inhabit coral reefs and have a distinctive colouration typically consisting of white vertical bars on a red, orange, yellow, brown or black background. Clownfishes developed a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with sea anemones, which they rely on for shelter and protection, while they in turn, clean, fan and protect them. Clownfishes live in groups consisting of a breeding female and male, along with some non-breeding individuals. The female ranks at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the breeding male. The recognisable colour patterns and social nature of clownfishes have contributed to their popularity, having appeared in the film Finding Nemo. They are highly sought after in the aquarium trade and are often taken from the wild, which has led to their decline. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Shaktikanta Das

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... that Zinaida Nevzorova entered into a marriage of convenience with Gleb Krzhizhanovsky to keep their activist group together, but they later developed a genuine romantic relationship?
... that destruction layers at the Byzantine Church of Khirbet et-Tireh in Palestine were probably caused by the 749 Galilee earthquake?
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... that Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 for Switzerland by a single point?
... that Indonesia's ambassador to Serbia, Andreano Erwin, joined the foreign ministry because his trading company went bankrupt?
... that sabotage in World War II involved delaying the Nazi nuclear program, derailing trains, freeing Jews, and ... explosive rats?

In the news

Guillaume V

Guillaume V (pictured) succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 70 people dead.

On this day

October 4: Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden and Finland

Engraving of the Siege of Smolensk

1448 – Skanderbeg and Gjergj Arianiti signed a peace treaty to end the Albanian–Venetian War.
1633 – Smolensk War: Forces from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth broke the Russian siege of Smolensk (depicted).
1862 – American Civil War: After a naval battle in Galveston Harbor, Texas, Confederate commanders negotiated the surrender of the city to Union forces.
1925 – Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji captured the city of Hama from the French Mandate of Syria.
1927 – Gutzon Borglum and approximately 400 workers began sculpting Mount Rushmore.

George Formby Sr (b. 1875)
Mary Two-Axe Earley (b. 1911)
Jack Warhop (d. 1960)
Pyotr Masherov (d. 1980)

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Today's featured picture

Agnes Booth (October 4, 1843 – January 2, 1910) was an Australian-born American actress and in-law of actors Junius Brutus Booth, Edwin Booth, and John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. She made her US debut in early 1858 as Agnes Land, performing with her sister Belle at Maguire's Opera House, San Francisco. In 1865 she moved to New York where she appeared at the Winter Garden Theatre. In 1867, she married Junius Brutus Booth Jr. and she performed as Agnes Booth thereafter. She played Belinda in the first American production of W. S. Gilbert's Engaged in 1879, as shown in this photograph by Abraham Bogardus.

Photograph credit: Abraham Bogardus; restored by Adam Cuerden

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