title: Porsche 924

text: In 1979, Porsche unveiled a concept version of the 924 at the Frankfurt Auto show wearing Carrera badges. One year later, in 1980, Porsche released the 924 Carrera GT, making clear their intention to enter the 924 in competition. By adding an intercooler and increasing compression to 8.5:1, as well as various other little changes, Porsche was able to develop the 924 Turbo into the race car they had wanted, dubbing it the "924 Carrera GT". 406 examples (including prototypes) of the Carrera GT were built to qualify it for Group 4 racing requirements. Of the 400 roadgoing examples, 75 were made in right hand drive for the UK market. In 1981 Porsche released the limited production 924 Carrera GTS. 59 GTS models were built, all in left hand drive, with 15 of the 59 being race prepared Clubsport versions.


title: Porsche 924

text: Visually, the Carrera GT differed from the standard 924 Turbo in that it had polyurethane plastic front and rear flared guards, a polyurethane plastic front spoiler, a top mounted air scoop for the intercooler, a much larger rubber rear spoiler and a flush mounted front windscreen. It featured Pirelli P6 tires as standard, and Pirelli P7 tires were available as an option along with a limited slip differential. It lost the 924 Turbo's NACA duct in the hood but retained the air intakes in the badge panel. This more aggressive styling was later used for as motivation for the 944. The later Carrera GTS differed stylistically from the GT with fixed headlamps under Perspex covers (instead of the GT's pop up units). GTS models were also lighter than their GT counterparts at , and Clubsport versions were even lighter at .


title: Porsche 924

text: In order to comply with the homologation regulations, the 924 Carrera GT and later 924 Carrera GTS were offered as road cars, producing 210 and 245 hp (157 and 183 kW) respectively. Clubsport versions of the GTS were also available with , and factory included Matter roll cage and race seats. 924 Carrera GT variations were known by model numbers 937 (left hand drive) and 938 (right hand drive).


title: Porsche 924

text: The ultimate development of the 924 in its race trim was the 924 Carrera GTR race car, which produced from a highly modified version of the 2.0 L I4 used in all 924s, and weighed in at . This allowed for a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of . In 1980, Porsche entered three 924 GTRs at the 24 hours of Le Mans, which went on to finish 6th, 12th and 13th overall. Also building a 924GTR rally race car, and two other GTRs (Miller and BF Goodrich). 17 (some sources say 19) Carrera GTRs were built in total.


title: Porsche 924

text: Lastly, in 1981, Porsche entered one of two specially built 924 Carrera GTPs (the "944GTP Le Mans") in which Porsche Motorsports introduced a new prototype highly modified 2.5 liter I4 engine. This engine sported four valves per cylinder, dual over head camshafts, twin balance shafts and a single turbocharger K28 to produce . This last variant managed a seventh place overall finish and spent the least time out of any other car in the pits. This new 2.5 liter configuration engine is the predecessor of the 944 platforms and the later 1987–88 944S 16V M44/40 power-plant.


title: Porsche 924

text: Production of the 924 Turbo ceased in 1982 except for the Italian market which lasted until 1984. This was due to the restrictions on engines larger than two liters, putting the forthcoming 2.5 liter 944 into a much higher tax category.


title: Porsche 924

text: In 1984, VW decided to stop manufacturing the engine blocks used in the 2.0 L 924, leaving Porsche with a predicament. The 924 was considerably cheaper than its 944 stablemate, and dropping the model left Porsche without an affordable entry-level option. The decision was made to equip the narrower bodied 924 with a slightly detuned version of the 944's 163 bhp 2.5 litre straight four, upgrading the suspension and adding 5 lug wheels and 944 style brakes, but retaining the 924's early interior. The result was 1986's 148 bhp 924S. Porsche also decided to re-introduce the 924 to the American market with an initial price tag of under $20,000.


title: Porsche 924

text: In 1988, the 924S' final year of production, power increased to matching that of the previous year's Le Mans spec cars and the base model 944 (itself detuned by for 1988). This was achieved using different pistons which raised the S' compression ratio from 9.7:1 to 10.2:1, the knock-on effect being an increase in the octane rating, up from 91 RON to 95. This made the 924S slightly faster than the base 944 due to its lighter weight and more aerodynamic body. The 1988 model also gained three point safety belts in the rear seats.


title: Porsche 924

text: With unfavourable exchange rates in the late 1980s, Porsche decided to focus its efforts on its more upmarket models, dropping the 924S for 1989 and the base 944 later that same year.


title: Porsche 924

text: The 924 has its own racing series in the UK run by the BRSCC and Porsche Racing Drivers Association. The Porsche 924 Championship was started in 1992 by Jeff May who was championship coordinator until his death on 10 November 2003. Jeff May was also one of the founding members of Porsche Club Great Britain.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang Keun-suk () is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for starring in the Korean television dramas "Beethoven Virus" (2008), "You're Beautiful" (2009), "Mary Stayed Out All Night" (2010), "Love Rain" (2012), "Pretty Man" (2013), "The Royal Gambler" (2016)", and Switch" (2018).


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang started working as a child model at the age of five after he was discovered by a talent agent. At that time, Jang's parents were selling their house and the agent, who was a prospective buyer, saw Jang. Seeing his potential, the agent advised Jang's parents to allow him to try a career in modeling.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In junior high school, Jang went to school in New Zealand, where he attended Nelson College in 2003, to learn English and Japanese.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang made his acting debut in the 1997 HBS (now Channel CGV) sitcom "Selling Happiness". He then continued to work in television as a child actor. Studying in New Zealand at the time, a role in the popular MBC sitcom "Nonstop 4" brought him back to South Korea.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2006, Jang debuted on the big screen in the Japanese horror film "" where he played the role of a deaf boy. He next played the first love of famous gisaeng Hwang Jini (played by Ha Ji-won) in the period drama "Hwang Jini".


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2007, Jang was cast in the rock music-themed film "The Happy Life", directed by Lee Joon-ik. Jang then co-hosted SBS's weekly live music show "Inkigayo" from February 25 to October 7, 2007.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2008, Jang would go on to act in two more music-inspired projects with the film "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do", and the MBC drama "Beethoven Virus" opposite Kim Myung-min, in which he played a trumpet player in an orchestra. He also starred in the KBS drama, "Hong Gil-dong" as the fictional brother of King Gwanghae who vies for Joseon's throne. Afterwards, he starred opposite Moon Mason in the movie "Baby and I".


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang gained more recognition after starring in "You're Beautiful" (2009), playing the leader of fictional K-pop band A.N.Jell, who falls in love with a fellow band member who is a girl pretending to be her twin brother (played by Park Shin-hye). The series gained a cult following, and earned high ratings in Japan.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: The same year, he took on his first villain role in the thriller "The Case of Itaewon Homicide", based on the real-life Itaewon murder case in which a young Korean-American was accused of stabbing a Korean student to death. Jang spoke his lines in English throughout the entire film, and "Beyond Hollywood" praised him as having "performed very well" in the role.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2010, he starred opposite Moon Geun-young in the romantic comedy series "Mary Stayed Out All Night". This was followed by another rom-com "You're My Pet", adapted from the Japanese manga "Kimi wa Petto" in which a younger man willingly becomes the "pet" of a career woman (played by Kim Ha-neul). In 2011, Jang starred in the short film "Budapest Diary", reportedly participated in the writing and location scouting for the film.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang then worked with TV director Yoon Seok-ho on the melodrama series "Love Rain", in which he and costar Im Yoon-ah played dual roles in the 1970s and 2012. The drama garnered much positive overseas interest and was sold to Japan for $10 million, the second highest price for a KBS drama at the time, partly due to Jang's popularity.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang filmed the reality show "Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village" with Cha Seung-won and Yoo Hae-jin, which was supposed to air in January 2015. However, due to a refuted tax evasion controversy in which a fine was paid of () for his agency under-reporting taxes led to him dropping out of the program. He had previously been involved in similar rumors in October 2014 (though the rumor was denied). Jang was eventually found not guilty of tax evasion as his agency had made an unintentional accounting mistake, but made a decision to leave the program and his scenes were edited out. He went on a hiatus in Korea after that, and focused largely on overseas activities.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: That same year, Jang launched his directorial debut with the short film "Camp", participating in the planning and directing stages in collaboration with director Yoon Hong-seung. Filmed in Jeju Island, "Camp" captures events that occur during Jang's attempts to film wild animals in the mountains as a documentary director. It topped the weekly film section of the Oricon Chart.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: He expressed his desire to be recognized as an actor in Korea again, saying that "You may be a Hallyu star, but without a domestic base, it can feel empty." He announced that he will be selecting an "aggressive" range of movies and TV series to work on in 2016.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang made a successful comeback in 2016 with Mnet's music survival show "Produce 101", where 101 trainee girls competed against each other for their debut.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: He acted as the host and mentor of the show, making significant contributions toward introducing the program to viewers and making the program more suspenseful.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang then starred in the historical drama "The Royal Gambler" where he played a gambler who takes on the King. Though it had lower viewership ratings, the series marked a turning point in Jang's career and allowed him to overcome his fixed image as a "pretty boy" and expand his acting roles. The same year, Jang directed the short film "The Great Legacy", which centers on a man who is obsessed with finding a bankbook left by his unconscious father. The film was invited for screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2017, Jang was cast in Kim Ki-duk's film "Human, Space, Time and Human", about a journey to get to the root of being human while testing the limits of human emotions, morality, and ethics.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2018, Jang returned to the small screen with the drama "Switch - Change the World", playing double roles as a prosecutor and a con artist.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang's first single as a singer, "Let Me Cry," was released by Pony Canyon in Japan on April 27, 2011. "Let Me Cry" debuted at number 1 on Japan's Oricon single charts, selling 119,149 copies on its first week of release, making him the first non-Japanese act to have the debut single to debut at number 1 on the charts. This won him Best New Artist in the 26th Japan Gold Disc Awards.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In September 2011, Jang teamed up with Big Brother (known as Team H) and released their first Chinese album, an EP titled "The Lounge H Vol.1" in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and throughout Southeast Asia. The album eventually reached platinum sales. Team H later won Best Selling Album and Best Korean Album at the 2012 IFPI Hong Kong Record Sales Awards.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In March 2012, Team H released their second extended play "Lounge H (The First Impression)" exclusively in Japan. The album contained ten tracks of rock and electronic genre.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In May 2012, Jang released his first full-length Japanese album, titled "Just Crazy". It debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon daily singles chart with 53,000 copies sold, and again topped the weekly singles chart with 88,009 copies sold. Jang became the first male artist to top the Oricon Weekly Chart with a debut album, and the first time in Oricon history for a foreign male artist to claim such a feat in Japan.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: An eight-page advertisement promoting the album was awarded a prize by the Japanese Press Association. Jang then embarked on his second Asia tour to promote the album.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In February 2013, Team H released their third album titled "I Just Wanna Have Fun" in both Japan and China, which consists of 12 electronic tracks. The duo held their first concert, "2013 Team H Party - I Just Wanna Have Fun" in Japan; and embarked on a series of concert throughout China, Thailand, Taiwan and America.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In May 2013, Jang released his second Japanese album, "Nature Boy", which consists of 11 tracks, including the promotional singles "Nature Boy" and "Indian Summer" as well as a self-written track titled "Love Letter". The album debuted at the top of the Oricon Daily Chart, selling 43,000 copies. From 2013 to 2014, Jang embarked on his first Zepp tour which traveled to different cities in Japan for a total of 14 concerts.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2014, Jang project band, Team H, released its third full-length album titled "Driving to the Highway" consisting of fourteen tracks. The duo then embarked on a concert tour in Japan titled "Raining on the dance floor", which traveled to four different cities for a total of eight concerts.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In February 2015, Jang released his third solo album ‘Monochrome’ to celebrate his fifth anniversary in Japan. "Monochrome" placed third on both the ‘Oricon’ album daily and weekly chart. He also launched the 2015 "Jang Keun Suk The Cri Show 3" around Japan. The tour, which began with the Osaka concert on March 14, has completely sold out tickets for the 12 hall concerts in six cities (Osaka, Niigata, Fukuoka, Okayama, Shizuika, Hokkaido) and four arena concerts in two cities (Kobe, Tokyo), for a total of 16 concerts.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In September 2015, Jang held the "Jang Keun Suk Live in Seoul 2015" concert at the Changchun Stadium in Seoul. It was Jang's first solo concert in Korea in three years. On October 24 Jang held a concert in Shanghai which was a comeback concert in China since 2013, followed by 4 concerts in Japan in the end of November.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In August 2016, Jang released a new Japanese single titled "Darling, Darling". Jang then kicked off his Asia tour "It's Show Time", performing in Seoul, Japan and China. He went on to unveil two more singles, "Endless Summer" and "Dakishimetai" the same year.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In August 2017, Jang dropped his 4th full-length album "Voyage" with a total of 14 songs, including three singles released in 2016. The album took second place on the Oricon daily and weekly charts, selling over 21,000 copies the first day.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: On the March 23, 2022, Jang released a teaser video for the title track 'Running Through Time' of his new Japanese album 'Blooming'.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: On August 11, 2022, Jang released the second teaser video for his new title track 'Beautiful', which will be released on August 31.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang has been referred to as the "Prince of Asia" due to his overwhelming popularity in the region, particularly China and Japan. In 2012, Jang became the first Hallyu star to be featured on a Japanese stamp. In 2013, his followers on Chinese networking social site Weibo surpassed 10 million, the greatest number of followers on Weibo for a Korean celebrity.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang started his mandatory military service on July 16, 2018. He served as a social office worker following his diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 2011, which classified him as ineligible for active duty in the military.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: He served at Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters and completed his military service on May 29, 2020.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: On 20 October 2015, Jang was appointed as one of the first domestic university "Sharing Professors" by Hanyang university. He held his first special lectures in December 2015.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2016, Jang was appointed as a public ambassador for the media art exhibition “Van Gogh Inside: Festival of Music and Light".


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: Jang often donates to charitable causes; in 2011 he donated 10.1 million yen from his charity event for its earthquake and tsunami victims to the Japanese Red Cross. In 2012 he donated an unprecedented sum of 1.2 billion won to his school, and in 2013 he donated 100 million won through UNICEF to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan that devastated the Philippines. In 2017, it was revealed that he helped a Mongolian teenager get treatment for ovarian cancer in South Korea by helping to pay for the patient's trip and medical expenses.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: His fanclub also makes donations frequently, such as to The Snail of Love, an organization that supports people with hearing impairments. and to the Namsanwon orphanage. In 2015, Jang volunteered at the said orphanage together with his fans.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2016, Jang stated that he wished to create a charity foundation to take his philanthropic activities a step further.


title: Jang Keun-suk

text: In 2022, Jang donated 30 million to help deaf children. by donating with fans through the Association for the Support of the Hearing Impaired.


title: Talos

text: In Greek mythology, Talos — also spelled Talus (; , "Tálōs") or Talon (; , "Tálōn") — was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's shores three times daily.


title: Talos

text: Talos is usually said to have been made by Hephaestus at the request of Zeus, to protect Europa from people who would want to kidnap her. (According to B.A. Sparkes (1996), "The most detailed treatment in literature is to be found in the "Argonautica" [3rd century BC] ... however, we have detailed images of the episode, 150 years earlier, dated to around 400 BC.")


title: Talos

text: The pseudo-Platonic dialogue "Minos" rationalized the myth, thrice yearly showing at each village in turn the laws of Minos inscribed on brass tablets.


title: Talos

text: Talos had one vein, which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by only one bronze nail. The "Argo", transporting Jason and the Argonauts, approached Crete after obtaining the Golden Fleece. As guardian of the island, Talos kept the "Argo" at bay by hurling great boulders at it. According to (pseudo-)Apollodorus, Talos was slain when Medea the sorceress either drove him mad with drugs, or deceived him into believing that she would make him immortal by removing the nail. In "Argonautica", Medea hypnotized him from the "Argo", driving him mad with the "keres" (female death-spirits) that she raised, so that he dislodged the nail, and "the ichor ran out of him like molten lead", exsanguinating and killing him. Translator P. Green, notes that the "Argonautica"s Talos story is somewhat reminiscent of the story of Achilles' heel.


title: Talos

text: In the Cretan dialect, "talôs" was the equivalent of the Greek "hêlios", the Sun: The lexicon of Hesychius of Alexandria notes simply "Talos is the Sun". In Crete, Zeus was worshipped as "Zeus Tallaios", "Solar Zeus", absorbing the earlier god as an epithet in the familiar sequence.


title: Talos

text: ""Zeus Tallaios"" is discussed in Cook (1964). The god was identified with the "Tallaia", a spur of the Ida range in Crete. On a coin from Phaistos he is winged; in Greek vase-paintings and Etruscan bronze mirrors he is not.


title: Talos

text: The ideas of Talos vary widely, with one consistent detail: in Greek imagery outside Crete, Talos is always being vanquished.


title: Talos

text: in "Argonautica", Talos threw rocks at any approaching ship to protect his island. In the Byzantine encyclopedia called the "Suda" (10th century), it is said that according to the Simonides of Keos when the Sardinians did not wish to release Talos to Minos, he heated himself – by jumping into a fire – and clasped them in his embrace.


title: Talos

text: A.B. Cook (1914) first suggested that the single vein closed by a nail or plug referred to the lost-wax method of casting. Robert Graves — whose interpretation of Greek mythology is controversial among many scholars — suggests that this myth is based on a misinterpretation of an image of Athena demonstrating the lost-wax process of casting steel, which Daedalus would have brought to Sardinia.


title: Talos

text: In the film "Jason and the Argonauts" from 1963, Talos dies in a dramatic way that makes the public wonder if he is a programmed robot or maybe more.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. It lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors that help the echidna to detect its surroundings.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: During the Australian winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation, reducing its metabolism to save energy. As the temperature increases, it emerges to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the otherwise solitary animals meet one another; the male has no further contact with the female or his offspring after mating. A newborn echidna is the size of a grape but grows rapidly on its mother's milk, which is very rich in nutrients. Baby echidnas eventually grow too large and spiky to stay in the pouch and, around seven weeks after hatching, are expelled from the pouch into the mother's burrow. At around six months of age, they leave the burrow and have no more contact with their mothers.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The species is found throughout Australia, where it is the most widespread native mammal, and in coastal and highland regions of eastern New Guinea, where it is known as the "mungwe" in the Daribi and Chimbu languages. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities, such as hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of foreign predatory species and parasites, have reduced its distribution in Australia.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna was first described by George Shaw in 1792. He named the species "Myrmecophaga aculeata", thinking that it might be related to the giant anteater. Since Shaw first described the species, its name has undergone four revisions: from "M. aculeata" to "Ornithorhynchus hystrix", "Echidna hystrix", "Echidna aculeata" and finally, "Tachyglossus aculeatus". The name "Tachyglossus" means "quick tongue", in reference to the speed with which the echidna uses its tongue to catch ants and termites, and "aculeatus" means "spiny" or "equipped with spines".


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna is the only member of its genus, sharing the family Tachyglossidae with the extant species of the genus "Zaglossus" that occur in New Guinea. "Zaglossus" species, which include the western long-beaked, Sir David's long-beaked and eastern long-beaked echidnas, are all significantly larger than "T. aculeatus", and their diets consist mostly of worms and grubs rather than ants and termites. Species of the Tachyglossidae are egg-laying mammals; together with the related family Ornithorhynchidae, they are the only extant monotremes in the world.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The five subspecies of the short-beaked echidna are each found in different geographical locations. The subspecies also differ from one another in their hairiness, spine length and width, and the size of the grooming claws on their hind feet.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The earliest fossils of the short-beaked echidna date back around 15 million years ago to the Miocene epoch, and the oldest specimens were found in caves in South Australia, often with fossils of the long-beaked echidna from the same period. The ancient short-beaked echidnas are considered to be identical to their contemporary descendants except the ancestors are around 10% smaller. This "post-Pleistocene dwarfing" affects many Australian mammals. Part of the last radiation of monotreme mammals, echidnas are believed to have evolutionally diverged from the platypus around 66 million years ago, between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. However, the echidna's pre-Pleistocene heritage has not been traced yet, and the lack of teeth on the fossils found thus far have made it impossible to use dental evidence.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna was commonly called the spiny anteater in older books, though this term has fallen out of fashion since the echidna bears no relation to the true anteaters. It has a variety of names in the indigenous languages of the regions where it is found. The Noongar people from southwestern Western Australia call it the . In Central Australia southwest of Alice Springs, the Pitjantjatjara term is or , from the word for spike of porcupine grass "(Triodia irritans)". The word can also mean 'slowpoke'. In the Wiradjuri language of Central NSW, it is called "."


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: In central Cape York Peninsula, it is called in Pakanh, where is a qualifier meaning 'meat' or 'animal', in Uw Oykangand and in Uw Olkola, where is a qualifier meaning 'meat' or 'animal'. In the highland regions of southwestern New Guinea, it is known as the in the Daribi and Chimbu languages. The short-beaked echidna is called in the Motu language of Papua New Guinea.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Short-beaked echidnas are typically in length, with of snout, and weigh between . However, the Tasmanian subspecies, "T. a. setosus", is smaller than its Australian mainland counterparts. Because the neck is not externally visible, the head and body appear to merge. The earholes are on either side of the head, with no external pinnae. The eyes are small, about in diameter and at the base of the wedge-shaped snout. The nostrils and the mouth are at the distal end of the snout; the mouth cannot open wider than . The body of the short-beaked echidna is, with the exception of the underside, face and legs, covered with cream-coloured spines. The spines, which may be up to long, are modified hairs, mostly made of keratin. Insulation is provided by fur between the spines, which ranges in colour from honey to a dark reddish-brown and even black; the underside and short tail are also covered in fur.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The echidna's fur may be infested with what is said to be one of the world's largest fleas, "Bradiopsylla echidnae", which is about long.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The limbs of the short-beaked echidna are adapted for rapid digging; they are short and have strong claws. Their strong and stout limbs allow it to tear apart large logs and move paving stones, and one has been recorded moving a 13.5-kg (30-lb) stone; a scientist also reported that a captive echidna moved a refrigerator around the room in his home. The power of the limbs is based on strong musculature, particularly around the shoulder and torso areas. The mechanical advantage of its arm is greater than that of humans, as its biceps connects the shoulder to the forearm at a point further down than for humans, and the chunky humerus allows more muscle to form.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The claws on the hind feet are elongated and curved backward to enable cleaning and grooming between the spines. Like the platypus, the echidna has a low body temperature—between 30 and 32 °C (86 and 90 °F)—but, unlike the platypus, which shows no evidence of torpor or hibernation, the body temperature of the echidna may fall as low as 5 °C (41 °F). The echidna does not pant or sweat and normally seeks shelter in hot conditions. Despite their inability to sweat, echidnas still lose water as they exhale. The snout is believed to be crucial in restricting this loss to sustainable levels, through a bony labyrinth that has a refrigerator effect and helps to condense water vapour in the breath. The echidna does not have highly concentrated urine, and around half of the estimated daily water loss of occurs in this manner, while most of the rest is through the skin and respiratory system. Most of this is replenished by its substantial eating of termites—one laboratory study reported ingestion of around a day, most of which was water. This can be supplemented by drinking water, if available, or licking morning dew from flora.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: In the Australian autumn and winter, the echidna enters periods of torpor or deep hibernation. Because of its low body temperature, it becomes sluggish in very hot and very cold weather.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Like all monotremes, it has one orifice, the cloaca, for the passage of faeces, urine and reproductive products. The male has internal testes, no external scrotum and a highly unusual penis with four knobs on the tip, which is nearly a quarter of his body length when erect. The gestating female develops a pouch on her underside, where she raises her young.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The musculature of the short-beaked echidna has a number of unusual aspects. The panniculus carnosus, an enormous muscle just beneath the skin, covers the entire body. By contraction of various parts of the panniculus carnosus, the short-beaked echidna can change shape, the most characteristic shape change being achieved by rolling itself into a ball when threatened, so protecting its belly and presenting a defensive array of sharp spines. It has one of the shortest spinal cords of any mammal, extending only as far as the thorax. Whereas the human spinal cord ends at the first or second lumbar vertebra, for the echidna it occurs at the seventh thoracic vertebra. The shorter spinal cord is thought to allow flexibility to enable wrapping into a ball.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The musculature of the face, jaw and tongue is specialised for feeding. The tongue is the animal's sole means of catching prey, and can protrude up to outside the snout. The snout's shape, resembling a double wedge, gives it a significant mechanical advantage in generating a large moment, so makes it efficient for digging to reach prey or to build a shelter. The tongue is sticky because of the presence of glycoprotein-rich mucus, which both lubricates movement in and out of the snout and helps to catch ants and termites, which adhere to it. The tongue is protruded by contracting circular muscles that change the shape of the tongue and force it forwards and contracting two genioglossal muscles attached to the caudal end of the tongue and to the mandible. The protruded tongue is stiffened by a rapid flow of blood, which allows it to penetrate wood and soil. Retraction requires the contraction of two internal longitudinal muscles, known as the sternoglossi. When the tongue is retracted, the prey is caught on backward-facing keratinous "teeth", located along the roof of the buccal cavity, allowing the animal both to capture and grind food. The tongue moves with great speed, and has been measured to move in and out of the snout 100 times a minute. This is partly achieved through the elasticity of the tongue and the conversion of elastic potential energy into kinetic energy. The tongue is very flexible, particularly at the end, allowing it to bend in U-turns and catch insects attempting to flee in their labyrinthine nests or mounds. The tongue also has an ability to avoid picking up splinters while foraging in logs; the factors behind this ability are unknown. It can eat quickly; a specimen of around can ingest of termites in 10 minutes.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The echidna's stomach is quite different from other mammals. It is devoid of secretory glands and has a cornified stratified epithelium, which resembles horny skin. Unlike other mammals, which typically have highly acidic stomachs, the echidna has low levels of acidity, almost neutral, with pH in the 6.2–7.4 range. The stomach is elastic, and gastric peristalsis grinds soil particulates and shredded insects together. Digestion occurs in the small intestine, which is around in length. The insect exoskeletons and soil are not digested, being ejected in the waste.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Numerous physiological adaptations aid the lifestyle of the short-beaked echidna. Because the animal burrows, it must tolerate very high levels of carbon dioxide in inspired air, and will voluntarily remain in situations where carbon dioxide concentrations are high. It can dig up to a metre into the ground to retrieve ants or evade predators, and can survive with low oxygen when the area is engulfed by bushfires. The echidna can also dive underwater, which can help it to survive sudden floods. During these situations, the heart rate drops to around 12 beats per minute, around one-fifth of the rate at rest. This process is believed to save oxygen for the heart and brain, which are the most sensitive organs to such a shortage; laboratory testing has revealed the echidna's cardiovascular system is similar to that of the seal. Following the devastation of a bushfire, echidnas can compensate for the lack of food by reducing their daytime body temperature and activity through use of torpor, for a period of up to three weeks.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The echidna's optical system is an uncommon hybrid of both mammalian and reptilian characteristics. The cartilaginous layer beneath the sclera of the eyeball is similar to that of reptiles and avians. The small corneal surface is keratinised and hardened, possibly to protect it from chemicals secreted by prey insects or self-impalement when it rolls itself up, which has been observed. The echidna has the flattest lens of any animal, giving it the longest focal length. This similarity to primates and humans allows it to see distant objects clearly. Unlike placental mammals, including humans, the echidna does not have a ciliary muscle to distort the geometry of the lens and thereby change the focal length and allow objects at different distances to be viewed clearly; the whole eye is believed to distort, so the distance between the lens and retina instead changes to allow focusing. The visual ability of an echidna is not great, and it is not known whether it can perceive colour; however, it can distinguish between black and white, and horizontal and vertical stripes. Eyesight is not a crucial factor in the animal's ability to survive, as blind echidnas are able to live healthily.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Its ears are sensitive to low-frequency sound, which may be ideal for detecting sounds emitted by termites and ants underground. The pinnae are obscured and covered by hair, so predators cannot grab them in an attack, and prey or foreign material cannot enter, although ticks are known to reside there. The macula of the ear is very large compared to other animals, and is used as a gravity sensor to orient the echidna. The large size may be important for burrowing downwards.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The leathery snout is keratinised and covered in mechano- and thermoreceptors, which provide information about the surrounding environment. These nerves protrude through microscopic holes at the end of the snout, which also has mucus glands on the end that act as electroreceptors. Echidnas can detect electric fields of 1.8 mV/cm—1000 times more sensitive than humans—and dig up buried batteries. A series of push rods protrude from the snout. These are columns of flattened, spinous cells, with roughly an average diameter of 50 micrometres and a length of 300 micrometres. The number of push rods per square millimetre of skin is estimated to be 30 to 40. Longitudinal waves are believed to be picked up and transmitted through the rods, acting as mechanical sensors, to allow prey detection.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: A well-developed olfactory system may be used to detect mates and prey. A highly sensitive optic nerve has been shown to have visual discrimination and spatial memory comparable to those of a rat. The brain and central nervous system have been extensively studied for evolutionary comparison with placental mammals, particularly with its fellow monotreme, the platypus. The average brain volume is 25 ml, similar to a cat of approximately the same size; while the platypus has a largely smooth brain, the echidna has a heavily folded and fissured, gyrencephalic brain similar to humans, which is seen as a sign of a highly neurologically advanced animal. The cerebral cortex is thinner, and the brain cells are larger and more densely packed and organised in the echidna than the platypus, suggesting evolutionary divergence must have occurred long ago. Almost half of the sensory area in the brain is devoted to the snout and tongue, and the part devoted to smell is relatively large compared to other animals.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna has the largest prefrontal cortex relative to body size of any mammal, taking up 50% of the volume in comparison to 29% for humans. This part of the brain in humans is thought to be used for planning and analytical behaviour, leading to debate as to whether the echidna has reasoning and strategising ability. Experiments in a simple maze and with a test on opening a trap door to access food, and the echidna's ability to remember what it has learnt for over a month, has led scientists to conclude its learning ability is similar to that of a cat or a rat.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The echidna shows rapid eye movement during sleep, usually around its thermoneutral temperature of 25 °C, and this effect is suppressed at other temperatures. Its brain has been shown to contain a claustrum similar to that of placental mammals, linking this structure to their common ancestor.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: No systematic study of the ecology of the short-beaked echidna has been published, but studies of several aspects of their ecological behaviour have been conducted. They live alone, and, apart from the burrow created for rearing young, they have no fixed shelter or nest site. They do not have a home territory they defend against other echidnas, but range over a wide area. The range area has been observed to be between 21 and 93 ha, although one study in Kangaroo Island found the animals there covered an area between 9 and 192 ha. Overall, the mean range areas across the various regions of Australia were 40–60 ha. There was no correlation between sex and range area, but a weak one with size. Echidnas can share home ranges without incident, and sometimes share shelter sites if not enough are available for each animal to have one individually.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Short-beaked echidnas are typically active in the daytime, though they are ill-equipped to deal with heat because they have no sweat glands and do not pant. Therefore, in warm weather, they change their patterns of activity, becoming crepuscular or nocturnal. Body temperatures above 34 °C (93 °F) are believed to be fatal, and in addition to avoiding heat, the animal adjusts its circulation to maintain a sustainable temperature by moving blood to and from the skin to increase or lower heat loss. In areas where water is present, they can also swim to keep their body temperatures low. The "thermoneutral zone" for the environment is around 25 °C (77 °F), at which point the metabolism needed to maintain body temperature is minimized. The echidna is endothermic, and can maintain body temperatures of around 32 °C. It can also reduce its metabolism and heart rate and body temperature. In addition to brief and light bouts of torpor throughout the year, the echidna enters periods during the Australian winter when it hibernates, both in cold regions and in regions with more temperate climates. During hibernation, the body temperature drops to as low as 4 °C (39 °F). The heart rate falls to four to seven beats per minute—down from 50 to 68 at rest—and the echidna can breathe as infrequently as once every three minutes, 80 to 90% slower than when it is active. Metabolism can drop to one-eighth of the normal rate. Echidnas begin to prepare for hibernation between February and April, when they reduce their consumption and enter brief periods of torpor. Males begin hibernating first, while females that have reproduced start later. During periods of hibernation, the animals average 13 separate bouts of torpor, which are broken up by periods of arousal lasting 1.2 days on average. These interruptions tend to coincide with warmer periods. Males end their hibernation period in mid-June, while reproductive females return to full activity in July and August; nonreproductive females and immature echidnas may not end hibernation until two months later. During euthermia, the body temperature can vary by 4 °C per day. The metabolic rate is around 30% of that of placental mammals, making it the lowest energy-consuming mammal. This figure is similar to that of other animals that eat ants and termites; burrowing animals also tend to have low metabolism generally.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Echidnas hibernate even though it is seemingly unnecessary for survival; they begin their hibernation period while the weather is still warm, and food is generally always plentiful. One explanation is that echidnas maximize their foraging productivity by exercising caution with their energy reserves. Another hypothesis is that they are descended from ectothermic ancestors, but have taken to periodic endothermy for reproductive reasons, so that the young can develop more quickly. Supporters of this theory argue that males hibernate earlier than females because they finish their contribution to reproduction first, and they awake earlier to undergo spermatogenesis in preparation for mating, while females and young lag in their annual cycle. During the hibernation period, the animals stay in entirely covered shelter.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Short-beaked echidnas can live anywhere with a good supply of food, and regularly feast on ants and termites. They are believed to locate food by smell, using sensors in the tips of their snouts, by shuffling around seemingly arbitrarily, and using their snout in a probing manner. A study of echidnas in New England (New South Wales) has shown that they tend to dig up scarab beetle larvae in spring when the prey are active, but eschew this prey when it is inactive, leading to the conjecture that echidnas detect prey using hearing. Vision is not believed to be significant in hunting, as blind animals have been observed to survive in the wild.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Echidnas use their strong claws to pull apart nests and rotting logs to gain access to their prey. They avoid ants and termites that secrete repulsive liquids, and have a preference for the eggs, pupae and winged phases of the insects. Echidnas hunt most vigorously towards the end of the southern winter and early in spring, when their fat reserves have been depleted after hibernation and nursing. At this time, ants have high body fat, and the echidna targets their mounds. The animal also hunts beetles and earthworms, providing they are small enough to fit in a 5-mm gap. The proportion of ants and termites in their diets depends on the availability of prey, and termites make up a larger part in drier areas where they are more plentiful. However, termites are preferred, if available, as their bodies contain a smaller proportion of indigestible exoskeleton. Termites from the Rhinotermitidae family are avoided due to their chemical defences. Scarab beetle larvae are also a large part of the diet when and where available. In the New England study, 37% of the food intake consisted of beetle larvae, although the echidna had to squash the prey in its snout as it ingested it, due to size.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Echidnas are powerful diggers, using their clawed front paws to dig out prey and create burrows for shelter. They may rapidly dig themselves into the ground if they cannot find cover when in danger. They bend their belly together to shield the soft, unprotected part, and can also urinate, giving off a pungent liquid, in an attempt to deter attackers. Males also have single small spurs on each rear leg, believed to be a defensive weapon that has since been lost through evolution. Echidnas typically try to avoid confrontation with predators. Instead, they use the colour of their spines, which is similar to the vegetation of the dry Australian environment, to avoid detection. They have good hearing and tend to become stationary if sound is detected.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: It is likely that echidnas are keystone species in the ecosystem health in Australia, due to their contribution through bioturbation, the reworking of soils through their digging activity. This is based on the estimation that a single echidna will move up to 204 m of soil a year, that it is the most widespread of any terrestrial Australian species, is relatively common, and that other bioturbators have been heavily impacted by human settlement.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: In Australia, they are most common in forested areas with abundant, termite-filled, fallen logs. In agricultural areas, they are most likely to be found in uncleared scrub; they may be found in grassland, arid areas, and in the outer suburbs of the capital cities. Little is known about their distribution in New Guinea. They have been found in southern New Guinea between Merauke in the west and the Kelp Welsh River, east of Port Moresby, in the east, where they may be found in open woodland.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Echidnas have the ability to swim, and have been seen cooling off near dams during high temperatures. They have also been seen crossing streams and swimming for brief periods in seas off Kangaroo Island. They swim with only the snout above water, using it as a snorkel.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The solitary short-beaked echidna looks for a mate between May and September; the precise timing of the mating season varies with geographic location. In the months before the mating season, the size of the male's testes increases by a factor of three or more before spermatogenesis occurs. Both males and females give off a strong, musky odour during the mating season, by turning their cloacas inside out and wiping them on the ground, secreting a glossy liquid believed to be an aphrodisiac. During courtship—observed for the first time in 1989—males locate and pursue females. Trains of up to 10 males, often with the youngest and smallest male at the end of the queue, may follow a single female in a courtship ritual that may last for up to four weeks; the duration of the courtship period varies with location. During this time, they forage for food together, and the train often changes composition, as some males leave and other join the pursuit. In cooler parts of their range, such as Tasmania, females may mate within a few hours of arousal from hibernation.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Before mating, the male smells the female, paying particular attention to the cloaca. This process can take a few hours, and the female can reject the suitor by rolling herself into a ball. After prodding and sniffing her back, the male is often observed to roll the female onto her side and then assume a similar position himself so the two animals are abdomen to abdomen, having dug a small crater in which to lie. They can lie with heads facing one another, or head to rear. If more than one male is in the vicinity, fighting over the female may occur. Each side of the bilaterally symmetrical, rosette-like, four-headed penis (similar to that of reptiles and in length) is used alternately, with the other half being shut down between ejaculations. Sperm bundles of around 100 each appear to confer increased sperm motility, which may provide the potential for sperm competition between males. This process takes between a half and three hours. Each mating results in the production of a single egg, and females are known to mate only once during the breeding season; each mating is successful.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Fertilisation occurs in the oviduct. Gestation takes between 21 and 28 days after copulation, during which time the female constructs a nursery burrow. Following the gestation period, a single, rubbery-skinned egg between in diameter and in weight is laid from her cloaca directly into a small, backward-facing pouch that has developed on her abdomen. The egg is ovoid, leathery, soft, and cream-coloured. Between laying and hatching, some females continue to forage for food, while others dig burrows and rest there until hatching. Ten days after it is laid, the egg hatches within the pouch. The embryo develops an egg tooth during incubation, which it uses to tear open the egg; the tooth disappears soon after hatching.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Hatchlings are about long and weigh between . After hatching, young echidnas are known as "puggles". Although newborns are still semitranslucent and still surrounded by the remains of the egg yolk, and the eyes are still barely developed, they already have well-defined front limbs and digits that allow them to climb on their mothers' bodies. Hatchlings attach themselves to their mothers' milk areolae, specialised patches on the skin that secrete milk—monotremes lack nipples—through about 100–150 pores. The puggles were thought to have imbibed the milk by licking the mother's skin, but they are now thought to feed by sucking the areolae.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: They have been observed ingesting large amounts during each feeding period, and mothers may leave them unattended in the burrow for between five and ten days to find food. Studies of captives have shown they can ingest milk once every two or three days and then increase their mass by 20% in one milk-drinking session lasting between one and two hours. Around 40% of the milk weight is converted into body mass, and as such, a high proportion of milk is converted into growth; a correlation with the growth of the puggle and its mother's size has been observed. By the time the puggle is around , it is left in the burrow while the mother forages for food, and it reaches around after around two months. Juveniles are eventually ejected from the pouch at around two to three months of age, because of the continuing growth in the length of their spines. During this period, the young are left in covered burrows while the mothers forage, and the young are often preyed upon. Suckling gradually decreases until juveniles are weaned at about six months of age. The duration of lactation is about 200 days, and the young leave the burrow after 180 to 205 days, usually in January or February, at which time they weigh around . There is no contact between the mother and young after this point.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The composition of the milk secreted by the mother changes over time. At the moment of birth, the solution is dilute and contains 1.25% fat, 7.85% protein, and 2.85% carbohydrates and minerals. Mature milk has much more concentrated nutrients, with 31.0, 12.4 and 2.8% of the aforementioned nutrients, respectively. Near weaning, the protein level continues to increase; this may be due to the need for keratin synthesis for hair and spines, to provide defences against the cold weather and predators.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The principal carbohydrate components of the milk are fucosyllactose and saialyllactose; it has a high iron content, which gives it a pink colour. The high iron content and low levels of free lactose differ from eutherian mammals. Lactose production is believed to proceed along the same lines as in the platypus.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The age of sexual maturity is uncertain, but may be four to five years. A 12-year field study found the short-beaked echidna reaches sexual maturity between five and 12 years of age, and the frequency of reproduction varies from once every two years to once every six years. In the wild, the short-beaked echidna has an average lifespan of 10 years, though they can live as long as 40. The longest-lived specimen reached 49 years of age in a zoo in Philadelphia. In contrast to other mammals, echidna rates of reproduction and metabolism are lower, and they live longer, as though in slow motion, something caused, at least in part, by their low body temperature, which rarely exceeds 33 °C, even when they are not hibernating.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Like its fellow monotreme the platypus, the short-beaked echidna has a system of multiple sex chromosomes, in which males have four Y chromosomes and five X chromosomes. Males appear to be XYXYXYXYX (figure), while females are XXXXXXXXXX. Weak identity between chromosomes results in meiotic pairing that yields only two possible genotypes of sperm, XXXXX or YYYY, thus preserving this complex system.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna is common throughout most of temperate Australia and lowland New Guinea, and is not listed as endangered. In Australia, it remains widespread across a wide range of conditions, including urban outskirts, coastal forests and dry inland areas, and is especially widespread in Tasmania and on Kangaroo Island.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The most common threats to the animal in Australia are motor vehicles and habitat destruction, which have led to localized extinctions. In Australia, the number of short-beaked echidnas has been less affected by land clearance than have some other species, since they do not require a specialized habitat beyond a good supply of ants and termites. As a result, they can survive in cleared land if the cut-down wood is left in the area, as the logs can be used as shelters and sources of insects. However, areas where the land has been completely cleared for single crops that can be mechanically harvested, such as wheat fields, have seen extinctions. Over a decade-long period, around one-third of echidna deaths reported to wildlife authorities in Victoria were due to motor vehicles, and the majority of wounded animals handed in were traffic accident victims. Studies have shown they often choose to traverse drainage culverts under roads, so this is seen as a viable means of reducing deaths on busy roads in rural areas or national parks where the animals are more common.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Despite their spines, they are preyed on by birds of prey, the Tasmanian devil, dingoes, snakes, lizards, goannas, cats, and foxes, although almost all victims are young. Goannas are known for their digging abilities and strong sense of smell, and are believed to have been the main predators of the echidna before the introduction of eutherian mammals. Dingoes are known to kill echidnas by rolling them over onto their backs and attacking their underbellies. A tracking study of a small number of echidnas on Kangaroo Island concluded that goannas and cats were the main predators, although foxes—absent in Kangaroo Island—would be expected to be a major threat.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: They were eaten by indigenous Australians and the early European settlers of Australia. Hunting and eating of the echidna in New Guinea has increased over time and caused a decline in the population and distribution areas; it is now believed to have disappeared from highland areas. The killing of echidnas was a taboo in traditional culture, but since the tribespeople have become increasingly Westernised, hunting has increased, and the animals have been more easily tracked down due to the use of dogs.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Infection with the introduced parasitic tapeworm "Spirometra erinaceieuropaei" is considered fatal for the echidna. This waterborne infection is contracted through sharing drinking areas with infected dogs, foxes, cats, and dingos, which do not die from the parasite. The infection is seen as being more dangerous in drier areas, where more animals are sharing fewer bodies of water, increasing the chance of transmission. The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland runs an Australia-wide survey, called Echidna Watch, to monitor the species. Echidnas are also known to be affected by other tapeworms, protozoans and herpes-like viral infections, but little is known of how the infections affect the health of the animals or the populations.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Although it is considered easy to keep echidnas healthy in captivity, breeding is difficult, partly due to the relatively infrequent cycle. In 2009, Perth Zoo managed to breed some captive short-beaked echidnas, and in 2015 the first zoo-born echidnas were successfully bred there. Until 2006, only five zoos have managed to breed short-beaked echidnas, but no captive-bred young have survived to maturity. Of these five institutions, only one in Australia—Sydney's Taronga Zoo—managed to breed echidnas, in 1977. The other four cases occurred in the Northern Hemisphere, two in the United States and the others in western Europe. In these cases, breeding occurred six months out of phase compared to Australia, after the animals had adapted to Northern Hemisphere seasons. The failure of captive breeding programs has conservation implications for the endangered species of echidna from the genus "Zaglossus", and to a lesser extent for the short-beaked echidna.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: Short-beaked echidnas feature in the animistic culture of indigenous Australians, including their visual arts and stories. The species was a totem for some groups, including the Noongar people from Western Australia. Many groups have myths about the animal; one myth explains it was created when a group of hungry young men went hunting at night and stumbled across a wombat. They threw spears at the wombat, but lost sight of it in the darkness. The wombat adapted the spears for its own defence and turned into an echidna.


title: Short-beaked echidna

text: The short-beaked echidna is an iconic animal in contemporary Australia, notably appearing on the five-cent coin (the smallest denomination), and on a $200 commemorative coin released in 1992. The anthropomorphic echidna "Millie" was a mascot for the 2000 Summer Olympics.


title: Japan Studio

text: Japan Studio was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment), it was best known for the "Ape Escape", "LocoRoco", "Patapon", "Gravity Rush" and "Knack" series, the Team Ico games, "Bloodborne", "The Legend of Dragoon", and "Astro's Playroom". In April 2021, Japan Studio was reorganized and merged with Team Asobi and other SIE studios.


title: Japan Studio

text: Japan Studio is based in Tokyo and was founded on 16 November 1993. It was formed shortly after the formation of the internal PlayStation division within Sony that included members from the Sony Corporation and the Sony Music Entertainment groups, with Japan Studio developing some of the initial games to be released on the first PlayStation console. According to Shuhei Yoshida, at the onset, the studio was run similar to Sony's music business, with lead external producers seeking out creative talent and help nurture them to help develop new games. Examples of these works included "PaRappa the Rapper" by Masaya Matsuura, and "Everybody's Golf" by Masashi Muramori.


title: Japan Studio

text: Yoshida oversaw Japan Studio from 1996 through 2000. Yoshida started creating teams within Japan Studio and hired for them. New games such as "Ape Escape" and "The Legend of Dragoon" came out from Yoshida's approach, as well as dedicated teams such as Team Ico for "Ico", and Polyphony Digital for "Gran Turismo" (which eventually was spun out as its own first-party developer for Sony). Alongside these first-party titles, the latter years of the original PlayStation saw strong third-party support, with games like "Final Fantasy VII" and "Metal Gear Solid". According to Yoshida, this led Sony into some compliancy on relying on third-party games to support further consoles, and oversight and support for first-party games was less of a priority. Though Japan Studio's output during the PlayStation 2 years were strong, it struggled to release successful games during the PlayStation 3 era. Yoshida attributed this to the general game development practice in Japan which he described as a "grassroots and bottom up", without a clear vision of what a final game would look like, with exceptions being for people like Kazunori Yamauchi or Fumito Ueda who possessed a specific drive towards a product. In contrast to Western video game development, Yoshida said Japan Studio's methods tended to allow games to wander. Allen Becker, who led Japan Studio starting in 2011, said that their compliancy during the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 era caused the studio to fall behind on updated tools and methodologies for game development.


title: Japan Studio

text: Yoshida took over full control of Japan Studio in 2008, at the same time that the PlayStation 3 was out and Sony was preparing to launch the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Around that time, mobile gaming and casual gaming started to become a major factor in the Asian video game market and drove competition from the consoles. Sony found that there was a lack of triple-A third-party support for these new products, and they had to turn to rely on their internal studios for game support. To get Japan Studio back on track, Sony brought in Becker, who had been working at Santa Monica Studio, to lead Japan Studio. Becker made several tough calls of the 40-some games that were in development at the time of his arrival to terminate development of those unlikely to be successful and implemented similar development processes as Sony's Western studios to get the studio back on track. Though Becker's approach, the studio was able to release shorter but cohesive titles that still reflected a Japanese approach to video games, such as "Puppeteer", "Rain" and "Knack". Also during this time, emphasis was place on "The Last Guardian", the highly-anticipated third title from Ueda which had been in development for over six years, eventually released in 2016.


title: Japan Studio

text: Across late 2020 and early 2021, several notable Japan Studio employees announced that they were departing the company. According to multiple sources speaking with "Video Games Chronicle" Sony had not renewed most of the contracts for the studio outside of those on the Team Asobi because the studio was not considered profitable enough to continue with original game development. In a statement, Sony stated that, as of 1 April 2021, Japan Studio would be re-centered around Team Asobi to build on the popularity of "Astro's Playroom". Before and shortly after 1 April 2021, several additional Japan Studio staff announced their departure from the studio. Team Asobi was moved into PlayStation Studios in June 2021.


title: Japan Studio

text: Japan Studio was formed by several internal development teams, with all of them being disbanded, reorganised, or spun off into a separate studio.


title: Japan Studio

text: "Team Asobi" is a team founded in 2012 by Nicolas Doucet, who previously worked for London Studio and Saffire. In April 2021, they were formally spun off into a separate studio under SIE Worldwide Studios.


title: Japan Studio

text: "Sugar & Rockets", previously known as "Exact", worked on games like "Ghost in the Shell", "Popolocrois", "Jumping Flash!", "Robbit Mon Dieu", and "".


title: Japan Studio

text: Team Ico developed "Ico" and "Shadow of the Colossus". They were disbanded following lead game designer Fumito Ueda leaving the company and establishing genDESIGN.


title: Japan Studio

text: "Project Siren", also known as "Team Gravity", was a team formed in 1999 by former members of Team Silent, the creators of "Silent Hill". The team was led by game designer and director Keiichiro Toyama, who, alongside designers Kazunobu Sato and Junya Okura, left Japan Studio in late 2020 to form Bokeh Game Studio.


title: Songs About Jane

text: Songs About Jane is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Maroon 5. The album was released on June 25, 2002, by Octone and J Records. It became a sleeper hit with the help of five singles that attained chart success, including "Harder to Breathe", "This Love", and "She Will Be Loved".


title: Songs About Jane

text: The album was re-released on October 14, 2003, becoming a huge international commercial success, while garnering a generally positive critical reception. It topped the album charts in Australia, France, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and reached the top-ten in 17 other countries. At the end of 2004, the album reached the top-ten of the US "Billboard" 200 chart. It had sold nearly 2.7 million copies by the end of 2004, and over 5.1 million copies in the U.S. by August 2015. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2007.


title: Songs About Jane

text: On June 5, 2012, the band released the album's 10th anniversary edition, to coincide with their fourth studio album "Overexposed". This is their only album to feature the original drummer Ryan Dusick.


title: Songs About Jane

text: All but one member of the band had been members of a previous Los Angeles band called Kara's Flowers which released an album called "The Fourth World" in mid-1997 on Reprise Records with little success. Kara's Flowers left Reprise Records in 1999, and with the addition of guitarist James Valentine became Maroon 5.


title: Songs About Jane

text: The band played showcase gigs in New York City and Los Angeles. Singer and guitarist Adam Levine credited the interim with influencing the band's new style in an interview with VH1. "During the time between our record deals, I spent a lot of time in New York where I was exposed to an urban and hip-hop culture in a way that had never happened to me in L.A. It turned me on to an entirely new genre of music which has had a profound impact on my song writing."


title: Songs About Jane

text: The band signed with Octone Records, a New York independent label with distribution through BMG and an artist development deal with Clive Davis' J Records. The band recorded "Songs About Jane" at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles with producer Matt Wallace, who had also produced with Train, Faith No More, and O.A.R. Production was handled primarily by Wallace, with Mark Endert mixing with additional production for "This Love".


title: Songs About Jane

text: Eight of the songs on the album were either written or co-written by Levine and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, while the former was living in New York. Many of the lyrics for the album are inspired by Levine's relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Herman. Levine notes, "I saw this girl at a gas station, and I fell in love with her," he says. "I wrote a song about her and played it in the store where she worked. It was an awful song. But she found out about this relatively psychotic boy. She was my muse for years. . . . And then it kind of faded away." Levine also confirmed this, saying there was at least one line in every song about her.


title: Songs About Jane

text: The album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. After the release of the album in mid-2002, the band toured with Michelle Branch and Nikka Costa. They also toured with Matchbox Twenty and Sugar Ray during some of their shows in 2003. In March 2004, the album had reached the top 20 of the "Billboard" 200, and had reached the top 10 by the end of the year. "Songs About Jane" also eventually topped the UK and Australian album charts. "Songs About Jane" was the seventh best-selling album of 2004 in the U.S., with about 2.7 million copies sold. In Australia, the album did not chart on the End of Year Charts until 2004, where it reached No. 6. After constant touring, three years after the release of "Songs About Jane," it received a Grammy for Best New Artist. The album reached 5.1 million sales in the United States in August 2015.


title: Songs About Jane

text: The album was generally well received by music critics. Christian Hoard of "Rolling Stone" praised the album for its "vaguely funky white-soul stylings, tunefulness and vocals" and mentioned "Must Get Out" and "This Love" as the album's standout tracks. AllMusic's MacKenzie Wilson called the album an "impressive rebirth" from Kara's Flowers' "indie outfit", stating: ""Songs About Jane" is love-drunk on what makes Maroon 5 tick as a band ... they've got grit and a sexy strut, personally and musically." Caroline Sullivan of "The Guardian" commented that the album "isn't as useless as one would hope ... "Songs About Jane" is pitched at the Busted market, for which their guitar-mashing and surging harmonies eminently qualify them." In "The Village Voice", Mikael Wood wrote that while Adam Levine's "sexual politics occasionally lapse into casual senior-year cruelty", he "more often than not complicates the situation encouragingly." "PopMatters"s Jason Thompson, however, panned the album, criticizing Levine's likeness to Jay Kay of Jamiroquai. Calling the album "limp at best", he further added: "There's simply nothing here to get excited about. And what about that soul that these guys are boasting about, anyway?".


title: Songs About Jane

text: According to "Billboard", as of 2022, "Songs About Jane" is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Songs About Jane

text: The opening track and first single, "Harder to Breathe", released a month after the album released, slowly started to pick up airplay which helped spur sales of the album. "Harder to Breathe" also made the top 20 of the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles charts and the singles charts in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In an interview with MTV News in August 2002, Maroon 5 vocalist Adam Levine, when asked behind the development of "Harder to Breathe", admitted that the song describes the band's frustration with their label, Octone Records, during the making of their debut album. The band thought they had enough material for a release, but when the label told them to keep writing, Levine wrote this song in frustration at the pressure. "That song comes sheerly [sic] from wanting to throw something. It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs. It was the last crack. I was just pissed. I wanted to make a record and the label was applying a lot of pressure, but I'm glad they did."


title: Songs About Jane

text: The second track, "This Love", was also the second single from the album. It won the band their first Grammy Award, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2006 Grammy Awards. In March 2004, two years after being released, the song reached the top 10 of the Australian and United States singles charts. The single's accompanying music video proved to be popular as well, but had to be edited from its original version to avoid being banned from MTV. In an interview, Levine revealed that the song was written in the "most emotionally trying time" in his life. He also added, "I was in a relationship that was ending, but I was really excited on the other end because the band was about to go make the record and I was ecstatic to go in the studio. She was literally leaving town within days of me writing the lyrics to 'This Love', so I was in prime emotional condition to write a song with that kind of conflict."


title: Songs About Jane

text: "She Will Be Loved", the fourth track and third single from the album, also reached similar chart success as the band's previous hits, hitting No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 charts, and topping the Australian and Belgian charts and peaking at No. 5 in the United States, the same chart position of previous single and breakthrough hit, "This Love". The song prompted many alternative radio outlets to remove Maroon 5 from their playlists, on the ground that the band's newer songs were too light for alt-rock audiences. These stations continued to play "Harder to Breathe" and "This Love", but Maroon 5's newer hits were played only on pop and adult contemporary stations. As of June 2014, the song has sold more than 3.5 million copies in the United States.


title: Songs About Jane

text: The fifth track, "Tangled", was another song about a broken relationship. But instead of from the point of view of the abused, it's from the abuser. Levine was confessing about certain things that he's done in his love life that he may have regretted. Writers from Billboard rated the song low on their ranking of the album, saying "While 'Tangled' follows a similar formula to several Jane highlights, the energy here falls short, and could use some of the album's more poppier inflections... The intention is there, but the execution falls flat." Though it wasn't all negative, with some positive views: "Levine does hit some soaring notes as he sings lyrics of regret; so don’t be surprised if you catch yourself mouthing the words."


title: Songs About Jane

text: "Must Get Out" was the fifth and final single released from the album. Like many songs on the album, it was written by band members Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, while production and mixing was done by Matt Wallace. The band's guitarist James Valentine explained that the downtempo song emulates Andy Summers and The Police. Lyrically, "Must Get Out" expresses a tough period of a relationship, with a dreamy lyrical story, where the band "offers up clever imagery with 'I've been the needle and thread/Weaving figures eights and circles 'round your head' and frank confessions to today's problems, 'The city's made us crazy and we must get out'." The single failed to chart in the US, but made the Top 30 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.


title: Songs About Jane

text: "Sunday Morning" was released as the fourth single. It did not reach the chart success of the previous singles, but nevertheless garnered positive reviews from critics. Although the song only peaked at number 31 in the US, it topped the charts in Belgium and reached the top forty in Australia, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, and the UK. It was reported that this song was the one that got the band signed to Octone Records, with its executive Ben Berkman calling it "genius". Unlike many other songs on the album, the relationship Levine describes isn’t full of the pain that’s echoed through the rest of the album. Instead, it captures the sweet and tender moments that can outweigh the bad, like waking up next to the one you love on a cold, rainy day.


title: Songs About Jane

text: Two songs that did not make the cut for the album did release eventually, with "Woman" appearing on the "Spider-Man 2" soundtrack, and "Wasted Years", appearing on the live album "Live – Friday the 13th" and the deluxe edition of "Overexposed". A demo version of "Woman" appeared from the album's 10th anniversary edition, was featured on the 2013 Victoria's Secret swimwear video.


title: Songs About Jane

text: All songs written by Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, except where noted. All songs produced by Matt Wallace, except where noted.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: The "Admiral Grigorovich"-class, also referred to as Krivak V class, Russian designation Project 11356R, is a class of frigates built by the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad for the Russian Navy and Indian Navy, with a cost of $450-500 million. Based on the , six ships were ordered for the Russian Black Sea Fleet under two contracts in 2010 and 2011 as a complement to the frigates.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: By 2010–2011, it was decided the Russian Navy will procure six vessels based on the proven design, mainly due to repeated delays with production of "Admiral Gorshkov" frigates and because of the urgent need for new frigates necessary for modernization of the Black Sea Fleet. The Yantar Shipyard won the contract for construction of the frigates and three vessels were to be completed in four years. Previously, six ships of the same design, known as "Talwar" class, were built for the Indian Navy between 1999 and 2011 by the Baltic Shipyard, Saint Petersburg and Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: Initially, Ukrainian state-owned enterprise Zorya-Mashproekt was providing gas turbines for the Russian frigates, but after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukraine said it would no longer supply the engines. Instead, Russian manufacturer Saturn was asked to supply alternative M90FR gas turbines.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: Since October 2016, it was claimed the three incomplete frigates, "Admiral Butakov", "Admiral Istomin" and "Admiral Kornilov", that construction was suspended in 2015 due to Ukraine's refusal to supply gas turbine power plants, are considered to be sold to India. The Russian Navy has opposed this export.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: On 1 June 2017, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) announced that it would resume construction of the last three frigates in 2018 and that the ships would later join the Russian Navy. The decision to resume the work was made following the preliminary testing of latest Russian gas turbine engines, the M70FRU (14 MW) and M90FR (20 MW, maximal 25-28 MW), designed and built by NPO Saturn plant. With an access to alternative power plants, the ships were believed to remain in Russian service. In December 2017, NPO Saturn has successfully completed three R&D projects of the M90FR, Agregat-DKVP and M70FRU-R gas engines held since 2014.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: However, on 20 October 2018, a decision was made to sell the unfinished frigates "Admiral Butakov" and "Admiral Istomin" to the Indian Navy under a contract worth US$950 million. The Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad will carry all necessary works to finish the frigates, before they will be handed over to India in first half of 2024. As of 2021, it had still to be confirmed whether "Admiral Kornilov" would be completed for the Russian Navy or potentially sold to a foreign customer. Later in 2021 it was reported that she would in fact be sold to a foreign customer.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: On 17 August 2022, deputy head of United Shipbuilding Corporation Vladimir Korolev stated that the Yantar Shipyard is ready to build more "Admiral Grigorovich-class" frigates. He also stated that the fate of the sixth, incomplete frigate, "Admiral Kornilov", has not yet been decided.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: On 3 November 2016, as part of Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, "Admiral Grigorivich" was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. On 15 November 2016, it launched Kalibr cruise missiles on IS and Al-Nusra targets in Syria's Idlib and Homs provinces, destroying ammunition warehouses, gathering and training centers and weapon production plants.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: "Admiral Grigorovich" was redeployed to the Mediterranean Sea in April 2017, following the US missile strikes against Syria. She joined the Mediterranean squadron again on 24 December 2020.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: On 12 April 2022, a "Grigorovich"-class frigate reportedly shot down a Bayraktar TB2 drone during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 22 April a "Grigorovich"-class frigate reportedly fired Kalibr cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets.


title: Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

text: As part of the deal signed on 20 October 2018 for delivery of "Admiral Butakov" and "Admiral Istomin" frigates to the Indian Navy, Rosoboronexport and Goa Shipyard have signed an additional contract for two more "Admiral Grigorovich"-class frigates to be license-built at Goa Shipyard in India. Under the contract, Russia will provide India the technological know-how to build the frigates on its own. The final cost for the two vessels is yet to be determined, but was estimated at US$500 million. The Indian Navy should receive the ships in 2026 and 2027, respectively.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: FC Rubin Kazan (, "Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan" , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier Russian First League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–22 season, winning the Russian Premier League championship in 2008 and 2009. The club also won the 2011–12 Russian Cup. The team plays in the Ak Bars Arena.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: FC Rubin Kazan was previously called Iskra from 1958 to 1964 and Rubin-TAN from 1992 to 1993. The name "Rubin" means "Ruby".


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Having never played in the Soviet Top League, the football club joined the Russian First Division in 1992 and fell to the Russian Second Division in 1994. The mayor of Kazan at the time, Kamil Iskhakov, purchased the team in 1996. Rubin won the Second Division in 1997 and was promoted back to the First Division the following season. The next four seasons, the team finished above 8th place. Finally winning the title in 2002, Rubin was promoted to the Russian Premier League for the first time in 2003. Rubin finished third in its debut season to qualify for the UEFA Cup. The team faced a setback in the 2004 campaign finishing in 10th place, but 2005 saw them finish fourth, again qualifying the team for the UEFA Cup.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The year of 1958 came, and the team formed a part of Class B of the USSR Championship, because of successful performances and the Class B expanding. The debut was on 20 April in Kherson. The team lost to local "Spartak" 2–4. In 1958 "Iskra" took 14th place.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1959 "Iskra" was headed by a 50-year-old specialist Nikolay Sentyabrev. Within the next 12 years the post of a head coach of the team was occupied.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The 1960 season was even more successful. After the first round having only one defeat from "Zvezda" (Perm) the kazanners were among the leaders of the zone. But during the second half "Iskra" improved and finished 4th.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1960, Tsentralnyi stadium was founded. On 21 August 1960 "Iskra" played a debut game in a new arena against Metallurg (Kamensk-Uralsky) – 2–1.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1961 the kazanners again spent the strong first half of the championship and looked much worse in the second round. The gap from the leaders was one point. That year "Iskra" made its way to the last 16 of the USSR Cup, where it lost a rematch to Dynamo (Moscow). In 1962 and 1963 the kazanners took traditional 3rd place.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The year of 1964 became the turning-point. Unsuccessful start of the championship was compensated with 15 matches without a loss in a row at the finish. As a result – second position in the zone and an ability to continue struggle for Class A entrance. But the final round was unfortunate at this time.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: During the off-season the club's name was changed to Rubin. In decisive game against "Sokol" (Saratov) "Rubin" has won 2–1 (Teterkin, Golubev) and got a ticket to Class A first time in its history. "Rubin" returned to Kazan with silver medals.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Season 1966 was due to answer the question whether Rubin, a newcomer of Class A, was able to gain a foothold and to survive a competition with more experienced clubs. Club coaches counted on the footballers succeeded in the previous year. First three games were played away. After a zero draw in Batumi and a loss from "Kuban" in Krasnodar the kazanners gained revenge from "Spartak" in Nalchik for the loss in the final of 1965. 2–1 – that was the first win in Class A.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Kazan had to wait for the grand opening of the season until May, 2. That day 22,000 spectators greeted the win over "Dynamo" from Kirovabad. In the final table "Rubin" stands at the honorable 5th position.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Next year of 1967 considerable changes happened in the squad. The leaders of last years Fomin, Golubev and Novichkov finished to play for the team. "Rubin" had to start forming the middle line from the beginning.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: A the final standings "Rubin" has raised its position if to compare with the previous season, it was the 4th position. In USSR Cup the kazanners succeeded in achieving ⅛ final, where they lost to "Chornomorets" (Odessa) – 1–3. Next year of 1968 Kazan club reduced its positions – the 5th place, but some noticeable events occurred during the season.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In the season of 1969 "Rubin" was close to change the Second Group of Class A for the First one. At the Second Stage "Rubin" in one point left behind the winner – "SKA" (Khabarovsk). And the team repeated the success of 1967, reached ⅛ final of USSR Cup, where has lost to "Sudostroitel" Nikolaev at the extra-time.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1970 the structure of the football tournament was modified. United First League was made, and 22 best-of-1969 teams were included.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: On a legal ground "Rubin" took his place among them. The debut was April, 11 in Krasnodar (0–1). After that an outdoor draw followed in Kharkov with "Metallist" – 1–1, Viktor Kolotov scored the first goal in the First league. Later followed several wins. In the season-1970 "Rubin" resulted at the 8th position. Hard times came. The season of 1971 the team finished at the last 22nd position and has left the First league.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1972 "Rubin" has been participating in the 5th zone of the Second League, which included mainly clubs of Povolzhye and Middle Asia. During the whole season the kazanners experienced serious problems in the attack. Frankly speaking, after the 21nd matchday the team had only 14 goals scored (5 of them were annulled because 2 teams has left the tournament). In the last game of the year "Rubin" has beat "Torpedo" from Togliatii 1–0 and took the 7th place and left the opponent on the 8th one.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The season of 1973 was to be more successful. After a year's interval Murad Zadikashvili has returned from Kutaisi. Three clubs has started to change each other in the top of the league in the struggle for the only ticket to the Semifinal tournament. These teams were "Uralmash" (Sverdlovsk), "Rubin" and "Kord" from Balakovo. Kazanners were the second ones at the final lap. "Uralmash" had just 3 points more. In RSFSR Cup, which was held as an alternative to USSR Cup, "Rubin" reached Semi-final (the club's best result in this tournament), where lost 0–1 to "Vulkan" (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) in an outdoor game.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: That year (1973) on May, 1 a 24-year-old masseur Eugeny Golov started to work in "Rubin". From that moment "Rubin" has become an integral part of his life. He had passed all steps of a club hierarchy: masseur – doctor – administrator – first president (since 1990) – director (1995–99 and since 2005).


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Before the season of 1974 "Rubin" has practically lost no players of a senior squad. In the final table "Rubin" was the 2nd. In a stubborn struggle kazanners could stand up for this position in a semi-final pellet in Frunze and in a final in Sochi. As a result – an overall 2nd place in the Second League and a pass to the First League.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1975 the team was headed by Boris Batanov from "Torpedo" (Moscow), a specialist with a name, indeed, he had a success only as a footballer. After the first half of the year "Rubin" was 17th, and Batanov has left a captain's bridge, which was occupied by Yuri Markov again. Kazanners took 13 points in last 8 games and finished on 11th position.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The beginning of 1976 has encouraged. However, after that 21 matches without any win followed. As a result – the 17th place and a difficultly saved registration in the First League.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1978, the organizers of the competitions have identified "Rubin" in internationalist 4th zone, where in addition to Russian clubs were 13 teams of three republics – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kazan started poorly, taking on a long Georgian-Armenian exit, which consisted of 6 matches, only 2 points. But slowly the team began to build momentum, and, eventually, ended the season in 6th place.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In the season of 1979 Kazan set anti-record – 19th place in the second league. During the season in 23 guest matches had been won only 1 game.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1980, instead of Aleksei Alekseevich Beryuchevskogo, who led the "Rubin" in two previous seasons, to the post of head coach came Valeriy Salnikov. To the end of the season Kazan came in 10th place, and again left without a head coach.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The next attempt to find a suitable mentor for the team finally succeeded in 1981. Credibility, which was enough for the next 7 years (with a break in 1983–84), get Vladimir Mikhailov, in past well-known football player of Moscow Torpedo. In the final table in 1981, Rubin was in 5th place.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In the next in 1982 an attempt was made to win in the zone. In a bitter struggle with Chelyabinsk "Lokomotiv" Kazan in the end gave the first line to the Ural team. Vadim Popov scored 24 goals, updating the club record for the season. Season-1983 did not become a logical continuation of the 1982th, only a 5th place in the zone. In 1984, Rubin participated even worse. With the transfer Vadim Popov to Omsk Irtysh in the attack appeared unsolvable problems. Toothless team action in the attack was partly offset confident playing defensive line, led by Kikhtenko and Martynov, so Rubin could not fall below 10th place.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The game in attack was fixed in season 1985, when to the team came Vladimir Gavrilov, best scorer of "Rubin" in its history. His scoring quality Gavrilov showed in the season-1986, when with 27 balls he became the best scorer of the second league. We can only guess how things would have developed for "Rubin" in the next 1987, if Gavrilov stays in the team. But he decided to try his strength in the first league and moved to the Voronezh "Fakel", and when in autumn after the injury he returned to Kazan, the fans saw on the field only a pale shadow of a formidable striker.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Two of the final season of 80-ths did not bring positive emotions. Moving up did not work, and Rubin began to sink lower and lower on the standings. In 1988, the team score points, mainly due to competently organized games in the defensive by the coach Alexei Alexandrovich Semyonov, who replaced Mikhailov.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: At the end of the season-1989, which Kazan finished on 12th place, to the post of head coach of "Rubin" came one of the oldest and most respected football coaches of the country, honored trainer of Russia – Ivan Zolotukhin. " Grandfather" – respectfully called Zolotukhin players and fans.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1990, before the team set the goal – to get into the "buffer" league (intermediate between the first and second), for which it was necessary to take place not less than the second. After a magnificent season, Kazan scored equal points with Togliatti "Lada" and gave her a second line due to a smaller number of victories. The following season, "Rubin" make up for all the previous failures. During the Championship from Moscow came a striker Sergei Surov, who together with Vladimir Gavrilov and 20-year-old Oleg Nechaev for three scored 44 goals, making the most formidable line of attack in the zone. Most of all got "EVM" from Ruzayevka, which Kazan scored seven unanswered goals (the biggest victory of the "Rubin" in the championships of the USSR). As a result, the first round Rubin passed without a single defeat. Unbeaten run was interrupted only in the 32 round, but by the time Kazan was unequivocal leader of the tournament. To finish of the championship in 1991, Rubin came first, finishing with dignity "Soviet" phase of its history.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: After the collapse of the Soviet Union broke up into separate tournaments and the championship of the Union. The result is that instead of the union "buffer" league "Rubin" was the first league of first Championship of Russia. In season 1992, it consisted of three territorial zones. Kazan had been included in the central.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: After Zolotukhin a head coach of Rubin became Alexander Ivchenko, previously worked with Omsk Irtysh. In the off-season left the team: Kalachev Igor, Sergei Surov and who decided to continue a career in Poland, Vladimir Gavrilov. Ivchenko brought from Omsk scorer Marat Mulasheva and midfielder Sergei Osipov, came from the Kirov technically Moiseev.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The first game in the championship of Russia on 25 April Rubin lost to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (0–1). Then, in Bashkortostan got its first victory – over Gastello from Ufa, the only goal scored Vadim Potapov. In Kazan, the fans saw their team on 6 May, when in a double-edged uncompromising struggle was beaten Chelyabinsk "Zenit" (3–2). FC Rubin Kazan during the season was in the area 5–7 positions. The leadership in the area immediately took KAMAZ, which in the end got the only ticket to the major league.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In 1993, "Rubin" got a task to take in the tournament of central zone of the first league place no lower than seventh. The reason for this was that from next season the best in the championship-93 teams of three zones were to form a single first league (the current first division), in which representatives from the central zone were "booked" 7 vacancies.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Shortly after the start of the championship refused to finance the team its chief sponsor CAPO Gorbunov. In June, recently approved in the position of head coach Victor Avraamovich Lukashenko left "Rubin". The new coach became Mourad Vahtangovich Zadikashvili. Difficult financial situation was fixed after selling in Volgograd "Rotor" team leaders Oleg Nechaev and Rustem Khuzin (but soon returned to "Rubin" till the end of the season on loan). In the end the season Kazan finished on 8th place, only losing a point to Nizhnekamsk "Neftechimik" and dropped into the second league.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: The following year, 1994, coaches Zadikashvili and Semenov assemble a team literally bit by bit. Because of the continuing financial problems from the last season in the team left only 6 players: Grishin, Danilin, Ravil, Blagov, Tatarkin and Kamkov, the rest went to other clubs. Rubin had to resort to the services of veterans and young students of urban football. At the beginning of the season, the first time in the history of the club did there was no money to go to the next game in Gorodishe and Volzhski. As a consequence, two technical defeat of 0–3 and a warning that in case of repeated failure to appear, the team will be disqualified from the tournament. Later, Kazan for the third time staying at home, this time ignoring Tula. Fortunately, and for this act "Rubin" was not disqualified from the championship. One of the key games of the season took place on 2 October in Yoshkar-Ola. 5 minutes before the final whistle, the only goal was scored by our captain, Rubin Ravil, thereby leaving the local "Druzhba" in last place. Residence in the second division was maintained.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: In the off-season club finally "divorced" with CAPO Gorbunov and was dependent only on the city. Resolution of the head of administration of Kazan on 13 March 1995 No. 276 were registered municipal institution "Football Club Rubin".


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Already during the tournament-1995 in the club there were personnel changes. Instead of a retired Zadikashvili came to the team Vladimir Borisovich Saveliev and Oleg Flegontov, who became head coach, respectively, and the director of the team. Due to intense activity guideline "tandem" Golov-Flegontov, in a short time managed to attract to the team several good level players, who helped the club does not fall lower rank. Only in the final round of the championship determined the fourth failure, who left the second league (with the other three all was clear much earlier). It became "Torpedo" from Pavlov. It had a point less than Rubin.


title: FC Rubin Kazan

text: Kazan team, at the last moment managed to jump off the footboard of the train going to the third league.