title: Mimicry

text: In its broadest definition, mimicry can include non-living models. The specific terms masquerade and mimesis are sometimes used when the models are inanimate. For example, animals such as flower mantises, planthoppers, comma and geometer moth caterpillars resemble twigs, bark, leaves, bird droppings or flowers. Many animals bear eyespots, which are hypothesized to resemble the eyes of larger animals. They may not resemble any specific organism's eyes, and whether or not animals respond to them as eyes is also unclear. Nonetheless, eyespots are the subject of a rich contemporary literature. The model is usually another species, except in automimicry, where members of the species mimic other members, or other parts of their own bodies, and in inter-sexual mimicry, where members of one sex mimic members of the other.


title: Mimicry

text: Mimicry can result in an evolutionary arms race if mimicry negatively affects the model, and the model can evolve a different appearance from the mimic. Mimicry should not be confused with other forms of convergent evolution that occurs when species come to resemble each other by adapting to similar lifestyles that have nothing to do with a common signal receiver. Mimics may have different models for different life cycle stages, or they may be polymorphic, with different individuals imitating different models, such as in Heliconius butterflies. Models themselves may have more than one mimic, though frequency dependent selection favours mimicry where models outnumber mimics. Models tend to be relatively closely related organisms, but mimicry of vastly different species is also known. Most known mimics are insects, though many other examples including vertebrates are also known. Plants and fungi may also be mimics, though less research has been carried out in this area.


title: Mimicry

text: Use of the word mimicry dates to 1637. It derives from the Greek term "mimetikos", "imitative", in turn from "mimetos", the verbal adjective of "mimeisthai", "to imitate". Originally used to describe people, "mimetic" was used in zoology from 1851, "mimicry" from 1861.


title: Mimicry

text: Many types of mimicry have been described. An overview of each follows, highlighting the similarities and differences between the various forms. Classification is often based on function with respect to the mimic (e.g., avoiding harm). Some cases may belong to more than one class, e.g., automimicry and aggressive mimicry are not mutually exclusive, as one describes the species relationship between model and mimic, while the other describes the function for the mimic (obtaining food). The terminology used is not without debate and attempts to clarify have led to new terms being included. The term "masquerade" is sometimes used when the model is inanimate but it is differentiated from "crypsis" in its strict sense by the potential response of the signal receiver. In crypsis the receiver is assumed to not respond while a masquerader confuses the recognition system of the receiver that would otherwise seek the signaller. In the other forms of mimicry, the signal is not filtered out by the sensory system of the receiver. These are not mutually exclusive and in the evolution of wasp-like appearance, it has been argued that insects evolve to masquerade wasps since predatory wasps do not attack each other but this mimetic resemblance also deters vertebrate predators.


title: Mimicry

text: Defensive or protective mimicry takes place when organisms are able to avoid harmful encounters by deceiving enemies into treating them as something else.


title: Mimicry

text: The fourth case, Vavilovian mimicry, where weeds resemble crops, involves humans as the agent of selection.


title: Mimicry

text: In Batesian mimicry the mimic shares signals similar to the model, but does not have the attribute that makes it unprofitable to predators (e.g., unpalatability). In other words, a Batesian mimic is a sheep in wolf's clothing. It is named after Henry Walter Bates, an English naturalist whose work on butterflies in the Amazon rainforest (described in "The Naturalist on the River Amazons") was pioneering in this field of study. Mimics are less likely to be found out (for example by predators) when in low proportion to their model. This phenomenon is called negative frequency dependent selection, and it applies in most forms of mimicry. Batesian mimicry can only be maintained if the harm caused to the predator by eating a model outweighs the benefit of eating a mimic. The nature of learning is weighted in favor of the mimics, for a predator that has a bad first experience with a model tends to avoid anything that looks like it for a long time, and does not re-sample soon to see whether the initial experience was a false negative. However, if mimics become more abundant than models, then the probability of a young predator having a first experience with a mimic increases. Such systems are therefore most likely to be stable where both the model and the mimic occur, and where the model is more abundant than the mimic. This is not the case in Müllerian mimicry, which is described next.


title: Mimicry

text: There are many Batesian mimics in the order Lepidoptera. "Consul fabius" and "Eresia eunice" imitate unpalatable "Heliconius" butterflies such as "H. ismenius". "Limenitis arthemis" imitate the poisonous pipevine swallowtail ("Battus philenor"). Several palatable moths produce ultrasonic click calls to mimic unpalatable tiger moths. Octopuses of the genus "Thaumoctopus" (the mimic octopus) are able to intentionally alter their body shape and coloration to resemble dangerous sea snakes or lionfish. In the Amazon, the helmeted woodpecker ("Dryocopus galeatus"), a rare species which lives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, has a similar red crest, black back, and barred underside to two larger woodpeckers: "Dryocopus lineatus" and "Campephilus robustus". This mimicry reduces attacks on "Dryocopus galeatus" from other animals. Scientists had falsely believed that "D. galeatus" was a close cousin of the other two species, because of the visual similarity, and because the three species live in the same habitat and eat similar food. Batesian mimicry also occurs in the plant kingdom, such as the chameleon vine, which adapts its leaf shape and colour to match that of the plant it is climbing, such that its edible leaves appear to be the less desirable leaves of its host.


title: Mimicry

text: Müllerian mimicry, named for the German naturalist Fritz Müller, describes a situation where two or more species have similar warning or aposematic signals and both share genuine anti-predation attributes (e.g. being unpalatable). At first, Bates could not explain why this should be so—if both were harmful why did one need to mimic another? Müller put forward the first explanation and mathematical model for this phenomenon: if a common predator confuses two species, individuals in both those species are more likely to survive. This type of mimicry is unique in several respects. Firstly, both the mimic and the model benefit from the interaction, which could thus be classified as mutualism. The signal receiver also benefits by this system, despite being deceived about species identity, as it is able to generalize the pattern to potentially harmful encounters. The distinction between mimic and model that is clear in Batesian mimicry is also blurred. Where one species is scarce and another abundant, the rare species can be said to be the mimic. When both are present in similar numbers, however, it makes more sense to speak of each as a "co-mimic" than of distinct 'mimic' and 'model' species, as their warning signals tend to converge. Also, the mimetic species may exist on a continuum from harmless to highly noxious, so Batesian mimicry grades smoothly into Müllerian convergence.


title: Mimicry

text: The monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus") is a member of a Müllerian complex with the viceroy butterfly ("Limenitis archippus"), sharing coloration patterns and display behaviour. The viceroy has subspecies with somewhat different coloration, each closely matching the local "Danaus" species. For example, in Florida, the pairing is of the viceroy and the queen butterfly, whereas in Mexico the viceroy resembles the soldier butterfly. The viceroy is thus involved in three different Müllerian pairs. This example was long believed to be Batesian, with the viceroy mimicking the monarch, but the viceroy is actually "more" unpalatable than the Queen. The genus "Morpho" is palatable, but some species (such as "M. amathonte") are strong fliers; birds – even species that specialize in catching butterflies on the wing – find it hard to catch them. The conspicuous blue coloration shared by most "Morpho" species may be Müllerian, or may be "pursuit aposematism". Since "Morpho" butterflies are sexually dimorphic, the males' iridescent coloration may also relate to sexual selection. The "orange complex" of distasteful butterfly species includes the heliconiines "Agraulis vanillae", "Dryadula phaetusa", and "Dryas iulia". At least seven species of millipedes in the genera "Apheloria" and "Brachoria" (Xystodesmidae) form a Müllerian mimicry ring in the eastern United States, in which unrelated polymorphic species converge on similar colour patterns where their range overlaps.


title: Mimicry

text: Emsleyan or Mertensian mimicry describes the unusual case where a deadly prey mimics a less dangerous species. It was first proposed by M. G. Emsley as a possible explanation for how a predator can learn to avoid a very dangerous aposematic animal, such as a coral snake, when the predator is very likely to die, making learning unlikely. The theory was developed by the German biologist Wolfgang Wickler who named it after the German herpetologist Robert Mertens.


title: Mimicry

text: The scenario is unusual, as it is usually the most harmful species that is the model. But if a predator dies on its first encounter with a deadly snake, it has no occasion to learn to recognize the snake's warning signals. There would then be no advantage for an extremely deadly snake in being aposematic: any predator that attacked it would be killed before it could learn to avoid the deadly prey, so the snake would be better off being camouflaged, to avoid attacks altogether. But if the predator first learnt to avoid a less deadly snake that had warning colours, the deadly species could then profit (be attacked less often) by mimicking the less dangerous snake.


title: Mimicry

text: Some harmless milk snake ("Lampropeltis triangulum") subspecies, the moderately toxic false coral snakes (genus "Erythrolamprus"), and the deadly coral snakes (genus "Micrurus") all have a red background color with black and white / yellow rings. In this system, both the milk snakes and the deadly coral snakes are mimics, whereas the false coral snakes are the model.


title: Mimicry

text: In Wasmannian mimicry, the mimic resembles a model that it lives along with in a nest or colony. Most of the models here are social insects such as ants, termites, bees and wasps.


title: Mimicry

text: Vavilovian mimicry is found in weeds that come to share characteristics with a domesticated plant through artificial selection. It is named after Russian botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vavilov. Selection against the weed may occur either by manually killing the weed, or by separating its seeds from those of the crop by winnowing.


title: Mimicry

text: Vavilovian mimicry presents an illustration of unintentional (or rather 'anti-intentional') selection by man. Weeders do not want to select weeds and their seeds that look increasingly like cultivated plants, yet there is no other option. For example, early barnyard grass, "Echinochloa oryzoides", is a weed in rice fields and looks similar to rice; its seeds are often mixed in rice and have become difficult to separate through Vavilovian mimicry. Vavilovian mimics may eventually be domesticated themselves, as in the case of rye in wheat; Vavilov called these weed-crops "secondary crops".


title: Mimicry

text: Vavilovian mimicry can be classified as defensive mimicry, in that the weed mimics a protected species. This bears strong similarity to Batesian mimicry in that the weed does not share the properties that give the model its protection, and both the model and the dupe (in this case people) are harmed by its presence. There are some key differences, though; in Batesian mimicry, the model and signal receiver are enemies (the predator would eat the protected species if it could), whereas here the crop and its human growers are in a mutualistic relationship: the crop benefits from being dispersed and protected by people, despite being eaten by them. In fact, the crop's only "protection" relevant here is its usefulness to humans. Secondly, the weed is not eaten, but simply destroyed. The only motivation for killing the weed is its effect on crop yields. Finally, this type of mimicry does not occur in ecosystems unaltered by humans.


title: Mimicry

text: Gilbertian mimicry involves only two species. The potential host (or prey) drives away its parasite (or predator) by mimicking it, the reverse of host-parasite aggressive mimicry. It was coined by Pasteur as a phrase for such rare mimicry systems, and is named after the American ecologist .


title: Mimicry

text: Gilbertian mimicry occurs in the genus "Passiflora". The leaves of this plant contain toxins that deter herbivorous animals. However, some "Heliconius" butterfly larvae have evolved enzymes that break down these toxins, allowing them to specialize on this genus. This has created further selection pressure on the host plants, which have evolved stipules that mimic mature "Heliconius" eggs near the point of hatching. These butterflies tend to avoid laying eggs near existing ones, which helps avoid exploitative intraspecific competition between caterpillars — those that lay on vacant leaves provide their offspring with a greater chance of survival. Most "Heliconius" larvae are cannibalistic, meaning that on leaves older eggs hatch first and eat the new arrivals. Thus, it seems that such plants have evolved egg dummies under selection pressure from these grazing herbivore enemies. In addition, the decoy eggs are also nectaries, attracting predators of the caterpillars such as ants and wasps as a further defence.


title: Mimicry

text: Browerian mimicry, named after Lincoln P. Brower and Jane Van Zandt Brower, is a postulated form of "automimicry"; where the model belongs to the same species as the mimic. This is the analogue of Batesian mimicry within a single species, and occurs when there is a palatability spectrum within a population. Examples include the monarch and the queen from the subfamily Danainae, which feed on milkweed species of varying toxicity. These species store toxins from its host plant, which are maintained even in the adult (imago) form. As levels of toxin vary depending on diet during the larval stage, some individuals are more toxic than others. Less palatable organisms, therefore, mimic more dangerous individuals, with their likeness already perfected.


title: Mimicry

text: This is not always the case, however. In sexually dimorphic species, one sex may be more of a threat than the other, which could mimic the protected sex. Evidence for this possibility is provided by the behaviour of a monkey from Gabon, which regularly ate male moths of the genus "Anaphe", but promptly stopped after it tasted a noxious female.


title: Mimicry

text: Aggressive mimicry is found in predators or parasites that share some of the characteristics of a harmless species, allowing them to avoid detection by their prey or host; this can be compared with the story of the wolf in sheep's clothing as long as it is understood that no conscious deceptive intent is involved. The mimic may resemble the prey or host itself, or another organism that is either neutral or beneficial to the signal receiver. In this class of mimicry, the model may be affected negatively, positively or not at all. Just as parasites can be treated as a form of predator, host-parasite mimicry is treated here as a subclass of aggressive mimicry.


title: Mimicry

text: The mimic may have a particular significance for duped prey. One such case is spiders, amongst which aggressive mimicry is quite common both in luring prey and disguising stealthily approaching predators. One case is the golden orb weaver ("Nephila clavipes"), which spins a conspicuous golden colored web in well-lit areas. Experiments show that bees are able to associate the webs with danger when the yellow pigment is not present, as occurs in less well-lit areas where the web is much harder to see. Other colours were also learned and avoided, but bees seemed least able to effectively associate yellow-pigmented webs with danger. Yellow is the colour of many nectar-bearing flowers, however, so perhaps avoiding yellow is not worthwhile. Another form of mimicry is based not on colour but pattern. Species such as the silver argiope ("Argiope argentata") employ prominent patterns in the middle of their webs, such as zigzags. These may reflect ultraviolet light, and mimic the pattern seen in many flowers known as nectar guides. Spiders change their web day to day, which can be explained by the ability of bees to remember web patterns. Bees are able to associate a certain pattern with a spatial location, meaning the spider must spin a new pattern regularly or suffer diminishing prey capture.


title: Mimicry

text: Another case is where males are lured towards what seems to be a sexually receptive female. The model in this situation is the same species as the dupe. Beginning in the 1960s, James E. Lloyd's investigation of female fireflies of the genus "Photuris" revealed they emit the same light signals that females of the genus "Photinus" use as a mating signal. Further research showed male fireflies from several different genera are attracted to these "femmes fatales", and are subsequently captured and eaten. Female signals are based on that received from the male, each female having a repertoire of signals matching the delay and duration of the female of the corresponding species. This mimicry may have evolved from non-mating signals that have become modified for predation.


title: Mimicry

text: The listrosceline katydid "Chlorobalius leucoviridis" of inland Australia is capable of attracting male cicadas of the tribe Cicadettini by imitating the species-specific reply clicks of sexually receptive female cicadas. This example of acoustic aggressive mimicry is similar to the "Photuris" firefly case in that the predator's mimicry is remarkably versatile – playback experiments show that "C. leucoviridis" is able to attract males of many cicada species, including cicadettine cicadas from other continents, even though cicada mating signals are species-specific.


title: Mimicry

text: Luring is not a necessary condition however, as the predator still has a significant advantage simply by not being identified as such. They may resemble a mutualistic symbiont or a species of little relevance to the prey.


title: Mimicry

text: A case of the latter situation is a species of cleaner fish and its mimic, though in this example the model is greatly disadvantaged by the presence of the mimic. Cleaner fish are the allies of many other species, which allow them to eat their parasites and dead skin. Some allow the cleaner to venture inside their body to hunt these parasites. However, one species of cleaner, the bluestreak cleaner wrasse ("Labroides dimidiatus"), is the unknowing model of a mimetic species, the sabre-toothed blenny ("Aspidontus taeniatus"). This wrasse resides in coral reefs in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and is recognized by other fishes that then let it clean them. Its imposter, a species of blenny, lives in the Indian Ocean—and not only looks like it in terms of size and coloration, but even mimics the cleaner's "dance". Having fooled its prey into letting its guard down, it then bites it, tearing off a piece of its fin before fleeing. Fish grazed on in this fashion soon learn to distinguish mimic from model, but because the similarity is close between the two they become much more cautious of the model as well, so both are affected. Due to victims' ability to discriminate between foe and helper, the blennies have evolved close similarity, right down to the regional level.


title: Mimicry

text: Another interesting example that does not involve any luring is the zone-tailed hawk, which resembles the turkey vulture. It flies amongst the vultures, suddenly breaking from the formation and ambushing its prey. Here the hawk's presence is of no evident significance to the vultures, affecting them neither negatively or positively.


title: Mimicry

text: Parasites can also be aggressive mimics, though the situation is somewhat different from those outlined previously. Some predators have a feature that draws prey; parasites can also mimic their hosts' natural prey, but are eaten themselves, a pathway into their host. "Leucochloridium", a genus of flatworm, matures in the digestive system of songbirds, their eggs then passing out of the bird in the faeces. They are then taken up by "Succinea", a terrestrial snail. The eggs develop in this intermediate host, and must then find a suitable bird to mature in. Since the host birds do not eat snails, the sporocyst has another strategy to reach its host's intestine. They are brightly coloured and move in a pulsating fashion. A sporocyst-sac pulsates in the snail's eye stalks, coming to resemble an irresistible meal for a songbird. In this way, it can bridge the gap between hosts, allowing it to complete its life cycle. A nematode ("Myrmeconema neotropicum") changes the colour of the abdomen of workers of the canopy ant "Cephalotes atratus" to make it appear like the ripe fruits of "Hyeronima alchorneoides". It also changes the behaviour of the ant so that the gaster (rear part) is held raised. This presumably increases the chances of the ant being eaten by birds. The droppings of birds are collected by other ants and fed to their brood, thereby helping to spread the nematode.


title: Mimicry

text: In an unusual case, planidium larvae of some beetles of the genus "Meloe" form a group and produce a pheromone that mimics the sex attractant of its host bee species. When a male bee arrives and attempts to mate with the mass of larvae, they climb onto his abdomen. From there, they transfer to a female bee, and from there to the bee nest to parasitize the bee larvae.


title: Mimicry

text: Host-parasite mimicry is a two species system where a parasite mimics its own host. Cuckoos are a canonical example of brood parasitism, a form of parasitism where the mother has its offspring raised by another unwitting individual, often from a different species, cutting down the biological mother's parental investment in the process. The ability to lay eggs that mimic the host eggs is the key adaptation. The adaptation to different hosts is inherited through the female line in so-called gentes (gens, singular). Cases of "intraspecific" brood parasitism, where a female lays in a conspecific's nest, as illustrated by the goldeneye duck ("Bucephala clangula"), do not represent a case of mimicry. A different mechanism is chemical mimicry, as seen in the parasitic butterfly "Phengaris rebeli", which parasitizes the ant species "Myrmica schencki" by releasing chemicals that fool the worker ants to believe that the caterpillar larvae are ant larvae, and enable the "P. rebeli" larvae to be brought directly into the "M. schencki" nest. Parasitic (cuckoo) bumblebees (formerly "Psithyrus", now included in "Bombus") resemble their hosts more closely than would be expected by chance, at least in areas like Europe where parasite-host co-speciation is common. However, this is explainable as Müllerian mimicry, rather than requiring the parasite's coloration to deceive the host and thus constitute aggressive mimicry.


title: Mimicry

text: Reproductive mimicry occurs when the actions of the dupe directly aid in the mimic's reproduction. This is common in plants with deceptive flowers that do not provide the reward they seem to offer and it may occur in Papua New Guinea fireflies, in which the signal of "Pteroptyx effulgens" is used by "P. tarsalis" to form aggregations to attract females. Other forms of mimicry have a reproductive component, such as Vavilovian mimicry involving seeds, vocal mimicry in birds, and aggressive and Batesian mimicry in brood parasite-host systems.


title: Mimicry

text: Bakerian mimicry, named after Herbert G. Baker, is a form of automimicry where female flowers mimic male flowers of their own species, cheating pollinators out of a reward. This reproductive mimicry may not be readily apparent as members of the same species may still exhibit some degree of sexual dimorphism. It is common in many species of Caricaceae.


title: Mimicry

text: Dodsonian mimicry, named after Calaway H. Dodson, is a form of reproductive floral mimicry where the model belongs to a different species than the mimic. By providing similar sensory signals as the model flower, it can lure its pollinators. Like Bakerian mimics, no nectar is provided. "Epidendrum ibaguense" (Orchidaceae) resembles flowers of "Lantana camara" and "Asclepias curassavica", and is pollinated by monarch butterflies and perhaps hummingbirds. Similar cases are seen in some other species of the same family. The mimetic species may still have pollinators of its own though. For example, a lamellicorn beetle, which usually pollinates correspondingly colored "Cistus" flowers, is also known to aid in pollination of "Ophrys" species that are normally pollinated by bees.


title: Mimicry

text: Pseudocopulation occurs when a flower mimics a female of a certain insect species, inducing the males to try to copulate with the flower. This is much like the aggressive mimicry in fireflies described previously, but with a more benign outcome for the pollinator. This form of mimicry has been called "Pouyannian mimicry", after Maurice-Alexandre Pouyanne, who first described the phenomenon. It is most common in orchids, which mimic females of the order Hymenoptera (generally bees and wasps), and may account for around 60% of pollinations. Depending on the morphology of the flower, a pollen sac called a pollinia is attached to the head or abdomen of the male. This is then transferred to the stigma of the next flower the male tries to inseminate, resulting in pollination. Visual mimicry is the most obvious sign of this deception for humans, but the visual aspect may be minor or non-existent. It is the senses of touch and olfaction that are most important.


title: Mimicry

text: Inter-sexual mimicry occurs when individuals of one sex in a species mimic members of the opposite sex to facilitate sneak mating. An example is the three male forms of the marine isopod "Paracerceis sculpta". Alpha males are the largest and guard a harem of females. Beta males mimic females and manage to enter the harem of females without being detected by the alpha males allowing them to mate. Gamma males are the smallest males and mimic juveniles. This also allows them to mate with the females without the alpha males detecting them. Similarly, among common side-blotched lizards, some males mimic the yellow throat coloration and even mating rejection behaviour of the other sex to sneak matings with guarded females. These males look and behave like unreceptive females. This strategy is effective against "usurper" males with orange throats, but ineffective against blue throated "guarder" males, which chase them away. Female spotted hyenas have pseudo-penises that make them look like males.


title: Mimicry

text: Automimicry or intraspecific mimicry occurs within a single species. One form of such mimicry is where one part of an organism's body resembles another part. For example, the tails of some snakes resemble their heads; they move backwards when threatened and present the predator with the tail, improving their chances of escape without fatal harm. Some fishes have eyespots near their tails, and when mildly alarmed swim slowly backwards, presenting the tail as a head. Some insects such as some lycaenid butterflies have tail patterns and appendages of various degrees of sophistication that promote attacks at the rear rather than at the head. Several species of pygmy owl bear "false eyes" on the back of the head, misleading predators into reacting as though they were the subject of an aggressive stare.


title: Mimicry

text: Some writers use the term "automimicry" when the mimic imitates other morphs within the same species. For example, in a species where males mimic females or vice versa, this may be an instance of sexual mimicry in evolutionary game theory. Examples are found in some species of birds, fishes, and lizards. Quite elaborate strategies along these lines are known, such as the well-known "scissors, paper, rock" mimicry in "Uta stansburiana", but there are qualitatively different examples in many other species, such as some "Platysaurus".


title: Mimicry

text: Many species of insects are toxic or distasteful when they have fed on certain plants that contain chemicals of particular classes, but not when they have fed on plants that lack those chemicals. For instance, some species of the subfamily Danainae feed on various species of the Asclepiadoideae in the family Apocynaceae, which render them poisonous and emetic to most predators. Such insects frequently are aposematically coloured and patterned. When feeding on innocuous plants however, they are harmless and nutritious, but a bird that once has sampled a toxic specimen is unlikely to eat harmless specimens that have the same aposematic coloration. When regarded as mimicry of toxic members of the same species, this too may be seen as automimicry.


title: Mimicry

text: Some species of caterpillar, such as many hawkmoths (Sphingidae), have eyespots on their anterior abdominal segments. When alarmed, they retract the head and the thoracic segments into the body, leaving the apparently threatening large eyes at the front of the visible part of the body.


title: Mimicry

text: Many insects have filamentous "tails" at the ends of their wings and patterns of markings on the wings themselves. These combine to create a "false head". This misdirects predators such as birds and jumping spiders (Salticidae). Spectacular examples occur in the hairstreak butterflies; when perching on a twig or flower, they commonly do so upside down and shift their rear wings repeatedly, causing antenna-like movements of the "tails" on their wings. Studies of rear-wing damage support the hypothesis that this strategy is effective in deflecting attacks from the insect's head.


title: Mimicry

text: Some forms of mimicry do not fit easily within the classification given above. Floral mimicry is induced by the discomycete fungus "Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi". In this case, a fungal plant pathogen infects leaves of blueberries, causing them to secrete sugars, in effect mimicking the nectar of flowers. To the naked eye the leaves do not look like flowers, yet they still attract pollinating insects like bees using an ultraviolet signal. This case is unusual, in that the fungus benefits from the deception but it is the leaves that act as mimics, being harmed in the process. It is similar to host-parasite mimicry, but the host does not receive the signal. It has something in common with automimicry, but the plant does not benefit from the mimicry, and the action of the pathogen is required to produce it.


title: Mimicry

text: It is widely accepted that mimicry evolves as a positive adaptation. The lepidopterist and novelist Vladimir Nabokov however argued that although natural selection might stabilize a "mimic" form, it would not be necessary to create it.


title: Mimicry

text: The most widely accepted model used to explain the evolution of mimicry in butterflies is the two-step hypothesis. The first step involves mutation in modifier genes that regulate a complex cluster of linked genes that cause large changes in morphology. The second step consists of selections on genes with smaller phenotypic effects, creating an increasingly close resemblance. This model is supported by empirical evidence that suggests that a few single point mutations cause large phenotypic effects, while numerous others produce smaller effects. Some regulatory elements collaborate to form a supergene for the development of butterfly color patterns. The model is supported by computational simulations of population genetics. The Batesian mimicry in "Papilio polytes" is controlled by the "doublesex" gene.


title: Mimicry

text: Some mimicry is imperfect. Natural selection drives mimicry only far enough to deceive predators. For example, when predators avoid a mimic that imperfectly resembles a coral snake, the mimic is sufficiently protected.


title: Mimicry

text: Convergent evolution is an alternative explanation for why organisms such as coral reef fish and benthic marine invertebrates such as sponges and nudibranchs have come to resemble each other.


title: Indian removal

text: Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a designated Indian Territory (roughly, present-day Oklahoma). The Indian Removal Act, the key law which authorized the removal of Native tribes, was signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. Although Jackson took a hard line on Indian removal, the law was enforced primarily during the Martin Van Buren administration. After the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, approximately 60,000 members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations (including thousands of their black slaves) were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands, with thousands dying during the Trail of Tears.


title: Indian removal

text: Indian removal, a popular policy among incoming settlers, was a consequence of actions by European settlers in North America during the colonial period and then by the United States government (and its citizens) until the mid-20th century. The policy traced its origins to the administration of James Monroe, although it addressed conflicts between European and Native Americans which had occurred since the 17th century and were escalating into the early 19th century (as European settlers pushed westward in the cultural belief of manifest destiny). Historical views of Indian removal have been reevaluated since that time. Widespread contemporary acceptance of the policy, due in part to the popular embrace of the concept of manifest destiny, has given way to a more somber perspective. Historians have often described the removal of Native Americans as paternalism, ethnic cleansing, or genocide.


title: Indian removal

text: American leaders in the Revolutionary and early US eras debated about whether Native Americans should be treated as individuals or as nations.


title: Indian removal

text: In the indictment section of the Declaration of Independence, the Indigenous inhabitants of the United States are referred to as "merciless Indian Savages", reflecting a commonly held view at the time by the colonists in the United States.


title: Indian removal

text: In a draft "Proposed Articles of Confederation" presented to the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, Benjamin Franklin called for a "perpetual Alliance" with the Indians in the nation about to be born, particularly with the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy:


title: Indian removal

text: The Confederation Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (a precedent for U.S. territorial expansion would occur for years to come), calling for the protection of Native American "property, rights, and liberty"; the U.S. Constitution of 1787 (Article I, Section 8) made Congress responsible for regulating commerce with the Indian tribes. In 1790, the new U.S. Congress passed the Indian Nonintercourse Act (renewed and amended in 1793, 1796, 1799, 1802, and 1834) to protect and codify the land rights of recognized tribes.


title: Indian removal

text: President George Washington, in his 1790 address to the Seneca Nation which called the pre-Constitutional Indian land-sale difficulties "evils", said that the case was now altered and pledged to uphold Native American "just rights". In March and April 1792, Washington met with 50 tribal chiefs in Philadelphia—including the Iroquois—to discuss strengthening the friendship between them and the United States. Later that year, in his fourth annual message to Congress, Washington stressed the need to build peace, trust, and commerce with Native Americans:


title: Indian removal

text: In his seventh annual message to Congress in 1795, Washington intimated that if the U.S. government wanted peace with the Indians it must behave peacefully; if the U.S. wanted raids by Indians to stop, raids by American "frontier inhabitants" must also stop.


title: Indian removal

text: In his "Notes on the State of Virginia" (1785), Thomas Jefferson defended Native American culture and marvelled at how the tribes of Virginia "never submitted themselves to any laws, any coercive power, any shadow of government" due to their "moral sense of right and wrong". He wrote to the Marquis de Chastellux later that year, "I believe the Indian then to be in body and mind equal to the whiteman". Jefferson's desire, as interpreted by Francis Paul Prucha, was for Native Americans to intermix with European Americans and become one people. To achieve that end as president, Jefferson offered U.S. citizenship to some Indian nations and proposed offering them credit to facilitate trade.


title: Indian removal

text: On 27 February 1803, Jefferson wrote in a letter to William Henry Harrison:In this way our settlements will gradually circumbscribe & approach the Indians, & they will in time either incorporate with us as citizens of the US. or remove beyond the Missisipi. The former is certainly the termination of their history most happy for themselves. But in the whole course of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As to their fear, we presume that our strength & their weakness is now so visible that they must see we have only to shut our hand to crush them, & that all our liberalities to them proceed from motives of pure humanity only.


title: Indian removal

text: As president, Thomas Jefferson developed a far-reaching Indian policy with two primary goals. He wanted to assure that the Native nations (not foreign nations) were tightly bound to the new United States, as he considered the security of the nation to be paramount. He also wanted to "civilize" them into adopting an agricultural, rather than a hunter-gatherer, lifestyle. These goals would be achieved through treaties and the development of trade.


title: Indian removal

text: Jefferson initially promoted an American policy which encouraged Native Americans to become assimilated, or "civilized". He made sustained efforts to win the friendship and cooperation of many Native American tribes as president, repeatedly articulating his desire for a united nation of whites and Indians as in his November 3, 1802, letter to Seneca spiritual leader Handsome Lake:


title: Indian removal

text: When a delegation from the Cherokee Nation's Upper Towns lobbied Jefferson for the full and equal citizenship promised to Indians living in American territory by George Washington, his response indicated that he was willing to grant citizenship to those Indian nations who sought it. In his eighth annual message to Congress on November 8, 1808, he presented a vision of white and Indian unity:


title: Indian removal

text: As some of Jefferson's other writings illustrate, however, he was ambivalent about Indian assimilation and used the words "exterminate" and "extirpate" about tribes who resisted American expansion and were willing to fight for their lands. Jefferson intended to change Indian lifestyles from hunting and gathering to farming, largely through "the decrease of game rendering their subsistence by hunting insufficient". He expected the change to agriculture to make them dependent on white Americans for goods, and more likely to surrender their land or allow themselves to be moved west of the Mississippi River. In an 1803 letter to William Henry Harrison, Jefferson wrote:


title: Indian removal

text: In that letter, Jefferson spoke about protecting the Indians from injustices perpetrated by settlers:


title: Indian removal

text: According to the treaty of February 27, 1819, the U.S. government would offer citizenship and of land per family to Cherokees who lived east of the Mississippi. Native American land was sometimes purchased, by treaty or under duress. The idea of land exchange, that Native Americans would give up their land east of the Mississippi in exchange for a similar amount of territory west of the river, was first proposed by Jefferson in 1803 and first incorporated into treaties in 1817 (years after the Jefferson presidency). The Indian Removal Act of 1830 included this concept.


title: Indian removal

text: Under President James Monroe, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun devised the first plans for Indian removal. Monroe approved Calhoun's plans by late 1824 and, in a special message to the Senate on January 27, 1825, requested the creation of the Arkansaw and Indian Territories; the Indians east of the Mississippi would voluntarily exchange their lands for lands west of the river. The Senate accepted Monroe's request, and asked Calhoun to draft a bill which was killed in the House of Representatives by the Georgia delegation. President John Quincy Adams assumed the Calhoun–Monroe policy, and was determined to remove the Indians by non-forceful means; Georgia refused to consent to Adams' request, forcing the president to forge a treaty with the Cherokees granting Georgia the Cherokee lands. On July 26, 1827, the Cherokee Nation adopted a written constitution (modeled on that of the United States) which declared that they were an independent nation with jurisdiction over their own lands. Georgia contended that it would not countenance a sovereign state within its own territory, and asserted its authority over Cherokee territory. When Andrew Jackson became president as the candidate of the newly-organized Democratic Party, he agreed that the Indians should be forced to exchange their eastern lands for western lands (including relocation) and vigorously enforced Indian removal.


title: Indian removal

text: Although Indian removal was a popular policy, it was also opposed on legal and moral grounds; it also ran counter to the formal, customary diplomatic interaction between the federal government and the Native nations. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the widely-published letter "A Protest Against the Removal of the Cherokee Indians from the State of Georgia" in 1838, shortly before the Cherokee removal. Emerson criticizes the government and its removal policy, saying that the removal treaty was illegitimate; it was a "sham treaty", which the U.S. government should not uphold. He describes removal as such a dereliction of all faith and virtues, such a denial of justice…in the dealing of a nation with its own allies and wards since the earth was made…a general expression of despondency, of disbelief, that any goodwill accrues from a remonstrance on an act of fraud and robbery, appeared in those men to whom we naturally turn for aid and counsel. Emerson concludes his letter by saying that it should not be a political issue, urging President Martin Van Buren to prevent the enforcement of Cherokee removal. Other individual settlers and settler social organizations throughout the United States also opposed removal.


title: Indian removal

text: Native groups reshaped their governments, made constitutions and legal codes, and sent delegates to Washington to negotiate policies and treaties to uphold their autonomy and ensure federally-promised protection from the encroachment of states. They thought that acclimating, as the U.S. wanted them to, would stem removal policy and create a better relationship with the federal government and surrounding states.


title: Indian removal

text: Native American nations had differing views about removal. Although most wanted to remain on their native lands and do anything possible to ensure that, others believed that removal to a nonwhite area was their only option to maintain their autonomy and culture. The U.S. used this division to forge removal treaties with (often) minority groups who became convinced that removal was the best option for their people. These treaties were often not acknowledged by most of a nation's people. When Congress ratified the removal treaty, the federal government could use military force to remove Native nations if they had not moved (or had begun moving) by the date stipulated in the treaty.


title: Indian removal

text: When Andrew Jackson became president of the United States in 1829, his government took a hard line on Indian removal; Jackson abandoned his predecessors' policy of treating Indian tribes as separate nations, aggressively pursuing all Indians east of the Mississippi who claimed constitutional sovereignty and independence from state laws. They were to be removed to reservations in Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi (present-day Oklahoma), where they could exist without state interference. At Jackson's request, Congress began a debate on an Indian-removal bill. After fierce disagreement, the Senate passed the bill by a 28–19 vote; the House had narrowly passed it, 102–97. Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law on May 30, 1830.


title: Indian removal

text: That year, most of the Five Civilized Tribes—the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee—lived east of the Mississippi. The Indian Removal Act implemented federal-government policy towards its Indian populations, moving Native American tribes east of the Mississippi to lands west of the river. Although the act did not authorize the forced removal of indigenous tribes, it enabled the president to negotiate land-exchange treaties.


title: Indian removal

text: On September 27, 1830, the Choctaw signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and became the first Native American tribe to be removed. The agreement was one of the largest transfers of land between the U.S. government and Native Americans which was not the result of war. The Choctaw signed away their remaining traditional homelands, opening them up for European-American settlement in Mississippi Territory. When the tribe reached Little Rock, a chief called its trek a "trail of tears and death".


title: Indian removal

text: In 1831, French historian and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville witnessed an exhausted group of Choctaw men, women and children emerging from the forest during an exceptionally cold winter near Memphis, Tennessee, on their way to the Mississippi to be loaded onto a steamboat. He wrote,


title: Indian removal

text: While the Indian Removal Act made the move of the tribes voluntary, it was often abused by government officials. The best-known example is the Treaty of New Echota, which was signed by a small faction of twenty Cherokee tribal members (not the tribal leadership) on December 29, 1835. Most of the Cherokee later blamed the faction and the treaty for the tribe's forced relocation in 1838. An estimated 4,000 Cherokee died in the march, which is known as the Trail of Tears. Missionary organizer Jeremiah Evarts urged the Cherokee Nation to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.


title: Indian removal

text: The Marshall court heard the case in "Cherokee Nation v. Georgia" (1831), but declined to rule on its merits; the court declaring that the Native American tribes were not sovereign nations, and could not "maintain an action" in U.S. courts. In an opinion written by Chief Justice Marshall in "Worcester v. Georgia" (1832), individual states had no authority in American Indian affairs.


title: Indian removal

text: The state of Georgia defied the Supreme Court ruling, and the desire of settlers and land speculators for Indian lands continued unabated; some whites claimed that Indians threatened peace and security. The Georgia legislature passed a law forbidding settlers from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831, without a license from the state; this excluded missionaries who opposed Indian removal.


title: Indian removal

text: The Seminole refused to leave their Florida lands in 1835, leading to the Second Seminole War. Osceola was a Seminole leader of the people's fight against removal. Based in the Everglades, Osceola and his band used surprise attacks to defeat the U.S. Army in a number of battles. In 1837, Osceola was duplicitously captured by order of U.S. General Thomas Jesup when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace near Fort Peyton. Osceola died in prison of illness; the war resulted in over 1,500 U.S. deaths, and cost the government $20 million. Some Seminole traveled deeper into the Everglades, and others moved west. The removal continued, and a number of wars broke out over land.


title: Indian removal

text: In the aftermath of the Treaties of Fort Jackson, and the Washington, the Muscogee were confined to a small strip of land in present-day east central Alabama. The Creek national council signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, ceding their remaining lands east of the Mississippi to the U.S. and accepting relocation to the Indian Territory. Most Muscogee were removed to the territory during the Trail of Tears in 1834, although some remained behind. Although the Creek War of 1836 ended government attempts to convince the Creek population to leave voluntarily, Creeks who had not participated in the war were not forced west (as others were). The Creek population was placed into camps and told that they would be relocated soon. Many Creek leaders were surprised by the quick departure but could do little to challenge it. The 16,000 Creeks were organized into five detachments who were to be sent to Fort Gibson. The Creek leaders did their best to negotiate better conditions, and succeeded in obtaining wagons and medicine. To prepare for the relocation, Creeks began to deconstruct their spiritual lives; they burned piles of lightwood over their ancestors' graves to honor their memories, and polished the sacred plates which would travel at the front of each group. They also prepared financially, selling what they could not bring. Many were swindled by local merchants out of valuable possessions (including land), and the military had to intervene. The detachments began moving west in September 1836, facing harsh conditions. Despite their preparations, the detachments faced bad roads, worse weather, and a lack of drinkable water. When all five detachments reached their destination, they recorded their death toll. The first detachment, with 2,318 Creeks, had 78 deaths; the second had 3,095 Creeks, with 37 deaths. The third had 2,818 Creeks, and 12 deaths; the fourth, 2,330 Creeks and 36 deaths. The fifth detachment, with 2,087 Creeks, had 25 deaths. In 1837 outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana over 300 Creeks being forcibly removed to Western prairies drowned in the Mississippi River.


title: Indian removal

text: Unlike other tribes, who exchanged lands, the Chickasaw were to receive financial compensation of $3 million from the United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River. They reached an agreement to purchase of land from the previously-removed Choctaw in 1836 after a bitter five-year debate, paying the Chocktaw $530,000 for the westernmost Choctaw land. Most of the Chickasaw moved in 1837 and 1838. The $3 million owed to the Chickasaw by the U.S. went unpaid for nearly 30 years.


title: Indian removal

text: The Five Civilized Tribes were resettled in the new Indian Territory. The Cherokee occupied the northeast corner of the territory and a strip of land in Kansas on its border with the territory. Some indigenous nations resisted the forced migration more strongly. The few who stayed behind eventually formed tribal groups, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee (based in North Carolina), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Creeks in Alabama (including the Poarch Band).


title: Indian removal

text: Tribes in the Old Northwest were smaller and more fragmented than the Five Civilized Tribes, so the treaty and emigration process was more piecemeal. Following the Northwest Indian War, most of the modern state of Ohio was taken from native nations in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. Tribes such as the already-displaced Lenape (Delaware tribe), Kickapoo and Shawnee, were removed from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio during the 1820s. The Potawatomi were forced out of Wisconsin and Michigan in late 1838, and were resettled in Kansas Territory. Communities remaining in present-day Ohio were forced to move to Louisiana, which was then controlled by Spain.


title: Indian removal

text: Bands of Shawnee, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Meskwaki (Fox) signed treaties and relocated to the Indian Territory. In 1832, the Sauk leader Black Hawk led a band of Sauk and Fox back to their lands in Illinois; the U.S. Army and Illinois militia defeated Black Hawk and his warriors in the Black Hawk War, and the Sauk and Fox were relocated to present-day Iowa. The Miami were split, with many of the tribe resettled west of the Mississippi River during the 1840s.


title: Indian removal

text: In the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838), the Senecas transferred all their land in New York (except for one small reservation) in exchange for of land in Indian Territory. The federal government would be responsible for the removal of the Senecas who opted to go west, and the Ogden Land Company would acquire their New York lands. The lands were sold by government officials, however, and the proceeds were deposited in the U.S. Treasury. Maris Bryant Pierce, a "young chief" served as a lawyer representing four territories of the Seneca tribe, starting in 1838. The Senecas asserted that they had been defrauded, and sued for redress in the Court of Claims. The case was not resolved until 1898, when the United States awarded $1,998,714.46 in compensation to "the New York Indians". The U.S. signed treaties with the Senecas and the Tonawanda Senecas in 1842 and 1857, respectively. Under the treaty of 1857, the Tonawandas renounced all claim to lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for the right to buy back the Tonawanda Reservation from the Ogden Land Company. Over a century later, the Senecas purchased a plot (part of their original reservation) in downtown Buffalo to build the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.


title: Indian removal

text: Historical views of Indian removal have been reevaluated since that time. Widespread contemporary acceptance of the policy, due in part to the popular embrace of the concept of manifest destiny, has given way to a more somber perspective. Historians have often described the removal of Native Americans as paternalism, ethnic cleansing, or genocide. Historian David Stannard has called it genocide.


title: Indian removal

text: Andrew Jackson's Indian policy stirred a lot of public controversy before his enactment, but virtually none among historians and biographers of the 19th and early 20th century. However, his recent reputation has been negatively affected by his treatment of the Indians. Historians who admire Jackson's strong presidential leadership, such as Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., would gloss over the Indian Removal in a footnote. In 1969, Francis Paul Prucha defended Jackson's Indian policy and wrote that Jackson's removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the hostile political environment of the Old South to Oklahoma probably saved them. Jackson was sharply attacked by political scientist Michael Rogin and historian Howard Zinn during the 1970s, primarily on this issue; Zinn called him an "exterminator of Indians". According to historians Paul R. Bartrop and Steven L. Jacobs, however, Jackson's policies do not meet the criteria for physical or cultural genocide. Historian Sean Wilentz describes the view of Jacksonian "infantilization" and "genocide" of the Indians, as a historical caricature, which "turns tragedy into melodrama, exaggerates parts at the expense of the whole, and sacrifices nuance for sharpness".


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: The Battle of the Ten Kings () is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Bharatas and subsequent formation of the Kuru polity.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: In Book 3, the Bharatas are noted to have crossed Beas and Sutlej, in their progress towards Kurukshetra where they came across a nascent (and temporary) inter-tribal alliance. This led to the battle, which is described in the 18th hymn (verses 5-21) of Book 7; the exact motivations are doubtful — Michael Witzel argues that it might have been a product of intratribal resentment or intrigues of an ousted family-priest while Ranabir Chakravarti argues that the battle was probably fought for controlling the rivers, which were a lifeline for irrigation. The hymns also mention of the tribes seeking to steal cows from the Bharatas.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Hanns-Peter Schmidt, whom Witzel deems to have produced the most "detailed, and ingenious reinterpretation" of the hymns, locates a unique poetic moment across the RV corpus, in their extraordinarily abundant usage of sarcastic allusions, similes and puns to mock the tribal alliance. Some of those allusions seem to be heavily context-specific and (still) remain unrecognized; there exist considerable disputes about interpretations of particular words, in light of the employed figures of speech and other poetic devices.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: The first phase of the battle took place on the banks of the river Ravi (then Parusni) near Manusa, west of Kurukshetra. The Bharata King and their priest are respectively mentioned as Sudas Paijavana and Vasistha, in the Rig Veda; however the names change in Samaveda and Yajurveda Samhitas. The principal antagonist is doubtful and names of the participating tribes are difficult to retrieve, in light of the phonological deformations of their names. Plausible belligerents of the tribal union include (in order) — Purus (erstwhile master-tribe of Bharatas), Yadu (probably commanded by Turvasa), Yaksu (relatively unimportant or a pun for Yadu), Matsyas, Druhyus, Pakthas, Bhalanas, Alinas, Vishanins, Sivas, Vaikarna, and Anu.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Though seemingly an unequal battle, going by the numbers (this aspect is highlighted multiple times in the hymns), Sudas decisively won against the tribal alliance by strategic breaching of a dyke on the river thereby drowning most (?) of the opponents. This sudden change in fortunes is attributed to the benevolence and strategizing of Indra, the patron-God of Bharatas, whose blessings were secured by Vasistha's poetics.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Thereafter, the battleground (probably) shifted to the banks of river Yamuna, wherein the local chieftain Bhida was defeated along with three other tribes — Ajas, Śighras, and the Yakṣus.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: The Battle of the Ten Kings led Bharatas to occupy the entire Puru territory (Western Punjab) centered around Sarasvati River and complete their east-ward migration. Sudas celebrated his victory with the Ashvamedha ritual to commemorate the establishment of a realm, free of enemies from the north, east, and west. He still had enemies in the Khāṇḍava Forest to the south, which was inhabited by the despised non-Indo-Aryan Kikatas.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: A political realignment between Purus and Bharatas probably followed soon enough and might have included other factions of the tribal union as well; this is exhibited from how the core collection of RV prominently features clan-hymns of both the sides.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Numerous translators since the 1800s including K. F. Geldner have considered the battle as a historical event, based on the narration-characteristics of the verses. Witzel dates the battle between approximately 1450 and 1300 BCE; he deems the concerned hymns to be late interpolations. Stephanie W. Jamison warns against using it as a major source to reconstruct history since the description of the battle is "anything but clear."


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Both Witzel and Jamison find the very next hymn (7.19, verse 3) to show a striking shift of allegiance with Indra helping Sudas as well the Purus, who won land.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Witzel notes this battle to be the probable archetype/prototype of the Kurukshetra War, narrated in the Mahabharata. John Brockington takes a similar approach. S. S. N. Murthy goes to the extent of proposing the battle as the very "nucleus" of the Kurukshetra War; Walter Ruben adopts a similar stance. However, Witzel maintains the nucleus text of the Mahabharata to be in description of some event in the Late Vedic spans; it was since reshaped (and expanded) over centuries of transmission and recreation to (probably) reflect the Battle of the Ten Kings. Alf Hiltebeitel rejects Witzel's and Brockington's arguments as "baffling fancy" and notes a complete lack of means to connect the battle with the "fratricidal struggle" of the Mahabharata.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: Stephanie W. Jamison notes it to be the most famous historical conflict in RV—in that, it secured the dominance of Bharatas over Vedic tribes—as does Witzel.


title: Battle of the Ten Kings

text: The territory would eventually become the first South-Asian "state" under the Kuru tribe in post-RV span and serve as the heart-land of Brahminical culture. The Purus went on to survive as a marginal power in Punjab; Witzel and some other scholars believe Porus (c. early 300 BC) to be a king from the same tribe.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers to have played the game. He is the former head coach of the Pakistani cricket team.


title: Waqar Younis

text: As of 2021, Younis holds the record for the youngest Pakistani Test captain and the fourth youngest Test captain in history (22 years 15 days). He played 87 Tests and 262 One Day International (ODI) matches for Pakistan during his international cricket career from 1989 to 2003.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis' trademark was his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed. He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. Together with bowling partner Wasim Akram, he formed one of the world's most feared bowling attacks. Younis has the best strike rate, after Dale Steyn, for any bowler with over 350 Test wickets. He is the youngest bowler to take 400 wickets in ODI cricket.


title: Waqar Younis

text: He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007. Waqar was appointed the coach of the Pakistan cricket team on 3 March 2010. He resigned as Pakistan's cricket coach on 19 August 2011 citing personal reasons. He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as their bowling coach for the Indian Premier League 2013 season.


title: Waqar Younis

text: On 4 September 2019, Younis was appointed by the PCB as Pakistan's new bowling coach on a 3-year contract. He replaced Azhar Mahmood, who was sacked after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the ICC World Cup 2019 tournament.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis was born in Burewala, Vehari district, Punjab, Pakistan to a Punjabi Muslim family. He had studied in Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, the Pakistan Islamia school in Sharjah and the Government College in Burewala, Pakistan. He was raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where his father was a contract worker. He returned to Pakistan and started playing cricket there during his adolescent years. He used to travel to Burewala to play cricket which garnered him the nickname of the "Burewala Express".


title: Waqar Younis

text: During his school and college days he was what he himself calls an all-round athlete, being a runner, a javelin thrower, a high jumper and a pole-vaulter in different competitions, initially being a leg-spinner before choosing pace bowling.


title: Waqar Younis

text: He is married, Younis has also worked as a television sports commentator for the Nine Network in Australia and for Ten Sports in the United Arab Emirates.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis began his cricket career in 1987/88 Pakistan, playing for several first-class cricket clubs. However he suffered an injury when he had cut and removed his little finger on his left hand, after he had jumped into a canal. He recovered from this accident and went on to continue his sporting career. He was eventually discovered by former Pakistan captain, Imran Khan and was selected to be part of the national side.


title: Waqar Younis

text: He had played only six first-class games when he got picked for the Pakistan camp out of the blue. Waqar says "I remember Imran was not feeling well at the time, and was not present at the camp. Luckily the Super Wills Cup was going on, and there was a match between United Bank and Delhi XI. Saleem Jaffar got injured, and I got the opportunity to play that game. Imran watched me on TV, and actually came to the ground to watch the end of the game. The very next day, he met me and told me that I will be going to Sharjah next month. Just meeting Imran at the time was enough of an experience for me, but for him to notify me of my selection was just out of this world."


title: Waqar Younis

text: English audiences became aware of Waqar's talent during the early 1990s, when he played for Surrey. By taking 113 wickets in 582 overs for Surrey in 1991, at a mere 14.65 apiece (thereby topping the season's first-class bowling averages), and by carrying on his shoulders an otherwise moderate county attack, he announced himself as one of the finest contemporary bowlers. There he displayed excellent cricketing performances and attracted attention from the sporting public. He went on to win the English County Championship with Glamorgan in 1997. He took 7 wickets for 25 against Lancashire at Liverpool on 21 June 1997, which included a hat-trick achieved after narrowly missing a hat-trick and took 68 wickets in the season.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis made his International cricket debut for Pakistan against India on 16 November 1989, in the same match that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar made his debut. Waqar took 4 wickets in the drawn match including the wickets of Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki" or the "Burewala Express". Waqar along with Wasim Akram opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. At his peak, he developed into a very quick fast bowler and achieved a hat-trick in a One Day International match against New Zealand in 1994. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a brief period allegedly due to suspension and conflicts with bowling partner and captain Akram.


title: Waqar Younis

text: His return to cricket came with him being appointed the captain of Pakistan. However, he had to deal with allegations of ball-tampering and a number of controversies. In July 2000 Waqar was banned to play in an international match for ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee. He was the first cricketer to be banned from playing in a match for such incident. He was involved in further controversy during 2003 World Cup matches. In the opening match against Australia, Waqar was removed from the attack after bowling a beamer at Andrew Symonds, becoming the first bowler to be disciplined in such a way during an international match. The Pakistanis then crashed out of the group stage after winning only two matches, both against associate member teams. After the tournament he conceded the captaincy and was dropped from international selection. After a nearly 15-year career, Waqar announced his retirement from cricket altogether in April 2004. At the end of his career he finished as the second highest wicket taker for Pakistani in test cricket with 373 wickets.


title: Waqar Younis

text: In March 2006, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan. He resigned from this position on 6 January 2007 in protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five One Day International matches. He also blamed captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for going with Mushtaq Ahmed instead of him for the bowling coach position. He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling and fielding coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009.


title: Waqar Younis

text: In February 2010, Younis was appointed the head coach of Pakistan after Intikhab Alam was sacked as coach, owing to the low level of performances of the national side during the tour of Australia earlier that year.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar's first job as coach was to lead an inexperienced Pakistan side missing Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as a consolation, though Waqar had two top-notch bowlers in Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif at his disposal. He guided the defending champions to the semi-final of the tournament before they were eliminated by Australia, whose Mike Hussey struck three sixes in the final over.


title: Waqar Younis

text: The World Twenty20 was followed with the 2010 Asia Cup in which Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka by a narrow margin as Pakistan's top order collapsed and Shahid Afridi's 109 just failed to guide Pakistan to victory. In the following match Pakistan lost narrowly against India courtesy of a six by Harbhajan Singh from the third ball of the final over. The following match was a dead rubber between Pakistan and Bangladesh and another Afridi century meant Pakistan scored 385 runs and they comfortably won the match by 139 runs.


title: Waqar Younis

text: A tour of England followed, with two Twenty20's against Australia and two Test matches. Pakistan won both Twenty20's comfortably and the first Test saw Pakistan defeated by 154 runs. Pakistan rallied in the second Test and for the first time in 15 years Pakistan defeated Australia in a Test match. The previous victory in 1995 was also assisted by a superb bowling spell by Waqar Younis.


title: Waqar Younis

text: This tour was followed by a controversial tour of England as Pakistan headed in to the final Test match needing to win it to level the series 2–2. The News of the World broke the news that Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and captain Salman Butt were involved in Spot-fixing. This saw the three players temporarily suspended and Pakistan lost by an innings and 225 runs – their biggest defeat in history. Low team morale meant the next two T20 matches were won comfortably by England, and the subsequent ODI series was won 3–2 by England as well.


title: Waqar Younis

text: This was followed by a tour of Abu Dhabi against South Africa. Pakistan lost the first Twenty20 match by six wickets following a batting collapse. Pakistan also lost the ODI series of five matches 3–2. Pakistan won the second ODI due to Abdul Razzaq's superb performance of 109* off 72 balls. The Test series of two matches with South Africa was drawn. He also stated that now it was the time for Pakistan to rally and prepare for the World Cup.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Pakistan started the World Cup campaign in a strong fashion winning 5 out their 6 group matches and finishing on top of their group. Pakistan went on to beat West Indies in the quarter-finals by 10 wickets but lost to India in the semi-finals by 29 runs. Waqar eventually stepped down as Pakistan coach in August 2011 citing personal reasons but a rift with captain Shahid Afridi may have been a contributing factor.


title: Waqar Younis

text: In March 2013 it was announced that he would join Sunrisers Hyderabad as their bowling coach for the Indian Premier League 2013 season.


title: Waqar Younis

text: In May 2014, Waqar was reappointed as the head coach of Pakistan Cricket team for a period of two years, commencing from June 2014, hence serving in that capacity for the second time.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar resigned from the position of Head Coach of Pakistani Cricket team, on April 4, 2016. Waqar said the reasons behind his resignation were cricket board's failure to work on his recommendations and leak of a confidential report after the World T20. He will serve as the head coach for Multan Sultans During the Third season of the Pakistan Super League.


title: Waqar Younis

text: On 16 November 2017 Waqar appointed as a mentor for Sylhet Sixers a team of Bangladesh Premier League for 2017. As of March 15, 2018 Waqar appointed for their head coach for the next two editions of Bangladesh Premier League


title: Waqar Younis

text: After the Cricket World Cup 2019, Waqar was reappointed as bowling coach of Pakistan Cricket team for a fourth time.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar Younis faced great criticism after Pakistan was unable to make it to the semi-finals, with less pressure on the fact that the country had not seen international cricket for a number of years, Younis was initially blamed. After winning against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 2016, the team lost against New Zealand, India and Australia, leading to their outing. Waqar 'begged' for forgiveness to the nation and said he was ready to retire if it was needed but also said it could have been due to the lack of cricket in their own country.


title: Waqar Younis

text: However, he later wrote in his report that he blamed Pakistan's poor performance in the matches on player Shahid Afridi. Younis submitted the report to the PCB where it was somehow leaked to the media. He expressed his anger and said that the report was confidential – it caused fans, on social media sites, to express disappointment in him to see him shifting the blame onto Afridi. Younis, in the report, accused Afridi of being 'non-serious' during the matches and said Mohammad Hafeez hid his knee injury as well, which also affected their performance. He also said Afridi either performed poorly himself, or that other players did not listen to him as a captain. Regarding the report, he said the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) were painting him as the "bad guy" and skipped meeting with him regarding the issue later on as it is most likely that they leaked the report. He then also scrapped plans of retirement and said he wanted to focus on the leak, despite his contract as coach ending in June 2016.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis said he did not want to blame individuals but largely singled out players, particularly Afridi. He said Akmal should not have been selected, instead it should be players who are 'proud' to represent their country. He also said that the team lost the Asia cup in February 2016 because they were 'unfit' as they had not trained during PSL season and said it was like a 'holiday for them'. Overall, he blamed it on "poor captaincy" from Afridi. He said it was unfair for him to first use Mohammad Nawaz, a new player, as a bowler in the Asia Cup 2016 because it 'destroyed' his confidence when he was unable to handle it after being hit for 38 runs in 3 overs. Younis later posted on his Twitter – 'no one wants to hear the truth'.


title: Waqar Younis

text: On 4 April 2016, Waqar resigned as Head Coach of the team, just after Shahid Afridi resigned as T20 captain. His reason behind it was the PCB who he said had used him as the "scapegoat" and shown him as a "villain" by leaking the Twenty20 report. He stepped down as coach 3 months before his contract would end and said that his scrapped salary should definitely be invested in domestic cricket. He added that he had tried his best to revive the team but they were still unable to better their performance and his recommendations in the report were badly handled by the PCB, who refused to even talk about the leak. Waqar Younis said his services to Pakistan cricket should not be forgotten and said he was stepping down with a heavy heart.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar is one of several Pakistani fast bowlers, beginning with Sarfraz Nawaz, who have been successful at bowling reverse swing, because he was used as an old-ball bowler early in his career until Imran Khan retired. In partnership with Akram, Younis opened the Pakistan bowling attack in the 1990s. Cricket critics and scholars attribute Younis and Akram to be one of the most effective fast bowling partnerships in cricket history, due to their ability to swing the ball at high speed. The ability to reverse swing and his speed led to him becoming one of the most talented bowlers in modern cricket.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar explained his ability to reverse swing by the manipulation of an old ball; with one side shiny, one side rough, the ball would move in the opposite direction to conventional swing. This led to Waqar having the ability to bowl inswingers and outswingers in the cricket pitch and in effect both Waqar and Akram became successful in taking wickets by this variation of swing bowling. His fastest timed delivery in cricket was 153 km/h or 95.1 mph, a delivery he bowled against South Africa in 1993 but this was after he had suffered serious back injuries which had really reduced his bowling speeds. He was also effective in the use of bouncers or short pitch deliveries; Waqar's bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura in Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short pitched delivery.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Following Pakistan's victory during the Test match series versus England in 1992, the English media were suspicious of the reverse swing delivery. It was relatively unknown to the cricketing world during that period and this led to accusations of foul play by critics, however cricket officials found no evidence of foul play and the skill of the reverse swing delivery has been accepted in cricket.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Sri Lanka fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, who became the first bowler in World Cup history to take two hat-tricks, has said that he learnt to bowl his deadly yorkers by watching Pakistan's legendary pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. No doubt over the years several bowlers have learned and mastered the skill of reverse swing but there are still some techniques which haven't have been explored, e.g. banana swing. The title of Banana Swing Bowler was given to Waqar Younis because of his unique technique of swinging the ball in the air at very high speed before hitting the ground. In most of his hat tricks he has delivered banana swing balls which were unplayable.


title: Waqar Younis

text: Despite his qualities as a fast bowler, he was expensive at times and sometimes lacked the consistency of bowlers such as West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath. This may be partly due to the mentality of his former captain, Imran Khan, who prioritised aggression and speed.


title: Waqar Younis

text: The world's fastest sprinter and runner Usain Bolt, who is from Jamaica (in the West Indies), once replied while being asked about who were his heroes when he was a child: "When I was really small I loved the Pakistan cricket team. Waqar Younis was one of the greatest bowlers ever, and I was a bowler so I really enjoyed watching him. I was a big Pakistan fan until I got older, when I noticed that I should actually support my home team." When asked what if there was a match between Pakistan and Windies, Bolt remarked "I would still have supported Pakistan, that's what I'm saying – when I was little, it was all about Pakistan."


title: Waqar Younis

text: Waqar Younis has taken five or more wickets in an innings on 22 occasions in Test cricket. In One Day International matches, he has taken the most five-wicket hauls (on 13 occasions).


title: Waqar Younis

text: Younis was inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame of 9 December 2013. He became the 70th male inductee into the Hall of Fame, joining compatriot Hanif Mohammad and


title: Waqar Younis

text: Zaheer Abbas as well as his former teammates Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram. On his induction he said: "It's a huge honour for me, I'm truly grateful to the people who've considered me worthy of such an honour."


title: Waqar Younis

text: After Pakistan beat India for the first time in an ICC tournament (the 2021 T20 WC), Waqar said that 'watching Rizwan do namaz in front of Hindus was very special'. This created an uproar and he later apologized for the comment.


title: Howard McNear

text: Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of "Gunsmoke" and as Floyd Lawson, the barber on "The Andy Griffith Show" (1961–1967).


title: Howard McNear

text: McNear studied at the Oatman School of Theater and later joined a stock company in San Diego. McNear also worked in radio from the late 1930s, including in the 1937–1940 radio serial "Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police" as ace operator Clint Barlow. McNear could be effective in such authoritative roles, but he gravitated more toward character roles, often comic.


title: Howard McNear

text: He enlisted as a private in the United States Army Air Corps on November 17, 1942, during World War II.


title: Howard McNear

text: He created the role of Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's "Gunsmoke" (1952–1961). McNear was under contract to CBS for many years and was featured in many of the network's radio and TV programs. From 1955 to 1960 he appeared frequently, in various roles, in the popular radio detective series "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar". McNear made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1953 film "Escape from Fort Bravo"..


title: Howard McNear

text: In 1956, he appeared in the episode “The Pest Hole” (S1E24) in the TV Western "Gunsmoke". In a 1958 episode of "Leave it to Beaver", McNear made a TV appearance as a barber named "Andy", who gave Wally his first shave. Over the course of his career, he would appear in over one hundred film and television guest spots. In 1959, McNear portrayed Dr. Dompierre in the film "Anatomy of a Murder", who testified about collecting evidence of a rape.


title: Howard McNear

text: In a 1960 episode of "Peter Gunn", titled "A Slight Touch of Homicide", McNear used the mannerisms he later developed as Floyd the barber to play Barnaby, a vigilante chemist who killed 15 mobsters with explosives.


title: Howard McNear

text: In 1961, McNear was cast as the vague, chatty barber Floyd Lawson on "The Andy Griffith Show". In 1963, he suffered a stroke that rendered most of the left side of his body paralyzed. He left the series for nearly a year and a half to recover. Andy Griffith asked McNear to return to the series. McNear agreed despite being unable to walk or stand, and the production crew accommodated him accordingly. Floyd was subsequently seen onscreen either seated or standing with support. Many scenes were shot with him sitting on a bench outside the barber shop, as opposed to trimming hair as before. In most of his post-stroke scenes, McNear's left hand would be holding a newspaper or resting in his lap, while he moved his right arm and hand as he spoke his lines. In a 1964 episode, "Otis Sues the County", and a 1967 episode, "Goober's Contest", McNear's character is heard, but not seen, walking into the courthouse. The next scene shows Floyd already seated in a chair. According to Jack Dodson, who played Howard Sprague on "The Andy Griffith Show", McNear began having difficulty remembering his lines and became anxious and frustrated. He left the series in 1967.


title: Howard McNear

text: In 1962 he made a guest appearance on "The Twilight Zone" in the episode "Hocus Pocus and Frisby". In 1964, McNear also took a role on "Gunsmoke", playing Dodge City's general store owner in “Aunt Thede” (S10E13).


title: Howard McNear

text: On January 3, 1969, McNear died at San Fernando Valley Veterans Hospital in California at the age of 63 as a result of complications from pneumonia caused by a stroke.


title: The Simpsons (season 32)

text: The thirty-second season of the American animated television series "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox on September 27, 2020, and ended on May 23, 2021. This season contained twenty-two episodes. On February 6, 2019, the season was ordered along with the previous season. This season includes the series' 700th episode "Manger Things".


title: The Simpsons (season 32)

text: The season was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted many other television productions, but left animated production largely unaffected. Executive producer James L. Brooks encouraged the staff to begin working from their homes in early March 2020, before California's stay-at-home order was declared. In an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter" in late March 2020, showrunner Al Jean stated, "Production hasn't skipped a day or lost a beat." At that point seven episodes for the season, including the "Treehouse of Horror" episode, were already completed, and they had started reading the remainder of the twenty-two total. Jean also stated that "we're a little ahead of where we usually are." The series had a panel at the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con, which was marketed as "Comic-Con@Home", to promote the season, with Jean, Matt Selman, David Silverman, Carolyn Omine, and Mike B. Anderson on the panel, with series regular Yeardley Smith serving as moderator.


title: The Simpsons (season 32)

text: On June 26, 2020, it was stated that "Moving forward, "The Simpsons" will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters." This follows Mike Henry stating that he will no longer voice the African-American character Cleveland Brown on fellow Fox animated series "Family Guy", and Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell's announcement that they will no longer voice mixed-race characters on "Big Mouth" and "Central Park", respectively, in the wake of the George Floyd protests. It also follows series regular Hank Azaria's January 2020 announcement that he will no longer voice the Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on "The Simpsons". Series regular Harry Shearer was not fully in agreement with the decision, stating that "the job of the actor is to play someone who they're not". On September 24, 2020 due to the George Floyd protests, it was announced that Alex Désert would voice Carl Carlson in the first episode of the season, taking over from Azaria who voiced the character since the first season. He also became the new voice of Lou.


title: The Simpsons (season 32)

text: On October 11, 2020, Jean announced that Eric Lopez would begin voicing Bumblebee Man in the episode "Now Museum, Now You Don't" instead of Azaria, who had provided the voice of the character since his introduction in season four. On December 10, 2020, the official logline on FOXFLASH for the episode "The Dad-Feelings Limited" revealed that Kumiko would be voiced by Jenny Yokobori instead of Tress MacNeille, who had voiced the character since her introduction in the season twenty-five episode "Married to the Blob." In the episode "Uncut Femmes", the character of Julio was recast to Tony Rodriguez. On February 22, 2021, it was announced that beginning with "Wad Goals", voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, who joined the show since Season 21 as different minor characters, would replace Harry Shearer as Dr. Hibbert and in the same episode voice actress Kimberly Brooks took on the role of Lewis Clark. David Harbour, Olivia Colman, Ben Platt, Hannibal Buress, and Michael Palin have guest-starred during the season. Series regular Yeardley Smith also played herself.


title: The Simpsons (season 32)

text: The season aired on Sundays during the 2020–21 television season as part of Fox's Animation Domination programming block, along with "Bless the Harts", "Bob's Burgers", "The Great North" and "Family Guy". One day after an episode aired on Fox, it was also made available on Hulu. It was made available for streaming in the US on Disney+ on September 29, 2021. and in the UK on November 3, 2021.


title: Secret City (TV series)

text: Secret City is an Australian political thriller television series based on the best-selling novels "The Marmalade Files", "The Mandarin Code", and "The Shadow Game" by Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis. It premiered on Foxtel's Showcase on 5 June 2016 and on Netflix internationally on 26 June 2018. The series is produced by Matchbox Pictures and Foxtel.


title: Secret City (TV series)

text: A sequel to the series called Secret City: Under the Eagle was green-lit in February 2018. It aired on 4 March 2019 in Australia and launched worldwide on Netflix on 6 March 2019. It is unknown if there will be a season 3.


title: Secret City (TV series)

text: The sequel storyline is a departure from the books written by Uhlmann and Lewis, who joined the series as story consultants.


title: Secret City (TV series)

text: Beneath the placid facade of Canberra, amidst rising tension between China and the United States, Canberra press gallery journalist Harriet Dunkley (Anna Torv) forces her way closer to the truth, uncovering a set of interlocked conspiracies which threaten her career and her life and endanger the freedom of every Australian.


title: Secret City (TV series)

text: The story picks up with Harriet unwittingly ensnared in a military and political cover-up with Catriona Bailey's (Jacki Weaver) fingerprints all over it. Harriet's search for the truth leads her back into Canberra's corridors of power, this time working for a maverick Independent MP. What she unearths is a military program so secret even the Prime Minister knows nothing of its existence.


title: Supercar

text: A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as the flagship model within a vehicle manufacturer's line-up of sports cars and typically feature various performance-related technology derived from motorsports. Some examples include the Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Aventador, and McLaren 720S.


title: Supercar

text: The Lamborghini Miura, produced from 1966–1973, is often said to be the first supercar. By the 1970s and 1980s the term was in regular use, if not precisely defined. One interpretation up until the 1990s was to use it for mid-engine two-seat cars with at least eight cylinders (but typically a V12 engine), a power output of at least and a top speed of at least . Other interpretations state that "it must be very fast, with sporting handling to match", "it should be sleek and eye-catching" and its price should be "one in a rarefied atmosphere of its own" or regard exclusivity (i.e. limited production volumes) as an important characteristic.


title: Supercar

text: It is also claimed that the definition of a supercar has always been subjective and a matter of blind prejudice.


title: Supercar

text: During the 1960s, cars that are now considered to be muscle cars were then referred to as supercars. The term was sometimes spelled with a capital S. In 1966 the sixties supercar became an official industry trend. For example, the May 1965 issue of the American magazine "Car Life" includes multiple references to supercars and "the supercar club" and a 1968 issue of "Car & Driver" magazine refers to "the Supercar street racer gang" market segment. In the model name of the AMC S/C Rambler, the "S/C" is an abbreviation for "SuperCar".


title: Supercar

text: Since the decline of the muscle car in the 1970s, the word supercar came to mean a car that has high performance (such as those made by Ferrari or Lamborghini) interpretations of the term are for limited-production models produced by small manufacturers for enthusiasts, and, less so, standard-looking cars modified for increased performance.


title: Supercar

text: A more recent term for high-performance sportscars is "hypercar", which is sometimes used to describe the highest performing supercars. As per supercars, there is no set definition for what constitutes a hypercar. An attempt to define these is "a limited-production, top-of-the-line supercar with a price of around or more than US$1 million."


title: Supercar

text: Some people consider the 1993 McLaren F1 to be the first hypercar, while others believe the 2005 Bugatti Veyron was the first hypercar.


title: Supercar

text: With a recent shift towards electrification, many recent hypercars use a hybrid drivetrain, a trend started in 2013 by the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, and LaFerrari, then continued in 2016 with the Koenigsegg Regera, in 2017 with the Mercedes-AMG One, and in 2019 with the Ferrari SF90 Stradale and McLaren Speedtail.


title: Supercar

text: Modern hypercars such as Pininfarina Battista, NIO EP9, Rimac Nevera, and Lotus Evija have also gone full-electric.


title: Supercar

text: Hypercars will also be able to be used as a base for Le Mans Prototype cars when rule changes come into effect from 2021.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: The Corinthian is a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's comic book series "The Sandman". He first appeared in "The Sandman" #10 (October 1989), which is part of the second story arc, "". The Corinthian is a nightmare created by Dream, who destroys him in the same collection for going rogue and failing to fulfill his original design. Dream later recreates him with "some changes", though the exact nature of these changes is not explicit. His most notable physical feature is his lack of eyes: in their place, two rows of small, jagged teeth line each eye socket, which he often covers with sunglasses. He can speak, eat, see, and even respire through these mouths.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: The first Corinthian claims excellent eyesight, and is shown driving a car even while wearing sunglasses at night; but in the same volume, is shown consuming the eyes of humans through his own socket/mouths, which allows him to view their memories and even see the future. The Corinthian is also able to embody himself in human beings, whereof the eyes are consumed and replaced by teeth and the hair of the victim turns white. During the process, the eye sockets bleed profusely; but afterward, he resembles his victim in most features and can therefore impersonate it.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: The second Corinthian resembles the first, but is very skilled at hand-to-hand combat and seems fearless. During his search for Daniel Hall, the Corinthian, with little effort, kills a supernatural wolf with his bare hands, and later defeats Loki in single combat.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: Neil Gaiman has stated that the Corinthian is homosexual in "The Sandman Companion", wherein the first Corinthian consumed eyes only of boys. The second Corinthian is featured with a boyfriend as written by Caitlin R. Kiernan in the Dreaming.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: In "The Sandman" television series, the audience does not witness many of the Corinthian's abilities. The Corinthian does consume eyes onscreen and receives a glimpse of the victim's memories, but that is the extent of the abilities displayed in the series.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: The Corinthian is AWOL from the dreamscape following Morpheus's escape from capture, and masquerades as a serial killer who removes his victims' eyes; but Dream finds him shortly after saving Rose Walker. Here, Morpheus states that the Corinthian was "… created to be the darkness, and the fear of darkness in every human heart. A black mirror, made to reflect everything about itself that humanity will not confront"; but is deemed a failure for having done nothing other than gruesome murders, far short of Dream's intent. As punishment, Dream "uncreates" him, leaving a skull and some sand, and promises to improve upon him. Dream recreates the Corinthian in "", wherein the Corinthian helps rescue and protect Daniel. In the process, he defeats Loki, and eats his eyes, after Loki, along with Puck, was holding the child hostage.


title: Corinthian (comics)

text: A three-issue miniseries called "The Corinthian: Death In Venice" tells how the first Corinthian entered the waking world and learned to murder human beings. In the series, the Corinthian displays his talent for possessing the bodies of the living, a process which causes the possessed body's hair to turn white and the eye sockets to bleed as the eyes are replaced (possibly eaten) by the Corinthian's teeth. The story takes place in Venice, in the year 1920, and includes such tangential plot elements as police corruption and anti-communist paranoia. The story also features Charles Constantine (a member of the same infamous family as John Constantine), a World War I veteran who has repeatedly struggled with his inability to kill. During the war, Charles refuses to bayonet a helpless young German soldier named Stefan Wasserman. In retribution, Charles's own commanding officer shoots Charles in the groin, castrating him, and shoots the young soldier in the head. Wasserman's body, however, had been inhabited by the dormant spirit of the Corinthian, who has haunted and pursued Charles, both in dreams and in reality, ever since Wasserman, a victim of a severe shell shock resulting from Dream's imprisonment, had committed suicide two years earlier.