manta & sharturquo domain description

MANTA DOMAIN (All text below taken from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia)

(Wikipedia description of Ray Fish):  Batomorphi is a clade of cartilaginous fishes, commonly known as rays (including Manta Rays), this taxon is also known as the superorder Batoidea, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies it as the division Batomorphi.[2] They and their close relatives, the sharks, compose the subclass Elasmobranchii. Rays are the largest group of cartilaginous fishes, with well over 600 species in 26 families. Rays are distinguished by their flattened bodies, enlarged pectoral fins that are fused to the head, and gill slits that are placed on their ventral surfaces. 

Batomorphi (Wikipedia section: Evolution)-  Batoids belong to the ancient lineage of cartilaginous fishes. Fossil denticles (tooth-like scales in the skin) resembling those of today's chondrichthyans date at least as far back as the Ordovician, with the oldest unambiguous fossils of cartilaginous fish dating from the middle Devonian. A clade within this diverse family, the Neoselachii, emerged by the Triassic, with the best-understood neoselachian fossils dating from the Jurassic. The oldest confirmed ray is Antiquaobatis, from the Pliensbachian of Germany.[8] The clade is represented today by sharks, sawfish, rays and skates.[9] 

Antiquaobatis is identified today with a single denticle fossil of a piece of Batomorphi skin, a single tooth.  Thus, an ancient patch of Batomorphi skin (the denticles) is similar looking to a group of refracted image pixels (the inter-grooved connected "tooths").

Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus Mobula (formerly its own genus Manta). The larger species, M. birostris, reaches 7 m (23 ft) in width, while the smaller, M. alfredi, reaches 5.5 m (18 ft). Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). They have the largest brains and brain to body ratio of all fish, and can pass the mirror test. 

Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. Both species are pelagic; M. birostris migrates across open oceans, singly or in groups, while M. alfredi tends to be resident and coastal. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they gather with their open mouths as they swim. However, research suggests that the majority of their diet (73%) comes from mesopelagic sources. Gestation lasts over a year and mantas give birth to live pups. Mantas may visit cleaning stations for the removal of parasites. Like whales, they breach for unknown reasons. 

A cleaning station is a location where aquatic life congregate to be cleaned by smaller beings. Such stations exist in both freshwater and marine environments, and are used by animals including fish, sea turtles and hippos.[1] 

The first image in Wikipedia (cleaning stations):  A reef manta ray at a cleaning station, maintaining a near stationary position atop a coral patch for several minutes while being cleaned. 

When a client approaches a cleaning station, they usually open their mouth wide or position their body in such a way as to signal that they wish to be cleaned. The cleaners then remove and eat parasites, dead skin etc. from their skin, even swimming into the mouth and gills of any fish being cleaned. This is a form of cleaning symbiosis. 

Cleaning stations may be associated with coral reefs, located either on top of a coral head or in a slot between two outcroppings. Other cleaning stations may be located under large clumps of floating seaweed or at an accepted point in a river or lagoon. Cleaning stations are an exhibition of mutualism. 

Cleaner fish also, obviously, affect cultural diversity around coral reefs, since clients with larger home ranges can access and, thus, choose between, a variety of cleaning stations,[3] visitor clients sometimes traveling long distances to a particular cleaning station.[4] On the other hand, cleaning businesses have been damaged by predators disguising as cleaners in order to tear away scales or flesh of a victim.[3] 

SHARTURQUO DOMAIN

A geyser (/ˈɡaɪzər/, UK: /ˈɡiːzər/)[1][2] is a spring with an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare, and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Earth. 

A geyser's eruptive activity may change or cease due to ongoing mineral deposition within the geyser plumbing, exchange of functions with nearby hot springs, earthquake influences, and human intervention.[3] Like many other natural phenomena, geysers are not unique to Earth. Jet-like eruptions, often referred to as cryogeysers, have been observed on several of the moons of the outer Solar System. Due to the low ambient pressures, these eruptions consist of vapour without liquid; they are made more easily visible by particles of dust and ice carried aloft by the gas. Water vapour jets have been observed near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, while nitrogen eruptions have been observed on Neptune's moon Triton. There are also signs of carbon dioxide eruptions from the southern polar ice cap of Mars. 

In the case of Enceladus, the plumes are believed to be driven by internal energy. In the cases of the venting on Mars and Triton, the activity may be a result of solar heating via a solid-state greenhouse effect. In all three cases, there is no evidence that the subsurface hydrological system of terrestrial geysers is different from other sorts of venting on Earth, like fumaroles. 

The term 'geyser' in English dates back to the late 18th century and comes from Geysir, which is a geyser in Iceland.[4] Its name means "one who gushes".[4][5] 

Alternatively, Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspots.[1] The dispersal of hydrothermal fluids throughout the global ocean at active vent sites creates hydrothermal plumes. Hydrothermal deposits are rocks and mineral ore deposits formed by the action of hydrothermal vents. 

Hydrothermal vents exist because the Earth is both geologically active and has large amounts of water on its surface and within its crust. Under the sea, they may form features called black smokers or white smokers, which deliver a wide range of elements to the world's oceans, thus contributing to global marine biogeochemistry. Relative to the majority of the deep sea, the areas around hydrothermal vents are biologically more productive, often hosting complex communities fueled by the chemicals dissolved in the vent fluids. Chemosynthetic bacteria and archaea found around hydrothermal vents form the base of the food chain, supporting diverse organisms including giant tube worms, clams, limpets, and shrimp. Active hydrothermal vents are thought to exist on Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus,[2][3] and it is speculated that ancient hydrothermal vents once existed on Mars.[1][4] 

Hydrothermal vents have been hypothesized to have been a significant factor to starting abiogenesis and the survival of primitive life. The conditions of these vents have been shown to support the synthesis of molecules important to life. Some evidence suggests that certain vents such as alkaline hydrothermal vents or those containing supercritical CO2 are more conducive to the formation of these organic molecules. However, the origin of life is a widely debated topic, and there are many conflicting viewpoints.