#pantropical

Mimosa pudica (sleepy plant) is a species native to the Caribbean and South and Central America but now is a pantropical weed. It is a pea family Fabaceae creeping annual or perennial flowering plant. The biggest characteristic of a mimosa is that when it is touched, shaken, and heated, the petiole will droop rapidly and the leaflets will close to reduce the affected area. It is especially sensitive to weak light, also known as "rapid plant movement".

Mimosine is a toxic non-protein amino acid, to ruminant livestock and human has a certain toxicity, and may cause hair removal and other symptoms, so pay attention not to ingest it at home.

“Sharp beak”

★ Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)

Another Stenella dolphin, and one of my favourites: the pantropical spotted dolphin. Their specific name, attenuata, is Latin for diminutive, reduced, slight, or tapered. It is a name they share with the pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata). It seems their name was the result of a slight misunderstanding, for combined with Stenella (Latin for narrow, referring to the long beaks of the dolphins in this genus) ‘attenuata’ would mean pantropicals have small, or simple rostra. Which is strange, given their long beaks. John Edward Gray, the zoologist who named the species, probably thought ‘attenuata’ meant sharp (instead of tapered) as he referred to the species as the ‘sharp-beaked dolphin’. This would make a lot more sense, since pantropical spotted dolphin skulls show quite sharp-tipped beaks indeed.

The individual in this painting is a juvenile. Like all spotted dolphins they are born without spots, slowly acquiring black and white ones with age. How many spots they may end up with depends on where they come from; different populations are marked with different amounts and patterns. The coastal animals off the Eastern Tropical Pacific are probably the most heavily spotted of all.

When you gotta grab some lunch, but you’re in a hurry.