Beetles in Japan and its Distributions

Astri Nur Faizah

11998001

Japan Nature Report

National Museum of Nature and Science

Speciation Mechanisms in Insects: Beetles in Japan and its Distributions

Because of the upcoming summer and fall, I started to meet many Japanese children (mostly boys) who spend hours catching and playing with insects, or mushi. So when I observed the Organisms of Japanese Islands floor in National Museum of Science and Technology, I expect to figure out what are the famous beetles in Japan.

Two of the most popular beetles in Japan are Prosopocoilus inclinatus and Allomyrina dichotoma. They are so popular that anyone would find them in every large discount store, pet shop (except for those dedicated to cats and dogs), or often in souvenir shops along the streets of sightseeing spots in the country during summer until fall.

There is definitely a kind of atmosphere in favor of insects in general compared to Occidental countries. In Japan it is nice and natural to enjoy the songs of crickets just like the chirps of birds. Suzumushi (Comoeogryllus japonicus) is another kind of insect often sold as pet. Collection (not breeding) of butterflies, long horn beetles, etc. is quite popular among entomologists and amateurs, too as in Occidental countries. Because of the climate, Japan is very rich in any kinds of insects in the first place.

 

Prosopocoilus inclinatus

Allomyrina dichotoma

Beetle species originated from Japan islands and its neighboring islands are:

l  Prosopocoilus inclinatus inclinatus (distributed over 4 main islands of Japan)

l  Prosopocoilus inclinatus kuchinoerabuensis (belongs to Kumage islands, Kagoshima prefecture)

l  Prosopocoilus inclinatus mishimaiwoensis (belongs to Kumage islands, Kagoshima prefecture)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis dissimilis (in Amami-Oshima and Kakerome-jima islands)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis elegans (from Tokara islands, Kagoshima prefecture)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis kumejimaensis (from Kumejima island of the Okinawa islands)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis makinoi (from Tokuno-shima, Kagoshima prefecture)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis okinawaensis (distributed in Okinawa-jima)

l  Prosopocoilus dissimilis okinoerabuanus (from Okinoerabu-jima, Kagoshima prefecture)

l  and many others.

Species originated from islands in Japan

And some examples of insects which are imported from outer islands are:

Ø  Prosopocoilus motschulsky (fromTaiwan)

Ø  Dynastes hercules (originated from central and south America)

Ø  Chalcosoma atlas (distributed in Southeast Asia)

Ø  Cheirotonus jansei ( from southern China and Vietnam)

Ø  Cheirotonus peranacus (originated from Malaysia)

Ø  Cheirotonus formosanus (from Taiwan)

Ø  Euchirs longimanus (from Ambon island, Indonesia)

References:

http://shinkan.kahaku.go.jp/floor/n-2f-n_en.jsp

Environmental Science and Technology Class’ Report

Astri Nur Faizah

11998001

Environmental Science and Technology Class’ Report

Miraikan

Easy-to-Understand Learning about Progresses of Medical Studies

Promoting Medicine Together section is a part giving explanation about astounding progresses of the medical field and medical technology. There are much facilitation, screens, pictures, tutorials which helping us to understand how medical study really is. There is a section how a doctor diagnose a disease. A sample of problem given, then X-ray and CT-scan or other confirmation tests are provided, so we can try to figure out how the flow of diagnosis actually works. Picture below is how a doctor diagnoses a Lung Cancer.

Another part is "New Eyes" to Look into the Body. In this area many recent medical imaging devices are presented. With the advancement of medical imaging devices, the technology to look deep inside the body in detail has dramatically improved. In addition to the improvement of resolution, which can be observed on a cellular level, it has become possible to identify the observation results by various methods and issue an almost immediate diagnosis.

And one of the most interesting parts for me is the Future Item part. There, images and video of future medical scenes that are still unrealized, which might be possible one day through the fusion of knowledge and technology, were showed. One side is for information pertaining to the technological side while the other concerns information on the basic research side. People can feel the direction of medicine of the future. Picture below is the expectation of future drugs which would be based on each people’s DNA. In the future it is expected to heal disease right from DNA variations as the disease would vary among different DNA.

             

There are other interesting parts as well which hypnotized me to not let go of those knowledge. But one thing that I realized is, that those devices help people to easily understand medical studies. Even though the real thing is quite complicated, there were many simplifications for which children can also understand and play with it. It is simplified, yet complex at the same time. I cannot find any better place to learn like this.

For more information see http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/

Comparison between Tropical Sea and Sea of Japan

 

Life in Tropical Sea

Tropical Sea is in tropic region, where the equator line across the earth. This includes all the areas on the earth where the sun reaches a point directly overhead at least once during the solar year. The ocean is the main influence in creating the tropical marine system climate. There are two main seasons in tropic areas, wet season and dry season. The temperature in tropic areas ranges from 25°C to 35°C. Fishes living in tropical areas are called tropical fish.

Tropical fish have bright vibrant colors on their bodies, and many have interesting patterns on their bodies as well. A typical tropical fish will have a caudal fin after their caudal region, the fin can be either truncated with rounded corners or be round. Most tropical fish have a laterally compressed body, which means they have a flattened shape from side to side. They include both freshwater and saltwater fish species. They are popular aquarium fish because of their bright coloration. Common examples of tropical fish are: Neon Tetras, Betta, Banded Rainbow Fish, Zebra Pleco, Guppy Fish, and Angelfish.

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean.

The average air temperature on January and February is −20 °C in the north and 5 °C in the south. The warmest month is August with the average air temperature of 15 °C in the north and 25 °C in the south. The sea waters have blue to green-blue color and a transparency of about 10 meters. They are rich in dissolved oxygen (95%), especially in the western and northern parts, which are colder and have more phytoplankton than the eastern and southern areas. This high concentration of dissolved oxygen results in the rich aquatic life of the Sea of Japan.

There are more than 800 species of aquatic plants and more than 3,500 animal species, including more than 900 species of crustaceans, about 1000 of fish and 26 of mammals. Pelagic (oceanic) fishes include saury, mackerel, Jack mackerels, sardines, anchovies, herring, sea bream, squid and various species of salmon and trout. The demersal (sea-bottom) fishes include cod, pollock and Atka mackerel. Mammals are represented by seals and whales, and the crustaceans by shrimps and crabs. Because of the shallow straits connecting the sea with Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan has no characteristic oceanic deep-water fauna.

Yet the freshwater fish fauna indigenous to Japan consists of about 115 species and subspecies. Of these, more than 60 species/subspecies of the Cypriniformes (carps, minnows and loaches) and seven species of the Siluriformes (catfishes) are primary-division freshwater fishes strictly confined to fresh water; one species of the Cyprinodontiformes (killifishes), the medaka, is the only representative of the comparatively salt-tolerant secondary division; and the remaining, including diadromous fishes and freshwater species derived from marine groups, such as the Japanese forms of freshwater eels, salmons and chars, ayu sweetfish, sticklebacks, perciforms, and sculpins, are freshwater fishes of the peripheral division.