Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 December 19
From today's featured article Dracophyllum fiordense, the Fiordland grass tree, is a tree or shrub endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. A heath, it is 1.5–5.0 metres (5–16 feet) tall and has tufts of distinctive long leaves at the ends of its branches. It has pyramidal flower spikes hidden under each clump of leaves, with over 100 pink flowers on each spike that later produce reddish-brown fruit. It inhabits shrubland, forests, and tussock grassland. Its range is mainly within Fiordland, Aoraki / Mount Cook and Westland Tai Poutini National Parks. D. fiordense was first described by the New Zealand naturalist Walter Oliver in 1928 and placed by him in the subgenus Dracophyllum, in a group with D. menziesii, which genetic sequencing later confirmed. In 2017, it was classed as a declining species. The kākāpō, a flightless bird, feeds on the bases of the leaves by making incisions in new shoots. D. fiordense is likely pollinated by insects and its seeds are dispersed by the wind. (Full article...)
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The common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is a species of lizard native to southern and southeastern Asia. The undersides of this mating pair are viewed through the glass of a window. The male has inserted one of his two intromittent organs, the hemipenis, into the cloaca of the female. The adhesive lamellae with setae on the underside of the feet adhere to the glass and allow the reptiles to maintain traction on the smooth surface. Photograph credit: Basile Morin
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