Agkistrodon piscivorus

Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the southeastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When antagonized, they will stand their ground by coiling their bodies and displaying their fangs. Although their aggression has been exaggerated, individuals may bite when feeling threatened or being handled. This is the world's only semiaquatic viper, usually found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes. The snake is a strong swimmer and will even enter the sea. It has successfully colonized islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The generic name is derived from the Greek words ancistro (hooked) and odon (tooth), and the specific name comes from the Latin piscis (fish) and voro (to eat); thus, the scientific name translates into “hooked-tooth fish-eater”. Common names include variants on water moccasin, swamp moccasin, black moccasin, cottonmouth, gapper, or simply viper. Many of the common names refer to the threat display, where this species will often stand its ground and gape at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Its diet consists mainly of fish and frogs but is otherwise highly varied and, uniquely, has even been reported to include carrion.

Congo (song)

"Congo" was the first single from the Genesis album ...Calling All Stations..., released in September 1997. The single marked the debut of Ray Wilson as the lead vocalist for the band. It was a hit across Europe.

Details

The song is not about the African country, but rather about two people who cannot get along with each other, leaving them to want to be rid of each other and as distant as possible. Musically, the song opens with a Caribbean drum beat while an African-style tribe is heard chanting "Congo the Congo", before the song launches into a darker guitar-driven melody. The album version features an alternative synthesizer ending that fades out, while the single version has an earlier fade-out that excludes the ending.

Music video

The music video, directed by Howard Greenhalgh, features industrialised imagery, with the band playing in a heavily guarded shipyard manned with slave labour. Massive water cannons are used to control uprisings, and the band is doused with water quite often throughout the video. The video was shot at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coordinates: 2°52′48″S 23°39′22″E / 2.88°S 23.656°E / -2.88; 23.656

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (/ˈkɒŋɡoʊ/; French pronunciation: ​[kɔ̃ɡo]; French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, RDC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named Zaïre. The DRC borders the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the second largest country in Africa by area, the largest in Subsaharan Africa, and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most populated nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populated country in the world.

The Congolese Civil Wars, which began in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Seko's 31-year reign and devastated the country. The wars ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN peacekeepers and twenty armed groups, and resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people.

Salvia

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage.

The genus is distributed throughout the Old World and the Americas, with three distinct regions of diversity: Central and South America (approx. 500 species); Central Asia and Mediterranean (250 species); Eastern Asia (90 species).

Description

Salvia species include annual, biennial, or perennial herbs, along with woody subshrubs. The stems are typically angled like other members in Lamiaceae. The leaves are typically entire, but sometimes toothed or pinnately divided. The flowering stems bear small bracts, dissimilar to the basal leaves—in some species the bracts are ornamental and showy.

The flowers are produced in racemes, or panicles, and generally produce a showy display with flower colors ranging from blue to red, with white and yellow less common. The calyx is normally tubular or bell shaped, without bearded throats, and divided into two parts or lips, the upper lip entire or three-toothed, the lower two-cleft. The corollas are often claw shaped and are two-lipped. The upper lip is usually entire or three-toothed. The lower lip typically has two lobes. The stamens are reduced to two short structures with anthers two-celled, the upper cell fertile, and the lower imperfect. The flower styles are two-cleft. The fruits are smooth ovoid or oblong nutlets and in many species they have a mucilaginous coating.

Savoia di Lucania

Savoia di Lucania is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. As of 2011 its population was of 1,148.

History

The original name of the village was Salvia di Lucania (also simply Salvia), referring to the sage plant (Salvia officinalis). It was altered at the end of the 19th century to Savoia di Lucania after a local resident and anarchist, Giovanni Passannante, attempted to kill King Umberto I of Italy on November 17, 1878.

In the early 2000s it was proposed to return to the original toponym, removing the references to the House of Savoy. They have constituted two committees, one for the return to the toponym of Salvia, and another for the maintenance of the current name.

Geography

Located near the borders with Campania, Savoia is bounded by the comuni of Caggiano (SA), Picerno, Sant'Angelo Le Fratte, Satriano di Lucania, Tito, and Vietri di Potenza. It counts the hamlets (frazioni) of Castellaro, Fossati, and Perolla.

People

Salvia (disambiguation)

Salvia can refer to:

See also